Piper ran after Annabeth as fast as she could, but the daughter of Athena was too fast and had gotten too much of a head start for Piper to keep up, and she panted heavily before closing her eyes as she ran.
"Why are you so fast Annabeth?" She whined before opening her eyes, only for them to widen them in horror as she saw she was running straight towards someone.
"Watch out!" She tried to warn the person in front of her, as she was going too fast to stop. The blonde figure could only turn around in confusion, only for them to come face to face with Piper running into them and falling onto the ground.
"Oww…" The daughter of love muttered as she rubbed her head, before she realized she was lying on top of someone. She felt her face burn in embarrassment before throwing herself off and getting on her own feet.
"Oh my god I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Piper asked the person she ran into, only to see it was her Archery trainer. A son of Apollo, Will Solace.
"Yeah I'm okay." He said softly rubbing the back of his head. He had after all taken the blunt force of the impact. Piper offered him her hand, which he took in gratitude.
"I'm so sorry Will. I'm in a hurry and I wasn't watching where I was going." Piper said sheepishly as she pulled the boy up. He had dirty blonde hair with blue eyes, and was about an inch taller than Piper. Like everyone else, he wore a camp t-shirt and jeans. He looked exactly like what people said his dad looked like.
"No worries Piper, at least you didn't break anything." He said with a smile, and Piper felt herself smile back. He was who saw her potential as an archer, and had been showing her the basics for a while now. He was really nice, and pretty good looking too if she had to be honest. But it didn't last long for her to remember why she was running in the first place.
"Sorry Will I can't talk right now, something came up and I have to go!" The boy simply waved her off with a smile.
"You owe me for knocking me over though." Piper rolled her eyes with a smile.
"Fine, but only because I feel bad. Rain check." She answered back before running off towards the big house. After a quick jog through the circle of cabins she made it. It looked like an average southern looking family house with a big patio and had two stories and an attic. As she got close she saw Grover standing on the patio, pacing back and forth while munching on a can of peaches.
"Grover!" Piper called out, surprising the satyr.
"Baaah!" He bleated in surprise, before looking over to the daughter of love.
"There you are Piper! Annabeth just walked in. C'mon, Chiron is checking on Percy." He said before opening the front door to the big house and walking in. Piper followed after him and walked inside. It looked a lot bigger on the inside. The room looks like a wooden cabin, having logs as walls with a fireplace to her left and picture frames hanging all over the wall. There was a chandelier in the middle of the roof, with a set of stairs to the far right leading upstairs.
The satyr seemed to be anxious, but after he told her about Percy she couldn't blame him. Piper remembered how Grover rushed into the infirmary with tears building up in his eyes, telling her to find Annabeth. Saying that Percy was in bad condition. She was still confused as to how the boy got hurt, as the satyr didn't explain it to her. He rushed out of the infirmary as he told her to get Annabeth.
"C'mon, his office is this way." The satyr informed as he opened a door to her left, and she quickly followed after. Inside looked like a professor's office, with a desk with two chairs for visitors, but no chair on the other side. There was a curtain to her left, and she watched Grover push it to the side to reveal Percy laying on a futon sweating profusely with Annabeth treating him.
"Percy…" She mumbled softly. Seeing the boy like this, it brought back memories of when Angel almost died from the Chimera's poison, but she did her best to push the growing emotions she was getting from said memories.
"How is he doing?" She asked Grover, who sighed.
"He's better now, Chiron gave him medicine and some nectar for the scorpion sting. The wood nymphs that live around here heard him calling for help, and found him on the ground, paralyzed from the neck down." She remembered what he meant by nectar, it was the drink of the gods. She tried it once after training with daggers with Annabeth, and it tasted like the juice her grandpa made that was supposedly a Cherokee recipe. It was the best thing she has ever drank.
There's also ambrosia, which is the food of the gods. They can only drink and eat a little bit of both, since if they eat too much they'll combust. Literally. It's only because of their godly DNA that they can have some. It does however cure almost any injury, so it's pretty convenient.
"Wait, a scorpion?" Piper asked suspiciously. There's no way scorpions live this high up north.
"It wasn't just any scorpion, my dear." Piper heard someone remark, and turned to see the legendary mentor stand before her. Well, his horse part stood. He was half horse half human, a centaur. He looked like a history professor, who had a big brown beard and neatly groomed hair. He wore a brown suit and white under shirt as he galloped his way over to his studen
"It's native to the river banks of Tartarus. How it got here is beyond me I'm afraid. I've never seen one in the mortal world before." He muttered to himself as he stroked his beard.
"Luke…" Percy gasped out, and everyone turned to look at him in surprise.
"Percy, you need to rest." Annabeth said as she put a wet rag on his forehead, but the green eyed boy shook his head and looked up at his mentor.
"He betrayed us, Luke stole the bolt." Everyone gave a look of shock, before Annabeth looked at Percy angrily.
"Percy that's ridiculous! You're making stuff up from the poison! Luke would never-"
"Then where is he?" Percy asked, and Annabeth stopped in her tracks.
"You won't find him anywhere because he left camp. He's working for Kronos." He took a moment to catch his breath, as if talking made it harder for him to breathe.
"He stole both Hades' and Zeus' symbol of power, but Ares ended up catching him. Ares was about to kill him and return to Olympus , but Kronos manipulated Ares to let Luke go. He promised there would be a war between the gods, and Ares ended up letting Luke live at the cost of both the bolt and helmet."
"My boy you've said enough, you should rest." Chiron said to his pupil, watching him struggle to get the words out. Piper could only listen in astonishment at what she was hearing. She didn't know Luke very well, but the few times she interacted with him he seemed like a laid back sort of guy. She didn't expect him to be a traitor. None of them did.
"I was supposed to die in Tartarus." Percy struggled to continue, ignoring his worried mentor.
"It was all part of the plan Ares was talking about back at the beach. The shoes Luke gave me...they were cursed." The boy said in a shaky voice, his fists clenched. Grover eyes widened in horror.
"The winged shoes. That's why they got sucked into the pit so quickly, they were enchanted to go down the pit." The satyr muttered, pacing back and forth.
"That pit was an entrance to Tartarus. Luke was mad that I messed everything up, beating Ares and getting the bolt back to Olympus. H-he tried to kill me, left me for dead." For all the months Piper has known the son of Poseidon, this was the first time she's seen him actually distraught and at the verge of tears. She saw how the two interacted, Percy must've really looked up to Luke.
"No, Luke wouldn't do that." Annabeth said in disbelief, getting up and glaring down at Percy.
"You're lying! I'm going to find him and he'll tell me what really happened!" She exclaimed before storming out of the office.
"Annabeth, wait!" Grover cried, but it fell on deaf ears as she ran out the room and slamming the door behind her.
"Her emotions often get the better of her." Chiron said with a sad sigh before turning to Piper.
"I hate to ask, but could you stay and watch over him? I must report this to the gods at once."
"Of course Chiron." Piper answered with a nod, to which the centaur gave a grateful smile before leaving the room as well.
"We have...to find Luke." Percy muttered as he tried to get up, only to wince in pain.
"No Percy, you can't get up right now. That scorpion venom really did a number on you. You need to rest." Piper said softly, and Percy grumbled in annoyance. He hated not being able to do anything.
"Ugh, I hate this." He grumbled.
"Luke could still be around, we should send a search party after him. We can't let him get away."
"No Perce, we should keep this on low profile for right now." Grover remarked to his best friend.
"The campers love Luke, they won't take too kindly to suddenly treating him like a criminal. Even if he is a traitor. Right now the best thing to do is just wait." He said, before giving his friend a serious look.
"I got my searcher's license yesterday Percy. I'm leaving camp to go find the lost god Pan. I promise I'll keep an eye out for him on my travels. Maybe we should tell Angel to do the same. He is after all out and about doing his own thing right now."
"Good idea Grover. Hopefully it won't be too much to throw at him." Piper said before grabbing a drachma from her pocket.
"Oh goddess Iris, show me Angel champion of Hestia." She flicked the coin in the air and it stayed in place for a second, before eventually falling onto the ground.
"Individual Unavailable. Please try again at a different time." The three teens heard a monotone feminine voice say, before the drachma vanished in a puff of smoke.
"She still took my coin even though the call didn't connect? What a rip off!" Piper yelled in exasperation, but Grover looked nervous.
"That's not good. I've never seen an Iris message not connect before. I mean, gods can just cancel it, but we can't." He said before looking at his friend in worry.
"Something must be up." Piper felt anxious at the thought of something happening to the champion of Hestia, hearing that message sent a wave of worry through her being. She grabbed onto her necklace of white myrtles, as it gave her some comfort. Maybe it protected her both physically and emotionally, because she knew that even though she was worried for Angel, she had to be realistic.
Right now Percy needed her to watch over him to make sure he doesn't get any worse, and they had no idea where the champion even was. As much as she hated it, there wasn't much she could do. She had to focus on the here and now. Besides, she was sure Angel could handle himself. At least, that's what she told herself to calm her nerves.
"Il try again tomorrow. Right now just try to rest Percy. The faster you heal and recover, the quicker we can try to find Luke." Percy just stayed silent as he laid in the futon, before flipping to his side to try to fall asleep. He just hoped Angel was okay. Luke betrayed him and Annabeth probably hated him for even suggesting Luke is a traitor, he wasn't in the mood to lose another friend.
He couldn't believe it. Never in his 13 years of life did he think he'd get what he got today. A girls phone number. Just remembering it sent sparks of joy through the amber eyed boys body. The only bad part about it was she was a lot older than him, like at least 5 or 6 years. But Angel figured she just wanted a ride on his motorcycle, no harm can come from that right? It took a lot of self control to not brag about it to his friends on the IM.
He took a sip from his soda as he looked up at the starry sky, smiling to himself. He felt happy, like genuinely happy. He has for the past two days. The two weeks he was learning to manipulate the mist and finishing his bike over in Hestia's ranch, he felt miserable. The dreams he'd been having had been unrelenting, and he did his best to push down how much they were affecting him.
Because they were really taking a toll on the young boy, both mentally and emotionally. He hated remembering the days living in the orphanage, it gave him a weird feeling, one he didn't like at all.
But the day he left he left for the quest, after he said goodbye to Hestia, it went away. Was it when she kissed his forehead? It has to be, because the feeling of dread went away as soon as she did. Instead he felt a feeling of determination fill his being, like he could do anything. And he hadn't had any of those nightmares since, so he felt at ease.
'I don't know if I'll ever be able to pay her back if she keeps helping me out like this.' He thought to himself with a warm smile. He looked up at the sky, and this time he noticed that there was fog building up around him. Weird, there shouldn't be any fog this time of year.
But he quickly shrugged it off as nothing major, after all it was just fog. He figured he'd make another hot pocket since he was still hungry, this is the first time he's ever tried them. And by the gods are they good. It's too bad Hestia doesn't allow any junk food on the ranch, she always said something about 'a healthy diet helps keep the body strong'. Makes sense, but having chips or soda every now and then couldn't hurt right?
He was just about to reach into his backpack when suddenly he felt drowsiness consume him. It came to him so quickly and in such intensity that he almost tripped on his own feet.
"Wow, I didn't think I was that sleepy." He said with a big yawn, his eyes being only half open.
"No big deal, I'll just…" He yawned again, rubbing his eyes.
"-get my blanket and-" he stopped mid sentence when he felt his eyelids too heavy to keep open, before closing them and collapsing onto the grassy ground with a thud. He felt himself lay on that ground for a few minutes, just enjoying the blissful feeling of sleep. But then he felt his eyes open slowly, and he was in a completely different place. It looked like hell, but worse.
The ground looked like it was covered in broken glass, and he couldn't find a single light source. Well, except for the river of fire that was not too far from he was standing.
'I don't remember this place being in hell. I would remember a place this bad.' The boy thought to himself, before he felt the ground below him tremble violently. He struggled to keep his footing, when suddenly a box appeared in front of him from under the ground. It was a golden tomb, like the ones Egyptians used to bury their pharaohs.
"So we finally meet, child of Hestia." A voice boomed from inside the box, and Angel involuntarily shivered. He wasn't scared of it, but for some reason a part of his body told him he needed to fear whatever was inside that box. But at the same time, the voice sounded familiar. He couldn't put his finger on where he heard it before.
"Who...what are you?" The boy asked, reaching into his pocket instinctively, only to feel that his lighter wasn't in his pocket. His eyes widened as he searched his pockets, but he didn't find anything. He checked his hands and sure enough, his ring wasn't on him either.
"Why this is a first." The voice chuckled humorlessly, getting the boy's attention.
"It has been millennia since a being didn't recognize me. I don't hold it against you however, I understand it's hard to know someone trapped inside a box." Angel felt himself get on the defensive, but it was hard to when you had no weapons to defend yourself with.
"Must've been a bad dude if you ended up in a tomb down somewhere in hell. Also did you die twice or something? Because usually souls aren't trapped in their own tombs." Angel muttered, not sure how to react to this talking box. It creeped him out more than anything else.
"I am still very much alive, young one. I was only trying to undo the injustice committed against me. The gods took what was rightfully mine, and I was punished when I tried to reclaim it." Angel realized he was talking about, when the gods overthrew him and the rest of the Titans, and became the rulers of Earth.
This was Kronos, the voice he heard from inside the pit back in the underworld. He really was rising again. Then that means, this is Tartarus. A shiver ran down his spine at just the thought.
"I see. And tell me, was this before or after you decided to eat my mom and her siblings?" Angel asked, feeling annoyance grow onto his features. Just the thought of his mom getting eaten was enough to piss Angel off, and it was all concentrated onto the tomb in front of him.
"You got some spunk boy, I commend you on that. However…" Angel then felt the ground shake once more, and the air around him felt like it moved slower. The boy could feel the tremendous amount of raw power emitting from the tomb, and it shook him to his very core.
"You feel that, don't you? That is only but a fraction of my strength, mortal. Once I have more demigods alongside me, I'll become even stronger. And soon I will be rewarded with my old and most powerful form, I'm the king of the Titans for a reason boy. I am the strongest of my brethren."
Angel felt his voice echo around him, like as if his spirit was whispering into his ears. He looked around frantically for the source of the voice, but he only felt the breeze of the cold wind hit his face.
"Once I raise, and I will raise, no demigod nor god will be able to stop or stand against me. I won't fail this time in obtaining what is rightfully mine, but I am not a ruthless leader."
The king of titans then relaxed and allowed his power dim down, to the point that the world returned to its normal speed. Angel let out a small gasp, he didn't even realize he was holding his breath.
"I seek no casualties to come to mortals, as they have not wronged me in any way. That includes you, child of Hestia." Angel whirled back to face the tomb, watching it shine dimly.
"You have many choices to choose from, boy. Three to be exact, and only two will go in your favor. Leave behind the life you live now. The gods, demigods, monsters, all of it. Go to Canada, which is out of the domain of Olympians. There I will see to it that you are not harmed, as long as you do not interfere with our plans." He heard his deep voice say from the tomb, and Angel glared at it but didn't say anything.
"You could also join me, where I will treat you as an equal instead of a subordinate. The gods do not care for you boy, they see you as a pawn for them to use as they please. The only real reason they haven't killed you already is because they are ignorant and unaware of your existence. If you fight for me however, I will personally see to it that you are well fed and trained. By the end of the war, I will grant you your own land for you to rule over. You are powerful, far more than you believe yourself to be, and as such you deserve something of your own to lead and to call your own."
The Titan then paused, before he unleashed his full power, this time knocking the boy down from his feet. Angel felt the wind build up in such speed that he had to cover his eyes from the intense winds.
"This last choice I do not advise, boy. As it will ultimately lead to your demise. You chose to go against me and my plans, and you will not live past the age of 18. You will die young, fighting a war that was inevitably my victory. I pray you make the right choice, mortal. It would be a pity to lose such a valuable fighter such as yourself fighting for the losing side."
Kronos finished, and he once again allowed his power to subside.
Angel quickly got back onto his feet and glared at the tomb in front of him, but at the same time he felt weary of it. This was the titan king he was talking to, who could control time and possibly see into the future.
If he was so confident, then maybe it was because he had already seen his victory. But what he said about the gods hit him hard. Kronos wasn't lying when he said that, the gods weren't known as the most generous of people. It's why Hestia kept him hidden from Zeus for all these years, in fear of the king of gods striking Angel down.
But he didn't side with the Olympians in fear or for the other gods, he didn't have any loyalties to any of them that wasn't Hephaestus, Aphrodite or Hestia. But he wasn't going to side with a guy that ate his own kids in fear of getting overthrown. Especially since this guy ate Hestia, something Angel couldn't and wouldn't forgive.
The fact that this happened eons before he was born was irrelevant to him, if he could he'd punch the titan lord across the face for even thinking of thinking of doing something to his mom. Besides, he'd be going against his own friends if he sided with Kronos, which he couldn't bring himself to do. Angel then smirked to himself, hiding his face under his curly hair.
'It doesn't matter if he thinks he'll win or not. I don't care how much he promises me or how much he threatens. It won't change who I am, or what I stand for.' Angel then looked up with sparks of fire escaping his eyes, glaring at the tomb before him. He then lit his hands ablaze, before clenching them and gritting his teeth.
"I bet you knew this would be pointless, yet you were dumb enough to try! I am the champion of Hestia! Her first adoptive son! Goddess of hope and of the hearth! You think you could bribe me out of the war? Well THINK AGAIN! How's this for my choice!?" He roared as he jumped forward and went to strike the tomb of the titan lord, only for it to fade away as soon as he got close enough.
He was caught by surprise and ended up punching the floor of broken glass, and he could only grunt in pain as he felt glass pierce his skin at impact. He looked down at his now bloody knuckles, and he couldn't help but wince.
"What a pity." Kronos drawled, before his tomb vanished completely.
"I thought you would make the smart decision. I really hoped you would, maybe then I wouldn't have to kill you." Angel once again felt the ground beneath tremble, but this time it was like the equivalent to that of an 8.0 earthquake.
Angel looked around frantically for a way out, an exit, something. But all he saw was broken glass, the river of fire suddenly disappearing.
"Prepare to feel the full wrath of the titan army mortal! You will never see the light of day ever-" His voice then stopped, and Angel couldn't help but be confused as to what was happening.
'Uh, Kronos? You um, you still there?" He asked awkwardly as he waited for something to happen.
"Hecate-what's the meaning-" Angel then heard his voice, but it sounded like there was static in the way. Maybe if he kicked the ground a few times like hitting an old radio it'll sound better…
"What do you mean-interference! Who's-" His voice then disappeared, and once again he was stuck in a quiet, dark and deserted wasteland.
"Just great. How does he expect me to take him seriously now?" Angel mumbled as he looked for a way out, but there wasn't any that he could see. It was just miles and miles of broken glass.
'Maybe this is the immortal's version of stepping on Legos…'
"Angel!" The boy heard someone call his name, and he whipped around in confusion.
"Mom?" He asked, recognizing the voice. Sure enough he saw his mother materialize out of thin air in her child form, before smiling in relief at her son.
"What're you doing here in Tartarus? How'd you even find me?" He asked.
"You're not in Tartarus my son, you're dreaming." Hestia answered, a scowl appearing on her face.
"That goddess Hecate is behind all this. She casted a sleep spell around you, and I felt it as soon as it started to affect you. Iris was getting interference from where you were, so I had to go to the hearth and communicate with you through your mind. I usually wouldn't be allowed to get this involved, but since another goddess directly interfered, then so can I." She then walked up to the boy and grabbed his shoulders desperately.
"You must wake up Angel, they have sent monsters where you are right now. If you don't, they'll take you hostage. Or worse." She said in a worried tone, and the boy's eyes widened.
"I-I didn't even know I was asleep. I've never had one of these lucid whatever dreams! How do you make yourself wake up?" He asked frantically.
"I'm not sure, gods don't need sleep. We rarely dream. Pinch yourself, something! Anything! They draw close!" Hestia cried, and Angel did just that. But it didn't work, he pinched and scratched, even slapped his own face, but all it caused was discomfort to the boy.
"No good! It's not working." Angel muttered, feeling panic slowly raise up. He grabbed his hair in frustration, before he thought of something.
"I got an idea."
"What is it?" Hestia asked, looking up at him.
"I need a kiss."
"Angel! I raised you better!" Hestia exclaimed as she stomped her foot on the ground and pointed a finger up at him. If he wasn't in such a tight spot right now, he would tease about how childish that was.
"B-besides I am a virgin goddess, I don't think I can-"
"Not like that mom! One on the forehead!" Angel yelled as he felt heat rise up to his face.
"O-oh, right." She coughed nervously before looking up at the boy with golden cheeks.
"Phrase yourself better next time." Angel gulped nervously as she glared at him.
"Yes ma'am." Hestia sighed before levitating a bit and reaching up to the boys forehead, she was after all in her 8 year old form. As soon as her lips made contact, the boy felt a bright light emit in front of his face, and he tried to block it with his arms.
But he then realized that he wasn't dreaming anyone, as when the light died down and he opened his eyes, he was back at his little campsite. The fog looked like it had disappeared, maybe the spell was lifted. He was surprised that his plan worked, but he figured his adoptive mother and her kisses (On the forehead) were more than to just show affection.
Angel felt the same feeling when she kissed his forehead at the ranch, it must be connected to her powers somehow.
'Looks like I owe you more mom. You saved my ass yet again.' He said with an amused shake of his head. He looked down at his hand, and sure enough there wasn't any wounds or blood on it, like he didn't just punch broken glass. It really was just a dream.
But for some odd reason, he could still feel a slight pain on his knuckles. He guessed it was just phantom pain, it was no where as painful as when he actually got it.
'But at least I'm awake now.' The champion thought to himself, but he quickly got his guard back up when he remembered that there were monsters on their way here, and he heightened his senses to try to hear anything.
Just when he thought he was in the clear, he heard a dog-like snarl come from behind him, and he turned around only to find a hellhound jumping at him and throwing them both onto the ground. The boy grunted in pain as he tried to keep the snarling jaws away from his face, grabbing it by the neck to keep it at bay.
"You wanna play dirty huh? Then how about this?" The champion then ignited his hands, surprising the hellhound as it barked in confusion. It then felt the heat of the fire hit its ghastly form, and at that point it was the hellhound trying to get away from the human lighter. But the boy held firm and continued to grab onto the canine's fur, until the boy tensed his muscles and engulfed the dog's entire body in flames.
It whimpered and cried out in pain, until it eventually exploded in gold dust. Angel let out a tired sigh before getting on his own feet.
"Bad dog." He went to grab his backpack and helmet from under the tree he was planning on sleeping on, when he suddenly heard leaves rustling and loud stomping coming his way.
'Shit. I was too late.' The boy quickly reached into his pocket and grabbed his lighter, before transforming it into his trusty glaive. From over the clearing he watched as two cannibalistic giants named Laestrygones appear from behind the trees, and he watched as their faces turned to one of glee when they saw him.
"There! I found dinner!" One of them said, who had short black hair and was about 9 feet tall. He only wore a loincloth and a sleeveless jacket that didn't match at all, where did he even find one in his size?
"Should we wait for backup?" The other asked, who looked like the other giants twin. Except he was shirtless, but Angel wished he wore a shirt or something. He didn't even want to describe what he saw.
"No, too hungry. Kill now." The first giant said, eyeing the child of Hestia like a lion would a steak. Angel knew he wouldn't be able to make it to his bike with these two in his way, he had to get this over with quickly. Or else more monsters would show up.
"Alright fugly twins, let's dance." He said, before twirling his glaive into an offensive stance.
"Fugly?" One of them repeated, looking confused.
"What is...fugly?" Angel gave a deadpanned expression, before sighing and throwing his glaive to pierce the ground and twisted his ring. His bow then appeared in his hand, and he took aim as the two giants looked at each other in confusion.
"Fugly...ugly. He call us ugly!" The sleeveless jacket giant roared, before an arrow pierced his throat. He gurgled on his own blood in shock and confusion, and his brother could only watch as the boy then ran up to them and slashed his glaive through his abdomen.
The giant struggled in pain to stay alive, but his body had other plans as it exploded into golden dust.
"No! Brother!" The remaining giant then glared at the amber eyed boy.
"You kill brother!" He roared, before charging at the champion.
"I mean, if you two were just going to stand there stupidly what else was I going to do?" Angel asked, but he was caught off guard when the giant didn't just try to tackle him.
The giant grabbed onto one of the smaller trees and yanked it out of the ground like it was a weed, and chucked it at the teen. Angel felt himself panic and grabbed his glaive tighter before he manipulated fire to ignite the blade and cutting the tree in half. The boy heard both halves land with a thud, and he looked behind him in shock.
He surprised himself with that, the past two months of training must have really paid off. But he didn't take into account that the giant was still running towards him, and he barely had enough time to duck under his enormous form.
He was about to capitalize on the giant's opening, but he then saw a pair of hellhounds appear from behind the bushes who rushed at him, and he growled in annoyance.
'They just keep coming.' He thought to himself, before returning his glaive into lighter mode and bringing his bow back out. He dodged and weaved away from the giants attacks as he focused down the hellhounds, shooting them down before they could get close enough to pin him. He heard their cries of pain echoed thought the forest as his arrows found their mark, before focusing his attention to the larger monster.
The champion shot a couple fire arrows at the remaining giant, who staggered back in pain as the arrow pierced and burned his skin. Angel then ran forward with his fist lit ablaze and punching the giant in the gut, which led to an explosion on impact and causing the giant to fall to the ground before exploding into dust.
Angel landed on his butt and grunted in pain, he hadn't expected the explosion to be so strong. But as soon as he finished off the last remaining monster, a group of dracaena appeared, all wielding xiphos swords. Then came gorgons, cyclops and more giants. In a matter of a few seconds, his little campsite was completely surrounded by monsters, all looking at the teen maliciously.
'This doesn't look good.' He thought to himself as he got up and put away his bow and looking at the monsters defiantly.
"Nowhere to run, boy." One of the gorgons hissed.
"Dinner time!" One of the giants roared, and his brethren started cheering in approval.
"No you idiotsss." One of the dracaena growled in annoyance.
"We must take him to Lord Kronos alive." The giant's visibility deflated.
"Do we have to? Starving." Another giant mumbled as he rubbed his stomach.
"Kronos will reward us for bringing him alive. All the meat you would want." A gorgon answered with a grin, causing the giant's to cheer once again in delight.
"Now let's capture so we can-" The gorgon stopped mid sentence when she saw the boy just standing there with his eyes closed and his fists clenched. he didn't move at all, she could only see his chest rise and lower as he took deep breaths.
"Giving up?" One of the giants asked, and they all just shrugged to each other.
"Capture now. Eat meat later." Another said, and they all grinned before walking up to the curly haired champion.
"Wait! Don't-" One of the dracaena tried to warn, but they were too late. As soon as the giant got close enough, the champion raised his head up and opened his eyes, revealing the fire in his eyes to burn wildly.
"Thanks for waiting so patiently. Don't worry, I got just the thing for all of you." He growled as his body started to emit a fiery aura, before he raised his hands up in the air. He let out a a loud grunt, and suddenly everything in a 5 meter radius of him was engulfed in flames.
It was like a pillar of fire that reached up to his height, which caught all the monsters by surprise.
It wasn't hot enough to kill them, but it had enough power behind it to distract and disorient the monsters long enough for the boy to get his stuff and getting on his motorcycle before driving away.
As much as he hated having to flee, there was just no way he could take them all on by himself. A couple of giants and hellhounds sure, but a small army of monsters? There was just no way.
The monsters were all left disorganized as the flames eventually died down. It was like they were connected to the boy, as when he got far enough the flames disappeared. Slowly but surely they got their shit together, and realized that the boy was now long gone.
"So, no meat?" One of the giants asked, which led to all of the monsters to glare at him. This caused the poor giant to whimper and shrink under their glares, as one of the dracaena looked into the forest in worry.
"Lord Kronos will not be pleasssed."
"Should we try to follow?" A gorgon asked, but the dracaena shook it's head.
"We won't catch up, besides we lost our hellhounds. We won't find his scent." The snake monster then sighed before shouldering her sword.
"We should all prepare ourselves for our punishment."
As that was all happening, Angel weaved past trees on his dirt bike and never looked back, before finally arriving at one of North Carolina's main routes. He revved his engine and quickly got onto the road, before driving north to Virginia. In the direction to the botanical gardens located in DC. As soon as the adrenaline rush left his body, he felt exhaustion attack his muscles.
That last move he did took a lot more out of him than he thought it would, he hadn't practiced as much as he should've with it. Hopefully he could stay awake long enough to get far away from where he was to make another campsite and try to get some shut eye.
He thought about reapplying the mist around him, but then decided against it. He was tired enough as it is, he couldn't afford to waste more energy. Besides, there was barely anyone on the street. Judging by where Artemis was riding her chariot, he assumed it was past midnight.
He figured he could manage a couple hours of driving, just to be safe. He hoped the rest of the trip would be smooth sailing, but knowing his luck, he highly doubted it.