Hey, guys, Luka here, I know you guys are waiting for me to update my other stories, but in the mean time, but I just had to do this one, please forgive me, but have too many ideas stuck in my head and I have to get them on paper…page…computer…whatever. So, the idea of this is…how would things have gone if Neil had been a little kid during the movie and not only that, but he grew thinking Archie is his big brother, despite the severe age gap and difference of appearance. I kind of got the idea from reading Big Hero 6 fics where Tadashi basically raises Hiro himself and this My Little Pony fiction where Twilight is a filly and Spike is a human and dragon hybrid.
Chapter 1: Change breeds Trouble
Our story begins during the mid spring days in Quebec, Canada within one of the local power stations. One of the senior employees was starting early taking in the numbers when a sudden beeping caught his attention, for all of the power gauges were slowly depleting. "What the-?" He exclaimed in confusion as he tapped one but nothing changed, it was almost at zero.
But another peculiar thing caught his old eyes, the clock on the wall wasn't working anymore. Now very confused, he walked out onto the bridge to see if something got caught in the dam, when the vibrations of something very big flying by nearly knocked him off his feet. Once recovered, he looked around in confusion, only to nearly jump out of his skin at hearing a small bang.
He turned to see a well-built middle-aged man with pale skin and black hair with a shock of white in the slicked back bangs and a matching beard and moustache combo. But what creeped the poor old man out was the stranger's eyes; they were red, redder than blood/ He wore a greyish-black suit with a strange gold key-like amulet around his neck. He had his hands behind his back, smirking like a business man who had just closed a very promising deal.
"Who are you?" The old man demanded as the stranger stepped out of the shadows, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm with him," The man replied in a deep rumble, pointing leisurely behind him.
The old man stiffened before slowly turning to come face-to-face with a truly frightening sight. A gigantic creature that had a human like body with red skin and a lion-like head with an orange mane, black bat wings and twin snakes for legs appeared, roaring with anger as the poor old man stared in shocked-fear.
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Meanwhile in an apartment not too far from New Olympia, a small figure sat alone at worn wooden table picking at his eggs. This child was no older than four with soft, golden blonde hair, pale skin and bright, cerulean blue eyes wearing a white T-shirt with black shorts and black socks. He was quite small and slender, even for his age, he almost looked liked a toddler, since he had to sit on several books to reach the table.
"But I don't want you to go to a new school…" The small boy mumbled to the figure who was buttering toast at the counter of the painfully small kitchenette.
This figure was more than double the boy's size, being about sixteen with shocking purple hair and warm brown eyes, having a slight tan to his skin. He wore a blue zipped up hoodie over a yellow muscle shirt with blue sweat pants that reached half-way down his shins and was barefoot.
"I don't see what the big deal is Neil," The teen chuckled as he brought his own breakfast to the table, "It's not like we went to the same school before."
"I know, but…you'll be farther away now…" Neil mumbled unhappily as he stuck another spoonful of Fruitloops into his mouth. "It's just barely a few streets away, kid," His older brother assured, "I'll be picking you up from school just like before."
"No you won't, I heard Miss Hera say you'll have to move into his dorm-thingy!" Neil argued startling his brother. "Neil, were you eavesdropping?" He asked not looking pleased with the fact.
"Yes…" Neil admitted looking away. Archie King sighed, knowing what the big problem was; Neil was afraid he was going to move into the dorm with these 'Chosen Ones' and forget all about him.
"Neil, I'm not going to move into some dorm just because some lady says its for my benefit," Archie assured, "After all, even though this place isn't some high classed hotel, its got something nowhere else has."
"What's that?" Neil asked looking up, only to gasp when Archie flicked him in the nose with a smirk. "You, Goldie Locks," Archie said.
"Archie!" Neil laughed bringing a genuine smile to his big brother's face; how Archie loved hearing that laugh. "Besides, I have to pass this 'Ares' guy's test first before I'm part of this group first," Archie said, "So its always well from here on in."
"Okay," Neil said feeling better as he continued to eat his breakfast, "But don't forget my show, its tomorrow night remember?"
"Oh, I remember," Archie replied chuckling, "It's all you talked about for weeks." Neil blushed a little at the truth to that statement.
"Oh, yeah…" Neil mumbled making Archie laugh. "I'll tell ya what, if I show up to your school's talent show and cheer my heart out for you, will you forgive me for going to this new school?" Archie bargained secretly smiling at the bright look in his little brother's eyes.
Neil quickly schooled his expression, pretending to think about as he finished his juice. "Okay," Neil said as they shook on it, "Deal."
"That's my little winner!" Archie grinned, before putting the dishes in the sink, "Now hurry, no one likes a pop-tart!" Neil laughed at the joke as he easily slid off the books and chair, before rushing off to get ready for school, making Archie smile which then fell as he thought about New Olympia.
-Time Skip by a few hours-
Archie was sure everyone in this school was insane. Which he kept repeating to himself along with the wish to be back in his old one as he ran the obstacle course Ares had setup. Ares was a muscled man, well-fit with brown eyes and matching hair that was balding at the top, dressed in black.
"Who's he?" He heard a female voice say as he jumped fences, he glanced towards it to see a brown-eyed redhead girl talking to a two-toned brunette guy in a yellow shirt, both looked about his age, watching him. "His name's Archie," He heard the brunette reply.
"This is my favourite part," He heard Ares say and Archie steeled himself for the worst. With all his years of careful gymnastics training and working in engineering, Archie flipped and rolled through a sudden path of red-hot lasers.
Just as he jumped away and landed in a stealthy crouch, he was surprised to see a red square appear around him along with whirling machine sounds. He quickly stood, arms out tensely as four red and black training dummies were lifted out from the floor, they were the kind that spun around and each one had a mace hanging from it.
Archie growled and envision Neil getting ganged up on by older kids in his old school, before using that rage to start beating back on the dummies, before flipping away to land in front of Ares who stopped his stopwatch. Ares wasn't quite impressed as he said, "I've seen better."
Archie looked up at him in disbelief as he caught his breath, shaking the image he had conjured away. "No way, who?" He demanded.
"Me!" Ares replied sharply before walking away adding, "And Achilles, your ancestor."
Archie groaned, 'Not this again.' He had a hard time believing he was related to one of the most famous Greek heroes of all time. "You know I don't buy that," He said making Ares stop, a distant look on his face.
"You know, as young man, Achilles let himself be ruled by his anger and mistrust," Ares told him before a sad look passed on his face, "He later regretted it," He looked back at the now surprised teen, "Don't make the same mistake, Archie." With that, he walked away, leaving Archie to his thoughts; truth was there were very few Archie trusted, but that was for good reasons.
He was interrupted by Ares handing him what looked like an orange bike handle with a metal circle in the center of the flat end. "You win a prize," Ares told him.
Confused, Ares pressed a button, only for a grappling hook to come flying out like a whip on a thin metal line. "Huh?" Was all the purple teen could say as it fell to the floor, before looking at the God of War oddly, "A dog leash?"
"It's a Heastius (1) Whip," Ares informed, "One of the first to be crafted."
"A what now?" Archie asked as he got a feel of his new whip, which then retracted into the handle. "It's made form the thinnest metal ever formed," Ares explained as a sly expression appeared on Archie's face, "It slices, dices and…" As he spoke Archie lashed the whip at one of the dummies, he paused as it then fell apart, much to its new owner's shocked-amazement, "It'll cut through anything." This made Archie smile, maybe this wouldn't be that bad.
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Meanwhile, at the elementary school all the kids were chatting and playing, save for one. That one being Neil, who was sitting alone beneath the sole tree in the yard holding a dark wooden box with clawed feet golden clock-like patterns on it. He fingered it softly with a sigh, it was the only thing he had left of his parents so he rarely went anywhere without it.
With a sigh he gently placed it back in his navy blue backpack before gently picking up a small purple guitar that Archie got him for his birthday with golden stars and moons painted on it. He strummed a few notes before the bell rang and he sighed, he was missing his big brother already.
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Back in New Olympia, Archie with his bag, was heading off when the two kids from before walked up to him, the brunette calling, "Archie, hold up!" Archie complied, allowing them to catch up, "Hi, I'm Jay and this is Atlanta."
"Nice job back there," The redhead complimented motioning to the gym doors, "Looks like you past the test!"
"Yeah, well, just because they think I'm a descendant of Achilles, doesn't mean its true," Archie said with a frown as he recalled all the glory Achilles was known for. "But doesn't that mean anything to you?" Jay asked, "He was one of the greatest heroes to walk Greece."
"And look around this place," Atlanta added motioning around, "How can you doubt what you can do? How can you not believe?"
"Easy, I just walk away, pick up my little brother and pretend none of this ever happened," Archie said simply much to her shock as he walked away from them, "Because unlike you guys who feel like you can do anything you want, I have real responsibilities." The two watched as he left but was soon called away by Hera.
Archie sighed as he melted against the seat of his neighbour's old van. Mr. Vanitino knew how hard it was for Archie to not only care for himself but also his brother, so the elderly Latino would often lend the teen his car and baby-sit the younger King sibling whenever he can.
Since he wasn't staying at the school, Archie figured now was a good as time as any to make some extra money. Yet, just as he was driving towards the Happy Burger restaurant where he worked regularly, his Iphone vibrated and he waited for a red light before seeing what it was. He had gotten a text from Miss Meghan, Neil's music teacher and one of the boy's favourites, apparently she thought it fit to remind him it was Parent/Teacher Day and wanted to know if he wanted to do it early.
As Archie drove, he momentarily wondered if it would be a wise decision to put off work with how rowdy the place could get and cranky his co-workers can get. He decided to text his boss, Mr. Harrison if he could come in an hour late at best since he needed to stop at Neil's school, just so he wouldn't get into trouble later. Mr. Edward 'Eddie' Harrison was one of the best bosses Archie had ever had by far.
Being an older brother himself as well as a single father, he understood Archie's needs and often trials in trying to raise Neil by himself since his parents were either missing or dead and he didn't want to lose Neil. Also, the man was rather laid back, a fun-loving type of person, though that didn't mean he didn't have a sense of authority and strictness, or else he wouldn't have such a booming business. It was also a bonus that he let Archie take home a free meal for himself and Neil when Archie had to work well into the late hours.
He soon got a reply that it was acceptable as long as he got there before the mid-day rush as breakfast hours were beginning to bring themselves to a close. With that in mind, Archie sent Miss Meghan a text to let her know he was coming and headed for his brother's school.
When he got there he was instantly greeted by a black and white blur with blonde hair. "Archie!" Neil cheered hugging him. "Hey champ!" Archie laughed as he lifted his little brother up into his arms, "Told ya it wouldn't last long."
"Archie, it's wonderful to see you," Miss Meghan said dressed in a nice green sundress with black strap-heels and her short black hair was neatly cut in a bowl-style, her blue eyes shimmering with kindness and genuine delight.
"Meghan," Archie grinned back. "How's the new school?" Meghan asked as she led him through the busily with lunchtime activity halls, "Anything new?"
"Besides the obvious?" Archie smirked before shaking his head as he hugged his brother, "Not all that much, but I'm starting to like the gym teacher."
"At least there's something good about it, hmm?" Meghan smiled as she opened a door, motioning him in, "Right in here."
He entered to find it was a classroom where several other kids were playing serenely, making Neil duck his head into his brother's hoodie in shyness. "Hey, kiddo, why don't you find someone to play with while I talk to the teachers, okay?" Archie suggested as he set the blonde down, "I promise, it won't be long."
Neil nodded before hesitantly moving towards the other kids who were all playing with the costumes or toy kitchenette. Other than Miss Meghan, Neil had three other teachers; Mrs. Wright who was teaching him his basic English reading and writing. She was an older woman in comparison to Meghan with a dark complexion and braided black hair, but her eyes were a cloudy blue, which shone with knowledge.
Mr. Wayne taught the basics of numbers as well as the required second language of French. He was somewhere between Meghan and Mrs. Wright's ages, well-built and tall, but he was a friendly guy with clean-cut brown hair and green eyes. Finally, Mr. Wu was the resident art teacher for all grades another of Neil's favourites, he was a short, but kind looking Asian man with black hair that seem to shot up into the air as if electrified with ocean blue eyes.
After sitting down and shaking hands, and exchanging greetings and a few kind words, Archie asked, "So, how's my little champ doing so far this year?"
"Well…" Mrs. Wright said as she and the others shared unsure looks. "Um…well…Archie…we…" Meghan said unsurely, "We aren't…quite sure how to phrase this."
"Just ask, you guys know you can talk to me, especially if it concerns Neil," Archie said a bit concerned. "Well, we're just a little concerned with his recent change of attitude," Mr. Wu said trying to be gentle with it, "He's been staring off into space lately and seems to have grown withdrawn."
"Well, he has been a bit upset with me changing schools," Archie admitted glancing at the blonde boy, "But he seemed fine before we left, why, has anything happened?" This earned another round of unsure looks.
"It hasn't damaged his progress in my class…or Wayne's," Mrs. Wright said as she got some papers out, "But…he's been prone to start…doodling these odd little symbols along the top of the pages."
She showed him two, one from her class, one from Mr. Wayne's, sure enough, there were lines of odd symbols at the top by Neil's name, they were almost identical on the separate sheets.
"I've never seen him do this before at home," Archie remarked as he examined them. "We told him to save it for Art Class, but he doesn't listen," Mr. Wayne said much to Archie's surprise, "But I think its more of a subconscious thing for him, cause he'd be looking out the window, but he's still doodling them."
"He's progressing in his art works," Mr. Wu said though he looked a bit disturbed, "Might I ask, has Neil been having…nightmares or been watching movies he shouldn't?"
"Not that I'm aware of, why?" Archie asked having a strange feeling of dread. "He drew this yesterday," Mr. Wu answered handing Archie a hand-drawn picture done with crayon, "He says its from a dream he had."
Archie's stomach flopped upon seeing it, it was a crayon drawing of him and five others, Jay and Atlanta by the look of the red and brown blobs for hair and the use of yellow for Jay's shirt, with another teen with brown hair in green, a reddish-orange haired girl in a red top and jeans and a dark-skinned boy in red all lying on the ground. What perturbed him was that they all had darker red…blotches on them that seemed to resemble blood and they were all had 'X's for eyes.
Standing over them was a man in black with black and white hair holding what looked like a scythe with red on the grey blade. Standing next to him were several big figures of different colors with fanged grins. The backdrop was a forest all black with flames on the trees.
But what really got Archie's heart, was the little figure that resembled Neil. The little blonde child's crayon image was huddled far from the images of the teens, trapped in a golden cage and there were tears drawn on his face. He had even labelled each figure; each teen, him, Jay, Atlanta, which creeped him out a bit, Theresa, Odie and Herry. The big figures were all labelled with the weird symbols for names, but the one in black was called Coronus, King of Chaos and Time, while the figure of Neil, who wore all black instead of the bright vivid clothes Neil liked to wear, was labelled Prince of Chaos.
"I…I…" Archie said a loss for words as he stared a the picture, "I don't know what to say…I don't know where he got any of this!"
"All of his drawings, even his music is turning either sad and depressing or angry and dark," Miss Meghan said glancing worriedly at the little blonde who was being ignored by the other kids, "I'm getting worried, if this keeps up, we'll might have to call a social worker to talk with him."
"Now, I'm sure there's no need to dive into that right away," Archie said shaking his head as he set the picture away, "I know Neil, he's never done any of this before, maybe if I just talk to him…" He trailed off as his phone began to vibrate.
"Well, we're willing to let you try and sort things out first," Mrs. Wright said as Archie pulled out his phone to see he got a text from Hermes about meeting the other teens at the dorm. He had to momentarily wonder how this Hermes got his phone number.
"But if things don't change we will be forced to call a social worker," Mr. Wu said, "Archie?"
"Ugh, yes, I'm listening," Archie said as he tucked his phone away. "New school?" Miss Meghan guessed. "I don't even want to know how this Hermes guy got my phone number," Archie said aloud, making them chuckle, "But I promise I will get to the bottom of this, Neil isn't usually prone to dark and angry music or anything dark and angry in general, so I will be talking to him."
"Of course," Mrs. Wright said. "Will you like a few minutes with him now?" Mr. Wayne asked.
"Actually I need to be getting to the school's dorm, its nothing permanent," Archie said at their perplexed looks, "Just need to sort some things out. I just need a quick chat with my brother."
"Neil!" Mr. Wu called and the boy walked over.
"Hey, kiddo," Archie said as he pulled the boy up as the teachers left, Miss Meghan going over to watch the other kids, "How are things going lately?"
"Fine, why?" Neil asked blinking up at him. "Well, I just had a word with your teachers, and they've been telling me you've been a bit distracted lately," Archie explained as Neil looked away, "Do you want to tell me why?"
"Um…well…" Neil said unsurely, "Not…really…"
"Not really?" Archie repeated with a raised eyebrow, "You know you can talk to me, right?"
Neil remained silent. "I won't push you, but please, we need to talk about this," Archie said as he showed Neil the drawing, making the boy wince, "This really worries me Neil, you don't have to say anything now, but I can't help you if you don't try to open up a little to someone."
Neil nodded in understanding, hugging him around the neck. Rolling up the picture and tucking it away, Archie smiled at his most precious person, "I need to get going, but I promise things are going to be looking up."
So with that, Archie drove off for the dormitory, this weird feeling of dread and fore-boarding in his chest. The image of Neil's drawing haunted him. Neil's pictures were usually so bright and cheerful, he didn't even know Neil knew what death would look like and he didn't like how he labelled himself Prince of Chaos. Whatever it meant, Archie was sure it wasn't good. And how did his brother know Jay and Atlanta? He was getting answers, one way or another.
And that is that! My first Class of the Titans fic! I hope everyone likes it, its always been my favourite show! I've always thought they should've dived more into Neil's character instead of mostly letting him be a diva and the overly lucky person he is. Oh and if there's any questions, be free to note them in reviews if you really want them answered. Until then, until next time!