SI as the Nemean Lion. Starts from Titan war and goes straight to the PJO timeline.
I shifted my shoulders as Lady Calypso sat upon me. The hellhounds surrounding me all snarled, and one even called me a lucky bastard. I replied with a growl and asked him if he would like to be a glorified horse. He tilted his head in confusion and I claimed that as my victory.
She grabbed her helmet and held it beneath her arm. I shuffled in anticipation, ready to swat the god and two goddesses before us. Cracking my neck as she nudged my sides, I forged forward, claws extended and drool falling from my mouth. My golden plated armour clunked and clanked as we made our way towards thems. The hounds howled and snarled behind us.
I pawed the ground like a restless horse as Calypso nodded at the Gods. In the God's hand was a writhing mass of shadows, with a plum above it. He shuffled in his armour as I turned my hungered stare on him. The two goddesses, both shuffled nervously as my ears flattened. Calypso took notice of it.
"I see you recognised my steed," She began the conversation, her voice smug. "Your father knew you were coming, so he was dispatched."
"It's…. Nice… to know that our father cares so much." Hades commented as he placed his helmet under his arm. I snarled as Calypso flinched, my hair bristling at the indirect threat. The hounds behind us slowly advanced. The redhaired goddess stepped forward and raised her hands placatingly.
"We're not here to fight," She said, her amber eyes looking at my tense form. "We're here to parley."
"Parley," Calypso replied as her finger stroked beneath my neck. "Will we talk about your terms of surrender?"
"Something like that," Hades said, face scrunched. I exhaled heavily, relaxing my muscles slightly. Calypso dismounted and I yawned, eyes on the gods for any sudden moves. Hades nodded, and with a wave of the redhead's hand, a battle tent appeared behind them.
I circled the tent as Calypso and the gods entered it. The hounds surrounded the tent, drool dripping from their mouths. They shuffled in their stygian armour, some sat, some joined me in the siege, circling, growling, snarling, their red eyes glaring at the tent that hid our mistress.
Darkness slowly claimed the plain. The hellhound's eyes glowed ominously in the night, their bodies invisible to my keen eye thanks to their armour. Unlike them, my armour glowed faintly, like a dying torch in the night. My golden eyes weren't as ominous as the hound's red, but I was very much surprised and at the shade when I had awoken two hundred years ago as a lion.
A hellhound snarled impatiently and she stalked towards the tent, two others at her sides. With a swipe of her paws, the closed tent's entrance was ripped into shreds. Without hesitation, she stomped inside, her packmates behind her. Seconds later, loud whines and whimpers emerged from the tent. I roared. With the rest of the pack behind me, I angrily stalked forward, my head low and body tensed and ready to strike.
The tent exploded in darkness, and we flew back with surprised yelps and squeaks. Tendrils of shadows waving threateningly, four holding the whinging hounds and Calypso in a vice grip. Back on my feet, I roared in anger and worry, before lunging at the sweating Hades. Fireballs shot out from the redhead's palms and slammed into my helmet. Shaking off the smoke, I was intercepted by vines, which I easily tore with my claws.
From there on, it was a flurry of fireballs and vines, and snarls and whimpers of pain from my counterparts. We forged onwards, through the mass of writhing shadows, and vines, with fire at flanking us. Our numbers reduced drastically by morning, with me and the hellhounds suspended in the air the only ones alive. The little gods looked at me warily, before the tendrils receded. With ruthless efficiency, the hellhounds were dispatched by a red hot hand, their necks severed from their bodies. I gave a small roar and circled, glaring daggers at the eldest child. Calypso was forced face-first into the ground when I leapt forward, my claws outstretched and mouth wide.
"Stop!" Hestia shouted. "Or we'll-" She threatened as she lowed her still red hand to Calypso's neck. She jolted and cried in pain as Hestia's fingernails touched the back of her neck. I dug my claws into the ground, stopping abruptly by Demeter. A low growl escaped my throat as vines curled around my forearms and legs. Demeter grabbed my helmet and yanked it off. It clattered uselessly to the ground as shadow tendrils shot from the floor and ripped off the rest of my armour. I roared in pain but was cut off when vines wrapped around my snout. Grasping me by the legs, the vines raised me in the air and slammed into the ground repeatedly. As I lost consciousness, I saw Calypso being dragged into the shadows.