To S0UL SURVIVOR, Hercules8, and everybody else who has shown support and enthusiasm to this story: You guys make this writing business so much fun! So I dedicate this Chapter to you, you wonderful people! x
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'You have his eyes.'
The day of reckoning for Camp Half-Blood had arrived. Luke's Titan army was on its way.
I had prepared myself, and the rest of the campers for weeks, running drills, teaching and practicing formations, establishing our plan of defense and making sure each and every person knew their role in the battle better than they knew themselves. It wasn't nearly enough.
There were roughly a hundred campers. Kronos' vanguard would outnumber us three-to-one at the very least. We had the advantage of using the Labyrinth's entrance as a bottleneck, but that would only be a useful advantage for a limited time.
We made our stand at the clearing, directly in front of the Labyrinth's entrance. The Hephaestus cabin manned the artillery: heavy ballistae and catapults. They had set up traps around the Labyrinth; rows of barbed wire; pits of Greek fire, and lines of wooden spikes to deflect the charge.
The Apollo and Hermes Cabins, save for myself, were in the trees behind us, their arrows nocked and ready. The Dryads and Satyrs had joined us. Camp Half-Blood was their home as much as it was ours.
The rest were split into two groups. Clarisse led one, while I led the other. They were on the front line in phalanx formations. The Athena cabin had set up a command tent. That was where I could be found, sipping from a juice box as I presided over the final briefing. The Athena campers were very unhappy about it, but I was in charge. This was my operation.
A few of the Aphrodite campers busied themselves around us. I largely ignored them, save for two. Little Lillie Addison stood on a chair behind me, lovingly combing the curls out of my hair.
Before you ask: No, I didn't want her to do it - I liked my hair as it was naturally, but Victoria insisted I let the youngest Aphrodite girl do it. 'It'll calm her nerves,' she told me. Victoria herself had stolen my helmet, and was doing…something with it in the corner. Whatever it was, it had her full attention.
"The artillery will fire first," I repeated, for what must have been the dozenth time that day. "I want our archers to focus on the heavies. The Satyrs and the Dryads are to be held in reserve. When our phalanx's break - and they will - that's when we bring them into play."
Malcolm Pace frowned at the table, "You never clarified - what happens if we have to retreat?"
I sighed, "Then we've got ourselves a slug-match - not much we can do from a tactical standpoint in a heavily wooded area. Not unless we cut a few trees down, and we don't have the time for that. I don't think our forest friends would allow it anyway."
"So, basically," another Athena camper said, "when the Phalanx's break, we're finished?"
"It depends on how much damage we can do before they break."
"There!" Lillie declared proudly behind me. "Perfect."
I turned on the spot. The girl looked immensely pleased with herself, so I humoured her, "How do I look?"
"Beautiful," she said. She clamped a hand over her mouth, her face turning the colour of a beetroot.
I smothered a laugh, "More than usual, you mean?"
Victoria returned to the table, my helmet tucked under one arm. She was in full battle armour, and she had never looked better, "I hope you're not flirting with my half-sister."
I hugged Lillie and helped her off of the chair. She walked away, looking delighted, and a little dazed. I hoped she and the other young campers would be safe in the cabins while we fought.
"That is beyond disturbing," I told Victoria. "Now, what did you do to my helmet?"
She smirked and held my helmet up in front of me, "I gave you a reason to wear it. Y'know, since safety isn't reason enough, apparently."
Across the forehead, the phrase 'HYPER-LETHAL' was etched in a lettering which looked similar to the thrash metal band Slayer's logo.
I grinned my approval, "Okay, now that, I like."
"Hm, I thought you would. Anything to boost your ego, right?"
I took my helmet from her, "You talk about my ego constantly, but you don't seem to mind it."
She gave a noncommittal shrug, "It's remotely endearing…sometimes. Gotta love a man with confidence, right?"
I noted her use of the word 'love'. That did something strange to my insides. All joking set aside, I took her hand, "Thanks for putting up with me."
An odd sparkle appeared in her crystal-blue eyes. Victoria averted her gaze and clasped her other hand on top of mine, "It...really isn't that difficult."
Malcolm cleared his throat, "Owen, you're wanted outside."
"Yep!"
I lifted Victoria's head to look into her eyes. Regardless of what she often said to the contrary, she was a good fighter. She could hold her own with most any camper, and that meant she could outmatch your average Telkhine or Dracaenae, who made up the overwhelming bulk of Kronos' front line troops. I saw it, and so did everyone else. Victoria, however, did not.
"Hey…"
She smiled, but it was forced. She was afraid. That was where my job as the dutiful boyfriend came into play.
"How would you like to go out with me?"
That took her mind off the coming fight. She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again, "We've been dating for five months."
I shook my head, "No, I mean out out. Y'know...away from camp…somewhere…some time."
Her lips curled into a sardonic smile. A real.smile, "It took you this long to ask me out?"
"I've been busy. Being a cause of the Titan Lord's migraines is hard work."
Malcolm called my name again. I ran a hand through my freshly-combed hair, almost undoing Lillie's work entirely, "I'm going to need an answer, Miss Wright."
"I'll give you one when we're both alive at the end of this."
"That's the spirit!"
I kissed her, pouring all the adoration I felt for her into it, before I donned my helmet, gave her a wink, then darted out of the tent.
I saw no campers outside, only soldiers. Victoria, hurried out behind me, her helmet secured on her head and her shield fastened to her arm. She uttered a quick 'Go get 'em, stud' as she passed. That's my girl, I thought.
Chiron called my name. Annabeth and Percy stood to his left and right. Annabeth saw me, uttered a word to Chiron, then set off at a run towards me. I met her halfway.
"You're back in one piece," I said as I hugged her.
"Why the tone of surprise?"
I nodded over her shoulder to Percy.
"Oh...yeah, he does make things difficult. Stupid, noble Seaweed Brain."
"Still bitter?"
"Still bitter," she confirmed. "Are my cabinmates in the tent?"
"Yeah, you'd better get in there."
"Don't tell me what to do," she said, right before she pushed past me to do exactly as I told. With a wry smile, I joined Chiron and Percy.
"Hey!" Percy said quickly. He looked a little jittery. I clasped his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"You wanted to see me?" I asked Chiron.
"Everyone has been briefed?"
He sounded less like the kindly activities director, and more like a military commander. It was strange to hear him speak so tersely. I have to say, given the situation we were in, it was reassuring.
"Everyone knows their job."
I looked at Percy, "Except for you and Annabeth. Her Cabin is being split. Half with me, half with Clarisse. I'll take Aleck. Clarisse could use you in her-"
"Actually," Chiron interrupted. Terse, I liked. Rude? Not so much. "Percy is remaining with me. He'll go where he's needed most."
"With all due respect," I said evenly, "Percy is needed most on the front-"
The ground below our feet began to tremble. It was a soft rumble at first, but it grew more and more intense with every passing second.
They were coming.
"Forget it," I said. "You're the boss. Give 'em hell, Aquaboy."
I drew Spitfire, and with a nod to Chiron, I took off towards the front of our formation. The Athena campers had taken their places. I could see Annabeth in the front row of my Phalanx. She gave me a smile from beneath her helmet. Seeing the terrified looks on many of the faces before me, and knowing Victoria's eyes were on me, I raised Spitfire in a call for attention. The trembling grew stronger.
"Half-bloods!" I cried. "My brothers and sisters! Do not fear the darkness! This land we call home has not fallen before, and it will not fall today!"
"I am proud to fight alongside you all! They think we're children! They think we fear them! By the end of this day, it will be they who are afraid!"
The campers on the front rows pounded their shields, and those behind them slammed their spears into the ground. I pointed behind me to the entrance to the Labyrinth.
"Take what is yours, by right! Bare the steel in your hearts and take your glory!"
A thunderous cry erupted. Campers screamed and cheered. Satyrs blew their horns. Tyson, standing off to the right, yelled, "Smash their heads!"
I wouldn't join my Phalanx - they had Annabeth. No. I would lead from the front. Without taking one step back, I turned on my heel to face the Labyrinth. The trembling became leg-numbing. Loose stones on the ground that before had been shaking before now bounced about. It was like a boiler reaching maximum pressure, right before it…
They exploded out of the ground - a dozen Laistrygonian Giants, carrying cars for shields, and spiked tree trunks for clubs. I braced myself, a small voice in the back of my mind telling me that I was being stupid, that a single Laistrygonian Giant would flatten me.
"Fire!" Beckendorf cried. Five boulders and two ballista-fired javelins whipped over my head. One boulder deflected harmlessly off a car shield, but the others struck the giants. One Giant caught a boulder squarely in the face and fell. Three more fell along with him, bludgeoned or skewered by the artillery.
Our archers and the Dryads fired a volley of arrows. Another two Giants vaporized, one getting its foot tangled in the barbed wire and tripping into a pit of Greek fire. It looked like their first wave of heavies wouldn't even touch us, until the second wave surged out to meet us: perhaps fourty-or-so Dracaenae. Our Phalanx's advanced to meet them.
I let loose a scream which promised slaughter, and charged, ducking below a Laistrygonian Giant to cut two Dracaenae apart, and then drove Spitfire into the face of another. The traps were working; slowing them down and thinning their numbers, but they kept coming. The Telkhines joined the fight. Individually, they were pathetic, but in numbers, they were a real problem - a real problem for people who weren't me, that is. I would enjoy cutting them down.
A Laistrygonian stumbled past, arms flailing wildly as Tyson bashed him repeatedly over the head with a bronze shield. I stopped for a fraction of a second to admire the view, before a howling Telkhine rushed me. I knocked its spear aside and swiftly cut it down. I cut, blocked, slashed, stabbed and bashed through a dozen monsters, and chipped in where I could with the Giants by stabbing at their legs.
I cut through two Telkhines, fighting my way unknowingly towards the entrance to the Labyrinth. I was no more than a couple of metres away, when a Hellhound bounded out and leaped over my head to join the fray. The Mastiff-like beast was not as large as Mrs. O'Leary, but it was still massive, about the size of a Grizzly Bear, and it was heading straight for the Satyrs.
Chiron calmly let loose another arrow, then barked an order to Percy, who leapt into action. I retraced my steps, fighting back to the heart of the battle. Our Phalanx's were crumbling, but mountains of dust lay before them. They had put up a stubborn resistance. Campers scattered one-by-one from their formations.
"Is that all you've got? You yellow-bellied-"
I whirled around at the sound of Victoria's furious voice, just in time to watch her disappear behind a cloud of dust that had once been a Telkhine. Her chest heaved as she stared down at the powdery remains of her kill. My heart swelled with pride, then plummeted. She was staring down, when she should have been looking for the next threat - a threat which came from her left in the form of an enemy Half-blood.
"Tori!" I cried, but it was too late. The Half-blood was on her. Victoria looked up just in time, raised her sword. Their swords crashed together. Victoria staggered back, stumbled, and fell to the ground.
My feet had never before moved so quickly. I sprinted towards them, ignoring the monsters all around me, who took stabs at me as I passed. I felt the tip of a spear pierce my side. I ignored the searing pain and ran faster. Victoria covered her face with her shield as the Half-blood raised her sword over her head.
I drove Spitfire through her back. She gave blood-curdling shriek. I reached around, closed my hand around her throat and brought my mouth to her ear.
"Get away from my girl."
I drove Spitfire deeper, to the hilt, twisted, then withdrew it. The Half-blood fell to her knees, then collapsed to the side. Victoria lowered her shield slowly. Her blue eyes stared in disbelief at me under her helm. She opened her mouth to speak, then her eyes darted towards something over my shoulder, widening.
"Owen, look-"
I was already turning, and Spitfire was already in motion. My beautiful sword sheathed itself in a Laistrygonian Giant's denim-and-leather-covered family jewels. The monster howled and took a wild swing at my head. I lunged out of the way and slashed at his thigh. He toppled to the ground. I climbed onto his chest before he could recover and flipped Spitfire upside down.
"Sorry about that, big guy!"
I buried Spitfire in his chest, and he vaporized beneath my feet. I braced myself as I fell, then immediately turned to engage a Drakaina, and then two more Telkhines, who were followed by more monsters. Victoria moved to my side. Spitfire was a blur in the air as we struggled against the onslaught. The fight became harder still when our vision became obstructed by the cloud of dust that enveloped us.
By the end, I was ankle-deep in monster-ash. The dust settled to the ground around us, and I got a chance to survey the battle. We were winning. Barely.
"You're smiling," Victoria said breathlessly, her eyes darting this way and that. "Why are you smiling?"
I knocked Spitfire against her shield, "Because I'm having the time of my life."
Her eyes stopped their darting and fixed on me, "You're unbelievable. Thanks, by the way."
I tapped the forehead of my helmet as I grabbed her arm, "Hyper-Lethal, remember? C'mon, we've got a battle to win!"
Just then, a bone-shaking, unearthly shriek filled the air. Victoria froze, "Oh, shit, what now?"
A living nightmare shot out of the Labyrinth and took to the sky. It had a human head, with snakes for hair, and a reptilian body that was half-human, half-dragon. Dark, bat-like wings blotted out the sun for a moment. The thing even had a tail - a bloody huge one. To think I had once been afraid of Moths…
The thing settled atop Zeus' Fist, surveying the battle. I rolled my shoulders and moved to face it, when Victoria's shield-burdened hand grasped my arm.
"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded.
I wrenched my arm free of her grip, "To kill big ugly over there."
She looked at me in horror, "Are you insane? That's Kampê - she'll kill you!"
"Only if I don't kill her first!"
I tried to run, but Victoria stepped in front of me. She pushed me backwards, "I am not losing you! Not you! Not again!"
Again? When had she ever lost me?
And then it all came flooding back to me. Near the beginning of our friendship, before we started dating, Victoria had told me about her father. He had been a Marine Lance Corporal, serving in Iraq, right up until his Humvee rolled over a landmine. I knew how she must have felt, having lost my mother.
I realised then, that she was just as terrified of losing me, as I was of losing her. But that monster, Kampê, would turn the tide of the battle if she wasn't destroyed. The mutant animal heads at her waist growled and snapped their jaws. She popped a glittering ball of thread into a Lion's mouth, drew two curved swords which glowed green with poison and screeched triumphantly.
Some of the campers screamed. Others tried to run, only to get trampled by Giants and Hellhounds. I stabbed Spitfire into the ground and held Victoria by her shoulders.
"Listen to me," I said quickly, "I'm not going anywhere! Do you hear me? I plan to stick around for a long time, but that can't happen if that ugly shit over there is allowed to wreak havoc!"
Kampê took off as an arrow soared past her. When she landed again, she did so right on top of the Athena tent. Annabeth and Percy were moving to engage her.
"I have to get over there," I told Victoria. "I'll see you in a minute."
Before she could argue, I took off, passing what was left of our defenders. So many were down, or frozen in fear. Those left standing were fighting multiple monsters at once.
Annabeth and Percy were feinting and weaving around Kampê, but they couldn't get close enough to strike her. The monster's attention was fixed solely on them, as were the heads on her waist. Annabeth and Percy charged her, but failed, and in a flash, Kampê lashed out. I bowed my head to avoid a flaming arrow, and when I looked up again, Kampê had them trapped beneath her forelegs. They were out of time.
The animal heads looked up as I approached, but Kampê didn't. She raised her swords slowly, savouring her victory. I took the long route around, outside of her peripheral vision, and moved behind her.
"Die, Half-bloods," Kampê hissed. "Die!"
With a howl of rage, I severed her tail. She screamed, a high, ear-splitting sound, and turned, her snake-like green eyes wide, and very, very angry. I stood back as she stepped heavily off of Annabeth and Percy. The severed tail flopped uselessly on the ground between us.
"Come on then," I snarled. "You want someone? Have a go at me, you bitch."
Kampê hissed her response, "You will die first. And then I will butcher your friends."
She raised her swords. I raised Spitfire. We traded four quick strikes, and then there was a howl behind Kampê. A Hellhound - no - our Hellhound, Mrs. O'Leary, bounded up behind Kampê. I dove aside as the monster was lifted off the ground and sent flying my way by the Hellhound's giant head. Mrs. O'Leary moved to stand in front of us, snarling and snapping her jaws.
While the Hellhound kept Kampê occupied, I rushed over to Annabeth and Percy and helped them to their feet. Their eyes were on the Labyrinth. I followed their gaze. Quintus was fighting his way out of the Labyrinth. No, his name was Daedalus, apparently. The Hundred-Handed One climbed out behind him, each of his hands grasping a rock. He launched each and every one at Kampê. The rocks grew in size as they soared through the air.
"Move, now!" Annabeth commanded. We scurried out of the way, followed by Mrs. O'Leary. When we looked back, there was no sign of Kampê, only two green blades which poked out from beneath the rocks.
What was left of our fighters cheered, but the fight wasn't finished. They surged forward at the behest of one of the Dracaenae. A Laistrygonian Giant took Chiron's legs out from under him.
The air was engulfed by a dreadful sound, like a thousand brass trumpets sounding their cries in unison. The noise came from Grover's mouth. The monsters slowed, then froze. There was a moment's pause, then as one, they dropped their weapons and turned on their heels. One by one, they disappeared into the Labyrinth, until the battlefield was empty, save for the unmoving or feebly stirring Half-bloods who littered the ground.
It was over.
XXXXX
We tended to our wounded, collected the scattered weapons and armour, and cleared the shattered artillery pieces from the battlefield. The whole process took over an hour. An hour in which I continued to bleed. The spear that pierced my side had sunk itself deep, and it was only after the battle had ended that I realised the celestial-bronze tip had broken away and lodged itself inside me.
I was leaving the battlefield to find Chiron, or anyone who could help me, when I noticed Victoria, sitting with her knees tucked up to her chest on the edge of the treeline. Her helmet lay cracked and broken at her side. She stared forward as I approached, her eyes glazed over and staring at nothing in particular.
"Tori?"
No response. I sat down by her side, wincing at the sharp stab of pain that came from my side, and wrapped both of my arms around her. She seemed to unfreeze then as she melted against me, her head coming to rest on my shoulder.
"It's over," I told her in a soothing voice, "we're safe."
"Did you feel like this?" she asked in a small voice. "Does everyone? After their first time?"
The fragility I heard in her voice caused my arms to instinctively tighten themselves around her, "Well, how do you feel?"
"Sick," she admitted.
"You have to be alive to feel sick."
She nudged me gently, which was a good sign, "You asked, so I told you."
I was searching for the right words - an admission of my own, maybe, perhaps a bit of bravado to lighten her mood - when she spoke again, her voice somehow weaker than before.
"There's something else. I feel ashamed… Did you…did you feel that way?"
"What are you ashamed of?" I asked, confused. "You did well."
Victoria fiercely shook her head, life suddenly rushing back into her, "There were so many times when I could've done better. I could've saved one of our people on a hundred different occasions, but each time…I just…I dunno…I froze."
"You were afraid," I told her, "that's nothing to be ashamed of. We're all scared, Tori. I know I was. I bet even Chiron was at least a bit unnerved."
"But you didn't freeze," she said, and I could've sworn there was a hint of resentment in her voice. "You cut down five monsters right in front of me, and you didn't even blink."
It took a long moment for me to figure out what to say. The whole time, more and more of the Camp Half-Blood t-shirt below my armour began to cling to my torso as the blood spread.
"We all have to figure out how to make our fear a weapon. I was afraid that you, or Annabeth, or anybody else might die. I turned that fear into anger at the monsters who wanted to make that fear reality. Anger takes away the ability to be afraid, if it's strong enough. That's why it's a useful weapon, but also dangerous."
Victoria was silent for a while. I could tell she was thinking.
"I was afraid that I'd stumble across your body," she said with a shudder, "and we'd never get to have that date."
I felt myself smile, "So…is that a 'yes'?"
Victoria laughed, and it was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard, "Take me somewhere nice, Stud."
XXXXX
The sun was setting, casting an orange glow over the Long Island Sound. My armour had long since been removed, and I had found a fresh t-shirt - one that wasn't drenched in my own blood. A bandage was wrapped around my side beneath the shirt, and I was forced to lean to the side to alleviate some of the pressure.
We said a final farewell to eighteen of our own only an hour before. A high price had been paid for our victory. The Satyrs had suffered also, as had the Dryads, but it was hard to miss the strengthening of the bond between us all.
While the others gathered around the bonfire to sings songs for our departed friends, I snuck down to the beach. No amount of singing and friendly company could ease the anger that had subtly wrapped its ice-cold tendrils around my heart. As I had stared at the burning burial shrouds, I thought of the sacrifices we all made for the Gods. Those arrogant, ungrateful bastards.
A chill ran down my spine in spite of the warm air. My hands balled into fists inside my pockets.
"So what is it, Father?" I asked. "I've proven myself, haven't I? I am a son worthy of any of the Gods. Or do you simply not give a damn?"
I laughed, though I found none of it amusing.
"No. No, that's not it, is it, Father? There's no reason for you not to embrace me as your son, and yet here I am, talking to myself like a raving lunatic, because Luke was right about you. About all of you."
My hands began to shake as a solid lump formed in my throat.
"You're afraid," I spat, "that's it. You're afraid, because you know I'm right! For so long, I worried that I wasn't worthy of you, worthy of your name, but the truth is the exact opposite, Father, isn't it? You are not worthy of me!"
For the first time in six years, since the day my Mother died, a single tear escaped the corner of my eye and rolled down the side of my face. Suddenly, the man I had dreamed of meeting my whole life, became the man I hated the most.
"Am I wrong?" my voice shook with the effort it took to keep myself from shouting. "Prove it. Show yourself. Show yourself to me, you damned coward!"
I felt it. Something stirring behind me, setting the hairs on my arms on edge, as the air grew cold around me.
"Boy…"
I froze at the voice, low and rumbling, like the sounds of an earthquake underwater. I could feel his presence behind me. Every muscle in my body suddenly tensed, and I realised I was holding my breath.
"It seems Mum was wrong," I said, fighting the overwhelming urge to turn around. It was him. I knew it was him. After seventeen years, my Father stood right behind me. "Losing my temper does get me what I what."
But I wasn't happy, not like I thought I would be. I was angry, furious that he had made me wait for so long.
"Turn around, boy," he said. "You wished to face me. Now face me."
"What if I want to keep you waiting?" I said evenly. "See how you like it."
I heard, and felt him take a step closer. His footstep literally made the ground shake. "You are not a fool. Do not play the part of one."
The shaking in my arms began to spread as my lungs went into overdrive to steady my breaths, "For all you know, I could be a fool. How would you know? It's not like you ever bothered to check up on me."
No response, not for several moments. I very nearly gave into the voice in my head that was screaming at me to turn around. But then he finally spoke.
"I have watched, boy…from afar."
A surge of rage-fuelled adrenaline finally broke my will. I turned on my heel…and came face-to-face with the General. Kratos.
My heart stopped, and didn't start again for several seconds. My Father…that couldn't be right. My Father was an Olympian, I just knew he was. I was so sure of it. From the very beginning, I suspected Ares, or perhaps I was the black-sheep of Zeus' children. Never once had I suspected a Minor God, especially not him. The General didn't have children!
That day flashed in my mind's eye. That look Kratos gave me as he passed me by. He looked at nobody else. Only me. The truth became brutally clear. The General did have a child…and that child was me.
"I had nobody when Mum died," I said, shocked at how weak my voice had suddenly become. "They sent me to a care home, with all the other unfortunate and unwanted kids. Every day, for as long as I've been old enough to think, one thought has passed through my mind… 'Where's. My. Dad.'"
I steadied myself. I took all the courage I had left in my heart to take that one step towards him.
"But all of that can be forgiven," I said, my voice dripping with derision. "None of that matters, does it? Because you were 'watching from afar' all this time."
The General's face was impassive. There was nothing there. It was as though I was just an annoying little problem that needed to be dealt with.
"You have succeeded thus far without me."
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. He just didn't get it. All I could do was shake my head.
"What is it?" he asked. "Speak your mind."
"I'm your son."
"Yes."
I gaped at him, "And that means nothing to you? You aren't like the Olympians - they have have tons of children. I'm your only son."
The General looked over my shoulder at the Long Island Sound. He walked by me and set off along the beach, "Walk with me, boy."
I ran to catch up, vocally wincing at the strain it put on my side. The General shot a sideways glance at me, "You are injured."
"Yeah, that tends to happen when monsters stab you with spears."
The General grunted, "It is unwise to run through a horde of Telkhines."
"I gathered tha-"
I faltered and stared at the General's back, "How do you know about that?"
"As I have told you, boy, I watched from afar."
"So you saw the battle?"
"Yes. You performed…adequately."
A compliment from my Father…sort of.
"Adequately?"
"Adequately. You lingered on many of your kills."
I caught up, ready to defend myself.
"You wished to know my I have kept my distance."
My steps faltered again. I swallowed heavily.
"I am the General, boy. My duty is to the men who serve under my command, and this war requires my full attention."
"We weren't at war a few years ago. We weren't at war when I came to camp."
The General stopped abruptly, his dark eyes fixed on a point in the distance.
His dark eyes…my eyes.
"I am not a Father. I do not pretend to be one. I cannot provide whatever it is you need."
That wasn't what I expected. There was a softer edge to his voice. He sounded almost… disappointed?
"I don't need anything from you. I just…had to know who you are. But…why now? You never wanted to see me before, so why come now?"
"Because you asked," the General said simply. "And because you are ready."
"Ready for what?"
The General turned fully to face me, his eyes boring into mine, "Captain Vincent spoke highly of you, boy. He tells me you are capable, and I have seen as much for myself. When the time comes, if you wish it, you will accompany me into battle."
Goosebumps rippled along my arms. The General, my Father, wanted me to fight by his side. It was a long jump forward from only a few minutes ago, when I didn't even know who he was.
"You…want me to join the Arm of Olympus?"
"No, boy. If that is your wish, then you will make that decision yourself. I am offering you a chance to observe."
"But...why? If you don't want me to join-"
"You wish to be a warrior, but you know nothing of war. You see it only as a chance to earn glory for yourself. You have yet to decide your path. I only wish for you to have full knowledge of the consequences of your choice."
The General stepped back and pulled the war axe from his back, "I will come to you again when it is time. If you accept, then I will take you with me when we deploy."
"I accept," I said quickly. Of course I accepted. A true Father or not, he was Kratos, and I wanted to see him in action.
The General nodded. He gave the axe a single, violent whirl, and disappeared in an icey-blue haze. I stood, staring at the spot where he had been. Another chill ran through me.
My Father…
"Holy shit…"
