The Divine Flood

"Hey, wake up, sleepy head," a velvety voice said. A warm hand touched Pan's cheek. He stirred with his eyes closed and held the hand against his face. "It's so warm… Mom…" he murmured and smiled.

"Wake up, Pan..." the voice repeated. "I'm not your mom."

The boy opened his eyes. A beautiful girl's face loomed over him. Ash-blonde hair cascaded down like dunes in the sand. Her blue eyes were so serene that they made Pan drowsy again. The boy lowered his eyes and saw a tight bust pressed against spandex. "Penelope?" he mumbled.

"Yes, it's me. Penny. You were talking in your sleep. What happened to you? Why did you pass out?"

"I… uh… I don't know. I don't remember. Did you guys see anything?"

She shook her head gracefully. "Felix had magically censored everything happening at other tables. We were told you scored high on the test but passed out, probably due to exhaustion. But what actually happened at your couples table, nobody knows." 

Penny brought forth a tissue and wiped his upper lip with care. "You are bleeding from your nose and the left eye. Does it hurt?" 

Pan felt quite at home being tended to by the girl. "Oh, really?" he asked, dabbing at his nose. "No, I feel okay. Just a little dizzy."

"It'll be fine," she said with a warm smile. "Get up and have a drink of water. I think you are dehydrated. We collected some spring water that has restorative properties."

Blaze walked up to them as Pan took a gulp of cool spring water. "I know why the kid passed out," he declared. 

"Really? Why?" Penny asked with intrigue.

"Well, I assume he has never seen a naked woman before. The couple he was counseling undressed, and this virgin boy got a nosebleed. That explains everything." Blaze completed his explanation and guffawed loudly.

"You don't have to be mean!" Penny said with a frown. "I'm sure Pan has a girlfriend back home. He seems like a cool guy."

The boy's spirits picked up. 'Penny thinks I'm cool?' 

"Oh yeah?" Blaze fired back. "Why don't you flash him your boobs and see what happens."

Pan shifted uncomfortably. Did Blaze not have a filter at all? How could he say such a thing in public?

Penny eyed the hulk sternly. "Shut up, Blaze! You're just being mean again! Does that make you feel better about yourself? Isn't Pan your step-brother? You don't sound like a good contender for the God of Love's successor right now." 

Blaze was taken aback by the accusation. Her words had struck true. "Err… I'm sorry. I misspoke. Perhaps you are right. I apologize." 

He walked forward and held out a hand to Pan. "Come on, pipsqueak. Get up." The boy took his hand and got to his feet. "Thanks."

"That's more like it," Penny said, beaming again. "We are step-siblings. Even though we are competing right now, we can extend some compassion towards each other."

Blaze shrugged and nodded. 

'Whoa, she is so nice!' Pan thought with wonder. 'Her words are like commandments. One almost feels the compulsion to do what she says. Pan wondered if she had any inherent magical powers.

"Apologies for saying those terrible things to you earlier," Blaze said in a barely audible voice and walked away.

"Why are you so nice to me?" Pan asked the girl suddenly.

"Why am I nice?" she wondered aloud. "I don't think I'm being especially nice. I think most people are terrible towards each other, breeding hostility. If we extended even a little compassion to others, the universe would be a better place to live."

While Penny's monologue sounded quite rehearsed, its effect was quite palpable. Ivy and Zete standing nearby, nodded their agreement. 

"You seem like a good guy," Penny told Pan. "Innocent and pure. You remind me of somebody I knew."

"I am not so innocent," Pan said, averting her eyes. Just moments ago, he had been staring at her chestal area, and he was pretty sure of having a crush on her.

Penny giggled. "Why do you think so?"

"Lately, I've been feeling hor-"

"Congratulations to all candidates!" Felix, the hedgehog, announced, cutting Pan off. The animal skittered into the garden. "All of you have been promoted to the next stage!"

The boys and girls high-fived and cheered. 

"Kids, kindly approach your liaisons," Felix added. "They will portal you to the location of the next contest." He eyed Pan with slanted eyes before returning to the waterfall.

Pan thanked Penelope and walked towards his mentor, Jewel. The talking frog hopped to a grassy area and stopped. Neither of them said anything for an elongated spell. 

"Jewel, what's wrong? Why are you silent?"

"Eh?" the frog said. "It's just been a long day for me, kid…."

"Hmm. Do you know what happened to me at the couples' table? How did I faint?"

"How do I know?" Jewel said with a jittery voice. "The magical censoring was for everyone."

"Oh, I figured so…" Pan looked like he wasn't satisfied with Jewel's answer. Was the creature hiding something?

The talking frog turned to him. "Can I ask you something, boy?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever been angry?"

"Ummm. Well, yeah... who hasn't?"

"Did anything… err…strange ever happen to you while you were angry?"

Pan shrugged. "Not that I know of. Why?"

"Nothing," he replied, averting the boy's gaze. "Just a random interview question. We were asked to know our candidates better. Let's move on to the next contest."

Jewel hopped twice and croaked loudly. Water from a rivulet nearby rushed in front of him, swirling in a circular portal. "It's time to go up to the next rung."

Rumble! Rumble! Tremors radiated down from the summit. The mountain shuddered as if an earthquake had hit.

"Liaisons, close your portals right now!" Felix ordered. The magical animals stopped their spells and waited. Another wave of tremors arrived, this time stronger. "It's coming. Everyone grab onto a tree or any sturdy thing fixed to the ground," he advised.

"What is happening?" Pan asked, looking around in panic. 

"It's the divine flood," Jewel answered.

"The what?"

The frog turned to his candidate. "Wait, where is your magical swimsuit? Didn't I ask you to bring a swimsuit?"

"No, you didn't! And why is everyone wearing swimsuits in the first place? What do you mean by magical swimsuits? Are we going to the beach?"

Jewel sighed. "There is no time to give you an explanation." He flitted his paws at Pan. In a snap, a swimsuit replaced Pan's clothes.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, stretching his limbs. "This is comfortable but a bit tight."

"It will loosen up," Jewel said with irritation.

"You still did not answer my question. Why do we need swimsuits? And what is causing the quakes?"

"Wait for it," the frog croaked. "You will have your answer soon."

Pan heard a roar like a turbulent wave in the ocean. His conclusion wasn't very far from the truth. The boy raised his eyes, and the words' divine flood' finally rang true in his ears. A gigantic wave of water crashed down from the mountaintop. It flooded the slopes and rushed into their garden.

"Hold onto something!" Jewel warned him. Pan jumped at a shrub nearby. The thorns pricked him like injection needles, but he wasn't washed away as the wave passed over him. 

Once the wave had dissipated and the water had subsided, everyone was back on their feet.

"What the fuck was that?" Pan fired at Jewel.

"Are you deaf, boy? I just told you it was the divine flood. It keeps the world alive by infusing new life force."

"Oh? Where does it come from? What is so divine about it? Is a god involved somehow?"

"It comes from King Eros, of course. The only deity of this world. Every day, he has an orgasm with his partners, and from it arises the divine flood."

Pan, picking thorns from his swimsuit, almost fell over in surprise. "Wait, what? Did I just bathe in my father's seminal fluid?"

Jewel glared at him. "That's a horrible interpretation. Eros is a god, not a pathetic mortal like you. He sneezes, and meadows come to life. He coughs, and forests spring into being. He orgasms, and an entire world becomes fertile. King Eros's seed is the most potent material in the cosmos!"

Pan nodded and nodded and nodded. Once Jewel was done, he spoke up. "That doesn't make it okay!! I don't want to rinse myself in my father's semen!!"

"Hence the magical swimsuit, boy. It prevents you from getting impregnated. Stop complaining, and let's go."

"Wait, what? Impregnated?! The divine flood can make even men pregnant?"

Pan kept shouting into Jewel's ears as the old frog opened a water portal and hopped in. The boy followed him, still venting his disgust and frustration.