Narrator / December 26th / 12am
None of the six demigods expected the Norse god of thunder to come flying out of the air and save the day. Yet, here was, looking as intimidating as ever from his facial hair to his red cape and his armor that was bulky but didn't hurt him in combat.
Thor called back for Stormbreaker and the axe flew out of Samael's chest and into his hand. The axe had created a large crack in the suit, and the black shirt that Samael wore underneath became visible.
"Well I was on my way to a meeting when I saw a forest fire, and then I saw some old friends in a fight, so I thought I would drop in" Thor explained
"Your business is else where, god of thunder. I suggest you leave" Samael replied
"Is that a threat?" Thor raised an eyebrow
Samael pulled out his feather-dagger. "We wouldn't want to use this now, would we?"
Thor's eyes widened a bit, and his mood shifted. "Where did you get that?" He demanded
"You're asking two different questions" Samael replied
"The stone" Thor said. "Where did you get the stone?"
Around the demigods, trees suddenly pushed off the ground and stood upright, and the burnt color they had received from the fire faded away. Jason's sword flew out of the tree it was stabbed into, and it went flying back into its owner's, who barely managed to catch it, hand. The large crack at the center of Samael's armor that had been broken by Thor's axe mended itself together, despite being made of metal.
At the center of the hilt of the feather-dagger, a green glow was escaping from a small hollow hole. Samael stepped forward but he stumbled and black smoke began to radiate off of his armor.
"Let's hope don't we meet again, if you know what's good for you" Samael warned before vanishing with the smoke
The still in-shock demigods walked to Camp-Halfblood and entered to see no one around, considering the campers had gone to sleep hours ago. They made their way over to the big house where they found a group gathered outside - Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, Nico, Hazel, and Chiron.
"You guys are finally here, we were getting worried" Hazel said
"We had a run in" Piper mumbled
"A run in?" Thalia asked. "With who?"
"Some crazy guy in black-armor that looks strangely identical to theirs" Leo explained and pointed to Ryan's armor
They gathered around the usual ping-pong table and Jason explained everything that happened in detail. The others looked worried, as if they already knew what was going on.
"Ok. So Xander was alive this whole time and he just... died" Percy said
"I probably would have guessed Samael was one of his cult members as well, had he not killed him" Nico added
"We just don't have a single clue who he is, besides the fact he wants to violently murder us all" Hazel said
"And Frank. Where is he?" Percy asked Hazel
"He's safe at Camp Jupiter" She assured
"Do you guys think he's a demigod too?" Piper asked
"He can clearly see through the mist, so it's our best bet. I've never seen a mortal so skilled in combat" Victor said
"And he does it so casually too" Piper agreed
"What kind of demigod can use ice powers though? And where did he get that armor?" Leo questioned
"The only way to get your hands on Vibranium is through a god" Chloe said. "But that's assuming a god wants us dead"
"I don't think I've ever been more confused about one person before" Percy shook his head
"The red stone that he has at the bottom of the feather dagger. And the green glow from the center of it... I think I know what those are. The fact that Thor seemed intimidated by them too only reinforces my thought" Ryan said
"You mean the old tale that Hera told us about, and specifically instructed us not to tell anyone?" Victor replied
"That one" Ryan nodded. "When the universe first formed and Erebus and Night were born, there were six elemental crystals born from the heart. Each can control a different aspect of existence - time, space, reality, mind, soul, and power. If I remember correctly, the Olympians guard the power stone, the Sorcerer Supreme guards the time stone, Hades keeps the reality stone, and Hermes hides the space stone. No one knows where the soul stone is, and the mind stone was lost a few decades ago"
"You think he has one of the Infinity Stones?" Chiron asked, as if he already had knowledge about the subject
"Not just one, two. The red one on the bottom of his dagger is reality. In the center of the blade, the time stone. It's how he made everything in the forest revert" Ryan said
"Getting your hands on one of those stones is nearly impossible, especially for a demigod. But to have two..." Chiron said
"He would need to have stolen it from Hades and Steven, and those both are extremely difficult on their own. I think he's getting the help of a god, because it doesn't make any sense besides that" Annabeth guessed
"No offense to him, but I was thinking Hermes, being the god of thieves and all. But then he would have given him the space stone too" Jason said
"Whoever he is, we need to do something about him. We can't just keep letting him get the jump on us, or at least one of us is bound to die" Percy said
"I was thinking we could lure him in. I don't think he would be able to take us all on at once" Annabeth explained
"But the problem with attack in such a large group is we're not organized or working together that well. Someone could die" Victor argued
"Personally, I want a round two" Percy announced
"I would be lying if I said I didn't either" Ryan said. "Plus, we've got armor to protect us from his blade"
"We should have five people at most. Just one, neat and coordinated trap. Once we take him down, we question him" Annabeth strategized
The demigods finalized the meeting with one goal in mind set for tomorrow - trap and taken down Samael, before he does so to them. Percy and Annabeth walked alone back to their cabins in silence, until:
"It's still bothering me that we don't know who he is" Percy said
"Well, I know the name Samael means fallen angel. He didn't specifically say that was his name, he said they just call me" Annabeth replied
"So it could be a cover name" Percy guessed. "I wouldn't be surprised, considering how mysterious he is. I just wish we had some kind of hint..."
After falling asleep, Annabeth got the hinted that the group needed. For once, she didn't have a nightmare about Tartarus, where Percy would die at the hands of some cruel creature or be tortured by the entity himself. She was on a beach, and it felt like she was actually there instead of it simply being a vision.
She could move on the soft sand, smell the sea, and hear the waves crash against the shore. On her left, palm trees with a plentitude of coconuts dotted the area. The right side was the large foggy sea, like something out of an old fisherman-horror movie.
The wind whirred and a figure appeared in front of her.
"Annabeth... it's been some time"
Annabeth was unable to recognize the look of the figure, but she knew that voice anywhere.
"Layton" She said quietly
In front of her, the floating top half of a black-robed figure circled her mysteriously until coming to a stop when she spoke his name.
"I see you've met Samael"
"You know him?" Annabeth questioned
"I suppose I do. He's dangerous Annabeth. The problem with him is that he can adapt to your fighting style, and use it against you. That's why he's so skilled" Layton explained
"But who is he? And why does he want to kill us so bad?"
"I'm sorry, but the reason he wants to kill you is beyond anyones control. As for who he is, it's-"
A palm tree toppled over in the distance, and something large seemed to be approaching guessing the loud rustling coming from the forest.
"The Shadow-Dragons are coming, you have to go. Don't trust Syn, he's not safe"
Before Annabeth could press for Layton to give her the last piece of information she needed, she found herself jolting upright from her bed. It was still dark out, but the first signs of morning were coming through. However, something didn't feel right. She could sense an odd feeling of trouble.
Without questioning it, she quietly got up, grabbed her drakon-bone sword and made her way over to cabin three. Once she was within the vicinity, she understood what was up. Metal clashing against metal was as loud and aggressive as ever.
She ran the rest of the way to find Percy was laying on the ground, disarmed and breathing raggedly. Samael had his leg on top of his heart area and was pointing his dual-sided blade at his neck.
Percy turned and noticed Annabeth, and Samael seemed to note that down as he turned to face her as well. Over where the enemy's left eye should be under the helmet, a white scratch was seared into it. Percy must have landed a brutal strike to have done such damage.
"I'll be with you in a moment, Annabeth" Samael said. "I'll kill you all one at a time"
"Why are you doing this?" She snarled
There was a brief moment of silence, and Annabeth could have sworn she saw Samael nearly drop his blade.
"Perhaps I enjoy it" Samael finally replied
Annabeth wanted to rant on about none of Samael's motives or anything about his general seemed to make sense, like a poorly written villain, though she knew that Percy's head would be separated from his body if she did so.
She thought over what Layton had said - that Samael can adapt to one's fighting style. Being the daughter of Athena, it didn't take long for a plan to formulate in her mind.
"Enough time-wasting" Samael said, lifting his blade
"Wait!" Annabeth insisted. "What if you killed me first? Then you could make Percy suffer too"
"Anna-" Percy tried retaliating but Annabeth quickly shot him a look that read shut up, I know what I'm doing
"Kill you first... I commemorate your intelligence and wisdom. Perhaps I'll do just that" Samael agreed, lifting his foot off Percy's chest and setting it on the ground. To prevent Percy from recovering, he shot a column of ice that stuck him to the ground by his wrist and feet.
"I hope you know I won't make it easy" Annabeth warned with a scowl on her face, readying her sword
"I wouldn't expect it another way" Samael replied, twirling his dual-sided blade
Annabeth attacked first, thrusting her sword forward. Samael parried the strike by flicking his wrist so that the bottom half of his sword would deflect it. Samael slashed horizontally, as if meaning to cut her in half, but Annabeth rolled out of the way and slashed his hip as she recovered.
She didn't mean to do it, but she seemed to have found his weakness. Samael recoiled in pain as a shower of sparks was released from where she had slashed. So Vibranium is weak to whatever this thing is made of, Annabeth noted.
"So you've brought a convenient weapon from Tartarus. Let's see if you have the skill to back it up" Samael said
By now, Annabeth was seriously wondering how no one had woken up from all of the ruckus and the metal clashing, and she decided that she could afford to get a little cocky, with the new found weakness in mind, but she quickly regretted that decision.
Samael's dual-sided black evaporated into black smoke, and he unsheathed his feather-dagger in its place. She quickly lunged forward and attempted to disarm him of the relatively small weapon, but he casually sidestepped and nearly stabbed her with it.
Annabeth stopped her momentum from making her fall forward, and slashed her sword, but Samael rolled and slashed her leg in the process. She stumbled and Samael quickly pressured, striking rapidly.
Finding it hard to keep her balance, Annabeth went on the defensive and barely managed to block each strike Samael gave off.
"Ironically, you're more of an aggressive fighter when you're in a ditch" Samael said
"And you're more of an idiot than ever when you're cocky" Annabeth fired back, ready to put her plan into place
It was a good thing she knew Percy so well, because when she switched to mimic his smooth fighting style, Samael seemed to be struggling more than ever to keep up. Annabeth slashed his armor multiple times in different spots, and the effectiveness of her blade kept him from retaliating much.
Eventually, Annabeth had him pinned on the ground in the exact same position he had Percy earlier.
"Tell me who you are or I wouldn't mind giving you what you've been trying to give us" Annabeth said
"What? Death? Would you really have the guts to kill someone, Annabeth Chase. If you do, go ahead and spill my blood" Samael retorted
Annabeth scowled again and went to press her drakon-bone sword against his throat, but she quickly stopped when she realized he was right. She didn't really want to kill someone, even if they were desperately trying to kill her. It wasn't like he was a literal monster or anything, and Layton's line didn't seem to be helping her either. The reason he wants to kill you is beyond anyones control.
To see real human (or half-human) blood pouring out over the ground that was caused by her, would be a terrifying sight, and she didn't know if she would be able to live herself down after that.
"Looks like I've struck a nerve. The mighty and fierce Annabeth Chase is afraid to kill someone, even if her life depends on it. How ironically stupid. You're neither fierce or mighty, you're just a scared and weak coward" Samael mocked
Annabeth gripped his sword, most likely tighter than she ever had, and she felt herself conflicted inside. If she killed him right now, they would be safe. She would be safe, Percy would be safe, and so would all her friends. But was that worth it - degrading down to his level?
"Prove me wrong little girl" Samael growled. "Show me a sight I've never seen before - my own blood. Maybe if you had half the guts of a real warrior, I wouldn't be able to stand up right now and not be taken of my life"
She wanted to reply. She wanted to fire back a high-ego response with the same kind of confidence. Instead, tears stung her eyes and she questioned wether or not she was going to push the blade forward and take a life.
Beneath her foot, black smoke was arising from Samael.
"We'll meet again, count on it. Next time you won't be so lucky, and I won't hesitate when I'm in your spot" Samael said. "You failed, and you've doomed everyone"
With that, Samael vanished once more...