What has Passed and What Will Come

Story
Rook and Leo was leading the way down a path, John following behind. They traveled in silence, when they arrive in a dead end room, where Paradox was sitting on a rock next to a fireplace. His face looks extremely worn and old. His hair is starting to grey. He looks up, and forces a smile.

Rook: Lord Paradox. I have brought him.

John: Lord?

Paradox: Yes, thank you, Rook, dear boy. I knew you would find your way here eventually, John. But, how did you get down here?

John: A fissure randomly formed under me. Ssserpent and an army of dracaena fell down with me.

Paradox: Well, we can’t have any disturbances. Rook, do you mind taking them out?

Rook: Of course, my Lord. (Rook and Leo leave.)

John: What the heck happened to you, Paradox? You look old, and defeated.

Paradox: I unfortunately failed in stopping Gaia. She will rise soon, and the world will be destroyed.

John: What? Mother Earth is going to destroy the Earth?

Paradox: Simply speaking, yes.

John: I want to hear it from the beginning. Everything. All the way back to that gold crystal I saw in the throne room.

Paradox: (Sighs) Sometimes, you are too smart for your own good. I would’ve been content with simply explaining Gaia. Have a seat, John. This’ll take a while. (John sits on a rock across from Paradox.)

John: I assume we start in Greece.

Paradox: Yes. We start at the beginning. An alien came to the planet, bearing two crystals, the gold one and corrodium. The gold crystal was named after the alien; crystal Promethium named after Prometheus.

John: Isn’t that the guy that gave fire to humans?

Paradox: One and the same. The Promethium and a piece of corrodium, infected by the Promethium, are what gave the titans and gods their powers. The titans were all of alien origin, traveling to Earth after sensing the Promethium, while the gods were their children, taking the form of what later is known as humans.

John: So we are based off the greek gods?

Paradox: Humans existed before then, the Neanderthals. So technically, the gods were based on us.

John: I’m sure they’d obliterate you for saying that.

Paradox: But they can’t. For reasons I’ll explain soon enough. Anyway, in the revolt between the gods and the titans, Prometheus sided with the gods, giving them the Promethium and corrodium. Afterwards, however, Zeus betrayed Prometheus, and is chained to a rock to be pecked at by eagles for all eternity.

John: Zeus trusted no one. Always thinking someone wanted to take his throne.

Paradox: And many wanted it. Especially Hades, the oldest of the brothers. Originally Hades was supposed to be the inheritor of control of the sky and Olympus. However, the Big Three as they’re known, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, drew straws to determine their domains. Hades was upset on getting under the Earth, so Zeus gave him the corrodium in exchange. Radiated and empowered by the Promethium, the corrodium’s power created the Underworld, and Hades’ domain. However, it cannot be removed from there, ensuring Hades can’t use it to take over Olympus.

John: It is still extremely powerful. I lost that battle with Hades.

Paradox: You did. It’s more surprising that you survived. But, back to the story. After you defeated Kronos and Typhon, saving Mt. Olympus, Greece and the entire world, the gods took the credit for it.

John: Of course they did.

Paradox: They became extremely arrogant, and the Roman Empire did nothing to help. The gods became more warlike, much more savage. I knew it had to be stopped. Oh, I received mass criticism for the action, and a punishment, but I believe it was for the best.

John: You got punished?

Paradox: There are higher ups that I have to report to, those far higher up than the Greek gods, or anything you will most likely ever encounter. I did some research, and learned that the first mentions of what is now known as Christianity, with “God,” was first stated to exist by a peasant, who proclaimed that those following the gods to be on the wrong path, and will be punished unless they revert.

John: Wait, so you’re saying that God exists?

Paradox: No, I am not saying anything like that. For two reasons. One, I’m sure that the readers will have a fit with this part as it is, much less if I go into anymore detail.

John: Readers? What are you?

Paradox: And two, my superiors have forbidden me from commenting on it. Whether He exists or not doesn’t matter. Because before I did anything, I made my way and watched Mt. Vesuvius.

John: The volcano that destroyed Pompeii.

Paradox: It isn’t long after that that the Roman Empire turns to Christianity, believing the peasant in that God had punished them. I took this time to seal the gods away. I met with them in Olympus, obtained the Promethium, and sealed it away in a special container, putting the gods to sleep.

John: That’s what Phoebe of the hunters said.

Paradox: But they had been too empowered by the Promethium, and their influence continues to influence the world. Most of their grudges against you died away. But one thing from that time stayed with you.

John: The curse of Ares. But, how? Why does Lucian look like Lucci?

Paradox: It’s the opposite. Why does Lucci look like Lucian? And that is because, (He points at the Omnitrix.) of you. With Lucian’s death, Elektra came after you, forced to by duty to become a killer. She had never killed anything before she joined the hunters. She became the strongest, and their leader. Azmuth came to Earth at some point hoping to sample Sir George’s DNA for the Omnitrix. Sir George had disappeared, so Azmuth looked for the strongest human he could, physically. (John’s face is lit up in surprise.)

John: Azmuth used Elektra for the DNA base.

Paradox: Unwillingly. And with her being the sister of Lucian.

John: Half-sister.

Paradox: She had his DNA, so male users of human DNA would turn into, well, you know that already. Well, that’s how the gods fell from power.

John: But they didn’t stay down. Something happened with the Promethium. Someone freed it. It released a shockwave that enveloped the planet. The monsters from Ancient Greece have returned as well.

Paradox: (Sighs) So, he had that much of an affect on this time.

John: Who?

Paradox: Phantom. (John groans.)

John: Him again.

Paradox: As I have told you before, Phantom’s appearance in this dimension caused a space-time tear, the entire future being unclear. Phantom appeared almost instantly after you left this dimension, and you know of what Gwen, Kevin and eventually Albedo did to help him. But after obtaining the the Omnitrix for Albedo, Phantom goes and recruits Animo, who starts to work on his de-evolution bomb. While he was waiting for him to finish his work, Phantom tracked down the one of the oldest and most powerful sources of mana alive.

John: Prometheus.

Paradox: Phantom offered Prometheus a deal. For Prometheus to serve him, and he’ll be freed. However, Prometheus was the most clever of the titans, and saw Phantom’s fatal flaw. Not that he was a coward, but that Phantom believed that he was smarter than everyone else, and could manipulate them. Prometheus stated that he was weak in battle, and offered Phantom a power that he couldn’t turn down. The ability to revive dead souls.

John: Hope.

Paradox: Prometheus shows Phantom the way to get to the Underworld, the only way there.

John: Wait, wait, hold on! Why wasn’t Hades effected when you shut down Olympus?

Paradox: Ah. I should take the time to explain that there were three gods that weren’t locked away. Athena, Hestia and Hades. In Roman, Athena was renamed Minerva, and was quite simply demoted. There were other war gods, and Minerva’s status went from being one of the most important to being barely mentioned. Athena was enraged by this, but also saw how arrogant the others became. She agreed to help me seal them away, and gave me the way to seal the Promethium. Afterwards, she left Earth, going into space. However, the Promethium’s properties have the opposite of radiation. After leaving the presence of the Promethium, she began to wither and die. Before that, she created a clone of herself, in the form of a Galvan named Xenith.

John: Azmuth’s old girlfriend? But, why clone herself?

Paradox: Athena was a maiden goddess, so natural reproduction was out of the question. However, all of her “children” as to say were all clones of herself. (John’s face becomes grim, as if remembering something.) You could’ve done nothing to save Eirene. Don’t beat yourself up about it.

John: I’m fine. What about Hestia and Hades?

Paradox: The Underworld, from creation, has always been its own dimension. I simply sealed off the way to that dimension from our own. Prometheus told Phantom the secret to getting to the Underworld, and that he could use his mana powers to capture souls to bring back.

John: You skipped Hestia.

Paradox: Once Phantom got in, he found as many souls as he could with a connection to you. However, Phantom got greedy, and tried to obtain the corrodium that powered the Underworld. He faired even less than you did, almost being killed by Hades. He was able to escape, the most recent person to escape the Underworld and live. Phantom brought the souls back to life, and Charmcaster resisted and escaped to Ledgerdomain. After the de-evolution bomb went off, Phantom chased Charmcaster to Ledgerdomain, and re-powered Adwaita, who takes over again. Prometheus stayed on Earth, now completely hidden, and watched you defeat Zs’Skayr. He disappeared after that, and I lost track of him. My power had been on the decline since the space-time tear, and the Solaris event hasn’t helped much.

John: Solaris?

Paradox: Not important.

John: Alright, I’ll ask something that is important. What happened to you? You seem, helpless.

Paradox: And the story finally gets to what I wanted to tell you from the beginning. Gaia, something much more powerful than the gods or the titans. Gaia was at one point an anodite. She was radiated by chaos mana as you call it, corrupting her. I don’t know the exact source of the chaos mana, though my guess is the Big Bang.

John: Big Bang?

Paradox: Yes. The supposed expansion of the universe, and the energy was extremely powerful. That being said, I’m not allowed to go back before that incident, so I can’t be positive. The radiation was too much for Gaia, and she formed the Earth as a crust and protective shield around her. She tried to heal, but was unable to due to the Promethium. Its effects mutated her, turning her into a monster. All she knows now is to destroy everything.

John: But, there were children of Gaia.

Paradox: Before going completely insane. Over the years, she has only gotten worse. Pompeii was caused by her trying to escape. Apparently, I stop her from freeing her, but I haven’t done that yet. That, was the true reason of sealing the gods, the Promethium. Gaia went back to sleep, but she still tries to wake.

John: That’s why you have Rook. He’s helping you subdue her.

Paradox: Yes, but the space-time tear caused her to stir. We were fighting her together, Rook and I, but then Gaia’s power destroyed my Chrono-navigator.

John: Your, what?

Paradox: My pocket watch. It is what allowed me to travel through time. Even with my knowledge of time, I needed that. It’s also why (He points to his face) I look like this. I am trapped here, locked in time. I can’t do anything to help. Rook is doing good, but even he can’t last forever. I feel as if I’m failing you both.

Woman: Relax Paradox. None of this is your fault. (The fire grows bigger, as Hestia appears behind Paradox, her hands on his shoulders.)

John: Hestia?!

Paradox: I finally met a foe I could not match. And now, I can’t do a thing to stop her. I’ve failed the universe.

Hestia: You told me before that that is why there are heroes. (She looks at John.) Heroes to save us immortals in our time of need.

John: What would happen if the Promethium was destroyed? You said that Athena died after leaving its influence.

Hestia: The gods will die, fade away from existence. Gaia will be freed as well, and begin to destroy the universe. Whoever obtained the Promethium, you must stop them.

John: Uh, are you two, you know.

Hestia: No. I am one of the maiden goddesses you know.

John: Greece is gone. And I have a feeling that the gods will be gone soon. There’s no reason not to break the vow, especially if you two want to be together. (Paradox and Hestia blush, as John stands up.) Anything else I need to know?

Paradox: No. That is all that you need to know for now. John: Good. (Stretches) That was a lot of info to take in at one time. But what I need to do now is help Rook. (John runs out of the room, Paradox and Hestia watching. The fire dies, and they were gone.)

Characters

 * John Spacewalker
 * Rook
 * Professor Paradox
 * Hestia

Trivia

 * This episode answers many of the unanswered questions that have occured throughout the series. Like,
 * Why Lucci didn't turn into a John clone.
 * How Phantom revived dead souls.
 * What the gold crystal is.
 * It's revealed that Elektra is the DNA sample for humans.
 * Paradox has lost all his power, and is seemingly in a relationship with Hestia.