A/N: Greetings and salutations my beautiful peoples. Welcome… To Sons of War! This here is the sequel to both Henosis-written by myself, and Strife of Rome-written by my amazing friend Thetruehero.
As always be sure to read their stuff as well as mine if you want to really understand what's going on in this story. For the sake of understanding the timeline, I'll explain how it all has gone.
So Sam's story starts during the original Percy Jackson series and ends just after the defeat of Gaea in the next. During the time between Heroes of Olympus and Trials of Apollo he was getting married and going on a honeymoon with his wife, the illustrious Queen of the Amazons Hylla.
Samson's story begins four decades earlier in the late forties and ends with his first 'death' in 1969. He was resurrected by his wife -an oc named Moroiaca, Mori for short- and was active with Annabeth and others during the time Apollo was missing from Olympus and just before the communications blackout happened that we see in Trials of Apollo.
Now this story will take place during the Trials of Apollo timeline. There will be some cross-connections and whatnot, but for the most part Samson and Samuel will be busy dealing with their own new problems.
I won't spoil it yet, but they'll be busy running some very important errands for the Olympians behind the backs of the TOA plotline. I'm likely to get dates and some small events wrong or have them changed during this story, but I can't really get it all exactly right can I?
Anyways, I just want to thank all the reads whom have stuck through with my friend and myself through the hundreds of thousands of words per each story, it's been a hell of a journey and it's not over quite yet.
Please, enjoy the chaos!
Strife family Mansion – Showdown currently ongoing
Samuel's mind is racing with nearly a thousand thoughts… Okay so not that much, but he's still having a minor freak out okay?! How would you react if your long assumed dead aunt suddenly showed up at your door looking your age even though she should be sixty-one years old at this point?!
So, shut up and let me-I mean let Samuel have his moment!
His finger tightens around the trigger of his rifle and he aims it just a bit more pointedly at his Aunt Mori's head, specifically dead center of it.
The man to the left of his aunt, a person whom appears to be his godfather -who should be dead mind you- adjusts himself subtly. Whatever he's doing Samuel doesn't know, but he can swing this gun around and fire in less than a second, so he has no worries about countering whatever they might have planned.
Samuel takes a second to look at the two nerds in front of him. As he said his aunt hasn't changed at all since he last remembered her probably over fifteen years ago.
Her hair is still in that signature ponytail of hers, the color of it being so blonde it almost looks white. Her Icelandic heritage means that she is pale as can be. Looking at her now she has beauty he could compare with a nymph, not that he likes her that way mind you! She's his aunt you sickos!
Of course, her most prominent features are those emerald eyes that seem to glow in even the faintest of lights. When he was little Samuel thought she just had cool eyes but being a grown demigod, he recognizes which group of godlings possess eyes like that.
Children of Hecate, the goddess of Magic amongst other things.
His aunt was a demigod this whole time! Why didn't his dad tell him?! Why didn't she stay around to PROTECT HIM?!
Samuel's eyes narrow dangerously and the man to her side tenses even more. Samuel trails his eyes to him and takes in the appearance of a man -similar in age to Samuel's- who by all accounts should be dead.
At a glance Samuel finds himself being just a little disgusted.
He's a total fucking hippie! Bell bottom jeans, literal flowers growing from his silver jacket, those big ass circular sunglasses people used to wear, and shaggy hair straight from the sixties and seventies.
The man's face is surprisingly… cute? Not like Samuel is attracted to him. Once again SAMUEL IS MARRIED. No, he means cute like how young kids are cute. Round, pointed face. Very gentle features despite having a grown man's body.
This man, his god father, is a renowned, yet otherwise almost unknown figure to most people who don't care for demigod history.
Hylla and Kinzie have mentioned things about The Mystic to Samuel in the past. How he created incredible artifacts with some serious power, how collectors with serious wealth spend years and millions of dollars trying to track down things he's made without even knowing what they can do.
If Samuel remembers right he knows of only two things made by The Mystic. One is this odd hand mirror Hylla owns that allows her to teleport through mirrors of similar reflective surfaces with it as well as allow her to contact people through them as well.
Kind of like an IM that only works through mirrors but allows one to transport through it as well.
The other is a curious gold ring hiding a weapon Samuel is very fond of. The gold band on his finger has the ability to transform into a golden cutlass with some seriously awesome abilities! The cutlass burns blue flame basically identical to Greek Fire that burns people to death quickly, but only if the razor sharp edge isn't what killed them!
Seriously! That cutlass can cut through just about anything! Weaker swords and shields, monster hide and armor, it cuts through all and hasn't even gotten scratched once!
One-time Samuel asked a good blacksmith he knew if he could replicate or even try and improve the sword in any way. His answer surprised him.
"No can do," He remembers the boy saying, "Whatever you got there is beyond my skill! That blade is legendary, like Excalibur or the Sword of Summer or Percy's sword. What I'm saying is that thing is good, too good for me to do anything. Keep that thing close man, it's literally the most reliable weapon you'll ever have!"
Honestly, Samuel has no concept of what makes this sword legendary, but if Leo says to keep this thing close then he will.
That leaves him at a crossroads it seems, because two supposedly dead people with connections to his late father are standing right here in the room with Samuel, and he's got them at gunpoint.
Thing is… he really hates both of them, and people Samuel hate don't live very long lives. Not when he's after them.
Okay soooo… this is awkward… Mori is a refined woman, she only drinks Champaign and totally kicks major ass when people other than her cute husband try and pick her up.
'But what about right not?' You may ask, 'What are gonna do now that you suddenly remembered your best friend had a son that you forgot about for fifteen years and also forgot to mention to you husband who's been mourning the death of their best friend and son who's now holding you at gunpoint?'
Do you want to know her answer? Well she's got it for you.
She has no fucking clue what to do!
Curse her stupid messed up memory! This whole situation could've been avoided if she just remembered pretty much anything!
Mori sighs and turns her wet eyes to Samuel.
"Hey… buddy?" Samuel raises an eyebrow, "So, uh… how's it going?"
He doesn't say anything, but the confused expression on his face tells her he really has no clue what the fuck is going on.
Samuel shakes his head and keeps his gun aimed perfectly at Mori's head.
"All right let's take a couple steps back here! Here's what's going to happen; you two are going to stand there and answer every goddamn question I have and based on the answers I'll decide whether or not to put bullets in your heads! Push me in anyway and I'll just blast your knees out, Got it?!"
Samson tenses more, Mori gives him a harsh glare, but he ignores it and starts formulating a plan of action.
Samuel takes note of Samson but keeps the gun trailed on Mori. If he does anything Samuel is one hundred percent certain he could fill the asshole full of bullets before he can even take his first step!
"Question number one; Aunt Mori… what the fuck dude?!"
Mori scrunches her eyebrows, "Um… what?"
Samuel's red eyes narrow to dangerous slits, "Don't you 'what' me," He mocks, "You know damn well what I mean! How could you abandon me and my father?! He might still be here if you fucking bothered to give a shit!"
Mori feels tears trickling down her cheeks. Samson told her about… what she did to Max, how her mind-controlled self had ordered his death. She… killed her best friend and orphaned his son without even remembering it had happened.
"Samuel… I am… sorry. I wasn't- I wasn't myself at the time! If I knew what would've happened I never would've left you behind. I'm sorry what happened to Max… Sam, can you- can you forgive me?"
For a passing second Samuel would've maybe said yes, but he's much to angry to at this point.
"Fat fucking chance! You let him die! No way in hell I'd ever forgive you!"
Mori signs and looks down forlorn. She can't blame him; her actions were deplorable and she deserves every punishment Hades himself could think of. But he has to know the truth, he has to know what she's done.
"Samuel… when you were young giants attacked you and your father. He died, and you lived, but there's more to it than a random monster attack. Sam… they were sent after you by someone, and unknowingly… that person was me."
Her head snaps back as Samuel's rifle explodes a round from the chamber. Time slows for Samson as he watches Mori fly back from the strength of the bullet. He spots flashes of her ichor flying through the air and his mind stops.
Samuel, in slow motion, turns his gun to Samson and fires, but his adversary is already on the move. Time becomes normal and Samuel unleashes a hell fire torrent of bullets at Samson whom runs from cover to cover.
Slowly the house is destroyed from Samuel's powerful bullets, but he doesn't care. These assholes come into his house; piss him off, then say they killed his father?!
He doesn't even care if it's real or not, he's pissed off and has more than the legal right to kill them!
"Dance hippie dance! I don't give a fuck who you are, you're gonna die here mother fucker!"
Samson jumps over the kitchen counter and hides behind it. Samuel starts blasting holes into it, but the several layers of thick, quality wood gives Samson a few moments to think up a plan.
He has me out ranged with the gun, Samson think, And chances are he's good with melee, but if I can get him to stop shooting for a second I could rush him by surprise!
Samson picks a red flower from his jacket and tosses it over the counter by Samuel's feet.
"What the fuck? Are you throwing flowers at me?! Dude, you've got to get better at-"
He's cut off as the flower by his feet literally explodes like a grenade, throwing Samuel from his feet with a shout and tossing him into the dining room table. It collapses underneath his weight and velocity, leaving him dazed for a moment.
"Okay… lesson learned, don't fuck with flowers!"
He leans himself upright, but instantly drops down again as a glowing spear of light races over him and smashes through the wall.
Samuel's gun is in his hand again and aimed down the hall, but Samson is too close. He grips the barrel of the gun and pushes it to the side as a bullet shoots from the chamber. Samuel pushes himself off the table and flips his gun around and starts using the stock like a club.
Samson is without a proper weapon, but he has more ways than that to fight someone! The metal bands on the sleeve of his right arm suddenly transforms into a medium sized shield that he uses to parry and block Samuel's makeshift club.
And now, the fight truly begins!
Hylla was confused when her husband suddenly bolted inside of their new home without explaining anything… AGAIN. She sighs and grabs her bags from the car, Sam was always a weird guy who acts a lot on instinct. She found that part of him endearing and aspirational, his warrior side was very refined and at peak performance, but he often has trouble switching between 'normal' and 'ready to kill a mofo'.
At first she thought one of the homeless around the neighborhood broke in or something, maybe that Magnus kid or something? But when her bloody house turned into a fire fight with what sounded like a bomb going off too, she knew something more than a freaking homeless kid was inside!
Or at the very least Sam is having a serious overreaction to said homeless kid.
She quickly rushes inside, almost tripping over a body but her awesome Amazon reactions kept her from falling on her face like some kind of commoner.
She totally didn't scream when the body suddenly sat up right like a zombie or something either.
"Agh fuck!" The body screams, "Damn that smarts!"
She taps at the bloody, golden hole in her head and Hylla feels like throwing up when the nasty wound suddenly closes like it was nothing. Hades, there isn't even a scar left behind or anything!
"Oh gross, ichor is a pain in the ass to get out of clothes! Dammit, I just bought this jacket too!"
Hylla honestly has no words. Ichor is the blood of the gods, or at the very least immortal beings, so that means her wonderful husband just assaulted a divine being with his gun and has proceeded to fight something else and destroy the house in the process.
Such a wonderful return from their honeymoon, truly.
"Excuse me, miss?" Mori turns to Hylla and quickly gets back to her feet. She does her best to look presentable and extends a golden, bloody hand out for Hylla.
"Oh, my apologies! My name is Moroaica, but you can call me Mori for short!"
Hylla shakes her bloody hand, "Hylla, pleasure is all mine. Sorry for coming off short like this… but what the fuck is going on here?"
"Oh, that? Samuel's just going through some hard emotions right now. I'm his aunt, by the way. He shot me, so my husband must've overreacted or something."
"Wait, Sam has an aunt?"
Mori shrugs, "Not by blood. I… was a good friend of Max's back in the day. I'm sure you've already guessed I'm immortal since like, I'm not dead or anything!"
Hylla gives her a weird look, "Noted. So… I've got a few more questions if you don't mind. Sam's going to be busy with this for a while and I'd like to use the time to get to know a bit more about you."
"Sure thing! Ask away dear."
Samson's shield rattles as the other man unleashes a torrent of fire at it. He's not sure how the gun still has ammo, he must've fired a hundred times by now!
It must be enchanted, Samson thinks, Only way he can shoot that many times without reloading once!
Samuel keeps the fire going, all of his bullets are stopped by an invisible shield or something, so even if he aims for a leg it's still blocked! Even if he's not getting through the shield it still gives him time to plan out the next move!
The Hippie has no weapon but getting smashed with a shield still hurts like hell and the edge could crack his skull open with a good hit.
If Samuel is going to want the win, then he needs to get in close! He's got a little surprise for the bastard. Let's see how that shield holds up to a good sword!
He shoots a couple blinding shots at the shield and gets Samson to duck behind it. Just as he planned! Samuel quickly lunges over an overturned table and drop kicks the shield. Samson is pushed to his knees, and in a flash the ring on Samuel's finger transforms into a golden cutlass with blue fire burning down the length of the blade.
While he's down, Samuel swings the blade directly onto the shield with a mighty blow. To his surprise, the blade bounces off with only a scratch on the immaculately carved image!
Samuel's arm rings from the strike, "Goddam! What the hell is that shield made off!"
Samson kicks off the ground and puts some distance between himself and his opponent. He looks at the golden cutlass in Samuel's hand and his eyes narrow in displeasure.
"Where'd you get that! That's my sword, man!"
"Pfft, it's mine now! Finder's keeper's douchebag! You want it? COME TAKE IT!"
Samuel charges Samson, wielding his gun like a club in one hand and using the sword in the other. He brings the gun's stock down like a club and bashes the shield, sneaking the sword around to try and slash at the chest.
Samson's used to fighting like this, Joseph has done similar moves before, so he uses the momentum from the gun bashing his shield to redirect the energy and smack it into the sword Samuel is trying to sneak into his guard.
The edge of his shield smacks Samuel's hand and he winces as his wrist throbs in pain. Samuel inhales sharply and kicks the shield, only this time Samson manages to keep his footing.
Samuel opens the hand with a sword and it turns back into a ring on his finger. That shield is too good, he needs something with weight if he's gonna do anything to it!
He grabs the barrel of his gun with both and starts smashing the hard stock against the shield. Quickly he pushes Samson back, forcing them to travel from room to room as they block, parry, counter and attack one another with ferocity.
With a quick and powerful push, Samuel kicks Samson through a thin wall and back into the hallway. Hylla and Mori are shaken from their conversation as Samuel comes through the hole and starts wrestling with Samson.
The two struggle, each throwing punches at the others face, when Samson grabs Samuel's arm and swings him off his feet and into the opposite wall.
Before Samuel can recover, Samson tackles him and throws both of them through the wall again.
Hylla and Mori watch in disbelief as the two boys disappear through another hole in the wall. Cartoonish sounds of fighting echo from the room. Plates smashing, a cat yelling for some reason? More gunshots?!
Hylla finds herself at her wits end. Enough of this shit! It's time for her to put her foot down!
She turns to Mori, "Come on, I need your help!"
Mori enters the room with Hylla and recognizes it from years ago. It's the primary living room where Samson first asked her to marry him. Gods, despite being remodeled it looks so similar!
Well, it was. Now the whole room is completely demolished. The couch is overturned, glass is shattered and much of the furniture is toppled over and destroyed. Mori glances at Hylla and sees her silently fuming.
It's not really that visible, in fact to most she looks normal, but Mori can see the little things only a girl notices about girls.
A faint twitch in her hand, the way her lips are pulled tight, a faint fidget in her stance. Yeah, this girl is half a second away from throwing both of the boys into the trash!
"Mori…" Uh oh, "Can you separate the children please?"
She complies right away. When someone has a tone like that then you don't mess around with them!
Mori extends her hands out and a faint aura of blue energy covers her arms. Suddenly the walls explode out as deep blue vines burst from the plaster and attack Samson and Samuel.
The two cry out as the magic vines wrap around them, grabbing arms and legs and pulling them painfully away.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Samuel screams, "OH GOD THIS IS GROSS! DON'T LET THEM VIOLATE ME!"
Mori rolls her eyes and Hylla hides her face in her hand, "For gods' sake Samuel, don't make it weird."
"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO TAKE IT THEN?!"
"BY NOT BEING WEIRD!"
"HELP ME!"
"HELP YOURSELF!" Hylla closes her eyes and inhales sharply. She opens them again and is much calmer, or at the very least she's controlling her anger.
"Samuel," She looks to him. He's wrapped up vines and is red faced in anger. When he sees her staring at him, he gulps and immediately calms down.
"Samson," Said person gulps and relaxes, though the vines wrapped painfully around his body makes it difficult.
Hylla's black eyes go from one trapped boy to another, immense and endless meaning could be found in them, most of which is the most furious anger one could ever imagine. Even Ares would be impressed by fury Hylla radiated without actually expressing it.
"Boys. Shut up." It wasn't charmspeak, but by the Gods is felt like it, "Now that you're all wrapped up-"
Samuel groans from the pun. Samson and Mori snicker just a little.
"Care to explain what you've done to my house?"
"Hey now, technically it's my-"
"Finish that sentence and you're dead!"
Samuel's mouth snaps shut. He has a faint feeling he's going to die regardless. Yeah… so maybe destroying the house during the fight was not a very good idea.
"Now that I have your attention, I think it's time we all had a little talk."
