Things happened faster than anyone could believe. The Celestial Bronze bullet seemed to have as much effect on Gina as a mosquito running into a wall would have. She recovered with impossible quickness and continued her assault against Sirona before the goddess could so much as turn around. Ryker ripped the second pistol from its holster and fired at Gina again. She didn't even seem affected by the bullet as it ripped through her collarbone and emerged from the other side. In fact she healed almost instantly from the wound. Sirona turned on the spot, but not quickly enough. Gina was upon her with her formless, shadowy hand going for the goddess's chest. Ryker was there before the attack could be completed. He grabbed Sirona by the wrist and unceremoniously yanked her away by the back of her dress. Using his other hand he met Gina's attack head on, his claws connecting solidly with her weapon. An odd, and fairly unpleasant, sensation ran up his arm the second that the claws touched her and he was sent skidding back. Before he had even stopped moving a horn rang out over the Roman camp, the one that signaled an impending monster attack. "We're being attacked!" Frank shouted, indecision ringing in his voice where authority should have been.
"Leave her to me." Ryker told them roughly. He glanced down at the hand that he had used to attack her and scowled. The claw was crumbling away into dust, the metal rusting at an impossible speed. Even as he watched the remnants of the claw fell off his hand and fell to the ground. He slowly turned his gaze back to Gina even as the others turned away and ran to meet the oncoming monster horde. Only Sirona stayed behind, her eyes filled with shock and betrayal directed at her daughter.
"Who are you?" Sirona demanded angrily. "You are not my daughter."
"Oh, but I am dear mother." Gina grinned at the goddess even as Ryker began to advance on her.
Whatever it is that she has on her hand is dangerous. Ryker thought even as they circled one another. Her eyes were filled with amusement and contempt in equal parts, almost as though she thought him beneath her. Perhaps she did. The declawed arm was beginning to shake slightly, something that worried him immensely. Gina feinted towards him and Ryker took an immediate step backward. She smirked at him and heaved a sigh.
"I had heard that you were quite the fighter." She told him frankly. "And yet here you are, too scared to as much as attack. I guess they were nothing but rumors."
"Kill her." Sirona ordered, her eyes hard. "Whatever that is, it is not my daughter."
"Easier said than done." Ryker snarled back, his eyes darting to the hand that had destroyed one of his claws. The black formless weapon formed and reformed countless times and yet each reformation seemed even deadlier than the last. It was a dark, twisted, unnatural weapon. It scared Ryker.
He blinked and curled his unarmed hand into a fist. Fear? Him? How long had it been since he had felt that emotion? Had he not fought for years to kill off that feeling inside him? Fear was the enemy. Fear was hunger. Fear was cold. Fear was death. And yet there it was. The same cold uncertainty he had felt only briefly in Python's dragon-filled chamber.
He felt something hungry stir inside of him, something he had only felt once before. Some ancient feeling of hunger that Ryker felt begin to overcome his senses, sharpening and enhancing them far beyond their natural limit. The temporary fear that had gripped him was long gone with the emergence of this new power. Gina seemed to see the change in him and took a hesitant step back. Ryker was moving before her foot had even hit the ground. She slashed at him with her formless weapon but Ryker ducked the attack with a low growl. He grabbed her armed hand by the wrist with his declawed arm just as his remaining claw came down on the soft flesh of her forearm. The Gina-imposter did not cry out, but instead put distance between her and Ryker.
"I can see that the rumors are-." She began. Her words were abruptly stopped when Ryker attacked again, his hands a blur.
Just as before, Ryker's control of his movements seemed odd. He attacked with deadly precision but it was almost as if his body was following commands that he had yet to give. Like he was fighting with nothing but sheer instinct. Keeping the small of control over his body was absurdly difficult, even more so since he did not want his movements to grow sluggish. He had beaten Sciron, but she was armed with some sort of weapon that had some ability he could not identify. Coming to a decision, Ryker gave up his last bit of control and dove headfirst into the sea of instinct which quickly swallowed him.
Vague sensations and flashes of images were the only thing that reached him from his separated state, but they were enough. The image of a mangled and torn Gina on the ground before him was followed by a line of horned centaurs rushing at him with swords raised. The scene dissolved the second that the first centaur crumbled away at his fingertips, minus one arm.
Victoria could scarce believe the sheer carnage that was being wrought before her eyes. Ryker had seemingly appeared out of thin air and had thrown himself at the enemy forces without a second's hesitation. The leader of the enemy forces, Atlas, immediately spied Ryker and moved to meet him in battle. The Titan drew his massive sword and kicked aside anything that got between him, monster and demigod alike. She shouted out a warning to Ryker but he didn't seem to hear her, or he chose to ignore it. She decapitated a lamia and sidestepped an ogre's club with ease and cut the legs out from under the monster. The other Amazons quickly finished off the beast and it granted them a slight reprieve from the fighting. The monsters had appeared out of the earth like they had before, but this time they had been pushed back by the sheer might of the Romans and the Amazons fighting alongside one another. That's not to say it was easy, wounded and worse demigods and legacies were strewn about the battlefield. But the monsters' formation and ranks had been devastated and now only the remnants of the army remained, though they did not flee as was typical of monsters. In fact they seemed even more desperate than before, taking even greater risks.
An angry shout from Atlas pulled her gaze towards the other end of the arena. Atlas was bleeding from a dozen rapidly healing wounds and the Titan was in a rage as he continually missed his target. Ryker fought on all fours as much as he did on two legs and that odd fighting style made it nigh on impossible for Atlas to actually connect with his sword. Victoria smiled as she watched the demigod who had captured her interest drive one clawed arm into Atlas's leg and rip out a chunk of ichor-dripping flesh. Enough of the monsters' numbers had been destroyed so that others could watch the spectacle of Titan versus demigod. A few of the bolder Romans and Amazons stepped forward to assist Ryker but Percy leapt in front of them and threw out his arms defensively. "Stay back!" He ordered them, his eyes locked on Ryker even as the demigod leapt onto Atlas's shoulder and raked his claws across the Titan's eyes.
"Why?" Victoria demanded, marching up to Percy and glaring at him.
"Because right now he's just as likely to attack you as Atlas." Percy said, not even bothering to look at her. His eyes were still locked on the battle taking place before them. "The last time he was like this he tried to attack us too. We need Piper, she got him out of this trance thing."
"I'll handle it." Victoria said immediately, shooting down the Piper option. "Leave him to me once this finishes up."
"No offense, but unless you have some-." Percy looked at her finally and shrank back from the look she was giving him. She tapped the hilt of her sword menacingly and he held up his hands defensively. "Alright, alright. You can try I guess. Actually, that reminds me. You aren't going to try to put Ryker in a collar, are you?"
"Of course." Victoria said, the question surprising her. "All Amazon men are required to wear them."
"You know he is never going to wear that, right?" Percy asked her slowly. He took an unconscious step forward when it looked like Atlas had managed to grab Ryker, but relaxed when the demigod emerged unscathed.
"He wore the wrist bands." Victoria said loftily.
"We had to convince him that chewing his wrist to get them off was a bad idea." Percy informed her. "He was really angry when they didn't come off."
"Well, these things take time." Victoria shrugged. "After a while he will get used to it. All Amazon men do after all."
"Don't you think that changing him might make you lose interest in him?" Annabeth asked curiously.
"I am counting on him not changing." Victoria told them. She paused and smiled slightly. "At least, not too much. It would be nice if he smiled more often. And if he actually showed some interest in me."
"Don't take this the wrong way, but I doubt he has any interest in you." Percy said delicately. Victoria glared at him and he took a step back.
"Percy's right." Annabeth agreed. "Ryker doesn't really… he has the emotional range of a teaspoon."
"I wouldn't say that." Jason said, sidling over to them. "He feels other emotions too, he just is really good at hiding them."
"And how would you know that?" Victoria demanded, very interested in this new development.
"That's a long story." Jason admitted. "Let's just say that we had a heart-to-heart. Literally."
Atlas gave another howl of rage and Ryker growled back, a terrible sound that was more beast than human. Coated in ichor, Ryker was a sight to behold. The aura that had been around him at first, the one that had contained the forms of dozens of beasts, had seemingly disappeared but Ryker did not seem to be affected. In fact he seemed to have gotten even faster, and perhaps even more savage. Ryker's clawed hand raked along Atlas's shoulder and he was flung to one side by the Titan, landing lightly on his feet. Victoria, Jason, Percy, Annabeth, and the entire Roman and Amazon ranks took in a sharp breath as they got a clear look at Ryker as he slowly circled Atlas. The aura had settled over his flesh like a second skin, a beast's. A thin layer of fur covered Ryker's arms and legs and the hand that had previously been unarmed now had long claws protruding outwards. Atlas seemed to be having some difficulty breathing, though as to whether that was due to Ryker shoving a hand through his ribcage or because of actual tiredness was anyone's guess. A hole in the earth opened up behind the Titan and Atlas escaped without a word.
Without an opponent, Ryker slowly turned on the Amazon and Roman armies. His lip twitched into a snarl even as he fell onto all fours, preparing for an attack. "If you have an idea, you better do something." Percy warned Victoria, readying Riptide. "Because if whatever you are going to try doesn't work, we are in serious trouble. I don't want to have to kill Ryker and I'm not sure where Piper is right now."
Victoria nodded and began walking towards the feral demigod. Taking the advance as an attack, Ryker lunged at her. She snapped her fingers and the remaining claw she had given him smacked into the earth, effectively stopping his attack. "Can't have you trying to kill me." She crooned mockingly, walking in a small circle around him. He pulled against the restraint, but it did no good. He slashed at her with his free hand but she was just outside his reach. Now that she had a closer look she could see the various wounds Atlas had managed to inflict on him. None were particularly life-threatening, the worst being what appeared to be several cracked ribs piercing through the flesh of his chest, but they would definitely need treatment. "Now, are you going to ask nicely for me to release you?" Victoria asked frankly, stepping out of his reach once more.
He didn't answer, not unless roaring at her was considered a viable response. She continued to question him for several more minutes but he did not answer any of her questions to her satisfaction. She turned away from him and shrugged. "I guess it didn't work."
The assembled fighters laughed nervously, slightly unnerved by the sight of Ryker so easily brought to heel. "We'll get someone to find Piper-!" Percy's voice faltered and his eyes widened. "LOOK OUT!"
But Victoria was already turning before Percy even spoke his warning. She was face-to-face with Ryker, who had evidently discovered a way to escape his bindings. His eyes bore no sign of recognition for her, nor any sign of the usual distrust she had grown used to seeing. The only thing there was the hunger of a predator who had just found its prey. She managed to leap back as he cut at her with his aura-infused claw and avoid the blow. He did not pursue her, which immediately worried her, instead he backed up a few paces. He was breathing much harder and Victoria's eyes widened as she beheld his right arm. "We had to convince him that chewing his wrist to get them off was a bad idea." Percy's word rang in her ears when she saw the bleeding stump where Ryker's right hand had once been.
