"Iapetus? Here at the camp?" Annabeth yelled. Connor nodded his head. Every counselor froze in their place in fear. All but one. Travis didn't hesitate. He leaped to his feet, grabbed Connor and ran out of the room.
"Where is he going?" Asked Butch, head counselor of the Iris cabin. Everyone shook their heads, because nobody had an idea, but they all followed the Stoll brothers. Travis sprinted through the open field past demigods who were hurriedly moving around getting into battle formations.
"Annabeth! What's the soldier situation?" Travis yelled as he continued running.
"Not much! Most demigods are off recruiting new demigods in the fight. We can't have any more than 100 battle-ready demigods here!" She replied. Travis cursed under his breath. He knew he needed HIS soldiers. He leaned over and whispered to Connor. His brother nodded, and ran off in a separate direction.
"Where's Markus?" Travis yelled. He heard a door slam open and Markus come outside.
"I heard what's going on, Annabeth, form the attack lines!" She nodded and ordered the soldiers together. The demigod army was scattered and in no way ready for combat, but the daughter of Athena did her best. After getting them ready and in line, they marched to the far side of the hill, the camp gates. They were now staring down at the enemy. The army of Iapetus looked to be around 3000 soldiers strong, heavily outnumbering the Greeks.
"Iapetus! You've come uninvited, time for you to leave!" Markus yelled. Iapetus laughed at this.
"Markus, I come with a proposition. You and the Greeks surrender now, and not a single one of you dies." He offered. Markus didn't hesitate.
"I don't negotiate with douchebags." He spoke sternly. Iapetus growled and then smiled.
"I'm not in a mood for a slaughter, so how about we do this the old way? Your best fighter against my best." He said.
"And if my man wins?" Markus asked.
"We will leave without a word." Iapetus said with a smile. Markus looked back at the Greeks. He seemed to ponder the thought for a bit, before nodding his head in agreement.
"Achilles!" Iapetus boasted as his army cheered and slammed their weapons against their shields in support for the great warrior. The entire Greek army's eyes widened WIDE. Achilles was known as the greatest warrior ever. He once fought for the Greeks in the Trojan war. Now he fights against them in the next great war.
"Travis!" Markus yelled. The Greek army yelled and cheered for The King of Thieves as he made his way through to the front. He unsheathed his sword and walked until he was nearly face to face with Achilles.
"Ha! They sent a son of Hermes?" Achilles laughed. Angered, Travis responded.
"Careful who you insult." Achilles laughed harder. "First blood or to the death?" Travis asked. No answer from Achilles, but he gave a loud war cry, signaling to Travis that it was to the death. Travis got down into his fighting stance. Achilles wasted no time. He leaped at Travis and slashed at his chest. Travis parried the attack and pushed him back. Achilles pushed forward again, and again Travis parried and dodged. Travis then took his turn to attack. He faked left and slashed right, catching Achilles on the bicep. Achilles groaned and swung his sword. Travis blocked and kicked him flat on the chest, knocking him on the ground. Achilles groaned and rolled over and jumped to his feet. Travis teased him and let him get close before he cut his other bicep. Achilles yelled and pushed forward again, and slashed at Travis. Travis blocked his sword, spun and slashed on Achilles' heel, making him fall onto his knees. Travis refocused, and shoved his sword into the heart of Achilles, killing him instantly. Achilles' body dropped to the ground, and you could hear the echo all around. Travis bent over, whispered something into his ear, and closed Achilles' eyes before standing up. He sheathed his sword, and walked over to the front line of Iapetus' army.
"Is there no one else?" He shouted. No words from the titans army. Just wide eyes staring back at him.
"Is there no one else?" He repeated louder. Before he could continue, Iapetus came over to him.
"Who are you soldier?" He asked Travis.
"Travis. Son of Hermes." He responded as he stared the Titan back in the eyes.
"Travis. I'll remember the name." The titan spoke again. "The king of Gaia's army carried this sword. Give it to your king." Iapetus said. Travis snorted before grabbing the sword and walking away.
"He's not my king." He said as he walked back to the front lines of the Greeks. The entire Greek army cheered louder than anybody would have thought possible.
"Very well. We will leave now, but I will see you in Greece Markus." Iapetus yelled before flashing away in a bright light. The Greek army dispersed, and went to the amphitheater to the campfire. Travis decided to skip and go sleep, so he went back to the Hermes cabin. He walked in to find out his old bunk had been taken, and now they were out of beds. Angered, he decided to head to the Demeter cabin where he would sleep in Katie's bed, hoping she would take the hint and share a bed with Miranda, her friend. He quickly drifted off to sleep. He awakened a couple hours later when the campers came back into the cabin, and he heard them snicker about him sleeping in the cabin. Much to his surprise, when Katie came back, she just climbed right into her bed like normal. She must've seen the smile on his face and knew he was awake, because he leaned in close and whispered into his ear.
"Goodnight Travis, and thank you for helping us in the war." She said as she herself trailed off to sleep. He leaned in and pressed his lips against her forehead before going back to sleep.