Chapter 63
Climbing the ladder
Nova Roma
The half-bloods proceeded to the next post.
They stopped in front of it where a man stood inside.
He wore a thick chest plate, with blood smeared all over it to the point where you couldn't tell what it originally looked like.
His left arm was bare and held a Scutum, a large rectangular shield. His right arm was entirely covered in a Manica, a segmented gold arm guard, and holding a gladius.
Apart from metal shin guards and a steel plated loincloth his lower body was bare.
His head was covered in a Cassis Crista, a type of large helmet with plume crest and with an ornate grill face visor. He was dressed and equipped in the gladiatorial style Myrmillo.
"And who be this oddly dressed fool?" Billy asked.
"Titus" Joey said with concern in his voice, "Son of Mars"
"Who's that?" Jon asked curiously.
Dean looked at Jon, "That would be the Roman Ares"
Jon smirked deviously before stepping forward.
Titus said something to Jon in latin, the sound of his voice sounding like a small echo from inside his helmet, they couldn't even see his face through that bulky thing.
Jon glanced at his friends in confusion.
Dean replied to Titus and then looked at Jon, "He was asking who your god parent was"
Jon then faced his Roman counterpart in excitement, ready to fight.
Titus waved away and said something in an uninterested tone.
Jon glanced at them again.
Tim raised an eyebrow in surprise, "The nerve" he shook his head in disapproval.
Jon frowned, "What'd he say?"
"He said fighting a son of Ares is pointless, he already knows he's better than you. He wants to fight someone else" Tim said emphasizing on the better.
Jon's expression hardened as he glared at Titus. He squeezed the grip of his axe, "You might be a big deal around these parts, but make no mistake" he readied himself, "You're not better than me!" He sprinted towards his opponent, ready to unleash his fury.
Titus covered himself with his shield, ready to clash with the son of Ares.
Dean watched closely, usually Jon had to hold back when he sparred with most people to prevent any serious injury. But now, he was free to let loose.
Jon swung his axe horizontally with all his might and shattered the shield into tiny pieces.
Titus managed to free his left arm in time to save it and slashed at his opponent. He cut Jon's tricep, a mere flesh wound.
Jon ignored the wound and swung his axe downward.
Titus sidestepped, avoiding it, and sliced Jon's hip where the gap in his armor is.
Jon elbowed Titus in the back, knocking him forward.
Titus turned around and slashed diagonally.
Jon raised his axe and blocked.
Titus slid his blade down the axe handle in attempt to slice Jon's fingers.
Jon let go of his axe and held it with one hand, avoiding Titus' blade, and swung the grip side.
He hit Titus' helmet, making him take a few steps back and creating a loud gong noise.
Jon hurried and rushed forward as he swung his axe low, aiming for his opponent's legs.
Titus regained his bearing and hopped over the axe as he swung his gladius at his opponent's throat.
Jon instinctively backed away just fast enough to get away with a mere cut.
Titus landed and ran right back at him.
"He's relentless" Joey said as he observed.
"Not leaving Jon with much time or room to attack, smart" Tim commended the son of Mars.
"Without his shield he has no choice but to do so" Lily said.
Titus slashed downward.
Jon raised his axe to block and then went to kick him in the chest.
Titus side stepped and then grasped his gladius with both hands as he was about to chop off Jon's leg.
Jon struck him in the back with the pommel of the axe knocking him sideways. Then he caught Titus with the hook of his axe and flung him in the opposite direction.
Titus tumbled a few times.
Jon raised his axe over his head and swung it downwards.
Titus rolled backwards, avoiding the swing, before he got on his feet and charged once again.
Jon swung his axe horizontally, aiming towards the center of his opponent's body to cleave him in half.
Titus ducked underneath it and thrusted his blade into Jon's shoulder.
Jon winced as he dropped his axe. He grabbed Titus' wrists to keep him from escaping.
Titus struggled to push his gladius deeper into Jon.
Jon squeezed his opponent's wrists in response.
Titus grunted, his grip was painful but not enough to break him. He pushed his blade deeper with his fingers.
Jon grit his teeth as the blade dug deeper. He tried sweeping his opponent's legs but Titus' feet were rooted, he wasn't moving.
Jon head butted Titus, slightly denting his helmet, and taking him off guard. He then let go of Titus and knocked him on his ass with a left cross.
A gash opened up on Jon's forehead where he struck Titus' helmet.
Jon yanked the gladius out of his shoulder and then pounded Titus' head into the ground in a furious rage. Each punch caved in his helmet, blood oozing out with every hit, and kept going until it looked like a crushed soda can.
Titus wobbled like a fish out of water, his brain too damaged to process anything.
Jon grabbed his axe, raised it above his head.
Titus mumbled something with his dying breath before Jon swung his axe downwards, shattering his chest plate and splattering blood everywhere.
Jon retrieved his axe and stared at the crimson liquid that stained it.
Dean stepped forward until he was next to him, "You ok?"
Jon glanced at his friend with a frown, "Does it always feel like this?"
"I think the first time is the worst" Dean admitted before placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "But as long as you're doing it for the greater good, it won't haunt you forever"
Jon nodded in understanding, "Did he say something before I finished it?"
"He said your fists were like boulders" Dean said.
Jon smirked, "Boulders huh?" He seemed to like it, "Has a nice ring to it"
"Alright Jony Boulders, let's keep it moving cause I'm next" Billy said looking forward to having his turn.
The group advanced to the next post.
"You still think we're incapable of handling them?" Dean asked Joey.
Judging from his optimistic expression, Joey's thoughts towards the subject seemed to have changed.
"I'm gonna be honest, when I first laid eyes on all of you I wasn't impressed. Especially not from you" Joey said to him.
Dean grew an irritated look, why does everybody think so little of him?
"Oh yeah, one glance and you can see how underwhelming he is" Tim joked.
Dean rolled his eyes.
"But I'm beginning to see that Chiron chose you for a reason" Joey said sincerely.
"And you still haven't seen what the king of thieves is capable of" Billy said hyping himself up.
"Robbing people of their sanity" Lily said with distaste.
Jon and Tim laughed.
Billy scratched his head, what's up with her?
"I'm sure your impression of me will change with time" Dean said confidently.
They continued until they reached the next post.
A man leaned on the outside of the post, gazing at the moon.
Most of his body was bare with little to no armor, to allow more fluid movement.
He wore a black leather subligacula, a type of loin cloth. A pair of high greaves reaching to his knees, gauntlets around his wrists, and a black leather strap on his chest holding his spear. On his left arm a small round shield was strapped to his forearm, a hoplon, and he held a small short sword.
He had shoulder length light brown hair and amber eyes.
"That's Festinus, son of Apollo. He dons the gladiatorial style Hoplomachus" Joey said.
"Why do so many roman names end with 'us' ?" Jon asked curiously.
"Odysseus, Perseus, Theseus" Tim started naming greek heroes to show it wasn't just Roman names.
"A lot of us's" Dean admitted.
"His weapons and armor are made of titanium" Joey mentioned.
"Light metal, and little of it. He must value his dexterity" Lily assumed.
Billy gave something to Tim before stepping forward, "It won't do him any good" he stopped a few feet away from him.
Festinus locked eyes with Billy and sized him up, "Whatever quarrels you have with the goddess, I suggest you forget them and turn back. The only person who's ever touched me in battle stands guard after me" he grabbed his spear in preparation.
Dean's eyes narrowed with interest, 'I wonder what the last one will be like…' he pondered on that for a moment, 'Well first we have to get through this one'
Billy looked back, "Google translate anyone?"
Tim rolled his eyes, "He says no one can touch him"
Billy glared at his opponent with a sly smirk, "Is that a fact?" He drew his daggers and rushed forward in a burst of speed.
Festinus reacted perfectly and thrusted his spear in Billy's path.
Billy abruptly stopped in his tracks, his face right in front of the tip of his enemy's spear.
Festinus then swung it downwards.
Billy sidestepped and closed the distance between them.
Festinus shield bashed Billy in the face knocking him down.
Dean looked surprised, "Not bad"
Billy got on his feet again with an annoyed expression, "No biggie, a few lucky moves" he attacked again.
Festinus swung his spear low horizontally, aiming for his opponent's feet.
Billy hoped over the spear and slashed with one of his daggers.
Festinus blocked with his shield.
Billy then went to stab his gut with his other dagger.
Festinus used his momentum to spin around and sweep Billy's legs with his spear.
Billy fell on his back.
Festinus then slashed downwards with his short sword.
Billy blocked with one of his daggers.
Festinus then thrusted his spear downward.
Billy deflected it with his other dagger and the spear head imbedded into the ground next to his face.
Festinus then pushed his sword lower.
Billy struggled as his opponent's weapon slowly inched towards him, "You're really starting to piss me off"
"Your mind doesn't move at the same speed your body does" Festinus said as he forced his blade lower.
Billy swept Festinus' legs with his own, jumped on top of him, and stabbed downward.
Festinus blocked with his shield and hit Billy in the face with the butt of his spear, knocking him off.
Billy tumbled back a few times before charging back at his opponent.
"You were right, they do get better" Tim said noticing the skill gap between each of the guards.
"Yeah and I don't think Billy's doing so well" Joey said with a concerned look.
Festinus knocked Billy down and then swung his spear downwards.
Billy rolled sideways avoiding it.
"I think he might actually need help" Lily said preparing to step in.
Dean looked skeptical, "I don't know"
Tim shook his head, "He's lost his rhythm"
Jon looked at Tim in bewilderment, "Huh?"
Festinus swung his spear horizontally and slashed Billy's face.
Lily cringed, "I don't like this"
Billy took a step back and grasped his head.
Dean let his arms hang loosely and lightning sparked around his fingertips, ready to draw weapons and jump in at a moment's notice.
Billy looked back at Festinus as he let go of his face with an angry look. He had a long deep scar on the side of his face that was oozing blood.
Jon smirked, "Ooh he don't look happy"
Billy glared at his opponent.
Festinus replied with a sly smirk as he pointed his spear at him, "Perhaps you should ask one of your friends to help you"
Billy may not understand what he was saying but he knew that he was being mocked. He nodded slowly, "I see how it is then" he stuck both of his daggers into the ground forming an X, "I need a beat!"
Joey looked at the others, "What did he say?"
Tim chuckled before he put down what Billy had given him, it was a portable speaker.
Billy stretched his legs, "Something violent"
"I got just the one" Tim said picking a song.
The song begins with the rapid up and down sound of a record being scratched. With the sound of a symbol crash, enters the drums, vocal, and a horn part.
{Right about now, N.W.A. court is in full effect
Judge Dre presiding,
In the case of N.W.A. vs. the Police Department;
prosecuting attorneys are MC Ren, Ice Cube, and Eazy-motherfucking-E}
Billy smiled, "Oh yeah" he began moving to the slow beat of the song.
Festinus had a look of bewilderment, "What is this?"
{Order, order, order
Ice Cube, take the motherfucking stand
Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth to help your black ass?}
Dean looked at Tim in frustration, "Doesn't this go against the whole covert thing?"
{You goddamn right!}
"Selene's too high up to hear and there's only one other guard left" Tim justified it.
{Well won't you tell everybody what the fuck you gotta say?}
Billy grinned as he bent his knees slightly, "Round 2 mothafucka!" He charged at Festinus.
Then the bass hit and the beat sped up.
Festinus swung his spear diagonally.
Billy hopped over the spear, curled into a ball as he flipped, and drop kicked him in the face.
{Fuck the police coming straight from the underground
A young nigga got it bad 'cause I'm brown
And not the other color so police think
they have the authority to kill a minority}
Festinus was knocked back. He rubbed the bruise he now had on his cheek with an irritated look.
Billy danced around to the music as he stared at his opponent with a smirk, mocking him, "Consider that nerve…touched" he made a pun.
Festinus rushed forward, jumped, and thrusted his spear downward.
Billy did a split, dodging the thrust, and grabbed the spear.
Festinus tried to yank the spear out of his hands.
Billy used the momentum to slide forward and sweep his legs.
{Fuck that shit, 'cause I ain't the one
for a punk motherfucker with a badge and a gun
to be beating on, and thrown in jail
We can go toe to toe in the middle of a cell}
Festinus fell on his back and accidentally let go of his spear.
Billy tossed the spear and went to jump on top of him.
Festinus bent his knees and went to kick him off right as he landed.
The soles of Billy's feet touched his opponent's as he kicked. Billy then slightly shifted his trajectory, sprung over him, rotated in midair, and landed with a hard right punch to his opponent's face making him spew out blood.
{Fucking with me 'cause I'm a teenager
with a little bit of gold and a pager
Searching my car, looking for the product
Thinking every nigga is selling narcotics
You'd rather see, me in the pen
than me and Lorenzo rolling in a Benz-o}
Billy pounded his face in for a few seconds before Festinus swung his shield and struck his opponent in the face.
Billy was knocked off but he ignored the hit and stayed focused.
Festinus got up and switched his short sword to his free hand before running at Billy, swinging his weapon.
Billy simply danced to the song and dodged all his attacks.
His movement was so unpredictable to Festinus that it made it almost impossible to tag him.
{Beat a police out of shape
and when I'm finished, bring the yellow tape
To tape off the scene of the slaughter
Still getting swoll off bread and water}
Billy threw a few punches in attempt to go on the offensive.
Festinus dodged them or blocked with his shield. He then stabbed with his short sword.
Billy moonwalked backwards just far enough to be out of his opponent's range, and then kicked the short sword out of his hand.
Festinus swung his shield, aiming for Billy's face, and he simply leaned back to avoid it.
Billy then pulled back both of his fists to do the running man.
Festinus, thinking it was an incoming attack, raised his shield to block.
Billy then hit him in the jaw with a left uppercut.
{I don't know if they fags or what
Search a nigga down, and grabbing his nuts
And on the other hand, without a gun they can't get none
But don't let it be a black and a white one
'Cause they'll slam ya down to the street top
Black police showing out for the white cop}
Festinus shook off the hit, visibly getting more frustrated by the second, and began swinging his fists wildly.
Billy shuffled side to side to avoid them, Festinus clearly had no skill with hand to hand combat.
Billy pushed off his chest, kicked him in the face, and backfliped back into a standing position.
In a burst of speed, Festinus rushed forward and shield bashed Billy in the face knocking him back.
Billy placed one hand on the ground and spun on his wrist to come back around and drop kick Festinus in the lower abdomen, knocking him down face first.
{Ice Cube will swarm
on any motherfucker in a blue uniform
Just 'cause I'm from, the CPT
Punk police are afraid of me!}
Festinus got back up and grit his teeth, "I will end you!" He shouted angrily as he charged.
Billy smirked and ran at him as well, giving the illusion of a head on attack.
Festinus slashed when he was close enough to reach him.
Billy dropped and slid on the ground, between his legs.
Festinus had a worrisome look mid-step. His rear was defenseless, and when he glanced ahead he spotted the daggers the daggers that were stuck in the ground.
{HUH, a young nigga on the warpath
And when I'm finished, it's gonna be a bloodbath
of cops, dying in L.A.
Yo Dre, I got something to say}
Billy pushed off the ground and propelled himself up before kicking Festinus in the back of the head, knocking him down, and falling face first onto the daggers that were stuck into the ground making a bloody mess.
Then Billy shouted the next words with excitement, "Fuck the police!"
Tim paused the song since the fight was over.
Billy threw his fist in the air, "Yeah!" He flipped off the dead body, "Suck it jabroni"
Dean looked worried.
Billy retrieved his daggers and turned around, spotting Dean's look, "I'm not like, happy that I did it, but…" he couldn't find the right words, "C'mon no one's gonna miss that douche" he said waving at the dead body sheepishly.
Dean's expression lightened, "I guess not thinking too much helps you in some cases" Saves him from pondering too much on his actions.
"Ha ha" Billy laughed a little and then thought about his words for a second, "Wait what do you mean?"
"Just a have a little less fun next time, ok?" Dean said showing a tiny amount with his thumb and pointer.
Billy nodded, "Gotcha"
"Ok, one more to go, let's move" Dean said and they headed towards the last post.
As they approached Dean caught a whiff of a fishy smell, and quite a unique one at that.
Dean sniffed the air, "What is that?" He muttered as they stopped in front of the post.
A man sat by a cliff that looked over the sea, munching on a raw fish.
"That's nasty" Billy said feeling sick at the sight.
The man, after discarding his dinner, stood up and approached his visitors.
His skin was a light tint of green, he possessed two twin gills located on his neck near the clavicle bone. He wore greaves, a green loin cloth held together by a metal belt, bracers, shoulder guards, and a helmet with fins on the sides and top. He held a trident in one hand and a metal net in the other. All of his armor and weapons were made of silver.
"And who might this be?" Tim asked curiously.
"Lacus, his father was a demigod of Neptune's and his mother was Lemurian" Joey said.
"Le-what?" Jon asked.
"Lemurians are a sub-race to the Atlanteans" Joey said.
Tim shook his head and then looked at Joey, "Atlanteans as in Atlantis?"
"Yes, Homo mermanus. Their physiology is much stronger and more durable than that of Homo sapiens, necessitated by their exposure to the vast pressure of the deep sea, and rumored to be descendants of Triton. Atlanteans have blue skin and tend to be the stronger of the two races" Joey said.
"I heard tales of the ocean-dwellers from some of the older amazons" Lily said.
Tim nodded, "Fish people huh, I wonder what we're going to find out next"
Lacus glanced at all of them, sizing them up, "If you've come this far then you must be formidable"
Dean took a step forward to make himself stand out, "Don't worry about them, they're only here to watch" he drew his weapons.
Lacus focused all of his attention on him, "Are you their champion?"
Dean entered his stance and shook his head, "Doesn't matter, I'm the last warrior you'll ever face"
Lacus didn't say another word and pointed his trident at him.
Dean glanced at the weapon.
The trident was as tall as a human being, he had the advantage in reach. Then he glanced at the net with a raised eyebrow, he never thought he'd face somebody wielding one of those.
Lacus thrusted his trident with impressive speed.
Dean raised his shield to block and was surprised by the amount of force behind the thrust that made him step back, 'He's no pushover'
As Dean was stepping back, Lacus swung his net and caught his foot in the blink of an eye.
Lacus then yanked his net, pulling Dean's legs out from under him making him fall on his back, and pulling him closer.
When he was right underneath him, Lacus stabbed downwards with his trident.
Dean's instincts kicked in and his shield flew in front of his face before he could even think, blocking the attack. He then slashed horizontally aiming for his opponent's feet.
Lacus hopped over the slash, held himself up on his trident, and spun on the shield.
The sharp edges of the trident sliding on the shield made a sharp screeching noise that temporarily disoriented Dean.
As Lacus spun on his opponent's shield, he wrapped his metal net around his arm creating a thick layer of armor around his fist, and knocked Dean senseless with a haymaker.
Dean spewed out blood and a couple of his teeth flew out.
Lacus pulled back his fist for another one.
Dean kicked his chest with both his legs, knocking him back, and kipped up into a standing position.
Lacus unraveled the net from his arm so it was ready to use.
Dean rubbed the bruise he had on his cheek, 'Fucker messed up my teeth' he thought in frustration but then he took a deep breath and relaxed, 'Teeth can grow back' he entered a defensive stance.
"Lacus should not be taken lightly, maybe one of you should be ready in case you have to intervene" Joey said thinking that Dean might not be able to pull off a win.
He glanced at the others and they all stood silent and still, not a single concerned look among them. Their confidence in their leader was appalling.
Lacus thrusted his trident downward towards his opponent's feet.
Dean sidestepped and went to attack.
Lacus then ensnared Dean's sword in the net and pulled it out of his grasp, limiting his offensive options.
Dean simultaneously grabbed his trident and tossed it aside.
Lacus then grabbed his metal net with both hands and swung it like a whip.
Dean blocked with his shield, the metals clanging against each other.
He then reached out to grab his opponent but Lacus spread his net wide enough to tangle Dean's hand in it before throwing him overhead.
Dean landed on his back with a thud.
Lacus then tossed his net over Dean, entangling him, before retrieving his trident and thrusting it towards Dean's face.
Dean's shield was caught in the net so he raised his other hand and deflected the trident just enough to avoid his face but it still pierced his shoulder pads and dug into his skin. He winced slightly, it wasn't deep enough to really hurt.
Lacus then pulled out the trident, not wanting it to be taken again, and thrusted towards his torso this time.
Dean rolled backwards, avoiding the thrust, discarded his shield that would have taken too long to untangle out of the net, and retrieved his blade.
Lacus thrusted towards his ribcage.
Dean reacted quickly and sidestepped.
Then Lacus swung his trident horizontally.
Dean ducked underneath it and rolled to the side.
Lacus grabbed his net and persisted with his offensive tactics, hoping to catch Dean now that he was defenseless without his shield.
He swung his net high and in response Dean ducked but then his body spun, using his momentum, and swung his trident low, not leaving Dean enough time to jump.
Dean instinctively blocked with his gauntlet, only letting it slightly cut him by his temple, stopping the middle point of the trident mere millimeters from his eyeball.
He then closed the distance between them and went for a diagonal slash.
Lacus quickly wrapped his arm with the net and raised it to block.
Dean then used his free arm to hit Lacus in the face with a right cross.
Lacus was forced to take a couple steps back from the force of the hit, unwrapping his arm at the same time.
Dean took advantage of his weakness and jumped for a downward slash.
Lacus held his trident horizontally and his hands were wrapped around the chain links at the same time. He raised the trident, blocking the attack, and laid out the net in front of him so when Dean landed he pulled it out from under him.
It was pulled so fast that Dean flipped in the air and landed on the ground face first.
Lacus then thrusted downward with his trident.
Dean rolled backwards, but in such a rush that his footing messed up when he went to stand and fell back down. Or so it seemed, 'Take the bait'
As his opponent slowly got up, Lacus seized opportunity to fully disarm him and swung his net.
As Dean stood up he managed to grab the net. He then went to summon a lightning bolt and it conducted through the metal net and electrocuted Lacus.
Lacus cried out as he felt pain surge through his whole body.
Dean then yanked the net, bringing Lacus closer, and shouted as he decapitated him with one swift slice.
"Damn" Billy said, caught off guard by the sudden show of brutality.
Lacus' head rolled a few feet away.
Jon raised his eyebrows, "Talk about precision"
Joey looked speechless.
Dean let go of the net, letting the headless body drop, and breathed heavily trying to calm his body down.
"Saved his energy, and used it at the most opportune moment. Given he did get a little roughed up, but nothing too serious" Tim said breaking down what happened.
Dean's hand, which held his sword, trembled as he stared at the headless body. A pool of blue blood had formed from all the blood spewing out of it.
Lily walked over to him and gently wrapped her fingers around his hand which clutched his weapon. She observed his intense fearful gaze, "Dean?"
Dean snapped out of his daze and looked at her.
"You sure you're up to this?" Lily asked with concern, it was easy to see that this bothered him, "It's ok to be afraid to kill"
Dean looked back at the corpse at shook his head, "It's not that" he sheathed his sword, "I've accepted that this needs to be done. It's the moment I start liking it that I'm afraid of…" he walked farther up the hill.
The others followed his lead.
Joey caught up to Dean, "You handled that well"
Dean chuckled, "Nice of you to notice"
"I'm interested in seeing what you can do when you're not holding anything back" Joey said with curiosity.
"Once we reach the temple I'll have no choice" Dean admitted, sounding slightly hesitant.
Tim moved up with them, "The smarter play might be to hold our trump cards until after we've seen what she's capable of"
"In case she's able to counter our moves?" Dean asked.
Tim nodded, "If she can, and we're not aware, a single critical mistake could mean our death"
"Then let's wait until we reveal our full hand" Joey said, "Unless we can sneak in and get her before she gains her bearings"
The other three joined the conversation.
"We do have the element of surprise after all" Lily said.
"But that's not fun" Billy said with a frown.
"This is non negotiable" Dean pointed out to him in a serious tone.
Billy crossed his arms and pouted.
I'm not really good at sneaking" Jon mentioned awkwardly, being loud and breaking things was more of his specialty.
"It's not gonna be for long, just until we finish with her" Dean said.
Jon shrugged.
"Ok, so here's what I'm thinking" Tim said coming up with a plan of attack.
Author's note: Sorry for the extreme late update, things have been a little hectic lol. I kinda wish I could make clones of myself to do my writing while I took care of my personal life, but alas I am no Naruto. This chapter was getting too long so i decided to cut it in half so at least you had some content to read, I can't guarantee my next post date but I can promise that I'll keep writing whenever I can to finish Part 1. Until then enjoy the read and please leave a review telling me your thoughts!