Graduates of Olympus

In the archives of Camp Jupiter, there are the records of many past heroes and their daring exploits. These records are kept so that their stories might be remembered and honored, as is fitting for heroes of New Rome. This is one such story: three heroes and their desperate fight against an invading army and its near-immortal leader. Written after the fact by all three of the heroes, whose names shall go down in the annals of New Rome. From their writing, it appeared as though they were writing not only for the benefit of the Legion, but for normal mortals as well. Hence, some things that are obvious to a Legionnaire are defined at length, such as the existence of the Gods and so forth.

Set an unspecified time before The Lightning Thief.

Original characters are mine, but the setting, situation and interpretations of Classical Mythology belong to Rick Riordan. As with all fanfiction, I'm just playing in someone else's sandbox.

Chapter 3: Cor

Good grief; Willow berates her brother for a cliffhanger and then ends with an even worse one? Some people…

Alright, let me just skim these… Chris and Willow did a pretty good job of covering everything… Willow liking me isn't important enough to record? Action before romance, I guess… Ok. Figures they would leave me this next part. You'll know what I'm talking out when you see it; it's not hard to miss.

Anyway, we were prisoners of Antaeus, Son of Neptune; or as the Greeks called him, Poseidon. We had just been declared as combatants in the Giant's arena, and Willow had been chosen to fight first. All in all, we'd been in worse spots, but I would have been hard pressed to remember any at the time. Luckily, the name Antaeus, the Pankration and the general atmosphere had stirred my memory; I had the beginnings of a plan. Before the giants could separate us, I leaned in close to Willow so she could hear me over the crowd.

To put down the romantics out there reading this, she didn't smell like flowers or pine needles or something unrealistic like that. She smelled like dirt and sweat, like anyone except a child of Venus would after a few weeks camping and fighting in a desert.

"They're going to want you to drag out the fight for more entertainment!" Even right next to Willow, I almost had to shout to be heard. "Don't give them what they want! Finish it quick!"

As the giants pulled us apart, her only response was to shoot me a fierce grin. Despite all the danger around us, my stomach did a little flop at seeing her smile.

Ok romantics, never mind. I'd fallen hard for her; I admit it. Of course, had I known how she felt about me, I would have done something about it earlier, but children of Vulcan aren't exactly well known for our charm, personality or social skills, especially regarding the opposite gender. Our father is an ugly (and I meant that in the best possible way, Dad) blacksmith who spends more time with his automatons than his own wife, for crying out loud. In our case, social awkwardness really is genetic.

Willow was pushed and dragged by one of the Laistrygonian Giants into the fighting ring while Chris and I were roughly sat down on a bench near the arena floor. It didn't look like they were going to give Willow her bow back, which made sense; competitions like these never allowed ranged weapons, since close combat was generally bloodier. Instead, her hands were untied and she was given a sword made of a strange bronze-like metal that we'd run into a few times; Greek monsters seemed to favor it.

Ha; their mistake, giving her the weapon before they were out of range. Of course, with Willow's skills, they weren't out of range until she couldn't see them, but still. The giant could have at least backed up before giving a known enemy a weapon.

Willow's eyes lit up like it was her birthday. As the giant turned away, not realizing its mistake, Willow swept the blade through the giant's legs, toppling it to the ground. Before anyone else could respond, she was on top of its chest, stabbing downward. With a bellow of pain, the giant collapsed into dust. As the crowd roared, Willow stood and turned to look up at Antaeus. With one hand, she brushed hair out of her face; with the other, she gave him a mocking thumbs down. Next to me, Chris groaned.

Gods of Olympus, that was perfect. I love that girl.

Antaeus's already dark face went even darker with anger. With what must have been a great deal of self-control, he didn't rise out of his seat, instead contenting himself with pointing his fist back at her. "In my arena, you don't kill without my permission! You will obey this rule, or else! Now begin; and make it entertaining! Fight well, or die well!"

Behind Willow, a gate opened and two of the snake women slithered through. Willow threw a look back at us that conveyed immense boredom and then darted quickly toward the monsters. I didn't even watch; even without her bow, Willow could take care of herself. Instead, I turned to Chris and told him my plan. By the time I had finished, Willow had already finished with one monster and moved to the next.

"It's workable," Chris called over the boos of the monsters in the stands. "If the monsters are here for entertainment, all we have to do is deprive them of their fun and their reason for being here ends. Get the crowd riled up enough, and they might desert out of boredom."

I nodded. It all depended on Willow being enough of a pain to Antaeus, but, judging from his rapidly purpling face as she struck down another monster without his permission, that wouldn't be a problem. With the monsters getting riled up, old grudges would start to break out As Antaeus restored order, we would make our escape.

Everything was working out pretty well, until Antaeus decided to throw a wrench in my metaphorical engine. With a growl, he waved his hands and a dozen monsters appeared around the stadium, all armed with bows. As one, they drew back and aimed at Willow, who stood alone in the middle of the arena.

Uh oh.

"I tire of your disrespect, Godling!" Antaeus roared. I said before, if you won't fight well, you'll die well!"

Chris turned to me quickly. "New plan. Get ready to improvise." Before I could ask what he meant, he quickly stood up on the bench and raised his bound hands above his head and called up at Antaeus as loud as he could. "Hold, impotent coward!"

The stadium grew quiet. Antaeus had frozen at the insult. He slowly turned to face Chris, who stared defiantly up at the giant. "What did you say?"

"You heard me, Worm!" Chris was just getting warmed up. "You're not worthy of being ground under my heel, much less obeyed!"

I didn't think Antaeus could get any darker, but he exceeded expectations. "How dare you! I am the greatest wrestler in the world, the most favored of the children of Poseidon! My word here is law!"

"Oh yes, we've all heard of you, Antaeus," Chris was hitting his stride. Insults weren't too far afield from curses and public speaking was under Apollo's domain. "We all know the exploits of the pitiful Libyan, worthless and forgotten son of the least of the Gods!"

In my head, I sent a quick prayer up to Olympus. "Please, Lord Neptune, please understand the context and don't kill us for implying in any way that you're not among the greatest of the Gods, which you absolutely are." We weren't suddenly swallowed by a freak tsunami in the middle of the desert, so I figured we were ok, or at least Neptune was withholding judgment until we were clear of this mess.

Chris, meanwhile, kept going. "You sit up there in your seat and call life and death on your betters! Every being here has proved his worth time and again, and yet you claim dominion over us all!" At Chris's words, some of the monsters began nodding, almost in a trance. They were falling into Chris's oratory, going along with whatever he said, even though he was their sworn enemy. As long as he could maintain eloquence, Chris could get the masses on his side. It was a time honored technique the children of Apollo used in the ancient (and modern) Senate: getting their opponents to agree with whatever they said.

In the arena, Willow joined in. "Yeah, you claim you're the best in the world, but when's the last time you defended that title? When have you done anything but rest on your laurels? When's the last time you've proven your "so called" greatness?" Around her, the crowd roared in approval as they were caught up in the speech.

Antaeus was now a dark purple, and he trembled in rage. "You will fall for these insults! Your heads will go on my wall as tribute to my father!"

"Then come and take them yourself!" Chris spoke up, and I realized where this was leading. As he spoke, I tensed my wrists, feeling the strength of the cords that still bound me. "Prove your might in a one-on-one match, victor takes all! If you can best our champion, we will fight as you say, or die at your pleasure! If our champion beats you, then we shall go free and your followers shall disband, to never again assemble!"

The monsters cheered and I realized how skillfully Chris had maneuvered Antaeus. If we won, not only would we go free, but Camp Jupiter would be safe from attack as well; our mission would be a success. If Antaeus refused, the monsters would see him as a weak leader and riot; our goal would be accomplished either way.

Antaeus stood still for a moment, as if gauging his chances. "Very well, I accept! When I win, I will make a necklace out of your skulls! Who is your champion that they may stand up to my might?"

Well, I usually leave the dramatics to Chris, but I know an opening when I hear one. In one motion, I rose, turned, snapped the ropes binding me and stomped down on the row of benches in front of me, shattering the wooden seats.

"I am Cornelius, Son of Vulcan, Twelfth Legion!" I bellowed at Antaeus. "And by the rights of gladiatorial combat, I challenge you for the title of Champion of the Pankration!

"Look, I'm sure we could get out of here."

"No."

"Are you sure? Because Willow spotted where our other weapons are, and I'm sure we could make a break for it-"

"No."

"I'm just saying," Chris said as he helped me buckle on my cestus. "You can probably take him, but I'd like to be sure of us getting out of here in one piece."

"Chris," I removed my shirt and handed it to him. "Thanks, but this is probably the best way to get out of here. Besides, we challenged him. It's our honor on the line as much as his, now.

It was an hour after the challenge had been made. By the rules, both combatants got some time to prepare before the fight. I also got my weapons back.

"You know Chris," Willow said lightly, "for a guy who can see the future, you sure second guess yourself a lot. The only thing I'm guessing about, Cor," she grinned at me. "Is why you've suddenly decided to go shirtless?"

I shrugged, suddenly feeling self conscious. "It's just one of the combat traditions. Plus, you know how I tend to burn through my shirts."

"Oh, then why don't you lose the pants too? I know the ancients did."

"Willow!" I felt my face heat up so much I felt like combusting right then.

She laughed. "I'm just kidding, come on!" She stretched up on her toes and quickly pecked me on the cheek. "Good luck. This should be easy."

If possible, I felt even warmer. "Uh, thanks."

I turned away to see Chris in deep concentration, like he was getting a premonition. "Are you seeing something?"

He shook his head. "Nothing; I just feel like there's something I'm forgetting about this guy. Something important…" He looked up at me and did a double take. "Your ears are smoking."

"Your sister."

He nodded, like that explained everything. "You know, you should go after her. I'm pretty sure she likes you too."

"Sure; right after we finish with this."

"I'll hold you to that."

"You do that." I grinned. He was trying to keep my mind off the fact that in a few short moments, I would be in a life and death struggle against a fifteen foot tall giant. He's a good friend like that.

The roar of the crowd made me turn towards the center of the arena. Antaeus had entered the ring. "Are you ready for your doom, Demigod?"

I looked back at Chris and Willow one more time and then strode forward into the ring. "I'm ready, pretender! Are you ready for yours?"

Antaeus scowled. "I'm going to enjoy this, boy. You will make a fine trophy to the Earthshaker."

I raised my hand threateningly. "The time for words is over. Veniat ad me." Come at me.

I'm not sure if Antaeus understood the Latin, but I'm sure he got the gist of it. He bellowed and ran forward, the ground shaking with every footstep. I matched his cry and ran forward to meet him.

Now, I'm not stupid when it comes to fighting (I might be a fool when it comes to girls, but that's a different story). No matter how supernaturally buffed I was, there was no way I was going to match a man the size of a building in strength. Luckily, I didn't plan to. As we met in the center of the arena, I dove under his legs and rolled up behind him. He reacted fast and started to turn, but I was faster. As he turned, I struck at the side of his knee with my foot and it popped out of socket with a sickening crack. Low blow? Not really. The only thing disallowed in a Pankration was biting and eye-gouging. Everything else was fair game.

Antaeus roared in pain and dropped to his other knee, which put his head in range. My hands blurred as I landed a powerful succession of punches on his face and neck. Normally, punching someone's face isn't actually the greatest idea for your hands, but I was wearing the Roman equivalent of spiked brass knuckles and gauntlets rolled into one; I didn't even feel the blows. Antaeus, however, did. The studs and spikes on my cestus tore into his skin and he roared in pain again. Around me, the monsters called out as blood poured out of Antaeus's wounds.

Wait, it wasn't blood; it was… sand?

Antaeus dropped down and pressed his head against the sand, almost like what people think ostriches do. I would have laughed at the sudden thought, but the arena's sand was moving, wrapping itself around Antaeus's wounded leg and head. After only a moment, the sand fell away and Antaeus stood, completely uninjured.

Well, this was new.

Antaeus took advantage of my shock to quickly swipe at me and I barely ducked, so he only clipped me. Even a glancing blow hurt, he was so strong.

"Now you see!" Antaeus laughed and came at me again. "I am unbeatable!" He lunged again and I leapt to the side, scoring a deep slash on his arm with my spikes as I dodged. Again, sand dripped out of the wound and the sand of the arena snaked its way up his body and wrapped around his arm. When it fell away, the wound was gone again.

"Cor!" so my side, Chris was frantically trying to get my attention. "I remembered! His mother is Gaia, the Earth Goddess! I remember how Hercules beat him!" He was suddenly cut off by a giant behind him, putting a large hand over his mouth.

Antaeus laughed. "Good! Bind the silver-tongued fool's mouth!" He turned back to me and beckoned me forward. "As you said, the time for words is over."

Rage welled up in me, but I fought it down. Uncontrolled anger wouldn't help me anymore that a forest fire would be good for cooking. I focused my emotion into my hands and they ignited, fire running up my arms. "Bring it, slowpoke." Around me, the monsters roared as they saw my fire. "You're not the only one with tricks".

The fight continued. I continued to smash him at every opportunity, but he kept healing from everything I could throw at him. I was getting frustrated, but the only thing my frustration did was make my fire hotter.

Antaeus, for his part, wasn't taking my continuous dodging well. He still hadn't landed a solid hit on me, and the monsters in the stadium were letting him know. Every time I dodged they jeered, both at my dodging and his inability to catch me. He was getting angry, and angry opponents made mistakes.

I ducked again and he snarled. "Stand still and fight like a man!"

"What, like you?" I taunted as I rolled again and landed a flurry of shots to his kidneys. "Too slow to do anything but get his loincloth handed to him?"

Antaeus roared as his back smoked from my attacks. "I'll show you how slow I am!" He lumbered over to the side of the arena, swatted the monsters off a bench and picked it up. He swung around and threw it at me, but I managed to dive out of the way. The bench flew into the crowd behind me and smashed into the monsters, bowling them over. He picked up more benches and kept up the onslaught, but I kept dodging out of the way.

Antaeus bared his teeth and prepared to throw another bench, but something to my side caught his eye and his snarl turned into a grin. "Very well, son of Vulcan, let's see how fast you are!" As he swung his arm back, I turned to see what had caught his attention and my blood ran cold.

Willow was slowly sneaking around the side of the arena, making her way over to where her and Chris's weapons were stashed. As close as she was, and as intent she was on her goal, she wouldn't be able to tell Antaeus was aiming at her until it was too late. Farther around the stadium, I looked at Chris, still held down by the giant, and his eyes met mine in terror.

He had seen the future. Antaeus would throw the bench.

Willow would die.

Not on my watch. Not ever.

As Antaeus released the bench, I dove in between him and Willow. I threw a wall of flame in front of me, trying to shield as much behind me as I could.

"Willow! Duck!"

It mostly worked. Instead of a large, wooden bench hitting an unprepared Willow, a flaming, slightly smaller wooden bench splintered against me instead.

I'm pretty tough, but that bench had been thrown by a giant.

It hurt.

A lot.

I was blown back into the side of the arena, where I laid, stunned. Somewhere in the haze, I could hear Willow calling my name above the cheers of the crowd. As I tried to sit up, blinking stars and black spots out of my vision, a gigantic hand grabbed my arm and squeezed.

Very bad.

In the fog of my brain, I heard more than felt the bones in my arm being ground into powder as Antaeus squeezed harder. "Got you now, Demigod!" His other fist smashed into my body, but the pain wasn't registering yet. In the shattered remains of my consciousness, what Chris had said about Gaia was trying to get my attention. Something about the earth and healing and Hercules and bear hugs…

Antaeus lifted me by my arm and hurled me into the other side of the arena. As I flew, more pieces fit together. "Healed by the Earth… flying in the air…in the air…"

"Oh yeah. Now I remember."

Antaeus wouldn't heal if he wasn't touching the ground. Hercules had lifted him into the air and crushed him in a massive bear hug, back in the day. I could beat him if I could get him away from the ground.

Then I hit the ground and all thoughts of winning evaporated. Pain exploded everywhere. Everything except my arm hurt. In the rapidly shrinking lucid corner of my brain, that was even more worrying than the pain everywhere else.

I didn't want to do anything but pass out and forget about the match, but then Willow screamed and my consciousness jerked alive again. I would not pass out while she was in trouble.

I forced my head up out of the sand and saw that Willow had made it to her bow and was shooting, filling Antaeus with arrows. He was falling back in pain, but not even the hydra blood on her arrows was keeping him down. She had also shot the giant holding Chris captive and he was fighting his way towards her with a sword he had picked up somewhere. Pandemonium had erupted all through the stadium. Monsters were pushing in every direction; towards Willow and Chris, fleeing out of the stadium, charging at each other… it was the exact riot we had wanted to start with our original plan; too bad it was late.

My consciousness started to flicker again and random thoughts started blurring past my consciousness. Something Chris had said… oh yeah. He told me to go after Willow when this was over…

As I thought about Willow, I felt warmer. I realized that my fire was spreading out along the ground almost like water; where it flowed, the sand hissed and fused together.
Just like…Hey!

With my thoughts of Willow powering all the heat I could muster, I punched my good hand into the sand and released everything I had. The fire spread out from my fist and poured out all over the arena. Everywhere it went, the sand heated, melted and fused.

When my fire died down, the entire arena was a single surface of glass.

Try reaching the ground now, you ugly…

At this point my body decided that it had had enough. My head fell onto the still cooling glass and I slipped into blissful and pain-free blackness.