Brothers

Finn coughed out another spurt of blood, his vision growing hazier by the second. His reserves of power depleted and the Infernal Miasma gone, there was little keeping his body running. He could feel the alloy vine squirming on his arm, as well as within him to a degree. The sensation was disturbing, but he was in no position to argue. He could make out a pool of his own blood gathering on the ground beneath him, its origin likely the gaping hole Ares blasted during their final exchange.

Attempting to place his left hand over the wound was fruitless. He no longer had the energy to even speak, much less initiate his muscles. Even losing the ability to keep his eyes open, the flame human felt like death, unable to focus on his long-unseen brother as the yellow canine stretched the rest of his body protectively in front of the downed hero. Finn desperately wanted to keep watch as his best friend held off the newly arrived juggernaut that was Apollo, well aware of what he could do with those obsidian mirrors coating his body.

His turn was well and truly over, leaving the young man to simply beg Glob for Jake's safety as he finally lost consciousness.

The magical dog glanced back to his fallen sibling, still able to detect the scent of life from him even in his state, reassuring him that the form he was looking upon wasn't a corpse. With that in mind, he turned back to Apollo and raised his other fist, growing it to massive size before swinging it downward like a sledgehammer. He morphed his fist accordingly into said object.

The impact sounded solid to Jake, even feeling the ground quake as dust blew across the immediate area. He grinned, believing he'd given the Olympian a proper hammering. As the earth settled and he withdrew his second fist, Jake stared into the figure still caught by his first hand, only to flinch when he witnessed an uninjured Apollo standing there as if nothing happened. The only indication that he'd been struck at all were his feet, now embedded a few inches in the volcanic ground.

"Whoa!"

Apollo's massive hand yanked on Jake's outstretched arm, pulling his smaller body towards the Olympian. Before the dog could react, the hulking elemental leveled him in the jaw with his other fist, letting go and allowing the shapeshifting canine to sail into a nearby rock formation. The mineral happened to be quite brittle, exploding into bits upon impact. Apollo pulled each foot out of the ground, stepping back onto solid earth and raising his arms in defense of what might come next. This was well placed, as Jake suddenly came catapulting out of the rubble at high-speed. However, he managed to catch the Olympian off-guard, suddenly warping his body into a coil and snaking around the giant's limbs, essentially binding him.

He grinned, ignoring the aching pain from his cheek. "Gotcha now, punk!" Apollo attempted to bash the dog with his fists, trying to loosen his hold, but accomplished little as the canine's endurance had him clinging tightly. Unfortunately, Jake wasn't exactly doing any damage to his foe, merely having the being stumble around punching his coiled body. Gritting his teeth, Jake stretched out again, wrapping more and more of Apollo's body in an attempt to completely immobilize him. Unfortunately, the thinner his magical form became, the less overall strength was left behind it.

Suddenly, the Olympian stopped struggling altogether. Confused at first, Jake inwardly hoped that he'd worn the giant down. This was proven false as light began to build up on Apollo's body. The canine's skin began to warm up, then sting, then finally feel like he was stuck under a magnifying glass. Hissing in pain, Jake immediately unwound himself, retreating away from the recovering enemy as he flailed around his burned limbs.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! How the heck did you burn me through a flame shield?!" Apollo didn't answer, but held out his arm and charged more light to his obsidian shells. Jake's eyes widened in fear as he doubted his ability to outrun the next attack, leaving him paralyzed on the spot. In the last moments, a shape flew through the air and slammed into Apollo's head, knocking him off balance and causing his light ray to vaporize a boulder over Jake's shoulder. The figure flipped backwards and landed on her feet, motherly concern etched on her face.

"Flame shield won't block energy-based attacks outside of physical fire, you must be more cautious!" Jake blinked, surprised to see a blue fire elemental.

"W-who are you, lady?" Mayel smiled warmly at him, though kept a close eye on Apollo, who had regained his footing and was observing the will-o-wisp carefully.

"A friend of Aecus." The magical dog's brows flew up.

"That guy Marcy was talking about? What are you doing here?" Mayel shot a basic stream of blue flames at Apollo as she ran towards the dog, grabbing him in one arm and jumping back a fair distance before the Olympian could retaliate. She stopped behind a sturdy wall of rock, setting the canine down.

"He didn't think it was wise to handle an Olympian on your own, and there was no telling how badly Finn was injured fighting the last one. We were sent to assist." Jake blinked.

"We?" his eyes followed the where his brother was still wounded and likely unconscious, shocked to see a second, younger will-o-wisp tending to him. Her hands were pressed to the gaping hole in his chest, a vibrant blue aura surrounding them.

"It's an honor to meet the brother of the hero Finn. My name is Mayel, and over there is my daughter, Sibley." Jake was about to reply, but Mayel grabbed his arm and threw the both of them aside, just as Apollo's fist obliterated their hiding spot. She used the resulting dust cloud to cover their escape, fleeing behind a further rock formation. As Jake recovered his bearing, he found that Sibley had dragged Finn over to join them. She addressed both the adults in a whisper, as Apollo began searching for his quarry.

"I managed to stop the bleeding with the help of that weird vine thing, but it'll be a while before he regains enough energy to wake up." She informed with a serious expression. Her mother and Jake nodded, the dog gazing sadly at his brother's beaten form. As angry as he was at him, he couldn't help but let the sibling bond overcome that, noting the vulnerable and defeated look in Finn's face as he lay unconscious. Tightening his fists, Jake stood up, brushing off the burning sensation across his fur.

"Please take care of him, you two. I'm finishing this one for him." The two will-o-wisps considered for a moment, worried about him tackling Apollo alone, but decided to trust his abilities, nodding in reply. The magical dog ran to the left, wisely choosing to emerge from a different area to make sure Apollo didn't know where his primary target was, then sprung himself upwards and over, sailing above the Olympian's head as the hulking elemental noticed him. The giant raised his arms, the obsidian glass upon them gathering light, then firing it off in a flurry of lightning-fast projectiles. Jake acted immediately, shrinking himself down to the size of a grape while tucking in his arms and legs, keeping eyes locked on Apollo.

He managed to avoid all the projectiles, emerging unscathed on the other end of the volley, at which point he instantly expanded his stretchy body into a massive tent, catching his foe off-guard as he encapsulated him in a dome of his magical flesh. Darkness engulfed the Olympian, while Jake's superior eyes allowed him to just make out the fire elemental trapped within.

"Heh, no light for you to absorb now!" having delivered that line, Jake suddenly fired portions of his tent walls inward, morphing the elastic skin into fists to batter the Olympian cornered inside. Apollo's eyes couldn't see the attacks coming in utter darkness, quickly struck multiple times in the face and chest. He tried his best to block and counterattack, but Jake made sure to knock him off balance with a punch from behind or the side every so often. At last, the yellow canine believed it was possible to wear him down, his strategy working well so far.

It was at this moment that flames seeped out of Apollo's hands.

Eyes wide, Jake accelerated the rate of his punches, hoping to deny his opponent the focus necessary to blast him away. A few portions of his skin stretched in to try binding him as well. He regained some confidence upon seeing Apollo struggle to move, though could feel his own stamina draining by now. He needed to finish this up. His desperation leaking out, the dog failed to restrain the Olympian as he suddenly jerked his left arm out of his binding and aimed his open palm directly at Jake's face at the top of the tent.

It was only now that Jake noticed Apollo had obsidian glass in his hand as well, fully charged with light. Too late, he realized why the giant had been discreetly giving off fire, building up charge in his palm to strike now, when Jake was least capable of reacting quickly. The Olympian fired the energy he collected all at once, squeezing his eyes shut as he did so. Jake had no such time available.

"AAAAAGGH!"

The tent trap destabilized, Jake's body reverting to its original form and exposing the two to the outside world once more. The dog's hands flew to his painfully shut eyes, leaving him completely exposed in the open air. Sure enough, Apollo took the chance to smash his fist into his foe's gut, causing Jake to cough up some of his stomach before hurling away, only stopped by the wall of rock that surrounded most of their battlefield. Apollo took a knee to recover from the earlier barrage, trying to steady his breathing.

Meanwhile, within the dust cloud resulting from impact, Jake groaned, feeling the pain all over his body, though none more so than his eyes. He tried opening them, knowing that another attack could come at any moment, but found nothing but a bright grey in his field of vision. He looked to the right, then the left, held up his own hand in front of him, even rubbed his eyes and blinked to try again. It did no good. He couldn't see a thing. Panic gripped his mind as he shakily stood up, at least taking a moment to feel what he could still use as far as sensory abilities were concerned.

He could hear the warm hum of the Fire Kingdom's subterranean volcanic activity, feel the gentle wind on his face, as well as the dirt now stuck to him. He sniffed the air, trying to discern between the messes of scents in the air. He could faintly smell blood, familiar, yet not an exact match. It had to be Finn's somewhere nearby. He might have crashed near to Mayel and Sibley's hiding spot. Ashes, likely from the battle that took place earlier between his brother and Ares. The will-o-wisps themselves had an interesting scent, not unlike typical fire elementals, but somehow, cleaner burning? He shook his head, trying to nail down his target. He could feel from the density of the dust around him that his cover would be gone soon, and Apollo would attack again upon seeing him still standing.

Wait, there! Something different. It was strange; Apollo may have been an Olympian, but as far as anyone knew, he had the physiology of a normal fire elemental. This suggested otherwise. Jake was reminded of baking back at the treehouse, back when he lived with Finn. He'd made all kinds of sweets and the like, and of course pancakes on numerous occasions. He could tell if he'd mixed various recipes enough based on how well he could distinguish each individual ingredient. Apollo didn't give off a singular scent of combustion, rather an undefinable meshing of two.

The dust settled and Jake shook his head. He had no time to wonder why the smell was so odd, only that it was now running towards him. Fortunately, the giant's size made it easy to tell when he was approaching based on the vibrations Jake felt through his feet. He waited for the right moment, then shrunk down in an instant, feeling a wind disturbance with his ears indicating Apollo had missed his punch. Sensing the being directly above, Jake expanded his form as quickly as possible, launching the Olympian into the air and away from Finn and the others' position.

He felt and heard the crash from Apollo's fall, which caused him to consider another angle, based on what he'd seen of the man so far. From the time he'd attempted to bind him up, to his tent trap, to the airborne launch just now, the magical dog came to a conclusion which only added to the mystery of his opponent: Apollo couldn't flame shift. Jake took a defensive stance, knowing that with his lack of vision, being reactive would be more beneficial than charging in. He heard Apollo get to his feet, the sound somewhat irregular, signaling to Jake that his opponent wasn't steady. He grinned to himself, feeling proud that he was making progress. That pride was then tucked away, as he sent a scowl Apollo's way, holding up his fists.

"You can blind me, beat me into a pulp, and burn by skin off, but you're not getting to my brother, you hear!?"

Without his sight, Jake couldn't see Apollo's eyes widen. He couldn't make out the Olympian's expression of reflection, his focus no longer in the present. The hulking elemental could see the raw determination to protect in his foe's eyes, hollow as they were due to his flashbang attack.

"You'll take up my flesh, my vision, and my hopes for the future. Can you do that for me, brother? Please…"

…

The feeble fire elemental raised his arms into the air, his thin limbs stretching out to expose the obsidian upon his body as much as possible. The flames of the kingdom surged all around, as did the veins of molten rock across the landscape. Though the sun was hidden, he had all the light he would need. Taking a deep breath, he began, drawing in the particles to his body, straining to collect enough to do more than just become a walking flashlight. His body glowed brighter and brighter, though he found himself clenching his teeth as time passed. His exhaustion was quickly approaching, planting doubt in his mind.

Just then, a strong hand gripped his shoulder. He looked over, immediately met with the confident, smiling face of the sole source of inspiration in his life. His brother grinned, the fire elemental's large figure providing a sense of security.

"Just keep going, you've got this." The younger man found his own smile, nodding back. He concentrated on the warmth his older sibling provided, both physical and emotional. The light gathered more, forcing the two to squint as it grew in intensity. The eldest squeezed his hand on the other's shoulder.

"Do it."

The frail fire elemental nodded in reply, moving his open hands down to take aim at a nearby boulder. The light in his obsidian shells burst forth, startling them both as it ricocheted randomly in the rock's general direction. Bits and pieces of ground blew into the air, the intended target only taking a glancing blow from the light beams. As the dust settled, the younger brother sighed, hanging his shoulders as he looked to the ground.

"No good…" He felt the hand on his shoulder move to the other, his older sibling laying his arm across his back, smiling encouragingly.

"Don't sweat it, you'll get it in time, little bro. You just need to build up your strength" Somehow, his words brought a smile to the feeble young one, who nodded back.

…

"You saw that crazy guy in the tournament! Zeus needs strong players like us to match that power, otherwise we'll never be able to revolutionize the world!" The younger one shook his head madly, his expression concerned.

"He's a criminal, brother! No matter his intentions, he's done terrible things in the past."

"That was then, this is now. He sees the bigger picture, little bro! The world needs reformation, so that people like you won't be ostracized just because they were born different. Zeus and his brothers, they stuck together and helped one another with their weaknesses, we should to the same! Don't you see how important this is?" The younger sibling looked to the ground, biting his lower lip.

"I can't brother, I just… this isn't the way." The eldest frowned, but calmly took hold of his only family's arm.

"I can't do it without you," he spoke gently. The younger gazed into his sibling's eyes. This man had protected, encouraged, and loved him his whole life, while everyone else bullied or avoided him. His thin, frail body, those 'weird' glass scales all over his body; he wished he could just be normal, have a big strong figure like his brother, who made sure no teasing ever went beyond just that. He didn't like this, didn't like Zeus and his ideals, but his brother believed in them so highly. He had to repay the kindness, the dedication he'd been given.

He nodded, after much hesitation.

…

"Wh-what do you mean?!" the eldest bellowed. He stood indignantly before the Olympian trio, several other members of their group strewn about the cavern, while his younger brother stood beside him. Zeus was giving the two a pitiful expression, his arms folded.

"Unique your brother's abilities may be, but he is frail. He does not portray the image of a being of great power who can bring about change. And you have nothing impressive outside of your physique. I'm sorry, but we cannot use you."

The eldest tightened his fists and stared at the ground, frustration building as his sibling gazed upon him sadly. The two stood there, absorbing what had been declared to them. After a minute, the oldest one's eyes widened in apparent realization. He looked back up, his vision traveling from Zeus, to Hades, then to Athena nearby.

Surely, with all their power, they could…

"Then… give my strength to him." The Olympians sent raised eyebrows at the man, while his brother furrowed his in concern. The older looked up, a renewed look of determination in his eyes. "You can do something simple like that, right? With all the power you have, you could merge my strength with my brother's." While Zeus exchanged glances with his subordinates, the man's younger sibling turned to him in panic.

"B-brother! What are you suggesting?" The eldest broke his gaze from the Olympians and looked his brother in the eye.

"This is your chance; our chance. I've tried my best to support you, give your strength, but I can only do so much. If I gave you everything though, my own flesh and conviction, then together we would be worthy of joining them!" The younger could barely believe what he was hearing, face frozen in shock as his sibling turned back to Zeus. "Would you agree, great Zeus?"

All attention was placed on the leader, who seemed to deeply contemplate the offer, never taking his eyes off the brothers. His face betrayed no immediate response, so it came as a surprise when he finally spoke. "You would truly sacrifice it all, pass it along to your brother?" The man in question didn't hesitate to nod fiercely, standing tall in the face of the powerful fire elementals. Zeus' expression finally shifted, softening slightly as he shifted to the younger one. "And he would agree to this?"

The eldest turned back to his sibling once again. "Brother," he began softly. "I know you don't agree with Zeus' methods. But I can't do any more. I can't give you a world where you'll be accepted with my own two hands. But this opportunity, this is our chance! Let this big brother fulfill his wish to create a world for his little brother." The feeble brother was shaking, his eyes more so. "You'll take up my flesh, my vision, and my hopes for the future. Can you do that for me, brother? Please… I promise, on the other side of this struggle, you'll find the happy world we both dream of."

His face was pleading, desperately. His kin had tears streaming down his face now, unable to truly comprehend what was being asked of him. To accept his body, his wishes, his strength in every form of the word. The internal conflict was agonizing. What was the alternative? Continue living in a meaningless existence, struggling day by day in a world that will never see him as an equal? Watching both sides fight it out as bystanders? The younger one steeled himself, meeting his brother's gaze with as much strength as he could.

"I'll do it."

In that moment, his elder sibling embraced him, being careful not to crush him with his impressive strength. The frail one returned the hug, tears still drifting down his cheeks. Upon separating, it was seen that the other had also begun crying. As the two brethren looked upon one another, Athena and Hades approached them, getting into position. The brothers stepped apart, leaving a small amount of room between them, as Athena placed her hand to the ground, causing fire to sprout and draw an expansive rune at the pair's feet. Hades stepped in, placing his hands into the edge of the fire. The flames shifted to a sickly green, then began growing, enveloping the two brothers as if they were wicked vines poised to strangle them.

In the instant that the eldest felt his life force being pulled away, he smiled one last time to his sibling, wordlessly reminding him how much he loved him. The frail man, in return, gave his bravest smile back.

The older kin's image disappeared amongst the green flames, necrotic magic pulling him in halves before forcefully pushing his flaming figure into the other, plastering the larger form onto him like a template. He felt no pain, but a sinking sensation, followed closely by the thought of many hands grabbing him all at once, as if to restrain him.

And then the flames died down.

The circle faded away, leaving only an ashen imprint behind. Standing above it was the hulking body Athena and Hades' magic had constructed. Its new owner opened his eyes, looking down at his unfamiliar hands. He was disoriented by the height difference, but shook it off quickly in favor of trying to grasp his brother's essence within. In the meantime, Zeus stood from his makeshift throne, grinning enthusiastically at his new recruit.

"Welcome to our pantheon… Apollo."

The giant of a fire elemental acknowledged the man, looking up from his hands, but did not reply. His mouth remained closed, eyes staring pleadingly at the leader of the Olympian's, trying to communicate his whims. Zeus' grin faltered, nearly frowning as he shrugged nonchalantly, moving to sit back down. Apollo assumed he understood, as unlikely as it was. The man probably just didn't care; he only needed the power his member wielded, after all. Either way, it didn't matter. He would not speak, not after receiving his brother's will and flesh.

His brother's voice held true conviction and belief, and he would never dare sully it with his own feeble whimpering.

…

With Jake's eyes out of commission, it rested upon Mayel and Sibley to stare in shock as dense light energy was drawn towards Apollo. The towering Olympian had a fierce determination etched into his features, totally unlike previous encounters. His eyes lay fixed on Jake, who seemed oblivious to what was transpiring. Unfortunately, against light itself, his remaining senses would do no good. What's worse, the gathering light was actually taking shape, encasing Apollo in numerous sections of white 'plating' that hovered slightly above his actual skin. Seeing this predicament, Sibley took the chance to warn him.

"Jake, be careful! He's coating himself in armor of light. That much concentrated energy will burn through you like butter!" The magical canine easily heard the critical information, his blank eyes instinctually glancing in the Olympian's direction. At the very least he could feel the giant's heat radiating off his body, and when Apollo made his move, he'd be able to feel the vibrations of his charging footsteps. The only complication now was how to beat him if he couldn't touch the elemental.

Come on, Jake! Think! Think!

He stomped his foot in frustration, gasping inwardly as he noticed something about the volcanic earth beneath him. There was a anomaly directly under, an imperfection in the aged rock that was weaker than the surrounding area. With enough force, Jake surmised, it should break open…

Jake flung his arms out to either side and enlarged his hands, feeling for his surroundings with as much detail as he could. Numerous scrapes and cuts collected on his palms and fingers as he made out the rock formations across the battlefield, his scan interrupted only by the sudden vibrations that signaled Apollo chose now to make his approach. The magical dog's time was limited, a single hit would vaporize him.

Mayel and Sibley gritted their teeth as they watched Apollo close in, eyes fully focused on ramming into his blinded opponent. Jake, arms still outstretched, began sweating through his flame shield, desperately clinging to his functional senses despite the gnawing fear that one would be wrong and result in his toasted buns. His ears twitched as each footfall brought the hulking foe closer.

Come on, just a bit closer…

The earth shook, he swore he could hear the light shells sizzling above Apollo's skin, but his hands found ideal tools for his plan, tightly gripping them in the dog's massive hold. Taking in a deep breath, Jake suddenly stretched whatever muscle he had available into his arms, letting out a primal scream as he wretched two relatively flat rock slabs from the ground, maintaining his control as he drew them towards one another, Apollo only a dozen feet away.

The Olympian's eyes widened in surprise as the two slabs careened into him, bellowing a deafening crack as he was sandwiched between. His light armor immediately started burning through the rock, but Jake wasn't finished. With another heave, the magical dog dug in his feet and swung his arms around in a circle, gaining steady momentum even as his hands started stinging from the increasing heat of the rock held tightly in his hands, the flame shield waning. He enlarged his body for extra support, as much as he could in his exhausted state, his two will-o-wisp companions looking on in awe at his maneuver.

Satisfied by the gains, as well as out of time, Jake forced his arms to curve into an upward swing, then used every ounce of remaining energy to viciously slam the barely contained Apollo into the fault line he'd discovered earlier, immediately causing the earth to shudder violently. Mayel and Sibley were thrown to the ground by the movement, while Jake was sent careening from the rebound, tumbling uselessly back to the ground, his arms a pile of strewn about noodles at his sides.

As the rock and dust blasted out from the point of impact, Apollo's light armor dispersed into the air, his concentration shattered, a trait likely shared by some of his bones. Cracks ran along every piece of obsidian glass upon his body, rendering his light capturing defunct. Even with all his injuries, nothing compared to what happened in the aftermath. The already weakened ground split open in a flurry of pebbles and volcanic dust, a trench quickly expanding and shaking the earth further, as if an actual quake had been triggered. Apollo was much too dazed to even attempt to grab the edges of the fissure that was now swallowing his heavy, hulking body.

From far below, a bubbling mess of light-producing magma could be seen, bathing the Olympian's entire journey down in visual choreography. Even so, he paid little mind to it. As Apollo fell to his demise, he wore a smile on his lips, his face, previously set in deathly conviction, now rested gently in contentment. Apollo was not one of the more powerful Olympians, beyond his brute strength. He could not flame shift, limiting his maneuverability, his technique was shoddy, relying mostly on beat down, and his actual flames were seldom used, further debilitating his effectiveness.

He was a sentinel, plain and simple. The Olympians put his skills where they'd be the most useful: guarding a position. Difficult to move, adept at repelling enemies, cutting their senses down. He did his best, played his part, just like his brother had wished. But there in the last moments, in his fight against Jake, he gave more. His final attack was reckless, yes, but he felt he needed to do it. He wanted to clash with this dog, two men upholding their brothers, giving everything they had.

And now that the battle was over, now that it was all over for him, he could only smile.

I gave it my all, brother, I really did.

And now that I can no longer fight, I can say this to you when I join you.

It's that boy, Finn. He'll be the one to change the world, not Zeus. Strong, but caring, willing to go to any length.

Just like you.

Sinking into the magma, Apollo felt no regrets.

Mm, a bit late, but- *sigh*, I should just stop. It's here, it'll keep coming one way or another, end of story (not literally, of course).

halofan1997: Wow, I never would've imagined I could change someone's view on fanfiction itself. I can't tell you how much that means to me. And yes, I too become frustrated when something I LITERALLY JUST POSTED becomes uncanon a few episodes later, but such is life. Thanks so much for your kind words, though unfortunately I can't get to that link, as cool as it is to hear what song would go with this.

Blank: Glad to hear it!

jfazende5: Haha, yeah, gotta be careful there. But yes, totally deserved that moment.

Fiery Crusader: I'm glad you saw the deeper meaning behind that final part, they're really fun to write. There's a lot of pressure on me for these last ten chapters or so, but I'll do my best to tie it all up.

Anonymous: A very interesting concept, I like it. Though I hadn't planned on introducing any more god figures by this point. Still, appreciate the in-depth feedback!

AlecDoUrden: I get recommendations!? Man, you guys are too much, it's humbling.

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for any comments/reviews!

next: Chapter 40: Hunter vs Predator