A Demystification: Eve

Day 17: A Moment Without Control

WORD COUNT: 594

Lyn put the phone down and turned to look at her friend. There was a furrow of flesh between his eyes, a sure sign of concern. He was a god of messages and communication, he knew what had just transpired over the line. "Hermes...my brother has cancer."

He nodded. "I heard," he replied, even as his human facade faded to reveal the powerful entity underneath. They'd all fed him their strength, Lyn suddenly remembered; that was the reason he was so easily able to go into and out of his divine "mode". It wasn't enough to keep him with her all the time--he needed to go back into the Twilight every three days or so--but it made him more him while he was there. "I am sorry, Lyn."

"It's pancreatic cancer, Hermes. Do you know what the rate is for 5-year survival rate for that is? It doesn't even reach 20%! My big brother...he's going to die!" Lyn sank to the grown, face buried in her hands. But what did it say about her that she wasn't crying? She wanted to cry. Every feeling of helplessness and inability rushed through her, a frustration that there was nothing she could do about this.

Bryce had been the brother she was closest to, the younger of her two elder male siblings, and victim of years and years of Mortal Kombat slayings. To this day, just the music was enough to send him into fits of pique, demanding rematches that he would once again lose. They weren't as close as Lara and Lyn these days, but they were close enough that a death sentence was enough to ruin more than just her day. If Bryce were to die, something would go missing from her life that nothing could ever replace.

Lyn was the kind of girl who tried to fix everything herself. If something went wrong, Lyn solved the problem and marshaled the defenses, bringing everyone around to save the day. Not being able to do that...not being able to help when helping was the one thing in the world that might make her feel better, that might make the universe right again--that was almost too much.

"My love, my friend, please don't cry." Hermes knelt next to Lyn, throwing his arms around her and rocking back and forth. "I am so sorry. I would do something about it if I could. Mortals..."

Lyn looked up suddenly, brown eyes boring into Hermes' green with such a ferocity that the god had to look away. "You. You can fix this, can't you? You're a god of medicine, too! And your son, Asclepius! He's a doctor!"

There was a pause as Hermes stared at the tile next to Lyn's head. Then he shook his head. "I can't. The kind of power that would take...it would drain the entire Greek Court for months!"

"I don't care!" Lyn stood, pulling Hermes up as she did so. "I don't care if you have to drain the entire Twilight! If you want my help, I want this in return! Save my fucking brother! If he dies, a part of me will never forgive you. Save. My. Brother!" Lyn grabbed at Hermes' tunic and shook him. "Please."

Hermes looked at her for a moment, eyes sad, before nodding. "I will see what I can do. But please, Lyn, don't get your hopes up. We are not all powerful, and I can't even guarantee that we have enough power in the whole of the Court to get it done. But I will try."

"You better."