Rage of a Demigod
AN: Hello there, my dear readers! Well, I didn't get to say it in the last chapter so I'll say it now. THANK YOU ALL! This fic was the first to reach over a hundred favorites and follows, and is easily the most popular fic I have written. It fills my heart with joy knowing that so many people like my writing. True, those numbers aren't special compared to some other fanfics but they are special to me. Once again, thank you.
Now to reviews.
Dcraus: Not very likely.
hhawkeyestratos1996: Well, I try to have my story to be at least somewhat different.
RedHood001: I am glad to see you're still enjoying the chapters.
And I find it a bit weird when you say that Marcus' absence was felt in Book 4 when I barely covered it. Did he leave that much of an impact on you?
Resurrection99: Glad to hear it.
Gamelover41592: Well I wanted this story to have some form of tragedy, and it wouldn't be interesting if Marcus just saved everyone as he did with Zoe.
Nerf585: Whoa there, you're thinking a bit too far ahead.
michelmmm: Thank you.
12 This Seems Familiar
Deep shaky breaths left his lips as he struggled to lift his heavy eyelids. His hands were immobilized; this contraption around his neck was bound to the ground, forcing him to kneel. Marcus would have said he was in a worse situation but that probably wouldn't be true.
Fingers twitched, but only barely. His vision was blurry, teeth chattering. Everything began hurting, his body wriggled but his movements were restrained, the only effect he had was clanking chains. His breathing became faster before he tried to blink away the blurriness but it didn't work.
Marcus felt terrible, and he looked the part as well. He was thinner than before; his hair was messy and has grown long until it reached his back, and an unkempt beard formed on his face. Most of his clothes were gone too, only a shred of his pants covering his pelvic area, but other than that he was barefoot and his upper body completely exposed.
Another thing to note was the wounds showing on him, wounds that suddenly began pulsating, making him grit his teeth in pain. There was a gash across his torso, made with four long claws, and his arms were adorned with various cuts and bruises.
His mind was also hazy. He wasn't even sure how he got here, or why he was here. Just what happened to him? He got flashes in his mind, but those didn't make any sense.
Then he blinked as his blurry vision then showed a silhouette coming closer to him. He could at least tell that it was a woman wearing a long dress, but he couldn't make out any details. His breathing increased as he pulled on the chains but he wasn't able to tear them away from whatever was holding them, only making rattling noises echo in the room he was in.
The silhouetted woman knelt down as if to meet his eyes. Her own eyes then flashed with a green color before she raised her hand. Marcus tried moving away but his head barely moved centimeters as the woman's hand then touched the side of his face, a sudden warmth flowing through it.
"Oh, you poor child," the woman said in a soft motherly voice. "You shouldn't be suffering so."
That voice. He recognized it. He remembered that dream he had on the quest to save Artemis, where he had the visions of the future, which now that he thought about it involved a similar situation to this.
The woman then caressed his face gently. "I wish I could help you, but I am still very limited. But don't worry, your friends will come and save you. I'm sorry if this doesn't ease your pain, but until I awaken I can only give you words of comfort."
Marcus was now confused. Who on Earth was that woman? What did she mean by 'awaken'? Why was she interested in him?
"Who… are you?" Marcus asked in a strained voice.
He could almost feel the smile on that woman's lips. "You will find out in time. And after that, you will have your vengeance on those who wronged you. I'll see to it personally."
The woman's form then began to disappear. "No… wait," Marcus called out but the woman was already gone.
After a brief silence, Marcus hung his head.
"Wakey, wakey, you pathetic demigod," a raspy female voice said making Marcus look up and see a clawed hand coming towards him.
"So let me get this straight," Annabeth said. "You're telling me, that this guy Orkos sent Marcus on a mission to free himself from Ares' services, but that mission went wrong and Marcus has been held prisoner somewhere at the Sea of Monsters for the past year?"
Percy nodded. "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," he said.
"Um, Percy," Grover said as he rubbed the back of his head. "Are you sure you can trust that guy? I mean… he is probably leading us into a trap. Maybe he purposely sent Marcus there to be captured. For all we know, this guy works for Luke."
"That could be the case," Annabeth said as she rubbed her chin in thought. "But why wait only after so many months to try and trap us? We've been a hindrance to Kronos' plans for a while, and we beat the invading army he sent through the Labyrinth. You would think he would get rid of us earlier. Not to mention the Sea of Monster isn't the most stable place to operate from."
"And you do remember how Luke reacted when he saw that Marcus wasn't with us?" Percy asked.
After finding Rachel, Percy and Annabeth returned to the Labyrinth and ended up in an arena that was being led by Antaeus, a son of Poseidon. Luke was trying to negotiate his aid but Antaeus was easily bored by the arena fights.
"Bah, this is nothing I haven't seen before!" Antaeus as a centaur was executed. "Do you have something better for me, son of Hermes?"
Luke had a drop of sweat running down the side of his face. He was already on thin ice and securing an alliance with Antaeus is something that had to succeed.
Then he saw Kelli approach him before whispering something in his ear. A smile then graced his lips.
"Mighty Antaeus," he said. "I know a proper way to amuse you for a safe passage through the Labyrinth. Behold!" He then extended his hand in Percy's direction. "Percy Jackson, a son of Poseidon!"
Antaeus couldn't help but grin. "A son of Poseidon? Excellent! He should fight well. Or die well."
Percy only glared at the stands where Luke and Antaeus were located. "Nice to see you as well, Luke!" Percy called out. "I see you're still busy bending over for others!"
Luke's eyes narrowed in anger as he gave a snarl. "Percy, you should really watch how you speak," he said. Luke could tell that it was a kind of insult that Marcus would have for him. Speaking of which, something was missing. "And where exactly is Marcus? Shouldn't he be here?"
"Enough talk!" Antaeus yelled, interrupting Luke who tried his best not to look annoyed. "I want to see this son of Poseidon fight! Now commence round one!"
"That is a good point," Annabeth as she remembered the time in the arena. While Luke could be pretending, she was sure that wasn't the case since they would probably brag about getting Marcus.
"Regardless, whatever this is, it's the best lead we had concerning where Marcus is," Percy said. "We need to get to the Sea of Monsters and rescue him."
"Then I shall assist thee." The three turned towards the direction of the voice and saw Zoe coming from behind a tree. "Yes, I heard thine conversation. And I will go with thee to liberate Marcus."
"You want to help us?" Annabeth asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, I do," Zoe answered. "Is that a problem?"
"You're more than welcome to join us, Zoe!" Percy quickly said with a smile. He was aware that Annabeth didn't know about Zoe's feelings for Marcus or why she was kicked out of the Hunters of Artemis, so he better not let this escalate. "Your help will be most invaluable!"
Annabeth looked at Percy in shock. Both for the fact of how quickly he agreed to this, and the fact he knew how to use the word 'invaluable'.
"Then tell me, when did thou plan to depart?"
"As soon as we can," Percy answered. "But… I think we need to keep this one a secret. If too many people know, the word may reach Ares and he might end up stopping us."
"That's… actually pretty good thinking," Annabeth commented before lightly tapping her boyfriend on the head. "Guess you aren't such a seaweed brain after all."
Percy couldn't help but blush at the compliment and rub the back of his head. "Well, I… have my moments."
"Yeah, well, I'm sorry to say," Grover began as the three looked at him. He slightly fidgeted in place and looked at the ground. "I can't go with you. You see… I promised Pan that I would help-"
"Spread the word of his death and unite the nature spirits," Percy finished to which Grover nodded.
"I would love to help Marcus, I really would, but I-"
Percy then put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I understand completely. You have other duties that need your attention, so we won't have you abandon them."
Grover smiled before hugging the son of Poseidon. "You are a great friend, Percy. I never regretted being your guardian for a second."
Percy was caught off guard for a moment by the sudden gesture before returning the hug. "No problem, Grov."
The girls smiled at the sight of such affection, Zoe, in particular, finding it heartwarming considering her limited experience with the emotional side of men.
The two then broke the hug. "So, I guess we should start packing," Percy suggested.
"We'll need to secure our mode of transportation first," Zoe said. "We cannot waste time by walking on foot to the Sea of Monsters."
"We could ask Rainbow and the other Hippocampi to give us a lift," Percy said.
Annabeth shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea. That way Poseidon would know we are up to something, and we risk Ares discovering it."
"Ok, then… um… Got it! What about Blackjack and the Pegasi?! Sure, my father is the lord of horses but they aren't nearly as personal as the Hippocampi. We could sneak away with them and they are plenty fast."
"Another good idea, Percy," Annabeth said with a smile, before giving a slight frown as she fingered her chin. "Are you sure you're the real Percy Jackson?" she dragged the question as she eyed Percy with fake intensity.
The green-eyed demigod groaned. "Oh cut me some slack, will you? I'm not THAT dumb."
Annabeth chuckled. "Sorry about that. I just like messing with you."
"If thou art done, we need to prepare," Zoe interjected. "Thee can have thine jokes later. Marcus is in trouble and we need to leave. Preferably tonight."
The two demigods straightened themselves and nodded. Zoe was right, now wasn't the time to joke around, they had a friend to save.
After the usual day in the camp was over, Percy, Annabeth, and Zoe packed some provisions and equipment for their journey, with Zoe making sure she took her supply of silver arrows. Considering where they were going, it is an obvious choice.
Once the curfew began, Percy easily sneaked out of the Poseidon cabin, while Annabeth and Zoe had to be stealthier in getting out of the Big House and the Athena cabin. The three of them agreed to meet at the stables just after ten in the evening.
Only the three of them would be on this quest, with Grover busy with his own duties, and they weren't sure if they would be able to convince anyone else, at least when it comes to alerting the entire camp.
They quickly found themselves at the stables, with Percy giving them a thumbs-up as the first step went successfully. Then he peered over, seeing many Pegasi asleep. After finding the right one, Percy moved closer.
"Blackjack, hey, Blackjack," Percy called out in a hushed tone, hoping that he would wake up the other horses.
The black stallion steered as his eyes slightly opened, seeing the familiar of the sea god's son. Shaking his head and slightly spreading his wings, Blackjack moved closer to Percy.
"Hey there, boss," Blackjack said, with only Percy being able to understand him. "What are you doing out here so late at night?"
"Well, we need your help," Percy explained. "Annabeth, Zoe, and I need transport to the Sea of Monsters."
Blackjack shook slightly as he looked at Percy like he was insane. "The Sea of Monsters? Now why on Earth would you go there?"
"Look, you remember how Marcus disappeared, right?" Percy asked getting a nod from Blackjack. While the black Pegasus wasn't really close to the red-eyed demigod, he knew enough about him to know he was close to those three. "Well, I recently found out that he is kept there as a prisoner, and is probably tortured."
Zoe and Annabeth flinched when he said that, remembering how Percy described Marcus' situation.
"Oh, that's not good," the stallion commented. "I'll gladly help you, boss. But… Well, the Sea of Monsters gives me the creeps. People and Pegasi avoid the place like a plague for a reason."
"I know, but Marcus is in danger, and we need to get there as quickly as possible. And you are the only one I trust with this. Besides, you don't need to go much, just drop us off at one of the islands and return before morning."
Blackjack was silent for several moments, pondering on what to do. "Oh, alright, you win, boss."
Percy smiled. "Thank you. I'll give you plenty of sugar cubes as a reward."
"Oh, thank you, boss," Blackjack said excitedly. "But, I'll need some help." He then turned towards another Pegasus before extending his wing and lightly tapping him on the back. "Hey, Porkpie, wake up."
Porkpie quickly abandoned the realm of dreams as he looked at his fellow Pegasus. "Dude, what is it? Do you see how late it is?"
"Sorry about that. Listen, the boss and his two friends need a lift."
Blackjack then proceeded to explain just what was required of them. Porkpie, understandably, was hesitant to agree at first but after some talk, and some offering of sugar cubes by Percy, he agreed to go.
The two stallions were silently brought out of the stables, with Percy and Annabeth mounting Blackjack and Zoe taking Porkpie.
"You know, Percy," Annabeth said. "I wish Thalia was here. She would definitely have been a great help in the quest."
"Yeah, I know," Percy simply told her. If Thalia wasn't with the Hunters then she would surely have gone with them, and she would have also kept it a secret. But it would seem that the three of them would have to do.
"You ready, boss?" Blackjack asked.
"Ready," Percy said. "And remember, don't be too loud. We need to be discreet."
"Don't worry, I got it," Blackjack said before turning to the way ahead. He spread his wings wide and gave a few flaps before running forward and jumping upwards, his wings flapping and carrying him in the wind.
Porkpie quickly followed suit, he and Zoe quickly joining the others in the air.
The group then focused on their destination, the one where Percy and Annabeth have been to before. And this was also with the intention of saving someone.
They weren't sure what exactly happened to Marcus, or what part Ares played in that conspiracy, but they didn't care. Their friend was in trouble, even if the said friend didn't consider himself as such, and they would go through Hades itself to get him back.
Zoe looked in front of her with determination as she felt the wind of the chilly sky, her thoughts dwelling on Marcus.
Only recently did the former Hunter of Artemis learn how it is to have feelings for someone, and she was the one who had the most reason to find him. True, Marcus was friends with Annabeth and Percy, but to her, he was more, and after finding out where he was there was no way Zoe would miss the opportunity.
'Hold on, Marcus,' Zoe thought. 'We'll free thee from whoever holds thee prisoner.'
AN: And that is it for now! Yeah, this one was a bit shorter than the usual, and mostly serves as a set-up for what is to come, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. And I'm also pretty sure you realized who the woman that talked to Marcus was.
I implore you to go and check out my other stories, they are worth it. And leave a review, they are great motivators.
See you next time!