Rage of a Demigod
AN: Hello there, my dear readers! And this story gets an update as well. I'm sure that it makes plenty of you happy, so enjoy!
Now to reviews.
sglenn3232: Thanks.
zarmag: Why? As I said, Marcus is the Kratos of this story, so there are zero reasons to make Kratos his father.
CrazyTony: Well, here's another one.
hawkeyestratos1996: Well, we'll have to see if that comes to pass.
Fax15: I don't know what that means.
Hercules8: Thank you for the praise.
7 To the Lion's Den, Which is Apparently a Museum
A man's groan permeated the room as he woke up while rubbing his head.
"Damn, what the hell happened?" the man asked. He was middle-aged with graying hair, tan skin, and blue eyes, dressed in simple shoes, a white shirt, and blue jeans.
He wasn't sure what happened to him. He was at the bar having a drink when suddenly blackness overtook and now he finds himself at… well, he wasn't sure. It seemed to be some sort of cliffside.
He then heard a groan coming from what seemed to be a girl and turned around. He saw a blonde girl, probably fourteen years old, crouching down with her hands pointed upwards, her face strained with her eyes shut tight.
Running over to her, he asked in worry. "Hey, are you alright? What's happening to you?"
He was about to reach her but she stopped. "No, don't!" she yelled making him pause. "If you move me from this spot, the sky will drop, and everything within the hundred-mile radius will be reduced to dust!"
He looked at her in confusion before looking up and seeing that this girl was actually holding something. He didn't notice at first, but it seemed like the starry sky of the night was somehow… compressed in that spot.
The man once again looked at the girl, seeing beads of sweat drip from her head, her hair actually turning a bit gray from the strain.
"Look, I'll help," the man offered.
"I don't think so," the man jolted in surprise before turning around and seeing a blonde-haired young man with a scar over his right eye. "You aren't a demigod, you'd be crushed in an instant."
Behind him, the man saw what seemed to be… monsters! Some he recognized from those mythology books his wife used to read. His eyes were wide in disbelief.
"What is going on here?" the man asked.
"Well, you see, Mister Addams," the young man said. "We brought you here because we need… insurance."
Marcus walked in the middle of the training field, carrying two boys by the hair in each hand as they tried to struggle their way out of his grip, of course, to no avail. Those were Connor and Travis Stoll, two sons of Hermes who Marcus caught after they tried to run away from him.
"Augh, please, let go! We're sorry!" Connor pleaded as the pain from his hair being pulled was almost unbearable.
"Yes, please! We were only joking!" Travis pleaded. "Ahh, stop, you'll pull my hair out!"
Marcus stopped and pulled the boys up to his eye level, much to their displeasure. "You were joking?" he asked in a calm tone, which didn't fit his expression. Connor and Travis felt nervous under the glare of his red eyes. "Your JOKE just put a damper on our quest!" he yelled before dropping them on the ground, harshly.
"What were you two thinking?! Our team was chosen, but you poison one of us with Centaur blood?!"
Connor and Travis rubbed their heads in pain before Connor spoke. "Look, we were just making a prank. After all those humiliations with the Hunters of Artemis, we thought we should humiliate them back."
Marcus said nothing as he glared at them. Then he suddenly grabbed them by the wrists and lifted them up, making the two yelp. "We are about to go on a mission to possibly save us from possible destruction, and you make pranks that incapacitate one of our team members?" He then began squeezing, making them moan in pain loudly. "You two never learn. Perhaps a few broken bones will teach you a lesson."
The red-eyed demigod then began squeezing tighter, making Connor and Travis beg him to stop as they yelled in pain, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.
"Marcus, stop it!" Chiron ordered as he approached the three demigods. "Let them go! What they did was foolish, and they will be punished, but that is up to me, not you! So let them go!"
Marcus then glanced at Chiron briefly before looking back at the two sons of Hermes, before releasing their wrist, and making them fall on the ground. The two then began nursing their hands, sure nothing was broken but there were definitely going to be nasty bruises.
"Thanks, Chiron," Travis said. "I'll never complain about chores again."
Chiron pointed at them. "You two go and drink some Nectar. You'll need your hands fully functional for your punishment." The two brothers complied before getting up, all the while making sure to avoid eye contact with Marcus. They honestly forgot how vicious he can be.
Marcus turned to Chiron. "How is Phoebe's situation?" he asked
Chiron sighed. "She'll be fine, but she'll also be bedridden for days. She can't go on the quest," he answered. "By the way, you should hurry. The others are about to leave."
Marcus nodded and quickly ran to the meeting place.
What happened yesterday was quite a spectacle, with the Oracle actually walking out in the field and speaking the prophecy. Which sounded something like this: Six shall go west to the goddess in chains, one will be lost in the land without rain. The bane of Olympus shows the trail, campers and hunters combined prevail. The titan's curse must one withstand, as anger's past will come first hand."
So they gathered the Team which would have consisted of Marcus, Grover, Thalia, Bianca, Phoebe, and Zoe. However, thanks to the Stolls they were down by one.
The other four were located at a white van that was to be their mode of transport for the quest, waiting for Marcus to show up.
"Are you sure we can't get anyone else?" Thalia asked Zoe.
"No, we don't have time to decide who will come next," Zoe answered. "Besides Phoebe, there was no obvious choice for the next candidate, and deciding on another will take too long. We depart as soon as Marcus arrives."
Thalia stared at Zoe for a minute, still wondering why she actually accepted Marcus in their group. Her mind went back to last night.
After the Oracle finished her prophecy, there was once again a gathering in the meeting room.
"We have no time to waste," Chiron said. "Artemis needs to be at the council of the gods at Winter Solstice, which is in only five days. She is the most vocal about gods needing to fight Kronos' armies, and without her, the gods will be undecided and we'll lose another year of preparations for the war."
"As the Oracle said we'll need to work together with the Hunters to succeed in the quest," Marcus said before looking at Zoe. "And I will be a part of that team. That is non-negotiable."
Phoebe glared and was about to protest but Zoe beat her to the punch. "Very well," she said nodding. "Thou shalt join us in our quest to free our lady, Artemis."
Phoebe couldn't believe what she was hearing; Thalia too was surprised considering how much she knew of Zoe and the hunters.
"You can't be serious," Phoebe protested. "Why would you let this boy into our team?"
"Because he is the best demigod in the entire camp," Zoe simply answered. "We'll need the best this camp has to offer, so his help is invaluable."
Phoebe wanted to argue, but she knew that her sister had a point. But still, to accept a male in their group so casually, especially for Zoe, was unheard of. Something didn't sit right with Phoebe about that.
"I'll go," Grover said. "My satyr senses and woodland magic will come in handy."
Percy then rose. "Then I'll go as well."
"No, thou aren't," Zoe said firmly. "I made an exception for Marcus because of his incredible skill. Besides that, no boy will be joining us."
"But you accepted Grover," Percy argued.
"He is a satyr, so he technically isn't boy," Zoe argued back.
Grover rubbed his head, not certain should he be glad or offended. He may be a satyr but he was obviously a male, but on the other hand that did give him an opportunity to help his friend so right now, he wasn't arguing.
"Doesn't matter because I'll go," Thalia chimed. "As Marcus can attest, I fought my fair share of monsters, so my experience in that field will come in handy."
Marcus wasn't sure about letting her go in danger like that, but she did speak the truth. But then he thought about how if she is in his team then he'll be able to keep an eye on her and guard her. He wasn't going to fail her again.
"Thalia speaks the truth," Marcus said. "We fought many monsters before we arrived at the camp."
"Very well then," Zoe said. "I shall take Phoebe with me since she is our best tracker, and Bianca will come as well." That got a surprised look from the older Angelo. "This will be a good way to prove herself."
Bianca nodded. "I accept."
Percy turned to Chiron. "Since when is she in charge. I have every right to be on that quest!"
"I'm sorry, Percy," Chiron said. "But this quest is for the Hunters, and they are the ones who decide who will go."
"But I had dreams about Annabeth, I know she needs help."
"Percy!" a stern call from Marcus made the green-eyed demigod turn to the caller. "Listen, I know you want to help, but we don't need to complicate things any further. If it is any consolation, you should know that I'll do all I can to save her."
Grover smiled and walked right next to Marcus. "Me too! I'll do my best to save our friend," he said before noticing that Marcus was looking at him, making his smile drop. "Er, sorry about that."
The young satyr was about to move away but Marcus grabbed his shoulder. "It's fine. I'm not offended by everything." That made Grover blush a bit in embarrassment before smiling.
"Listen," Thalia told Percy. "She is my friend too. We went through a lot together on our travels, so I'll also make sure she comes back safe."
Marcus then joined the group as they waited next to the van.
"Good, we're all here," Zoe said. "I'll drive."
"Wait, you will drive?" Thalia asked. "I look closer to sixteen than you."
"Maybe, but I drove ever since cars were invented."
"No, I'll drive," Marcus said getting their attention. He then took out his bag and began rummaging a bit through it. "Just in case we get attention from the official law…" He then took out a driver's license with his picture on it. "…we'll have this for insurance."
"Since when did you get a driver's license?" Thalia asked.
"It's not a real one, but a magical forgery," Marcus explained. "It was one of the gifts from Apollo after I retrieved his shield."
"Wow, that's nice," Grover commented.
Zoe nodded. "Alright, we'll have you drive us."
"Wait!"
The group then turned to see a woman in an elegant Greek robe run towards them, Marcus recognizing her as Zora.
"What are you doing here?" Marcus asked.
"Seeing you off," she replied. "I don't remember the last time I did that."
"Well, thank you," Marcus said.
"Yeah, well… I wish I can give you any useful blessings for this quest," Zora said. "But I think this will do just fine."
She then stood on her toes and gave Marcus a kiss on the lips, shocking the four.
The two broke their kiss and Zora looked at her lover with a smile. "I'll see you later."
She then disappeared in a flash of light.
Zoe blinked a bit before addressing Marcus. "Who was that woman?"
"Doesn't matter," Marcus said dismissively. "We have to go."
The group was then seated in the van, and Marcus began to drive. The drive itself wasn't anything special as they didn't come in contact with any monster. Grover requested that Marcus turn on the radio so they didn't get completely bored, which he did. It currently played the song Amaranth by Nightwish.
"Hey, Marcus," Thalia called.
"What?" Marcus said, not letting his eyes stray from the road.
"Remember that time shortly after we picked up Annabeth? We needed something to drive so we took that Camaro, and you were also on the wheel. Then we were stopped by that policeman for driving too fast."
Marcus recalled the memory of that, remembering the surprised look on that policeman's face when he saw the then too young to drive a car Marcus in the driving seat. "Yeah, he stopped us and demanded that we get out."
Thalia then chuckled. "Yeah, we didn't want to so he threatened us before you knocked him out and we punched it." She then laughed at the memory of Marcus getting out of the car and hitting the policeman in the face.
"Sounds like you had quite a few adventures," Bianca commented, interested in their story.
"Yeah, adventures," Marcus said in a more sour tone, showing he didn't have a high opinion on it.
"Come on, Marcus, not all of them were bad," Thalia said.
"With how many times we were close to death, I think that enough of them were bad," Marcus said, still intently focused on the road.
Since now it seemed like a good time to start a conversation, Zoe decided to speak up. "Will thee tell us now who that woman was?"
Thalia looked at Zoe, surprised by the hint of… hostility? that she heard in her voice. Zoe wasn't really an advocate for love but even she isn't against other people having relationships.
"She was Zora, a daughter of Aphrodite," Marcus answered. "She and her sister, Lora, are with me."
"With you? Like… in a relationship?" Bianca asked.
"Somewhat," he said. "Those two… well… they make sure that I don't go insane."
Thalia blinked in surprise. "Insane? From what?"
"Doesn't matter," Marcus said dismissively. "Look, I'm not in the mood to talk about it. We have a mission and we should focus on that."
The force in his voice made everyone pause from asking any more questions about that. But that did give them something to think about. So he was with those two so he doesn't turn insane? Grover knew his situation so he understood, Zoe knew enough to infer why, Thalia could guess, but Bianca had no idea.
"I'm sorry, romantic relationships are a rarity for Hunters of Artemis so we can be too blunt with the questions," Zoe said.
Thalia scoffed. "More like non-existent."
Zoe gave her a glare before Marcus spoke up. "Not completely," he said gaining everyone's attention. "True, the requirements for the Hunters are to rid yourself of romantic love, but that was aimed to rid themselves of men. However, it would appear that Artemis didn't count on the Hunters falling in love with each other, causing them to be rejected."
Bianca turned to her superior. "Is that true?"
Zoe bit her lip before answering. "It is. There were cases of such a thing happening," she said before turning to Marcus. "And how dost thee know of such a thing?"
"My tasks for the gods lead me to many places, and in some of them I met former Hunters of Artemis."
"Huh, I guess your precious hunt isn't so perfect after all," Thalia said smugly with her arms crossed.
"Well, that's what happens when you recruit young girls who didn't discover who they are yet," Marcus added. Zoe was about to protest but Marcus put his hand up. "And don't tell me it's not like that. You know that I am right."
Zoe wanted to protest, and some time ago she would have, but she held her tongue and just sighed. After she saw what happened to Marcus, she had to say she agreed with him.
"Alright, we're nearing Washington," Marcus commented as they drove into the city. The van was also soon parked, which was a bit easier considering the place wasn't so crowded now.
"Grover, it's your turn now," Marcus said.
Grover pumped his chest and gave a salute. "Yes, sir!" He then began sniffing around, trying to find the trail of the moon goddess.
They followed Grover for a while, eventually ending up in the Air and Space Museum. Grover still followed the scent, which was getting stronger by the minute. They were currently located on the upper floor, away from other visitors.
"I'm pretty sure this is where Artemis' trail leads," Grover commented. "There's a powerful monster scent. She must have stopped here looking for the mystery doomsday monster."
"Hey, guys!" they all heard a familiar voice call out and saw that it was Percy, running up to them.
"What are thou doing here?!" Zoe demanded. "You aren't allowed on this quest!"
"Took you long enough," Marcus said making everyone look at him shocked.
"You knew he was following us?" Thalia asked. "Did you tell him to follow?"
"Yes, I did, and no, I didn't," Marcus answered. "But after thinking about it, it only made sense. Since Phoebe was incapacitated it was obvious that someone will have to take her spot in the team, which would require six of us since that's how much the Oracle said there would be. And knowing Percy, I figured it was only a matter of time before he came."
Percy slightly blushed at being read like an open book, but quickly shook it off. "Listen, I saw Luke, Dr. Thorn, and the General here!"
"The General? That's impossible," Zoe said.
"Well, he was there, and he summoned some skeleton warriors with dragon teeth!" Percy said.
"How many?" Marcus demanded, wanting to know if his suspicions were correct.
"Twelve, I think. But that's not all, he also said he is sending us a 'playmate'."
"Um, guys I think I know what he is talking about," Grover said frantically and pointed downstairs, with the group noticing a huge golden lion, the Nemean Lion.
The Nemean Lion roared and ran after them. Zoe and Bianca shot arrows at it but the lunar silver only bounced off the lion. Thalia then tried to hit it with her electrified spear, but the lion wasn't fazed as it swatted her aside.
Marcus growled, before jumping down and on top of the lion. Their weapons were useless since they wouldn't be able to pierce its indestructible hide, so Marcus resorted to wrapping his arms around its neck. The lion struggled as it tried to pry Marcus off of him, even dropping itself on its back but the marked demigod held on tight.
Grover ducked out of the way of the struggling lion, the two Hunters trying to assist with their arrows, and Thalia was knocked down.
Percy took out his sword, not knowing how it could help. He saw Marcus trying to choke the lion but the task was incredibly hard.
'Come on, Percy! Think!' Percy thought to himself. He really wished Annabeth was here, she would instantly come up with a solution. 'Ok, so the lion's hide is indestructible, which means we can't hurt it normally, so…' Percy then perked up as he thought of something. 'That's it! The hide is what's indestructible, not everything else!'
Marcus struggled against the lion, even with his strength he wasn't having too much luck in strangling it. He then noticed Percy motioning towards the Hunters and in his mouth. Getting the message, and seeing the two Hunters going for another shot, he got himself ready. When arrows were loose, with a huge amount of strength he moved the Nemean Lion's roaring head, with Zoe's arrow actually hitting the beast in the mouth while Bianca's hit the lions chin. The lion struggled to breathe as Marcus applied the pressure on the neck. Soon the Lion then turned to golden dust, leaving its hide behind as Marcus was dropped on the ground.
"Woohoo! You did it!" Grover cheered.
Marcus got up, took the now lion cloak, and approached Percy before presenting him the cloak. "That was some quick thinking, figuring out the mouth was a weakness. This is your victory."
The others were surprised to hear Marcus say that Percy came up with the idea. He was known as 'seaweed brain' for a reason.
"It's… not really my style," Percy said making Marcus.
"It's not about style, but usefulness," Marcus said before pushing the cloak into Percy's arms. "So keep it."
Then the group heard some footsteps coming their way, and saw that it was those skeleton men, tight now disguised as security guards.
Marcus glared, ready to fight them, but then he felt some stinging on his right arm. He saw some sort of needle sticking out of it, which he quickly took out and examined, with others not noticing as they were focused on the skeletons.
'Oh, no,' Marcus thought in worry. "Listen! We need to get out of here! Quickly!"
"I think I can help!" Grover exclaimed before taking out his flute and playing a special tune. The skeletons stopped moving towards them and began looking around as if confused. "The confusion spell won't work for long. We need to go."
The group of six quickly ran out of the museum, but when they reached the van they saw a helicopter over it, indicating that the enemy knew about it.
"We need to get to the nearest train station! We'll be able to reach our destination that way!" Bianca exclaimed getting agreements from the others as they quickly retreated from the spot to a train station. After buying tickets for Alexandria, and quickly got on board.
They quickly got to their seats, with Marcus going on his lonesome as the train took off. Zoe couldn't help but feel unsure about the situation so she followed him. When she saw him, a look of surprise came over her as she found Marcus on his knees, letting out heavy breaths before taking his satchel with a shaking hand. He reached into it, but then fell down face first.
Zoe quickly rushed over to him. "By the gods, what's happening to thee?!"
"Poison… spread faster… than I anticipated," he was able to mutter as he began sweating.
"Poison, what pois- Never mind, how do I help thee?!"
"A green vial… in the satchel… Take it out."
Zoe nodded before picking up the satchel from the floor and opening it. She looked inside and her eyes became wide from what she saw. Various items were in there, some she couldn't recognize. She wondered how he managed to navigate in it.
She shook her head to move those thoughts away, before reaching into the satchel, trying to find a green vial among the items. Eventually, she saw what appeared to be the green vial and took it out.
The millennia-old Hunter then grabbed Marcus and turned him so that he was laying on his back. She then moved over his head and opened the vial. Using her fingers she opened his and went to pour in the green liquid, but to her shook Marcus wasn't swallowing, which led to some of it spilling on the floor.
"No, no, no, no, no!" Zoe yelled out, not wanting for Marcus to end his life this way.
She then looked at the remaining liquid in the vial, an idea coming to mind. She brought the vial to her mouth and took a drink, making sure she didn't swallow it, before leaning down and bringing her lips to Marcus' mouth. She then poured the liquid from her mouth into his, even using her tongue to make sure it went into his throat.
After making sure that all the liquid was administered, she pulled her head away and wiped her lips, still feeling the sour taste on her tongue. Taking a good look at Marcus' face, she silently prayed that the cure did its job.
Marcus' expression went from strained to a calm one, and his sweating stopped as he began breathing normally, making the Hunter sigh in relief.
Grover then appeared next to them. "Hey what's going on here?" he said before gasping as he saw Marcus sprawled on the ground.
"Listen, help me get him up," Zoe said causing Grover to quickly go to action as the two grabbed Marcus by each arm, and slowly picked him up with a few grunts. It would appear that being so muscled had its downsides as well.
AN: And that is it for now! We had some character interactions, and we had some action. I hope you enjoyed yourselves.
I also implore you to check out my other stories, they're worth your while. And leave a review, they are great motivators.
See you next time!