Now before you read this, I just wanted to warn you that I am pretty much a newbie when it comes to fight scenes and such, so if I got something wrong in this chapter please point it out so that I know where I went wrong.

I breathed in taking in all the tension that was affecting the crowded room, and chuckled at the look of pure concentration dominating his face. It was quite hilarious actually.

His face was scrunched up, his brow furrowed, and mouth set in a straight line, he looked like he was going to pounce. Like a lion with its prey. With his eyes previously distracted by a certain point on the ground beneath him, he lifted his dark purple eyes to observed me. My stance to be precise.

I imagined, before we started, that it was probably going to be like his only with a slight feminine touch to it, but it wasn't. It was different. I was facing my body to the left, my knees bent, only slightly, with the right in front of the left, gripping my twin celestial swords in each hand, I moved both wrists in circular motions bearing a smirk. Apollo mirrored me but with only a spear held in his left.

Only, the spear was made out of metal from top to bottom, with a mixture of metal and celestial spikes surrounding the top half of the stick. Etched into the grip were the glowing symbols of the gods.

"Apollo?" I squeaked. That was not a god sign and Apollo could tell. I was intimidated by his choice of weapon and he knew it and was going to take that as an advantage.

If fighting was a game, your choice of weapon would be the most difficult part. You had to choose one that you were comfortable and confident with. Looks are important too. If it looks intimidating, then your opponent will be weary on how to get to you. Then again, even the ugliest swords make the best weapons because your opponent will underestimate you. And you can also use that to your advantage. But the thing they really have to be worried about is how you use it. That's the ultimate thing when it comes to fighting.

He grinned, oblivious as ever. "What, dear sister of mine?"

"Metal?"

He took the spear in both hands and examined it closely before answering, "Yep. I think I noticed that when I asked Hephaestus to make it. Pretty cool, eh?"

"What are those symbols?"

"It represents each of our powers. Including yours, Isabella."

I growled but his grin only widened. "It's Bella."

He acted as if he didn't hear me and continued explaining about his new sword. Apparently, him and Hephaestus made a spear and carved all our symbols on it. So whenever he said a certain word, the symbol would dim and when it came in contact with his opponent, they would experience a certain pain.

So if he said 'Zeus' and touches you with the spear, you would feel like you were getting struck by lightning. But if he decided to be a little more... kind and said 'Aphrodite', you would fall in love with someone.

Slowly, Apollo drew his sword from his belt and a hissing cry sounded, as the blade was removed from its sheath. I kept a close eye on him, trying to anticipate his next move. Just behind his right shoulder, I could see Jasper watching us intently, closely noting our fighting styles. His gaze caught mine for a split second and he wagged his eyebrows at me making me bite my lip as I held back a laugh. I've known Apollo long enough to know his skills as a fighter. He attacks before doing any planning, but works effectively, as his opponents never know when he plans to attack.

With his sword and spear in each hand, he lunged. He yelled out a battle cry whilst bringing the spear over his head and his sword in front of him, across his body.

I stayed put where I was and crouched down. He was inches away from striking me when I jumped. Over his bulky body and flipped in the air, landing at the other side of the arena, mirroring my previous stance. He turned on his heel and smirked.

"Really, Bella?"

"Aww, is little Marco Polo afraid he's gonna get his wittle ass kicked?" I mocked. "I thought that little spear of yours was going to come in handy."

He clenched his jaw and threw the spear at my stomach while yelling my name. I saw a certain symbol dim and heard the rip of fabric before I felt the searing pain. I anticipated that he would do that but didn't move away quick enough, resulting in a deep and painful cut running from my shoulder down to my elbow. I heard shouts of my name, and people asking if I was okay. In the distance, I heard a faint clatter -metal hitting the ground- and cringed, placing my right hand over my left arm. Closing my eyes, I mumbled a healing spell and bit back a scream that was attempting to come from my mouth. Receiving the cut was bearable, but the healing process was a far more painful thing to endure. It vaguely reminded me of the bite that James gave me last year. Tears stung my eyes as the last of the wound was healed. What was left of the cut was a bright pink scar.

I glared at Apollo. "Not meaning to sound like a whiny brat or anything, but I really liked that cardigan that you just ripped. And what was that?!"

Apollo's face went from worried to amused. I could practically hear Alice's internal whooping behind me. I bit down on my lip to strain from giggling at the thought of Alice cheering for me because I showed appreciation for clothing. It's very rare for me to do so but, like I said, I was very fond of that cardigan. Looking at Apollo, I could see that he only had his sword. Where did the spear go?

"It's a cardigan, Bella. It's not my fault you didn't bother to put any armour on. And that was how it felt to have your own powers used against you. Since your powers are kinda optional in a way, I thought of poison while I said your name to activate it." He smiled like a child opening presents under the tree on Christmas morning and started bouncing up and down. "And it worked! I used your own powers against you. Aww, that's gotta suck, dude."

I mimicked the same gesture he did but with my right sword. I missed my target and the sword rebounded after coming in contact with his golden armour. I never was a good swords man.

"It gets worse with old age." Apollo teased, lunging his sword at me. I deflected it with mine and took a small step back. He lunged a few more times without success. I decided it was time for a different approach.

"You know," I started casually deflecting his attack, "It gets worse with old age."

"Ha ha, Swan. You wouldn't be teasing me once I get my bow out."

I feigned shock. "No! Not the bow!" I heard Artemis chuckle.

He attacked, narrowly missing my arm and shallowly cutting my cheek. The adrenaline prevented me from felling the sting that came with it but I sure as hell will feel it tonight when this is all over. I swiped my sleeve over the cut trying to stop the blood gushing from my cheek. After realising that I was probably making it worse, I left it to heal on its own.

"Oh please. I distinctly remember you losing that match in '56."

"18 or 19?"

"18, right Artemis?" He turned to his sister.

"No. I think it was 1956. I remember that god awful outfit you were wearing." People used to look at him thinking that he was off to do some civil war re-enactment. "You wouldn't change it until they invented disco pants." Artemis and I shivered, disgusted at the memory.

That was horrible. Apollo in tight disco trousers that flared out at the end, with open collar shirts that had the most unfashionable patterns printed on them, and neon peace sign necklaces around his neck was never pretty. He also had the nerve to grow an afro and wear huge sunglasses. Even at night time! I stayed away from him for practically the whole of the 1970's to early 80's."Lets just, not, please don't... just no. Lets not talk about it," I decided.

I saw Apollo furrow his brows trying to think back and pretty much failing. It's hard to remember a specific date in our timeline since it's so long, so we usually just go by the year or decade. But come on! It wasn't that long ago.

There were snickers coming from the crowd and I couldn't help but join. Apollo didn't exactly have the same reaction to us. He held his chin up high and stuck his tongue at me playfully. He never was one to back down when being laughed at. Always thinking positively. Now that I know, I think it's pretty obvious where Alice gets her enthusiasm from.

"You know, Bella, that I never miss my target."

"Prove it."

And prove it, he did. He jumped into the air, bringing his sword down so that he could catch me from behind. I had to use my powers and push him away with the air to block him. Leave it to me to forget to suit up. I kinda regret it now.

Using my hands to manipulate the air around us, I twisted it up and pushed it back with such force that it made Apollo get flung across the room and hit the wall hard, knocking him out cold.

The crowd burst into spontaneous cheers and laughter on my success. I knew I had one, but I felt a huge pain in my stomach. It felt like someone reached into my stomach and started twisting my insides. It was painful. Then I knew something was wrong when the crowd's cheering became gasps, and the brightly lit room swirled into darkness. I collapsed onto my back and the last thing I saw was Apollo's sword through my stomach and the red substance that surrounded it.

Apollo was right. He never misses his target.

Hey guys! I know, I know, it's been a while! Sorry. I've just been busy with my other fic lately. You should check it out, it's called Love is a Myth. LIaM for short. No, I didn't forget you guys, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this, now would you? No. I just got a bit of writers block. Most people do. As well as this, some of my files have been deleted and I have spent countless hours -with zero success- trying to get them back. So I had to retype every chapter. I hate losing files or accidentally deleting them. It's literally a pain in the ass, am I right?

Since it's the summer holidays here in England, I've been reading a few fics lately and some I just can't get out of my head! They are so awesome! So I decided to do this thing where I recommend some of them to you. Like at the end of every chapter, I'll announce one or two fics that I think you guys would enjoy. So for the first time...


FIC REC:

Take the ice by bellamarie117

So if you love or like watching or doing figure skating or hockey, then this fic is totally for you.

Bella's dreams of winning an Olympic medal are crushed after a serious leg injury. She moves back to her home town of Minnesota and falls for her neighbours brother -Hockey player, Edward Cullen.

This really is a lovely fic and I seriously think you should give it a go. But I must warn you that it is rated M so if you are under aged don't read it. But I bet some of you are gonna read it anyway so my warning is kinda worthless. Just skip the lemons if your under 18 ;)

If you know any fics that are good and you think I should recommend them in the next chapter, fell free to tell me in your review.


It's summer! And I have a question for you guys at home:
What is the worst summer holiday you have ever had and why?
I'll tell you mine in the next chapter if you tell me yours.

Ok. My totally unnecessarily A/N is done. You can get on with your more interesting lives now :)

Mallory Phoenix.

{P.S. It wouldn't hurt to review} ;)