"You wanna run that by me again Shane?" I asked barely able to control my anger now. I was glaring at the dead body of the apparently not Fitzpatrick and starting kicking it viciously. Shane and Kinzie said nothing as I continued to break the dead guys bones "Why. Does. The. World. Keep. Fucking. ME!?"

Finally Shane was able to pull me away before I lit the body on fire out of rage and threw me into the chair of the desk. I could see the stitches of his newly reattached hand, "That is Fitzpatricks double, I figured he would be here because of the attack on the camp but it turns out he had a brain and hid himself before we even got here." Shane explained.

I shouted in anger and slammed my fists into the desk and threw everything off it, why is the world full of assholes!? I glared at all the papers I just threw off when something caught my eye. A green and gold pamphlet with a weird looking cartoon on it.

I picked it up and found it was a college brochure for the nearby college, some place called George Mason University. The green was the same color as those college looking guys in sweatshirts in my dream. Where I saw that scared guy, then I remembered what Shane said.

"Fitzpatrick recruits at colleges, that's what you said right?" I asked Shane, he nodded as he looked at what I was holding. I opened the brochure and a notepad fell out with a list of names.

Brian Thomas

Mason Copeland

Gunner Regis

Ted Frisk

Jonathan Kriel

"Potential recruits?" Kinzie asked Shane who took the notepad and scanned the names on it.

"Never heard of these guys, if I had to guess? Yeah, these are probably guys he's personally going to recruit. Knowing his criteria these dudes are probably meathead frat boys with a penchant for violence." Shane explained to me.

"My favorite types of idiots, at any rate we know where he is and he has nowhere left to hide, his base is gone and so is his army. The siege is stopped all that's left is to cut the snakes head clean off." I said standing up but Kinzie stood in front of me.

"Hang on, you're going to GMU alone with no backup and no plan? If this Fitzpatrick is as smart as Shane has told me-"

"Probably smarter actually, dudes a freaky genius." Shane interrupted.

"-Then you're gonna need some reinforcements, the girls will stay here and help restore order with Shane and his men. You and me? We are going to find this idiot together." she said and her tone told me she wasn't going to take no for an answer. I would never admit this but I was grateful I didn't have to do this alone.

"Fine, I have no idea where this college is anyway." I said standing up.

"I do, I've been a few times for demigods that needed saving. Met some good girls there that made some pretty amazing Amazons." Kinzie said as we walked out of the room, leaving Shane to clean up with a few Gargareans that were walking in.

"Yeah? I wish I went to college sometimes, I mean life got in the way of course but, I guess I always wanted more out of it." I said

"Why not try and do night classes or something?" Kinzie asked curiously.

"Yeah...I don't know. It's just...nevermind." I muttered looking away from her.

"No, what is it? What's wrong?" she asked a small look of concern.

"Well, I'm worried that...I'm worried that I might die before I ever get any use out of a higher education. For example I just attacked a military base and was in a tank battle and just fought a bunch of Germanus." I said.

Kinzie opened her mouth and then closed it "Okay, I actually see your point. You wonder why you should even try when the likelihood of you dying young is increased because you're a demigod." she said and I nodded in agreement, right on the nose Kinzie.

"Let me throw you a different scenario your way." she said and I turned to look at her, uh oh, I know that face. She's about to make me look like an idiot.

I was proven right because she said "You get a higher education, you get a nice stable job doing something you enjoy, you and Hylla have a long happy life together, you raise a beautiful family with her, and you don't act like such a nihilistic dumbass who thinks that just because he has an increased chance of dying early means he can't do anything he wants."

"You know, maybe I shouldn't because if I talked like you do to people I would most assuredly die early. Keep talking Kinzie and see where it gets you!" I growled.

Kinzie broke into a fit of laughter, she started laughing so hard she had to stop and grab the wall to stay standing.

Finally she took a deep breath and wiped away tears "Yeah, like you could ever kick my ass!" she gasped out before falling into hysterics again.

"Oh shut up!" I said glaring at her, eventually she stopped laughing and threw her arm around my shoulder.

"Sammy my dear, you got a lot to learn." she said smiling as we walked to the nearest car that was not currently a smoldering husk. We quickly got in and Kinzie started it up and drove down the road, as soon as we cleared the security gate a battalion of police cruisers and army trucks rolled passed us heading to the battleground of an army base that was currently smoking and could probably be seen by the entirety of Washington D.C.

We made it out of the capital and we were silent the whole time, finally Kinzie looked at me as we stopped at a red light "How are you holding up?" she asked. I looked at her curiously and she took a deep breath "When...When Hylla almost lost her queenship and the Amazons almost gave control to Gaea, I had never felt so afraid. I never felt so terrified for the future of something I dedicated myself to. Your family ruled the Gargareans for generations, what they are now is owed to your family and now its basically in splinters. Are you okay?"

I sucked in a breath "No, but not for the reasons you may think, The Gargareans are too violent to begin with even with a proper king. Peace can sometimes be seen as weakness and with the Gargareans that's the case. They abhor peace and relish violence. Because of that is where my family thrived, there's...there's something I need to tell you, something not even Hylla knows." I said softly.

Kinzie started driving again but was clearly focused on me as I took a deep breath.

"Mental illness runs in my family. Before my father caught the eye of Eris violence and destruction still ran in my family due to what my family called the Strife Curse. Every male member of the family has been afflicted with some form of unstable mental disorder. My father had bi polar disorder, my grandfather? He had IED, and me? Well, take your freaking pick I'm pretty sure I'm the jackpot of every single disorder out there." I explained.

Kinzie was silent for a minute or two before responding "So, you're saying the reason the Gargareans are so violent is because your family, which is known for being violent and unstable, ruled them and warped them over the years?"

I nodded grimly and I saw we had pulled into the campus of a large university, I was in awe to say the least at the beautiful campus before me. We parked and I reached for the door handle but the car was still locked, I turned to see Kinzie staring at me.

"Sam? The world is not what is was generations ago, mental disorders can be treated, you just have to make the effort. Also, you should absolutely tell Hylla about this, she may be a strong independent woman and you may be a strong independent man, but she loves you deeply and she will be there for you. You just have to make the effort and she'll be there for you." she explained.

I said nothing but nodded, then opened the door and walked out, the cold air feeling nice as we walked out of the parking garage. We made our way into the school and looked around, "Hey look!" Kinzie said pointing to a building that said, "Student Administration".

We walked up the steps and to the front desk, the young woman behind the desk looked at us "Can I help you?" she asked curiously.

"Uh, we are looking for a couple students? Ted Frisk, Mason Copeland, Brian Thomas? Any of those ring a bell?" I asked but the woman stared at me suspiciously.

"What is your business here? May I see your college Identifications?" she asked.

I stuttered for a second before Kinzie stepped forward and snapped her fingers sharply, the woman seemed to suddenly fall into a daze "We are alumni looking for these students for an award they have won. Where are they?" she asked almost hypnotically.

The woman typed on her computer "They are in the research building, all of them are members of the biology research club." she said in a monotone voice. We thanked her and walked out the door, after a few steps I looked at Kinzie.

"The fuck was that?" I asked and she smiled as she turned to me.

"Never learned how to control the Mist?" she asked and I shook my head, you can do that? Duuuude! Where the fuck was that growing up!? I could have taken advantage of that power so fucking much!

As we walked through the campus I took in the beauty of it, it really was a beautiful college. Are all colleges this awesome? Shit, had I known this is what I was missing out on I would have gone sooner!

"Hey, Research Building." Kinzie said pointing to a sign. A large rectangular glass building stood in front of us, the door clearly needed a card to get in. I drew my sword but Kinzie grabbed my arm just as a professor walked out while he was on the phone. the door was quickly closing and we had to move fast! I drew a dagger from my sleeve and hurled it at the door, it caught right as it shut allowing us to open it.

We looked around and saw no one in the halls and quickly made our way through, we went floor by floor but found no one. We reached the top floor and I heard a voice in one of the rooms "Kinzie? Stand guard, if anyone runs out you have to stop them okay?" I said and she nodded before hanging back.

I walked to the door that said "Biology Lab" and kicked the door open. I was expecting a bunch of jocks to stare at me but the only one inside was a scrawny kid with glasses, he looked no older than maybe nineteen or twenty.

"Uh...can I help you?" he asked curiously, as I walked in I noticed that he was dissecting something, but it was too bloody to make out.

"Yeah, looking for a couple guys. These jock type guys named Ted, Mason, Brian-"

"-Gunner and Jonathan? Yeah I know those nimrods." the guy said rolling his eyes, I walked over to him and that was when I realized that this was the same kid that I saw in my dreams, the kid being hassled by the Gargareans to join.

"Do you know where they are?" I asked.

"Nope, they are always skipping the club meetings, saying the other club is more important because it can give you a job right out of college." he said not paying attention and continuing to dissect whatever the hell was on his table.

"What club? What's the name?" I asked knowing what the answer was.

"Guard...Gar...some military thing." he said shrugging as he pushed his glasses up.

"They've been hassling you haven't they?" I asked and he finally looked up at me, his green eyes almost seemed to glow with the light hitting his glasses.

"Not hassling, more like just trying to appeal to my interests, trying to get on my good side you know?" he said and I nodded, they were lulling him into a false sense of security and then entrap him into the organization.

"What's your name?" I asked as I sat down, I'm hoping to get the location of those idiots but might as well help this kid too.

"David." he said.

"I'm Sam Strife."

He nodded as he delicately ran his scalpel along the nerves of the object, "So why are you here anyway? Never seen you on campus."

"Oh, just visiting, like I said I need to talk to those guys, actually it's regarding that other club they are in." I explained.

David nodded "Does it have anything to do with the girl outside?" he asked out of nowhere.

"What?" I asked totally off guard.

"The girl, with the sword, an Amazon I assume?" he asked, his voice and tone suddenly dropping to monotone and uncaring.

I opened my mouth as no words came out, he took off his glasses and cleaned them as he a small smile spread across his lips.

"Honestly I must thank you, While you did deal a blow, all you really did was rid me of the useless drabble I recruited." he said putting his glasses back on.

"Recruited..." I said softly before looking down at what he was dissecting and noticed the five digits on the end "That's a hand!" I shouted.

Then he ran his scalpel into my leg, I screamed as he ripped the blade out, I fell to the ground clutching my bleeding leg, blood pouring through my fingers.

"I'm going to kill you...however, first I want you to understand you have lost. For that, I need you to live. Keep applying pressure and you will be fine, I missed the femoral artery, but know that if I wanted to I could have cut it." he said calmly just as the door flew open.

Kinzie ran in and David hurled the scalpel at her, she dodged it but David was already out the door.

"Come...back here!" I groaned out as Kinzie helped me up and gave me some ambrosia. I felt my wound heal as she grabbed his backpack that he left and dug through it.

I tied a cloth around my leg and winced at the pressure but then glanced at the hand that he was dissecting, that was someones hand! He was dissecting another persons hand! What the actual fuck!?

"Kids a fucking psychopath!" I grumbled just as Kinzie handed me a notebook.

"Not just any psychopath." she said as she pointed at the top of the book.

David Fitzpatrick

"Son of a bitch!"

REVIEW PLEASE, I know I haven't updated in a loooong time but I was dealing with some serious mental health issues. anyway hope you guys like this chapter. Please leave a review guys!