Chapter 11: Magnus the Red's TV Debut

They group was sat at a diner. During Percy's dip in the river, a water spirit had contacted him requesting that they go to Santa Monica beach, and a summons from Poseidon was not something to be ignored.

They had just contacted camp, Luke had told them of the deteriorating situation. It was like a civil war was about to break out, and it was only a matter of time before the conflict spilled into the mortal realm.

Vulkan was uneasy, he could feel a dark presence approaching, it was somehow familiar. He felt like this before entering to the heat of battle, a combination of dread, fury, and pride. The waitress was asking them for money which they did not have. Then everything seemed to stop. A loud noise, that of an engine approached the diner. The motorcycle was strange, the seat seemed to be made of human skin. The rider was strange as well, he seemed to emanate hatred and fury, the entire diner watched him with fear in their eyes as he approached the table.

"They're with me." The man said. The waitress was gaping at him, "Are you still here?" he said threateningly. The waitress ran off towards the kitchen.

"So, you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?" He said

Percy looked angry "What's it too you?"

Annabeth looked at Percy, "Percy, this is-"

The man put a hand up, "S'okay, I don't mind a little attitude. As long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am little cousin?

"You're Clarisse's dad," Percy said, "Ares, god of war."

Ares grinned "That's right punk" he turned towards Vulkan. "And who might you be?" he lowered his sunglasses revealing only fire where his eyes should have been. "I know a warrior when I see one, and you've seen more war than anyone I've ever met…"

Vulkan was unfazed, he was sure he had seen more war than this god ever had. He knew not of the innumerable hordes of Orks, nor the true horrors of Chaos.

"Oh, wait I know who you are!" Ares said, "You're those 'Primarchs' Dionysus was talking about," He laughed and turned back to Percy, "Anyway I have a proposition for you…"

Magnus did not trust Ares, he sensed that he was not alone in this sentiment, even so Percy was adamant about this "proposition". Ares had promised him information about his mother who was killed by a monster before his arrival. He thought it strange that the god of war would use children to do his dirty work, in this case retrieving a shield from a park.

They arrived at the locked gate of the padlock. Strangely the fence around the park was topped with barbed wire.

"How do we get in?" Percy asked.

"Stand back, I will handle the gate." Magnus stepped forward. Raising his arm, he telekinetically forced the gate open. He was getting used to using his powers again. The warp was calmer in this time, the 4 Gods of Chaos were but 3, and the 3 that remained were less than a millennia old.

"Wow…" Percy said, "How did you do that?"

"I am a Psyker, did you think reading minds was the only thing I could do?" Magnus answered with a small grin.

They walked through the park searching for the shield. They stopped by a large empty pool, at least 50 yards across. Around the rim there were statues of winged infants holding bows at the ready. There was a large opening with a sign above it that read, THRILL RIDE O LOVE" THIS IS NOT YOUR PARETNS TUNNEL OF LOVE.

"Guys look!" Grover exclaimed as he peered over the edge. There in the center of the pool there was a small boat, there on the left seat was the shield.

"This is too easy," Percy said, "We just walk down there and go get it?"

Annabeth looked at one of the statues, "There is a Greek letter carved here, Eta…"

Magnus spoke up, "There is certainly something more to this place. Percy, Annabeth, I will go down with you two to keep watch while you retrieve the shield. Brothers remain up here and keep watch." His brothers nodded in affirmation, "And Grover!"

"Yes!" he said nervously.

"Remain up here with my brothers, and inform them if you smell any monsters." Grover nodded.

"Alright Percy and Annabeth come with me." Percy and Magnus headed down with bowl, Annabeth was stopped.

"Are you kidding?" her cheeks were bright red.

"What now Annabeth?" Percy demanded

"Me, go with you to the… the 'Thrill Ride of Love'? What if somebody saw me?" She said.

"Who's going to see you" Percy responded, his face had now turned bright red was well.

She began to follow them down the pool. Magnus now noticed that the pool was surrounded by mirrors, Magnus assumed so that Ares and Aphrodite could always look at their favorite thing, themselves. The three reached the boat, Percy picked up a scarf which Annabeth quickly confiscated.

"Oh, no you don't. Stay away from that love magic." Annabeth said.

"Percy pick up the shield" Magnus said, "I refuse to do his dirty work…"

Percy picked up the shield. Just after he did the sound of gears consumed the pool.

"Guys there's another Eta on the side of the boat, it's a trap! We have to get out of here now!" Annabeth worriedly

The statues around the pool began firing their arrows. They began to form a huge golden web above the empty pool. The Primarchs attempted to break the barrier but it the golden threads began to wrap around their weapons. The statues heads popped open and video cameras were deployed. A booming voice announced, "Live to Olympus in one minute...".

"Hephaestus!" Annabeth screamed, "I'm so stupid! He made this trap to catch his wife with Ares. Now we're going to be broadcast live to Olympus and..." Annabeth trailed off and screamed. Thousands of tiny metallic creatures poured out from the rim of the pool. "SPIDERS!" Annabeth screamed as she fell back in terror.

Magnus was furious, he had already assumed his true form and deployed his staff. Just as the spiders were about to reach them he created a barrier around the group. Dark clouds began to form above the water park. "Percy, Annabeth," Magnus pointed to several large pipes, "Get in the boat and on my signal, use the water in the pipes to wash yourselves down the tunnel."

"What about you?" Percy asked

"Just do as I say Percy!" Magnus yelled. Percy nodded in fear.

Magnus began to channel the power of the warp, these "gods" were monstrous creatures. They were endowed with incredible power, yet they use children to do their dirty work. Now, Magnus was given an opportunity to speak with them, and he would use it to its fullest.

"NOW!" Magnus shouted as he lowered the barrier. Water flooded the bowl and washed both the boat and the spiders away.

"Three… Two… One… Zero!"

The Golden Net fell upon the giant…

The sky was covered by dark clouds…

The ground began to shake under their feet…

The remaining water began to float around the cyclops…

Electricity surged through the air around the cyclops…

His single eye was glowing with psychic power…

The Crimson King of Prospero stood entrapped by the Golden Net…

"You… are disgusting" His voice boomed, amplified by the warp. "You so called gods, are endowed with great power, yet you send children to do your bidding! You accuse a child of theft, a crime which he could not possibly have committed, your only evidence being the identity of his father."

Magnus raised a hand, the golden net was set ablaze with a blue flame. The net began to fade into nothing.

"Your mere presence upon this Earth brings only death and despair. You are not worth to call yourselves gods!" As Magnus bellowed the final word, a bolt of lightning raced towards the crimson king.

The crack of thunder boomed throughout the air, and all were blinded by a flash of light as Magnus was struck by the bolt. When the smoke cleared, the Crimson King stood unharmed.

"I am Magnus the Red! Crimson King of Prospero! Primarch of The Thousand Sons, 15th Legion of Adeptus Astartes! I am a son of the Emperor of Mankind, scattered from Terra by Chaos itself!" He raised a hand, which arced with electrical power, into the air. As an insult to Zeus, Magnus launched a bolt of warp energy into the sky scattering the clouds. As sunlight fell upon the park Magnus proclaimed "I am Psyker! I channel the energies of the Immaterium to use as my weapon! BEHOLD!"

Magnus raised his hand once more as one by one the statues burst into dust. "Perseus Jackson does not have the bolt…" Magnus looked at the final camera, "Cease your threats of war Zeus, or my brothers and I shall bring the full power of the Emperor's Sons down upon Olympus. You will know the meaning of my words… All is Dust." The Crimson King's one eye glowed red with rage as the final camera became dust.

Magnus walked out of the bowl. Rogal looked furious, perhaps Magnus had overdone it, but he was finished with these gods. On the other hand, Annabeth, Percy, and Grover looked upon him with a mixture of awe and fear. Annabeth spoke to the Primarch her voice laced with fear, "That…that was a very bad idea."

As the group was returning to Ares with his shield the storm had resumed. Zeus was furious and the sheer intensity of the storm made that clear.

"You have a lot of nerve coming back here" Ares said to Magnus.

Rogal was angry at Magnus for using his powers so brazenly, but he could not deny its effectiveness. All the Primarchs found the very existence of the gods repulsive. They reeked of the warp, and not like a Psyker does, their connection with the warp was not unlike that of the Daemons.

"We have no respect for a God of War such as you." Vulkan replied.

"YOU DARE!" Ares shouted.

Vulkan walked towards him, "You marked me as a warrior the moment we met. Look into my eyes, tell me what you see."

Ares looked into Vulkan's eyes. Vulkan thought of the many battles he'd fought. On Ullanor, the Beast's mighty horde, billions of Orks clashing with Astartes. On Istvaan, his legion, his sons, were devastated by the Iron Warriors and Night Lords. Konrad Curze, the unspeakable torture he faced at his hands. His duel with Curze upon the cities of Macragge, brother fighting brother, Primarch fighting Primarch, cities were leveled to the ground on one of the mightiest worlds in the galaxy, by just two men. Are's face was marked with an emotion unknown to the God of War until that moment, terror.

"Wha- What part of Tartarus did you crawl out from" Ares demanded, "What I just saw was impossible! I know of every war that has been or will be fought! What you have just shown me is IMPOSSIBLE!"

"I am Vulkan! Son of the Emperor! Guardian of Nocturne! Primarch of the Salamanders the 18th Legion of Adeptus Astartes! I fought upon Istvaan! I escaped the Night Haunter! I slayed the Beast and his horde! I led my sons by my words, Into the Fires of Battle, Unto the Anvil of War!"

Ares was furious, "You will regret this insult to the gods, we have held dominion over the Earth for millennia! Our power is incomprehensible to you mortals!"

Magnus spoke to the god of war, "You are a fool if you think that you rule the world. I can sense their presence. It's faint, I doubt any of you so called gods can feel it, but it's there."

Ares asked with fury, "What are you talking about!?"

"The true God of War…" Magnus answered quietly.

AN: College, that's why.

In regard to other parts of the 40K lore making an appearance, yes, the Chaos Gods do exist and I'm still working out exactly how they will play a role, but first I would like to clarify something. There is no "Multiverse" in this story, the world of PJO is the world of 40K in the past. All things that existed in 40k during early M3 exist in the world of this story. The Eldar Empire, 3 of the Chaos Gods etc. Slaanesh doesn't exist yet because the Eldar have yet to create her with their UNRESTRAINED, UNQUANTIFIABLE, MURDERFUCKING! Apart from that thanks for reading, updates will slow down from this point onward (no one a day anymore if you haven't already figured that out)