Chapter 29:
As Markus held Luke at sword-point and Luke was doing the same thing to Percy, two big bear-man like thugs appeared on either side of the group. One grabbed Annabeth and Grover by their collars but before they could move, they were skewered by several weapons that appeared out of thin air, courtesy of Markus. They ended up fading into gold dust.
Another one tried to grab Tyson, but Tyson knocked him into a pile of luggage and roared at Luke.
"Now, now, there is no need for fighting," Luke said calmly, though he glared at the spot where the two bear men were, as if thinking why they were so useless. "I suggest you calm your big friend down otherwise he will be making a trip to the Underworld."
Tyson growled at Luke but Percy and Annabeth calmed him down before they glared at Luke. They would have made a move against him but multiple monsters appeared behind Luke and around them trying to box them in.
Markus' eyes meanwhile scanned around making sure there were none hiding in secret and waiting to jump them in surprise.
"What do you want Luke?" Percy asked, wanting to pull Riptide out and take a swing at Luke.
"Why, Percy." Luke said. "I want to extend my hospitality, of course." He gestured behind him to show a large ship with the words 'Princess Andromeda' written on the side of it.
"Now, Markus. Put your sword away. You can't take on all these monsters and myself at the same time," Luke warned. Markus glared at him, contemplating on whether he should attack or not. He possible couldn't take all of them at the same time, but he did have an advantage. They were near water. It didn't matter what Luke planned. If he could surprise him, it was all he needed. Plus, he didn't want the others to be hurt.
Slowly, he put away Wavebreaker as Luke nodded. "Good boy." Markus glared at Luke for that remark. He really wanted to cut his head off right now. It was just so tempting.
He led them up onto the boat before stopping on the bow of the ship. Markus knew he could possibly get them out of this but this could be a chance to gather some kind of information and an opportunity like this was not going to come often. Plus, he was surrounded by water.
"What's wrong, Markus? I thought that you were so eager to kill me? Or are you not going to cast a spell at me?" Luke taunted, trying to get a rise out of him.
Markus glared at him, but didn't do anything.
Luke looked like he wanted to say more but a he gained a look on his face as if someone was talking to him. He nodded his head before shaking it and staring back at the four.
"Let's cut to the chase, where is the Fleece?" Luke demanded. He looked over all of them, wanting to prod Percy's shirt with the tip of his sword and poking Grover's jeans.
"Hey!" Grover yelled. "That's real goat fur under there!"
"Sorry, old friend. I will try to be more careful next time."
"You are no friend of mine," Grover said, crossing his arms trying to look tough, though it just made Luke look amused.
When he went to do the same to Annabeth Markus gave a loud growl, his eyes glowing in anger. Despite feeling overconfident, Luke didn't want to take his chances.
Looking a little frustrated, Luke glared at them. "Just give me the Fleece and I'll leave you to return to your, ah, little nature quest."
He examined them and looked like he was about to explode when he could not find the Fleece anywhere in sight. Markus smiled at the sight. It was nice to see that things weren't going Luke's way.
"We sent it ahead. It is already on its way back to camp," Percy said feeling a little happy at the angry and frustrated look that was on Luke's face.
Luke's eyes narrowed at the group of four. "You're lying. You couldn't have..." he started before his face reddened as a horrible possibility occurred to him and began looking behind them before looking them in the eyes. "Clarisse?"
"That's right," Markus replied in a sing-song voice, glad to see him so frustrated. "What's wrong? Didn't come prepared?"
"You gave it to that ridiculous daughter of Ares. Something as valuable as the Fleece and you gave it to that fool."
"Better in her hands than yours, bastard," Markus replied gleefully. "Oh, is red your new colour today? Such a nice look for you." He said this in response to Luke's growing red face.
Looking like he was about to snap at any moment Luke called for Agrius, one of the bear men beside him. "Get below and prepare my steed. Bring it to the deck. I need to fly to the Miami Airport, fast. Do it now!" Luke screamed. "Or I'll feed you to the drakon!"
Markus was about to taunt Luke again but then looked at Percy who suddenly began to speak and yell at Luke.
"You've been toying with us all along," Percy said trying to further rile up Luke more then he already was. "You wanted us to bring you the Fleece and save you the trouble of getting it."
Luke scowled from his spot. "Of course, you idiot! And you've messed everything up!"
The others then watched as Percy threw something that was awful shiny towards Luke which the son of Hermes easily dodged and then made a plopping sound as it landed in the pound behind him.
What is he doing? Markus thought. Thinking on it a little, Markus grinned. Okay, I take everything I said about him being an idiot back.
A little above the water mist began to form and a screen like apparition began to form.
When he saw that it was an Iris message and saw the hall with everyone having dinner as well as Mr D, he realized what Percy was doing and mentally applauded him.
"You tricked all of us!" Percy yelled at Luke. "Even DIONYSUS at CAMP HALF-BLOOD!"
Seeing the Iris message from behind Luke, Annabeth and the others also realized what Percy was doing and saw Mr. D in the Iris message turn around and give them an odd glance.
Percy managed to keep Luke's attention by uncapping Riptide, which only made Luke sneer at him.
"This is no time for heroics, Percy. Drop your puny little sword, or I'll have you killed sooner rather than later."
"Who poisoned Thalia's tree, Luke? Was it you or did you get one of your little minions to do it because you were too frightened to do it yourself? After all you have proved yourself a traitor and a coward.
Luke snarled at Percy as if daring him to say another word at him while the monster behind him took a step forward. "You know I did you plundering fool I already told you that on the ship. I used elder python venom, straight from the depths of Tartarus. It was too easy to do so since most of those worthless demigods at camp were not even there."
"Chiron had nothing to do with it?" Percy added trying to show everyone at camp that Chiron was completely innocent of the crime the gods belied he committed.
"Ha! You know he would never do that. The old fool wouldn't have the guts." Luke raised his sword. "You don't understand the half of it and are as clueless as ever. I was going to let you take the Fleece... once I was done with it."
"So you were going to use it to heal Kronos?" Markus inputted his own piece. "Did you not read the myths, Luke? You want to bring back an evil Titan so mankind can be enslaved?"
"Like the Olympians are any better!" Luke retorted. "They are just as bad. At least I'm on the winning side!"
"What winning side?! Where everyone dies and we all lose if Kronos rises?!" Markus yelled out.
"I don't have to explain myself to you. The Fleece's magic would've sped his mending process by tenfold. But you haven't stopped us, Percy. You've only slowed us down a little," Luke added ignoring the looks they were giving him.
"And so you poisoned the tree, you betrayed Thalia, you set us up - all to help Kronos destroy the gods."
They watched as Luke gritted his teeth and shook his fists. "You already know that! Why do you keep asking me?"
Luke then watched as a grin appeared on Percy's face and pointed behind him. "We just wanted to make sure that we had an audience next time when you tell us everything you have done and are going to do."
"Well this is an unplanned entertainment for dinner," Mr. D said making Luke and his goons turn around and have their eyes widen when they saw Mr. D and the camp all in the dining pavilion staring back at them.
"Mr. D, you heard him." Percy said. "You all heard Luke. The poisoning of the tree wasn't Chiron's fault."
"I suppose so." Mr. D sighed. "I will get on bringing him back as we speak. My thanks for enlightening us all Perry," Mr. D said before he swiped the Iris message and made it disappear.
When he did Luke roared as he slashed the fountain, destroying it and any remnants of the Iris message before turning to them.
Markus just laughed while pointing at him. "H-how ironic. The son of Hermes being swindled," he commented while laughing at the same time.
"Kronos was right, Percy. You're an unreliable weapon. You need to be replaced," Luke said before one of the soldiers on the side blew a bronze whistle. When he did many doors and hatchets opened up and warriors and monsters came pouring out and onto the deck.
Percy made to go after Luke but Markus shouted, "No! Leave him to me! He's mine!"
Luke laughed mockingly. "Like you have any chance against me, Markus. I'm not so easily baited that I would challenge you myself."
"Then I'll offer the invitation, then," Markus retorted as he dashed forward at super speed, taking out Wavebreaker and meeting Luke's quick strike.
Markus ignored the scenes around him as he could briefly see the others fighting the monsters. So he turned his attention to Luke as the two fought with their blades. Each clang echoed across the ship as they moved as they fought, each swiping, slicing at and dodging each other.
As they clashed, Markus could feel Luke gain the slight upper hand. He knew that Luke was a better swordsman than him because of skill and experience. But he had something that he didn't have: the superior speed. While he noticed that his movements were faster than an average demigod (probably due to being a son of Hermes and being faster than average) Markus channeled kinetic energy into his strikes, speeding them up and making them even faster.
Instead of holding Wavebreaker in one hand, he was now holding it in two. He was using his traditional kendo techniques against Luke. Normally, using those stances with a Greek sword wouldn't work, because of the size difference in a kendo stick and a Greek sword. However, because he was speeding his attacks up, they were able to hit Luke at his sword, at his sides, etc. The increase in speed, plus the use of a stance that wasn't the traditional Greek stance, caught Luke off guard and allowed Markus to cut him at his left forearm. It wasn't a deep cut, but it was something.
Luke scowled at seeing the wound. "A lucky shot. You won't get the same result next time."
"Sure," Markus grinned. "Maybe that might happen, if I was willing to play fair." Reaching out with his connection to the sea around them, Markus commanded the boat to rock sharply, the waves buffeting the boat. With the sharp tug in his gut, the boat rocked sharply back and forth, unbalancing everyone, mosnters, satyr and demigods included. Markus, however, remained unaffected. Salt water sprayed the deck from beneath them, washing away the monsters and soaking the demigods with Percy being the exception.
With the spray of water, and the advantage given to him, Markus zoomed towards Luke, disarming him using the technique that he had taught him and Percy long ago, and stabbed Luke in the stomach. All in roughly four seconds.
Luke gasped sharply as he was pierced by Wavebreaker, his blood coating the blade that exited out of his back. Markus grinned sadistically. "You may be a better swordsman, but you forgot one thing: never fight a son of Poseidon near the ocean." He twisted the blade, getting Luke to gasp, this time much louder, in pain. "Now, I'm going to enjoy this."
Cocking his fist back, Markus channeled earthquake energy into his fist and smashed it against Luke's cheek, hearing a crack. Luke yelled in pain as he was launched back from the force, dislodging himself from Wavebreaker. He hit the railing of the ship, groaning in pain. His cheek was swollen.
As he was trying to get his bearings, Markus appeared with a soundless Sonido (would that technically be called a Flash Step, since there was no sound?) in front of him. Reaching forward, he grabbed his neck and threw him to the ground. He stomped down on Luke's throat, getting him to choke. Wanting to do more damage, he stabbed Wavebreaker down onto one of his hands, getting him to scream in pain.
"Hurts, doesn't it?" Markus taunted. He grinned with a sadistic grin. "I'm going to make you suffer, you son of a bitch. Or better yet, might as well put you out of your misery." He raised his sword high, ready to chop Luke's head off.
As he was about to swing it down, Luke yelled out, "Wait!"
Against his better judgement, Markus halted the blade, just inches near the son of Hermes' neck. "What the fuck do you want? I'm not sparing you, if that's what you're going to say," Markus said, annoyed. Why the hell didn't he just behead him?
Luke chuckled, making Markus inch Wavebreaker nearer to his neck. "You really are different from the others, aren't you Markus?" he chuckled. "So willing to end my life. At least one of you is strong-hearted. Kronos mentioned that you were different from the others. That you could join our side, given the right circumstances."
"Fuck it," Markus muttered. He didn't want to hear him talk. He was about to continue what he intended to do when Luke spoke suddenly. "Did you ever wonder why you and Percy were targeted by Kronos, by the other gods, since day one?"
"I don't care what you have to say," Markus said, annoyed. "I'm just going to cut your head off with a smile on my face. Right now."
"A half-blood of the eldest gods, shall reach sixteen against all odds," Luke recited like a poem. "And see the world in endless sleep, a hero's soul, a cursed blade shall reap. A single choice shall end his days, Olympus to preserve or raze."
Markus looked at him with an incredulous expression, though he did feel a cold shiver run down his spine at the recital. "Okay? So you can recite poetry. Good for you."
"It's a prophecy," Luke said with a smug smile. "Specifically, the prophecy that'll decide the fate of Olympus and the world. And you and your brother are at the center of it. One of you shall reach sixteen, and either save or destroy Olympus with a choice. Oh, and you'll die while doing so. Kronos told me the prophecy in secret. He said that he hoped you would join us if you saw the only option available for you with the Olympians is death." Seeing Markus' conflicted look, Luke's smile widened. "Oh? Did no one tell you about it? I was so sure Chiron or your father would've told you the prophecy that would decide the fate of the world. How sad. Secrets is an ugly thing. One thing that I learned from being on Kronos' side is that you can't rely of friends. They will always let you down in the end."
"You know, that silver tongue that you inherited from Hermes won't save you, right?" Markus threatened, though his threat was only half-hearted. Internally, he was thinking to himself. Was that the prophecy that Chiron wouldn't tell him about? The one that concerned a child of the Big Three? Was that why the Big Three swore not to have any children? Because of the prophecy?
Luke smiled that damned annoying smile of his. "I'd beg to differ. It's the one thing from him that I don't mind inheriting." While he said that, Luke kicked out from under him and kicked Markus at his leg, making him stumble off of him.
Cursing himself for his carelessness, Markus quickly got back to his feet and quickly casted a wordless 'Ionioi Hetairoi'. Dozens of Mist weapons appeared and sailed towards Luke. He smiled, disappearing in darkness. The same way Percy said he disappeared last summer. The weapons pierced the spot where he was previously.
Markus roared in rage and frustration as he missed his target. Suddenly, he heard the sound of clopping approaching them.
A wild chorus of war cries and hooves thundering against metal. A dozen centaurs charged out of the main stairwell with none others then Chiron leading the way.
As Markus observed the centaurs, he was surprised. Both at their arrival and the fact that they had appeared. Now he could understood what Chiron meant by his kind being a wild bunch, though not in the manner that he had thought.
There were centaurs with black Arabian stallion bodies, others with gold palomino coats, others with orange-and-white spots like paint horses. Some wore brightly coloured T-shirts with Day-Glo letters that said PARTY PONIES: SOUTH FLORIDA CHAPTER. Some were armed with bows, some with baseball bats, and some with paintball guns. One had his face painted like a Comanche warrior and was waving a large orange Styrofoam hand making a big Number I. Another was bare-chested and painted entirely green.
As the remaining monsters and demigods all got scattered and the centaurs were keeping them away, Chiron galloped towards Percy and picked him up. Another did the same for Annabeth and Grover while two had to pick up Tyson. Chiron veered towards Markus' direction, his strong arms picking the boy up with no problem at all and carrying the two boys on his horse back.
"Withdraw, brethren!" Chiron said.
The centaurs rallied together before they galloped back off the about and away from the area. Markus was glad to see Chiron again, though with the new information that he had received, he was feeling unsure about what he knew. He knew that there was a possibility that Luke could be tricking him, but he didn't know if it was true or not.
They ran for about an hour before they eventually stooped in a trailer park at the edge of a lake.
When they stopped Annabeth immediately jumped off the centaur who was carrying her and hugged Chiron.
"That was amazing. Head slam!" One of the centaurs called out to another as they slammed each other's heads against one another before they began cheering.
Markus, despite the situation, grinned. These guys seemed awesome. Grover and Tyson stood at the side, both safe and sound, which was good.
"Chiron you came for us," Annabeth said, eyes shining a little, happy to see everyone's favourite centaur.
He gave her and the others a dry smile. "Well now, I couldn't very well let you die, especially since you've cleared my name."
"But how did you know where we were?" Annabeth asked.
"Advanced planning, my dear. I figured you would wash up near Miami if you made it out of the Sea of Monsters alive. Almost everything strange washes up near Miami."
"Wow, thanks." Grover mumbled while Markus laughed. Chiron still didn't remember to watch his wording when he spoke to everyone.
"No, no," Chiron said. "I didn't mean ... Oh, never mind. I am glad to see you, my young satyr. The point is, I was able to eavesdrop on Percy's Iris-message and trace the signal. Iris and I have been friends for centuries. I asked her to alert me to any important communications in this area. It then took no effort to convince my cousins to ride to your aid. As you see, centaurs can travel quite fast when we wish to. Distance for us is not the same as distance for humans."
"... I want to test that," Markus mumbled with a thoughtful look on his face. Annabeth hit him slightly on his arm. "What?" he asked.
Chiron chuckled. "Maybe some other day, Markus. Though I do admit that the thought would be entertaining."
The group then explained to Chiron their plan and that they had sent Clarisse ahead to the camp knowing the quicker she got there the sooner the camp would be back to normal.
"So what now?" Percy asked Chiron. "We just let Luke sail away? He's got Kronos aboard that ship. Or parts of him, anyway."
"Ran away like the fucking coward that he is," Markus mumbled, though nobody heard him.
"No Percy. There are too many on that ship right now. As we are we would not make it out. Even at our best, we would lose many in the attempt." Chiron said.
"But we got the Fleece!" Annabeth argued but stopped as Chiron shook his head to her.
"You are all true heroes. And as soon as we all get fixed up, you must return to Half-Blood Hill. The centaurs shall carry you."
"You're coming, too?" Percy asked.
"Oh yes, Percy. I will be relieved to get home. My brethren here simply do not appreciate Dean Martin's music."
Everyone, except for Tyson, from the group grimaced. They didn't want their ears abused by Chiron's music.
"Besides, I must have some words with Mr. D. There's the rest of the summer to plan. So much training to do. And I want to see... I'm curious about the Fleece."
Everyone there looked at him in slight confusion wondering what he meant but they had a feeling that he would not tell them. Or at least he would not tell anyone but Annabeth since the two were usually in cahoots with each other.
As Grover, Annabeth and Tyson went over to watch some of other centaurs have a paintball battle with each other, Chiron took Percy and Markus to one side and spoke with them in private.
Chiron turned to address Percy first. "Percy, I had a talk with Annabeth on the way here. A talk about the prophecy."
"So am I and Markus the ones in the prophecy?" Percy asked, not sounding very happy about that fact.
Chiron tucked his bandages back into his pouch. "I wish I knew, Percy. Neither of you are sixteen yet. For now we must simply train you as best we can, and leave the future to the Fates."
"Except you know of the prophecy, don't you, Chiron?" Markus accused. He wasn't going to wait. He wanted answers and he wanted them now.
"My boy, I don't-" Chiron tried to say, but Markus wasn't having it. He was done with people trying to hide the facts from him. It was their prophecy, so why couldn't they hear it.
"A half-blood of the eldest gods, shall reach sixteen against all odds," Markus recited. Chiron's eyes were wide and shocked as he spoke the prophecy. "And see the world in endless sleep, a hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. A single choice shall end his days, Olympus to preserve or raze."
Percy was wide-eyed as he heard the prophecy recited. And he didn't seem to like it.
"W-where d-did you-" Chiron stuttered out, but Markus interrupted him.
"Luke told me," Markus said, an angry expression on his face. "He said that Kronos told him the prophecy in hopes that it could convince me that fighting for the Olympians was worthless if I was going to end up dead. I thought he was lying, but your reaction just told me the truth." He glared at the centaur with fury. "We were going to die when we reached sixteen? Was that what the whole prophecy concerning us was about? We were going to die by the choice that we make when we reach sixteen?"
"Markus, I can assure you that there is no need to worry. Prophecies often have double meanings," Chiron placated.
"'A single choice shall end his days'? 'Cursed blade shall reap'? Chiron, I'm pretty sure there are no other way to possibly mean something else other than our death," Percy stated, shocked and angry. "And Markus is the oldest among us. So what? When he reached sixteen, he's going to die? I'm not going to allow that!"
"Why didn't you tell us?" Markus asked simply. "That's the one thing I truly feel angry about. Dying when I reach sixteen is one thing to be angry about, but the fact that you didn't tell us when we first were revealed as Poseidon's sons. Were you going to tell us the day before either one of us turn sixteen?"
Chiron looked like he was about to say something, but sighed in the end. He suddenly seemed to show his true age. He looked more older and tired than ever. "I wanted you boys to be ready. It is not easy revealing this information to you. Your reactions are how I suspected them to be."
"What did you think, Chiron?" Percy asked incredulously. "That we were going to be happy? And it didn't matter if we were ready or not. This is our future we're talking about! So one of us - Markus, more likely - might die and you're concerned about how we would handle it? Is that why the Big Three swore an oath on the Styx? Because they were worried about how a child of one of them would bring the downfall of Olympus?"
"I do not pretend to know how the minds of the Big Three, my boys," Chiron said wearily. "But you have to understand-"
"Understand what?! Chiron, it doesn't matter what kind of training we receive. We still would've died the same. What's the point of getting stronger if we're still going to die as it says in the prophecy. It's practically set in stone." Markus was truly angry. He thought that Luke was simply messing with him when he told him, but now that he realised that all that was said was true, his whole world practically shattered. He was destined to die and he wasn't even told about this. There was a small part of him that wished that it was Percy that could take his place as the oldest so he could be the one the prophecy talked about, but he squashed that part ruthlessly. As selfish as he was, he wasn't going to let his brother be fated to die. Not now, not ever.
"That's the reason why the gods were so weary of us," Markus muttered. "Because we were fated to decide the fate of Olympus." With wide eyes, Markus came to a startling revelation. One that he didn't like. "They were just using us. The gods, even Poseidon, were weary of both of us. They're using us. What, are we just errand boys for them? Some-some kind of weapons?" he said the last word with disgust in his tone.
"No!" Chiron said vehemently. "Markus, you know that's not true."
"Then what is?" Percy asked angrily. He felt the same way Markus felt. "You're telling me that the gods aren't using us, treating us like weapons that they could easily discard? Gain our favour, save them and one of us dies while doing so?!"
Chiron put his hands on both boys' shoulders. "That is not true. While I can't say the same thing for most of the gods, your father cares for you deeply. He would never do such a thing to you. Both of you."
"Yeah?" Markus said angrily, his emotions choking him. He wasn't just angry. Not even furious. He was livid. "Well if he cared for us so much, then why did he have either of us?! He knew what would've happened to us, and yet he had us! What the fuck was the point of birthing us if we were going to die before we even reached adulthood?!" His emotions were so high, he unknowingly dug deep into his divine core and activated his powers through emotion. Lightning flashed in the sky, though it wasn't the work of Zeus. Water vapour in the air picked up as the wind picked up slowly at first, and then sharply.
"Calm down, Markus," Chiron instructed, though Markus wasn't willing to listen. Not wanting the others to hear their conversation, Markus cast the sound barrier spell. "Επικαλούμαι: Ήχος Εμπόδιο. (Invoke: Sound Barrier)." Immediately, the sound barrier was erected around the area that they stood in, the energy dome being constructed.
He then turned to Chiron, eyes glowing completely emerald green. "Are we so expendable that Poseidon birthed us for his own need? The need to save Olympus and then be done with it?" he asked this all silently, which was more scary than when he was yelling. Immediately, the wind and water vapour picked up around the area they stood in, circling him as he stood in the centre. It looked like a hurricane was going to pick up.
Chiron looked at him with sad, remorseful eyes. He knew that words wouldn't work with Markus or Percy. He cast a look to the other son of Poseidon, seeing him look at him with an angry expression. "Did anyone else know?" Percy asked lowly. His voice was carried out over the roaring wind and mist.
Chiron looked like he didn't want to say anything. "Did. Anyone. Else. Know?" Percy asked again, this time slowly. His eyes were almost similar to Markus'.
He sighed. His shoulders drooped slightly. "Yes. Annabeth heard the prophecy when she was younger but-" Chiron couldn't finish as Markus just walked away, the forming hurricane dispersing. "Markus, where are you going?" Chiron asked worriedly.
"I'm going to wait for when we leave for camp," he said frostily. His expression was so frigid and cold that the air literally reflected his emotions. An icy aura rose from him, freezing the water vapour in the air around him. "When we get to camp, I'll confront Annabeth." With that, he walked away.
Chiron looked defeated as he watched Percy following after his brother, but not before throwing the centaur an angry look.
XXX
Markus didn't say anything as he ran at super speeds slightly behind the galloping centaurs.
He didn't say anything to anyone as they left for camp. The others were curious as to why he was acting that way, but he didn't say anything. When they looked to Percy, he didn't say anything as well. Though both boys glared at Annabeth before they left. She was puzzled as to why they were so angry.
Markus, instead of offering to ride on top of one of the centaurs, decided to run to get the lingering frustration out of him. As he ran, he wore his sports goggles and aviator jacket to protect himself from the high speeds. While they ran, Markus noticed that despite his speed, the centaurs were still a few steps ahead of him. Probably because they were more used to running at such speeds. Or maybe Markus wasn't used to his kinetic energy powers that he received from the Hindu motion god.
As he ran, his mind was in turmoil. All that effort, all that ambition and training, and for what? An early end in roughly two years time? Was that all he was good for?
He was conflicted. He didn't want to think too much on it. He wanted to forget about it for now. That was why he was running, to get his mind off the topic.
Markus recognised the area and knew they were close to getting back home. He could see the hill in sight and finally let out a long deep breath knowing they were home. Despite everything that they had went through, he was happy to get to camp after a long quest.
The centaurs galloped towards the hill as a bunch of demigods could be seen patrolling the area. They saw the centaurs and at first looked like they were about to attack them but they stopped when they saw Chiron, Markus, Annabeth, Percy, Grover and Tyson.
Instead they cheered and followed after them as the centaurs galloped and Markus ran past.
As they arrived into camp they noticed how badly damaged most of the buildings were and a lot of the cabins looked like they were barely standing. No doubt a lot of clones were going to be needed to help put the place back together.
They spotted Clarisse with the Fleece in hand standing beside Mr. D who had a impassive look on his face as usual. There was no sign of Tantalus anywhere.
Chiron galloped towards the group as the demigods got off the backs of the centaurs and were immediately swarmed by the others campers all who had looks of relief and happiness on their face.
Silena and Katie pushed through the crowds both looking a little worse for wear and grabbed Markus in a double hug telling him how glad they were that he was safe and back with them. Despite how he was feeling, he was extremely glad to see his friends again. He hugged them back, smiling widely as he did so.
"Now that the Fleece has been recovered, I believe that there's only one thing to do," Chiron said as everyone cheered again in agreement and headed over towards the hill and towards the great tree lying at the top.
The tree looked ready to fall down at any moment and any leafs that it had before was now completely gone. Even the bark of the tree was beginning to rot.
Everyone gathered around it with Markus standing beside Clarisse and motioned for her to do the honours.
Clarisse nodded and walked forwards and stood directly in front of the tree. With the Fleece in hand she draped it across the front of the trees and hung it on one of the lower branches.
The results were instantaneous. The fleece immediately began to radiate power to a high degree and everyone watched as the bark on the tree suddenly began to return to its healthy coloUr. On all the branches small buds began to form and then broke out into healthy green leafs.
They all turned around and they watched as colour and life finally began to be returned to the camp. The satyrs and nymphs were all jumping for joy as was the children of Demeter. Even the surrounding demigods were able to feel the warm sensation as nature began to fight back against the poison and gets its life back.
Markus stepped forward to Clarisse as everyone cheered. He simply nodded towards her with a smile on his face. Clarisse naturally responded back by punching him on the shoulder. That was her way of saying 'thanks'. Markus could take it like it was.
XXX
As the demigods were heading towards the mess hall to celebrate, Markus grabbed Annabeth by her arm. "We need to talk," he said simply, confusing her. Percy walked up behind him, nodding in agreement.
"What? What's wrong?" Annabeth asked curiously, but Markus was feeling impatient. "Now," he said coldly, shocking and scaring her slightly.
"Fine. Wouldn't kill you to be patient," Annabeth muttered as Markus grabbed both Annabeth and Percy by their arms and moved at super speeds towards the amphitheatre, where it was practically empty.
When they reached their destination, Annabeth almost fell over in shock and surprise. "Gods, stop doing that!" she yelled, trying to get her bearings together. Markus didn't respond as he and Percy, who recovered from the high speeds, looked at Annabeth intently. "So what was so important that you had to drag me here?" Annabeth asked, irritated.
"A half-blood of the eldest gods, shall reach sixteen against all odds," Markus started with the first two lines of the prophecy. Just speaking those words caused Annabeth to pale slightly.
"H-how do you-" she started, but Markus interrupted her. "Save it," he growled at her.
"Why, Annabeth?" Percy asked. "Why didn't you tell us? You knew that the prophecy was about both of us. So why didn't you tell us?!"
Annabeth looked up as fear and regret spread across her face. "Chiron didn't think both of you were ready. He didn't want to worry you."
"We already had this talk with Chiron, so I'm just going to tell you what we told him," Markus said, glaring at her. "It didn't matter if we weren't ready. This was our future we're talking about. It didn't matter if we were ready or not, it was going to happen. We deserved to know."
"Guys, it's not that simple!"
"Okay fine, explain it to us," Percy said sarcastically. "And please use big words. We're no children of Athena but we do have some intelligence."
Annabeth looked down in shame. "Prophecies... prophecies can be impossible to predict. I didn't want you… either of you, to be afraid."
"Afraid? Annabeth, our lives our in danger! Either one of us, me specifically, are going to die when we turn sixteen! And your concern was that we would be fucking scared?! Of course we would be! But at least we would know what was going to happen. What we were only good for! You should've told us, Annabeth!" Markus screamed. His emotions were really high right now. It was one thing for Chiron to keep this from him, and he could somewhat understand where he was coming from. But Annabeth? One of their closest friends? Markus felt betrayed.
"I'm sorry!" Annabeth shouted with tears freely flowing from her eyes. "Is that what you wanted to hear? I'm sorry! I know I should have told both od you you, but I didn't because… because I didn't want it to be either of you."
Percy's gaze softened at her tears. But Markus wasn't relenting.
"When did you plan on telling us?" Markus said calmly. "That's what I want to know. When, Annabeth?"
Annabeth didn't respond for a moment. Then, she spoke. "I... I didn't know. Markus, Percy, I knew that the prophecy was talking about either one of you. And Markus was the more likely candidate. But can you blame me for not telling you? Both of you are my friends. I didn't want you to run away, or break under pressure, or something! The prophecy would've made you paranoid, made you lose sleep over it. I... I just thought that what I was doing was for the best."
"Annabeth," Percy said softly, putting a hand on Markus' shoulder to calm him down. "I get where you're coming from. I really do. But you should've told us. We could've been better prepared. We could possibly know what we're going up against, or what's going to happen to us. We can't run from this. We have to face this." He cast an uneasy look to Markus, who's face looked stony.
Finally Markus spoke. "I understand where you're coming from. And I'm not angry at you for trying to protect us. But I still think you should've told us. I'd rather know what's going to happen in the future than go in blind." And with that, Markus walked away.
Percy looked like he was about to go after him, but looked at Annabeth, who's head was lowered and tears streaming down her face. He patted her shoulder. "Markus doesn't hate you or anything. He's just mad. He'll come around." And with that, Percy followed after Markus.
XXX
A bead of sweat ran down Markus' forehead as he slashed and hacked at the arena's training dummies, effectively slicing them to pieces.
Ever since his confrontation with Annabeth, Markus had been training relentlessly for three days. He'd been practising his sword skills, magic, speed, everything. It was a way to get rid of his anger at the situation, though he didn't know who he was angry at particularly. Chiron, Annabeth, Poseidon, the gods, he didn't know.
He felt like a pawn, a piece that is only good for sacrifice and being discarded afterwards. That was essentially what he was in the long run.
"No," he snarled in anger. "I refuse. I will not die. I won't. I need more power."
That was also another reason that he was training. He wanted, no, needed, to get stronger. So strong that he could defy his so-called fate. Since he started training, his mind kept flashing back to the lines of the prophecy, trying to decipher them.
A half-blood of the eldest gods... That was easy enough. A child of the Big Three. Although, when it said 'elder gods', it didn't necessarily mean the Big Three. It could be a child of the elder Olympians, like Demeter. She was older than Zeus, and one of the original and oldest Olympians, older than Zeus. Therefore, her children could qualify. Though, Markus had a feeling that it was mainly about children of the Big Three.
Shall reach sixteen against all odds... Self-explanatory.
And see the world in endless sleep... That could mean a number of things. Was endless sleep death? Would the whole world die before he could save it? Then what was the point of saving it, then? Or did it mean literally 'endless sleep'? As in, everyone would enter a deep sleep and never wake up? It was so confusing.
A hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap... His soul was going to be reaped by a cursed blade. Markus didn't know much cursed blades. He remembered Chiron's description of Riptide, and how it had brought many people sorrow. Could that be the cursed blade that was in the prophecy? But that would mean that Percy would be the one to kill him, which made no sense. And he didn't want to get his soul reaped.
A single choice shall end his days... Another line telling him that he would die. Though he wasn't sure why there were two lines stating that he would die. As if one wasn't enough. So he had to be careful of any choice he made on the day he turned sixteen.
Olympus to preserve or raze... Self-explanatory.
He kept the lines of the prophecy in his head, trying to pick them apart and see if there was a weakness that he could exploit. But no. There was nothing.
In his rage, he swung Wavebreaker so hard that he lopped off one of the heads of the training dummy.
He panted in exhaustion, but he refused to rest. He'd given the Hephaestus cabin the guns that he stole from Hephaestus' forge and given the Hecate children the spell books that he recovered on Circe's island. Both respective campers were extremely grateful for the gifts he'd given them. Though, he kept two pistols and the spell books on spell weaving and potions for himself.
That was another thing he'd noticed. Markus knew that he was terrible at archery. Him and Percy couldn't make a shot to save their lives. But with guns, he was good. Not child of Apollo good, but decent. This gave him a theory that his terrible skill in archery went much deeper. Maybe it was a curse placed on both boys, or children of Poseidon, by a god. Possibly Apollo or Artemis. Great, as if the gods hadn't given him enough shit lately.
His friends tried to talk to him, Silena, Katie, Beckendorf, Lou, but he said that he was busy. He felt bad for brushing them off, but his need to get stronger, to gain more power, pushed him forward. Silena especially wanted to talk to him. Ever since he returned from the quest, she seemed guilty about something, though Markus wasn't sure what about. Maybe it was related to why she burst into tears when he left for the quest.
Markus sighed. He was burning himself out. Sooner or later, he would collapse in exhaustion.
This is pointless, Markus thought to himself. Training in the arena every day won't work. I'll just burn myself out. I need more power, simple as that. But how? There's no one to help me.
And that was where his mind drifted to last summer, where he swore on the River Styx that no one would stop him from gaining power to protect what he held dear. He smiled. Guess if the Greek side doesn't work, then the Hindu or Shinto side will do just fine I refuse to believe that a fucking prophecy will control my life. I will overcome this. I will get more power. More power than a god. And nothing will stop me.
Placing his sword near his waist, it shrunk into keychain form. He went forward, grabbing a bottle of water and poured it over his head, rejuvenating him. He drank the rest, the sweat vanishing from his body. He sighed in relief.
Maybe he should go to one of his friends and apologise for his behaviour. It was unfair to take his anger out and brush them off. He could go to Silena first. She did look like she needed to tell him something urgently.
Zooming across camp, he knocked on the door of the Aphrodite cabin. Instead of Silena, one of her brothers opened the door instead. When he asked where Silena was, her brother said that she went to the forest. Thanking him, he zipped around the forest, wondering why she was in the forest in the first place.
When he checked a particular place in the forest that wasn't surrounded by monsters, he found Silena. When he was about to walk up and talk to her, he saw that she looked like she was talking to someone. Markus was wondering if she was talking to herself or something, but then saw that she was talking into her hand. Some kind of device was in her hand.
Markus raised an eyebrow. He knew that she didn't have a phone. So what was she talking into?
He didn't hear what she was saying, as he didn't want to eavesdrop on her in case it was something important. Her conversation seemed to end, so Markus chose that time to walk forward.
"Didn't know that you had a phone on you," Markus spoke. Silena jumped when she heard his voice.
"Markus," she said in surprise and... fear? Why was she afraid? Was the previous conversation she had something she was afraid of? Why?
"Sorry to barge in on your conversation. Look, I wanted to apologise for the way I acted since I got back. I've been an ass, and I'm sorry. You were trying to help me, and I ignored you. You probably wanted to tell me something, since I saw that it was urgent. So what is it?"
"Uh, about that..." Silena muttered, nervously fiddling with a bracelet on her wrist.
Markus' eyebrow rose. "Didn't know that you got new jewellery."
Silena's eyes widened in surprise. Yeah. A gift from Aphrodite. Nothing special."
Markus nodded. He was about to say something to her when he paused. He felt something when he looked at the bracelet. For some strange reason, the air around the bracelet rippled, as if there was something hiding it. Markus was going to say that it was a trick of the eye when he felt a familiar sensation. It was the feeling he got when he used magic, specifically manipulated the Mist.
Markus' eyes narrowed. Why was Silena hiding something under the Mist?
He turned his eyes to her, his face confused. "Why are you hiding your bracelet under the Mist?"
Silena's eyes showed surprise, fear and guilt. What the hell was going on?! Her eyes darted around the forest, as if she was looking to escape. Markus' eyes narrowed even more. Okay, now he was suspicious. "Answer me," he said. "What are you hiding behind the Mist?"
Suddenly, Silena's eyes started watering. This made Markus panic. Okay, maybe he should've said it in a calmer way. This might be some personal stuff for her. Or maybe-
Silena removed her bracelet, and it morphed into a charm. But Markus wasn't focused on that. He was focused on the image of a scythe on it. At first, he didn't know what he was looking at. In Greek mythology, scythes weren't really a common weapon to use. They were kind of taboo. This was because they were used by... Kronos. Markus' eyes grew wide at the revelation that he had come to. He remembered what Luke had said to him: You can't rely on friends. They will always let you down in the end.
"No," he said in a desperate tone. "No. Please, don't tell me..." Please, Dad. Please Let this be a dream. This can't be happening. First the prophecy and now this?! "You're a spy? You're working for Kronos? How could you?!"
She continued to cry. "I'm so sorry Markus. He… He said I could save lives if I helped him; that less of my friends would die this way."
"Who would..." Markus stopped as the answer came to him. He glared at her in shock, desperation and anger. "Luke. You're working for him?"
Silena looked at him through teary eyes. "He said it would save campers lives. Then once I started, he said he would tell people that I was a traitor if I stopped helping him." She sobbed as he took a step towards him.
Markus stepped back in shock. It was like his whole world was being torn apart. This - this couldn't be happening. "Why?" he croaked. He glared at her, his eyes feeling wet. He furiously rubbed his incoming tears. "Why did you betray everyone? Why did you betray me?"
"I didn't want to!" Silena argued. "Please, please listen to me. I didn't want to betray you or anyone. But he convinced me. When I wanted to back out, he threatened me. He said that he would go after my siblings, all of them-"
"You made the choice to join him," Markus accused. He glared at her. "You helped Luke poison the tree. You put everyone at risk. The camp was almost destroyed. I-" His voice cracked. No, he refused to cry. He was not going to cry.
"You have to believe me, Markus. Please-" Silena tried to talk to him, to explain to him, but he wasn't listening.
"I hardly believe that I can trust you at all," he said coldly. He swiped the thing out of her hand and crushed it, ignoring the stinging pain that it brought. "Guess Luke was right; you really can't rely on friends."
"Markus-" Silena stepped forward, but he backed away, glaring at her. "Get away from me, traitor," he spat the last word out like poison. Silena sobbed even more at the word. "I'm done. I'm done with camp and everyone. And don't worry," he sneered as he said this part, "I won't tell anyone about your betrayal. Not for your benefit. But because I don't want others to feel heartbroken from your betrayal. First Annabeth, now you..." he spoke, glaring at her. "I'm done with betrayal."
Markus turned to leave when Silena tried to stop him. "Please... Markus, I'm sorry."
He ignored her as he dashed away using super speed, leaving her alone to sink to the floor and sob into her hands.
Markus ran out of the forest, out of the camp, just anywhere away from here. As he ran, his eyes became watery and tears were left in his trail as he ran.
His heart couldn't take it anymore. First, his life was set to be cut short by a fucking prophecy and his best friend was a traitor? It was too much.
He ran with no clear destination in his mind. He just wanted to get away from it all.
After what felt like hours, Markus stopped in an unknown forest. He didn't care that he was out of camp. He didn't care of the risk of monsters coming after him. he just wanted to get rid of his grief.
Taking a large breath, Markus let out a roar. A roar of anger. A roar of sadness and grief. His roar became a scream, a scream of desperation.
Markus let loose his emotions. The result of this was an unconscious dip into his divine powers, and the earth around him shook violently. Lightning flashed in the sky with the wind and surrounding water whipping around him in a circular motion.
Markus continued to scream, uncaring about the damage he was causing from his hurricane and earthquake. As the earth trembled, the ground cracked. A sharp pain in his gut occurred, but Markus didn't care. The earthquake continued to shake, shaking and making the trees fall. Any surrounding areas and houses were whipped away from the newly formed hurricane. It was getting faster and faster, with Markus at the eye of the storm. It started raining heavily, signifying the sudden change in weather.
Markus stopped screaming as he ran away from the clearing that he was in, the earthquake and hurricane stopping instantly because of his absence. The ground was cracked. The trees and surrounding areas devastated.
Markus sensed a nearby body of water nearby. He was tired. So tired of everything. The stress of training non-stop, the revelation of Silena being a traitor, the prophecy repeating in his heads, mocking him. It was too much. He needed rest.
Markus dived into the water, willing himself to sink to the bottom and reaching the water bed instantly. He laid there as he closed his eyes, finally gaining rest.
And that's a wrap. What a chapter.
Quite a lot happened. Markus heard the lines of the Great Prophecy from Luke, he's conflicted about how he should proceed and his greed shows up, and finally, him knowing that Silena was a traitor and his reaction. Hefty chapter.
The reason I made Luke tell Markus the prophecy is because he knows that Markus is different from the others with a different mindset. And so he wanted to convince Markus to join his side using the prophecy. As for Luke knowing the prophecy? If Kronos had an idea about it, it would make sense for Luke to know.
And Markus and Percy tore into Chiron and Annabeth about the fact that they're keeping secrets from them. I like how this came out, to be honest.
If you think Markus' reaction to all of this is a bit over the top, then good. That's the point. His supposed betrayal by Chiron and Annabeth, plus the dilemma he's in just thinking about the prophecy, and him finding out Silena's a traitor... well, you get the point.
So, Sea of Monsters arc is finished. Woohoo! Awesome. Thank God. Next chapter, Thalia get's revived, Markus feels conflicted, training, etc.
Thanks to everyone who followed, favourited, read and reviewed the story. Love y'all.
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