Themis watched as the earth closed above them. They would have been left in total darkness if Mother and Father had not included all of the children. Hyperion and Theia’s light brightly illuminated the space. Themis was glad for that. Tethys and Rheia were still screaming. Iapetos and Kronos were clawing at one side while Koios and Krios were working on the other. Then Mother began infusing the rock with heat. They all jumped back with a cry of pain. The cries and wails lasted a few moments more before the reality of their fate set in.
“This is your fault!!” Krios cried, lunging at Kronos. Okeanos and Koios joined in, releasing their anger as they struck him. He took the first few blows and then released a burst of Theia’s light, making everyone fall back against the sudden brightness.
They all stood looking at each other for a moment, several of the boys still catching their breath.
“We have to figure out how to get out of here,” Themis said. “We aren’t meant to remain within the earth.”
“What can we do?” Mnemosyne asked.
“I can’t survive here,” Tethys said, beginning to cry.
“Yes, you can,” Phoebe said. “We will all manage until we either figure out a way to free ourselves or until Mother and Father release us.”
“How long will that take?” Koios asked her.
“It’s not clear,” she said. “I can’t see the path clearly, but I know we’ll get out and we will all survive.”
That made most of them relax.
“Phoebe, if you can see the future, why didn’t you see this coming? We could have avoided this,” Hyperion complained.
“Some things can’t be avoided. All paths I could see led here. It’s for our good, even if we don’t like it,” she said.
“Then you saw Mother and Father shutting us up in here?” Mnemosyne asked.
“Yes.”
“How do we get out?” Iapetos asked.
“Kronos is the key,” Phoebe said.
They all looked at Kronos.
“He is the reason we’re down here,” Krios still fumed. “He’s the one who keeps taking things from everyone. He has no power of his own. He creates nothing of his own. He is nothing.”
“It is a puzzle,” Themis said. “He doesn’t seem to have any particular power that we can see, other than being able to take and hold the power of others.”
“Isn’t that a kind of power?” Iapetos said.
“Yes, I suppose it is,” Themis said. “And it seems he’s able to use the powers and elements he steals. Fascinating.”
“You’re all speaking as if I’m not here,” Kronos said. “I do have power. They are all my powers.”
Koios scoffed. “You clearly don’t have mine. My intelligence is clearly superior.”
“Is it?” Kronos said, reaching for him with the sickle.
Koios backed away and Hyperion forced Kronos back with another burst of light.
“We should not fight among ourselves,” Themis said. “That accomplishes nothing.”
“So what do we do?” Rheia asked.
“How can Kronos be the key?” Koios said, turning to Phoebe.
“I don’t know.”
“Until we can determine how Kronos can help,” Krios said. “We might as well think about what powers we do know. Koios, you’re intellect. Rheia and Tethys grow things. Themis, you seem to be able to create order of some kind. Okeanos would be helpful if we had a source of water in here, but we don’t. Hyperion and Theia are light, of course. What do you do, Iapetos?”
“I’m still figuring that out,” Iapetos said.
“As am I,” Krios said, nodding.
“Intellect? Growing things? Light? Water?” Mnemosyne said, shaking her head. “We’re doomed. We’re never getting out of here.”
“Maybe they will let us out soon,” Tethys said. “They can’t intend to keep us here forever.”
“Why did Mother and Father create us if only to trap us in the earth?” Rheia asked.
“That is a very good question,” Themis said. “It’s not just what we can do, it’s why we were created. Do you think Mother and Father know?”
“I know Father was not happy when they made me,” Iapetos said.
“He was also unhappy when we were made,” Hyperion said.
Themis nodded.
“It was the same for me too,” she said thoughtfully. “It seems he didn’t want us.”
“Father is happy that I was created,” Kronos said.
They all looked at him.
“Why would he be happy?” Koios asked.
“Because I have a purpose.”
“What is your purpose?” Rheia asked.
“He told me to find it.”
“Have you found it yet?” Themis asked.
“No.”
“There it is,” Themis said. “We must help Kronos find his purpose.”
Krios and Koios groaned.
“Can you think of a better way to get out of here?” Themis asked.
The brothers looked at each other.
“What have you learned so far?” Koios asked reluctantly.
“I have this sense of what I need, though I’m not always sure what I need things for. I have an urge to collect the powers and abilities of others,” Kronos said.
“Yes, we’ve seen,” Krios said, darkly. “You can’t seem to help yourself.”
“And your ‘sickle’?” Okeanos asked.
Kronos held it up.
“I feel like this will help me collect the power I need. I’m not sure how, but with the right power given to it, this sickle will be a mighty tool.”
“Maybe we need to help him infuse it with more power and energy,” Themis said. “Maybe it’s a good thing he took the sickle.”
“We wouldn’t be here if he had just left it with the cyclops,” Koios said.
“We would have ended up here eventually,” Phoebe said.
“Why?” Rheia asked. “Why would we have ended up here?”
“Mother and Father are afraid of us,” Phoebe said.
“Why?” Tethys asked.
“I can’t see everything, but I’ve seen that they are overwhelmed by our energy.”
“So they created Kronos to absorb our energy,” Themis said.
“What would they want to do with it?” Mnemosyne asked.
“Maybe they want to use it for themselves,” Okeanos said. “Maybe they are hoping to harness it and use it to control us.”
“Maybe,” Themis said. “Or maybe they still don’t know what Kronos can do.
“We need to find out before they do.”
If I Had Words 
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