So, quick announcement: I'm moving Rise of the Titans to Other Worlds, mainly cuz I feel like it would be more appropriate to part of these story arcs. They stories will still be as they usually are, just not as it's own separate story. It's also less stressful for me to keep up with my chapter updating ^^
Rise of the Titans
Chapter 1: Will Not Rest
It was a dark and stormy night.
The streets were dark as the rain fell from the sky.
A single street lamp was the only source of light. It flickered ominously, threatening to turn off completely. Each flicker lengthened, plunging the neighborhood into darkness until it lit up again.
Suddenly, after one particularly long flicker, when the light turned back on, two figures stood under the lamp. Both had dark cloaks on, hood drawn up, covering their faces in darkness. One was carefully holding a small bundle.
The one with her hands free sighed and snapped her fingers. A small flame lit next to her and her companion, helping light up the streets even if only by a little.
"You can't be serious," she protested. "I can't believe you had another kid with the same guy."
The one holding the bundle shrugged. She peered into the blankets, smiling in relief when she saw the child in her arms was still deep asleep. "What can I say," she murmured. "I'm into the intelligent ones."
Her companion snorted. "There are plenty of other guys that are smart out there. Why this one?"
"There's something about him that… draws me to him. Intellectually speaking," the woman holding the baby struggled to explain. "He… completes me."
"That's funny," the other woman scoffed, "A human. Completing a god."
"You wouldn't understand, Hestia," she sighed.
"Of course not," Hestia replied, crossing her arms. "I don't have any kids. And here you are. The great, wise Athena. Having two kids with the same guy. It's already pretty rare for you to find a guy that attracts you, but having two? That's just unheard of."
"We've had this conversation before," Athena muttered flatly, rocking her child slightly as he shifted restlessly in his sleep.
Hestia sighed. "I'm just worried, alright? I mean, with what's going on in Olympus and all, I thought you'd be more careful. Even Ares is on his guard! But here you are, getting all happy and cuddly with the humans."
"I didn't ask you for help," Athena snapped. "And I know what I'm doing."
Hestia sighed one more time, before grabbing Athena's hand gently. She looked into her friend's eyes and said, "Just… please be careful. I don't want to see you get hurt. You're my best friend."
Athena's gaze softened. "I know… thank you for worrying about me. But I can handle it myself. After I drop him off, I'll head back to Olympus."
Hestia narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Swear on the River of Styx," she said bluntly.
"I swear on the River of Styx that I will return to Olympus as soon as I am done with my business with the humans," Athena sighed. Thunder rumbled in the distance. The vow was set.
Hestia relaxed a little, but she still looked worried. "Call me if anything happens."
Athena smiled. "I will, Hesti. Don't worry."
"When you say 'don't worry', I worry more!" Hestia cried in frustration. She looked ready to rip out her hair.
A sudden clap of thunder shocked the two women. They looked up to the skies. Hestia sighed, "Zeus is calling."
"Go," Athena laughed. "You know how impatient he is."
"Are you absolutely sure you'll be okay?" Hestia fretted. "I mean, I could go with you. Zeus would understand."
"No he wouldn't" Athena said bluntly. "I promise, I'll be fine. Now go, before he sends down a bolt of lightning."
Hestia gave her friend a quick hug and peered at the child's face. She smiled wistfully at the adorable sleeping baby. The light flickered again, and when it relit, she was gone.
Athena took in a deep breath, then walked up confidently to the small apartment she had been standing in front of. She knocked on the door softly, glancing around to make sure no one was there. She didn't need any surprise attacks now.
The door opened, light flooding out of the room. A blurry-eyed man with dark hair stood there, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
She couldn't help but smile at the sight. He looked half awake, and completely ridiculous in his striped pajama bottoms and frayed t-shirt.
The man looked at her in surprise, all signs of sleep gone when he realized who it was. "Athena," he said in shock.
She smiled at the man. "Tomeo," she replied calmly.
"Come in, come in!" he said quickly, opening the door wider. Athena stepped into the warmth of the home, grateful to be out of the rain.
Once inside, she pulled down her hood. Tomeo closed the door behind them. A yawn stretched across his face, but he grinned and led his guest to the living room. "This is a pleasant surprise," he remarked. "Last time I saw you was at that tech convention last year."
"I've been busy," she replied honestly. "It's been chaos in Olympus."
"Well, nonetheless, I'm still happy you're here" Tomoe grinned. "It's been boring without having an intelligent mind with me."
The two adults sat in awkward silence. Athena glanced around the room. It was small. The walls were bare, with only one picture in sight. She could make out Tomeo, with a small boy riding on his shoulders. Both had an identical grin plastered on their face.
"So, how's Tadashi?" she asked curiously. The last time she had seen her other son was when she came down from Olympus and delivered him to Tomeo. Similar to what she was doing now, she noted with a mental wince.
"He's been good," Tomeo said, smiling as he picked up the picture. "Just turned seven. He's staying with my neighbors for a bit. I'm out here for a meeting." He hesitantly glanced at her, then mumbled, "If you stick around a bit, you could see him. I'm going back tomorrow."
"As much as I'd like to, I can't," Athena sighed. "And I'm actually here to give you something else. Or rather, someone." She held out the small bundle carefully.
Tomeo's eyes widened. "This is… unexpected," he stated calmly. Athena rolled her eyes. As calm as he tried to sound, she could see the pride that was building up inside him.
"Hold him," she whispered, carefully placing their child in his arms.
Tomeo looked entranced, gently stroking his child's ruddy cheeks with his thumb. "He has your looks," he murmured absentmindedly. "So beautiful…"
"What flattery," she laughed. Thunder rumbled outside. Sighing, she stood up. "I have to go."
Tomeo snapped out of his trance, looking up at the woman in surprise. "What? But you just got here!"
"I promised I would go as soon as I was done," she muttered darkly. "It's not safe for me to be here right now. For you and me."
The look on Tomeo's face was heartbreaking. Athena almost reconsidered, but she knew she couldn't. Breaking a vow on the River of Styx would be disastrous, and she didn't need more problems.
He stood wordlessly and walked with her to the door. She stepped outside, looking at her child sadly. "At least hold him one last time before you leave," he said as he noticed her glance, pushing the child into her arms.
Smiling, she rocked her baby and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Sleep well, dear," she cooed.
Suddenly, she froze. Something was wrong. Tomeo felt it as well. He tensed up and pushed Athena and his child away from his house.
A flash of lightning lit the skies. Athena stumbled into the streets as a giant BOOM shook the ground.
Horrified, she turned around to see the apartment in flames. There was no way he survived. The entrance had collapsed, and she couldn't sense any living presence in the flames.
She dropped to her knees, clutching her child to her chest. Miraculously, he stayed asleep, even after that earthshattering sound. Tears spilled out from her eyes, mixing in with the rainwater on her face.
Lifting her head, she wailed, "CRONUS! He wasn't involved in any of this!"
More thunder sounded, but a voice slithered into her mind. It almost seemed to laugh, mocking her and her pain.
Fury washed over her. She glared into the air around her and hissed, "You will pay for this! Mark my words, Cronus! Athena will not rest until she and her children are righted from what you did!" With a swish of her cloak, she disappeared, leaving the flaming home behind.
She reappeared a few blocks away. With a wave of her hand, she conjured up a basket, placing her bundle carefully into it. Tears spilled out from her eyes as she left a small note in the folds of the blanket. Kissing her child one more time, she shut her eyes and walked away, disappearing with another swish of her cloak.
In the morning, a rather elderly, plump woman would open the door at the local orphanage and find the basket, with a crying, hungry baby nestled into a blanket, and a note that simply read "Hiro."
Chapter 2: Meeting
Tadashi Hamada stuck his head around the corner, carefully checking for enemies.
Who are his enemies, you ask?
Just every Greek monster known to man.
Every one of them was out to get him. When he was younger, his dad would always protect him from the attacks. He remembered moving around a lot to avoid any large horde of the monsters.
The 16-year-old sighed. It had been almost 9 years since his dad died. He had been out of town for some big meeting with a bunch of company heads when his apartment exploded. The official report was gas leak. Tadashi was 7 at the time.
He remembered hearing his neighbor/babysitter pick up the phone cheerfully, then immediately dropped to her knees and crying. The very next day he had most of his stuff packed up and he was thrown into some orphanage across town.
The teenager shook his head. Can't be distracted now, he chastised himself. Not when there's a bunch of harpies literally right around the corner.
Ducking down, he prayed to Zeus that they wouldn't find him. He hopped behind some trash bags, hoping the smell of rotting garbage would hide his presence. Wrinkling his nose in disgust, he reluctantly burrowed deeper into the trash as he heard the hags walk over.
There were three of them. They had the faces and bodies of beautiful women, but their arms were those of a giant bird. Their legs transformed from human legs to bird claws halfway down their thighs. One had dark hair, another brown hair and the last a light red. All of them had the same expression on their faces. Hunger.
The brown haired one raised her head and sniffed. "Do you smell that, sisters?" she asked excitedly.
The red head cackled in glee. "Oh, yes," she said as she licked her lips. "Lunch."
The dark haired girl slowly stalked down the alley, claws clicking against the concrete. "Where are you, little half blood," she sang. With one powerful flap of her wings, Tadashi heard other trashcans knock over and fly down the small space. It was a miracle the one shielding him actually stayed in place.
His heart was pounding and a bead of sweat slid down his face. He tried to control the tremble that was in the hand clutching the small celestial bronze dagger. I can't take three of them at once!
He heard a delighted cackle, followed by a triumphant "Found you!" Closing his eyes, he braced himself for the attack that was sure to come.
To his surprise, it never came. Opening one eye, he realized that his cover hadn't even been blown. Instead, he heard the harpies' chatters of excitement, followed by a scared and angry squeal.
He carefully looked around the trashcan and peered out. The harpies had walked past his spot, and were instead surrounding the shadows of a giant dumpster. Tadashi couldn't see who it was, but he heard a child's voice scream, "Stay back!"
"Or what," black hair said, "You'll tell us the time with that little toy?"
Red head flapped her wings, hovering closer to whoever it was in the shadows. She lung out a claw and snatched at the boy, lifting him up in the air by his leg. Her sisters joined her in the air, cackling at their catch.
Tadashi was surprised to see that it was just a kid. He was dangling upside down, but still looked ready to fight. His large brown eyes showed anger and fear and he was tossed back and forth between the monsters. His messy black hair looked like it had never seen a brush before, and the oversized hoodie he had on only made him look smaller than he already was.
"What should we do with him, sisters?" Brown head asked as she tossed the boy to another harpy.
"We'll put him over an open fire and roast him," Dark head cackled, giving the boy and extra flip in the air before throwing him to her sister.
"Or we could eat him while he's alive. I do enjoy listening to them scream, you know," Red head mused, gripping him by his arm. At this point, the kid looked dead tired, dizzy from being thrown around so much. Sensing her victory, she used her spare claw and sank it deep into his right shoulder.
The cry of pain tore at Tadashi's heartstrings. He wasn't about to let some kid get eaten by a gang of sorry chickens! Jumping out of his hiding place, he yelled, "Hey!"
That got their attention. All three of them turned and looked at him at once. He gulped. Didn't exactly have a plan for after he got them to look over…
"Let the kid go!" he said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. Inside, he was terrified. There was no way he was getting out of a fight with three full grown harpies without sustaining some major injuries.
"Our lucky day!" Dark head hissed. "Two half bloods!"
"This will keep us satisfied for days!" Brown head agreed.
Red head smirked at the teenager on the ground. "What can you do?" she scoffed. "We are in the air, while you're stuck on the ground." Just to torture her prey more, she burrowed her claws deeper into the child's shoulder, looking disgustingly happy when he screamed in pain again.
This is bad, he thought. At this point, the kid would probably end up getting eaten. They were right. They could easily fly off any second. I need to distract them.
"Wow," he drawled, expertly twirling the dagger between his fingers. The harpies hesitated for a second, glaring at the celestial bronze. The only weapon that could keep them from their meal. "I can't believe it. I thought you would actually try to fight for your meal. But I guess not." He feigned a sigh of disappointment, before smirking at the ladies. "What a bunch of chickens."
The harpies all riffled their feathers in indignation. "We are not chickens!" Brown head yelled. She dived down, murder written all over her face.
Tadashi couldn't help the grin that lit up on his face. Perfect… just as planned.
The harpy drew nearer and nearer, but Tadashi just waited. She was literally a few inches away from him when he quickly sidestepped. She darted past him with a surprised squawk. In the seconds it took for her to fly by, Tadashi timed it perfectly. As soon as she was where he used to be standing, he mercilessly plunged the dagger into her back. She screeched in pain as the celestial bronze pierced through her chest. She was reduced to a pile of ashes before she even hit the ground.
"No!" Dark head wailed. Her face was contorted in fury and grief. "You killed our sister!" With that, before the Red head could protest, she dived down. Not making the same mistake her sister had made, she soared down with claws out, ready to tear the half blood limb from limb.
Of course, Tadashi was ready for that too.
He ducked as the harpy flew over his head. Spinning around on the ground, he lunged forward, propelling all his strength into his stab. The harpy turned around just in time for him to hit her square in the abdomen with deadly precision. She shrieked in pain before bursting into a pile of ashes.
Tadashi panted as he wiped his brow of the sweat. Grinning at his success, he turned and stared at the final harpy triumphantly. "Looks like it's just you and me now."
She looked more angry than sad as she smirked evilly. "What's to say I don't fly away now with my meal? More for me!" With that, she flapped her wings and flew up higher, laughing at her win.
Her laughter was suddenly cut off, ending with a sickening gurgle. She looked down at the celestial bronze arrow that was burrowed into her chest. The child in her claws was panting from the pain in his shoulder, but anger burned past it. He held a small crossbow in his hand before smirking and saying, "I told you the time."
She shrieked and disappeared in a burst of ash, blown away by the wind. Unfortunately for the kid, with her disappearing, he was also left in the air, and the wind really couldn't do anything to help. He screamed as he fell closer to the ground, ready to feel the hard contact of his body hitting the concrete.
Fortunately for him, Tadashi was there. The teenager braced himself, holding his arms out. The child landed in them safely, but the impact sent both of them falling. Man, this kid was lucky… first he had somebody to catch him, and now he had a human cushion. Tadashi winced at the bruise that was sure to form from that fall.
"You alright, kid?" he asked gruffly from the floor.
Tadashi was expecting the kid to be crying, or at least to say thank you a million times. What he wasn't expecting was the glare he received. The kid scrabbled off of him, stepping on Tadashi's stomach as he did. All the wind was immediately knocked out of him from that step, and he rolled over, holding his stomach gingerly.
The kid looked down at the teenager, glaring at him through a mane of messy hair. "I didn't need your help!" he hissed. "I had everything covered! But you just had to play hero and ruin everything!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Tadashi pushed himself up. He patted off the dirt and grime sticking to his clothes as he looked down at the child. "'Had it covered?' You were about to get eaten alive!"
"That was part of my plan, bonehead!"
This kid was seriously getting on his nerves. Not only did he not thank him for the rescue, but now he was yelling at Tadashi for saving his life? And insulting him? Oh no, no, no. This cheeky brat was not gonna get away with it.
"What about that shoulder," Tadashi scoffed, pointing at the wound that was slowly seeping blood. "Was that part of the plan too?"
"Minor set back," the kid hissed back. "I'm capable of handling myself, and I don't need some giant deciding he can come in and ruin everything!"
"I'm not a giant, you're just short!" Tadashi threw back lamely (impromptu insults were never really his thing). "What are you, seven or something?"
The kid bristled. "I'm nine!"
"Right, big difference," Tadashi said. "You wouldn't have been able to reach ten if it weren't for me! Besides, what's a brat like you doing out here anyways?"
"I could ask you the same question," the kid replied coolly. "Since you have that dagger, I'm assuming you're a half blood."
"You too, huh?" Tadashi sighed. He was seriously never going to catch a break. Sitting down wearily, he sighed again and grinned at the defensive child before him. "Who's your parent?"
"None of your business," the kid replied hotly. He turned and walked back into the shadows of the trash bin. Curious, Tadashi grabbed his bag and followed, cheerfully calling out a "wait up!"
Protected from the sun's rays in the gloom of the dumpster, Tadashi crawled into the small space, following the child. The kid just glared at his new companion, but said nothing. Instead, he pulled out a small backpack from behind some boxes, rummaging through the contents.
"Here, I've got some disinfectants and bandages if you want," Tadashi offered, reaching for his own bag.
Wrong thing to say. The kid's eyes flashed in indignation and he pointedly spat, "I don't need your help!"
Tadashi raised his hands up defensively. "Look, just let me treat that shoulder. Then I'll leave you alone, alright?"
The kid squinted at him suspiciously. Finally, he mumbled, "Alright… but you better leave after!"
The teenager grinned as he scooted closer to the injured child. He carefully peeled off the bloodstained hoodie and moved the fabric of the kid's shirt as gently as he could. He pretended not to notice the kid wince as the fabric rubbed against the wound.
"Wow, that harpy sure did a number against your shoulder," Tadashi muttered, carefully soaking a clothe with hydrogen peroxide. He gently dapped at the four holes left in the child's flesh.
The kid hissed in pain as the peroxide bubbled against his wound. "Stupid birds," he muttered, trying to take his mind off of the pain.
Tadashi tried to start a conversation as he treated the wound. "So where'd that crossbow come from?" he asked casually as he dabbed at the circle in the back.
The child winced before saying through clenched teeth, "My watch." He tapped on a button on his watch and Tadashi watched in amazement as it morphed into a crossbow, celestial arrows ready to be fired. "My parent gave it to me," he muttered. "The arrows refill if it runs out, and if I lose it it'll come back by itself."
"Cool," Tadashi said, looking at the weapon. He pulled out several rolls of bandages and worked on wrapping up the kid's shoulder. "My mom gave me the dagger. And my hat."
"Hat?" The kid actually sounded interested.
The teenager grinned. "Yeah, it's in my bag now, but when I have it on, it turns me invisible."
"Like Hades' helm of darkness?" the kid asked wearily.
"Kinda," Tadashi shrugged. "But don't worry. Hades isn't my parent."
"I'm not worried," the kid scoffed.
"Right," Tadashi laughed as he finished tying up the bandages. "And there you go! All set."
The kid moved his shoulder carefully, wincing slightly. Begrudgingly, he muttered, "Thanks."
"Anytime, kid," Tadashi laughed, casually messing up the child's dark hair.
The kid squealed in protest and swatted at Tadashi's hand. He glared at the older boy and said, "Now leave. You said you would go after you helped me."
"I guess I did." Tadashi tried to hide the disappointment from his voice. Truthfully, he was hoping the kid would have a change in heart and want to join him. It was lonely running around by yourself.
He packed away his things as the kid glared at him suspiciously. Tadashi sighed and shouldered his bag. "Well, see you around, kid." He crawled out towards the sunlight. As soon as he was outside, he stood up and stretched out his stiff limbs.
"Wait."
Surprised, he looked down and saw the kid crawl out next to him. The younger child looked unsure, looking down as he asked quietly, "Where are you going?"
Tadashi was caught off guard, but he replied cheerfully, "Spared a Cyclops the other day. He said something about a Camp San Fransokyo and how there were a bunch of other demi-gods there. Guess it's like some kind of safe haven? Monsters can't get in." He shrugged before continuing, "I'm trying to find this place. Getting tired of having to watch my back everyday."
The kid didn't say anything. He looked like he was debating on some hard topic, both sides in his head. After a few seconds, he asked timidly, "Can I come with you? I'm tired of being hunted down by monsters all the time."
Tadashi wanted to jump up and down like a little kid at Christmas. He wouldn't be alone anymore! He grinned and ruffled the child's hair again, laughing when he immediately received a swat to the hand. "Sure, you can tag along, kid! The more the merrier, right?"
The kid mumbled something unintelligible, but dragged out his backpack and slung one strap over his uninjured shoulder. He shot a glare at Tadashi before saying, "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm only coming along cuz I'm tired of monsters. As soon as we're at this camp place, it's sayonara, got it?"
"Yeah, yeah…" Tadashi chuckled as he started walking down the alley.
The kid ran to catch up, muttering about giants and big steps.
Speaking of which…
"My name's Tadashi Hamada, by the way," the teenager said happily. "My godly parent is Athena. What about you?"
For some reason, the child scowled when Tadashi told him his parent. He simply replied, "Hiro."
"Does 'Hiro' have a last name?" Tadashi asked teasingly.
"I'm not inclined to give away my name to a person I just met," Hiro replied tersely.
"Who's your godly parent?"
Hiro scowled even more as he muttered, "It's my mom. My mom's Athena."
Tadashi stopped walking, raising his eyebrow at his newly discovered half-sibling. Well, that explains the scowl.
Three cloaked figures stood looking at a suspended sphere of light. They watched as Tadashi Hamada laughed at the bristling child accompanying him.
One of the figures pulled out a piece of thread.
"It has begun, sisters."
But yea, these are just the same two chapters from Rise. Don't worry, a third is on its way! Enjoy the other update too ^^
Comments are greatly appreciated :)