Marcus finishes treating Nico's wound after a couple of hours work. Nico is fast asleep, exhausted from his fight.
We find ourselves back in Willy's house, the event in the colosseum has finished, for now. Yukimura and Willy went somewhere, leaving only Marcus, Lisa, and I.

I stare at Marcus, full of cuts, but he doesn't look like he's in pain one bit. 'Why did you do it?' Lisa asks.

Marcus glances at Lisa, 'Did what?'

Lisa glares at Marcus, 'You know what I meant.'

'Why did you save Nico?' I follow her sentence.

Marcus stays silent for a couple of seconds, 'Isn't it what you two want?'

'That's not really an answer.' I say.

'Is the answer really important to the two of you?' He turns to Nico, 'He is safe now, and you two are free to leave now.'

Lisa widens her eyes, 'We are?'

'The elder gods have decided that you have seen all you need to see right now, they have set up another portal for the two of you.' Marcus says.

'What about him?' Lisa points to Nico.

'He will be allowed to leave as soon as he regain his strength.' Marcus turns to Lisa, 'Do not worry, no more harm will come to him.' He says with a reassuring tone. He turns to me, 'Shall I guide you two to the portal then?'
Leaving, that's what I've been craving ever since the first time we arrived here, but now I have so many questions in my mind that need answers.

'Marcus.' I look at him in the eyes. 'I have some questions... Will you answer them?' I plead to him.

Marcus stays silent, he walks to the couch, and he sits there. 'Very well. What do you wish to know, Annabeth? I will answer to the best that I can and allowed to.'
So many things that I want to ask, but I know right away what I want to know the most first.

'Did Percy really killed one of you?' I ask with a dreadful tone.

Marcus looks down, he doesn't seem to want to answer this, '...Yes' I choke up from hearing the word yes, 'But it wasn't his fault...' Marcus continues.

I widen my eyes, 'What do you mean it wasn't his fault?'

Marcus looks sad, 'Matthew drove himself through Percy's blade... In a way, Percy killed him, but the truth is Matthew killed himself.'

It confuses and saddens me at the same time, 'Why would he do that..?'

He looks at me in the eyes, 'Percy won the duel, but he couldn't kill Matthew. And Matthew... I think in the last minute he grew fond of Percy... So he gave his life to Percy as a gift.'

I'm outrage by that statement almost immediately, 'How can making someone carries the burden of your life is a gift!?' I grabs Marcus' collar, I feel angry.

Marcus stays calm, 'Because Percy cannot kill us... Matthew gave his life so Percy can feel the blood of a brother staining his hands... Now he has a chance, because now he knows how to kill us.' He answers. 'Willy, Yukimura, Jonathan. They all won't think twice to kill Percy. Percy needs the same kind of commitment or else he won't be able to defeat them.'

'You're wrong.' I quickly reply. I let go of Marcus' collar. He raise an eyebrow. 'Percy is strong, the strongest person that I have ever met before in my life.' I harden my face, 'He will defeat Willy, and Yukimura, and any other son of Poseidon. And if I know any better, he would try to safe all of you instead.' I smile to him, knowing full well of what Percy will do.
Marcus looks surprised, and then he smiles, a real honest smile, with a hint of sadness in it.

'I envy the connection between you and Percy. It reminds me of something that I used to have with Sophia.' He says with a soft tone. He makes it sound like he had a true personal connection with her.
It's all starting to come back to me now. Sophia Hunt, head counselor of the Athena cabin for four years before finally was taken away from this world in a war.

'Marcus... Are you the real Marcus "Ironheart" Rain?' I ask him.
He looks surprised, but he nods regardless. 'I'm surprised that you know of me, Annabeth.'
I bite my lips, I didn't want it to be true. Even in the books that I've read, "Ironheart" is someone that has reached beyond the limits of a normal demigod. I remember it clearly, the end of the story of "Ironheart", he disappeared one day without anyone knowing where he went. He was simply gone without any traces, presumably dead.

'How did this all begin?' I ask him.
Marcus freezes, he knows exactly what I'm asking about. He stays silent, thinking of something. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be a very good memory since he appears to be really shaken up.
Marcus exhales, and then he turns to me. 'To know how all of these began, I must first tell you my story.'
Lisa glances at me, and then she sits down. I sit down right next to her, trying to get comfortable.
Marcus takes a deep breath, he closes his eyes like he's preparing for something. He opens them again, his eyes are filled with determination.

'I am the eldest son of Poseidon, both in body and mind. I was born in South Carolina in 1846, and I've first arrived in the camp when I was nine years old, a satyr found me and brought me there. My mother died three months before I've arrived in the camp, and I had no other family. I was the only son of Poseidon back then, at least I think I was. I lived in that big cabin all alone, with no siblings at all. Life in camp was a bit lonely, especially when you're a son of the big three. Everyone around you felt threatened and uncomfortable, they all thought that you are more special than them. Even when they were being nice to you, you could still feel the distance that they put. No one truly understood you, that is at least until I met Sophia Hunt.' He smiles all of a sudden, gleefully and happily. 'Sophia was the only one who didn't feel threatened by me, she even had a nickname for me, Prawn Head.' He chuckles. 'She said that she called me that because apparently I kept my brain and my waste at the same place. It was quite mean, but at the same time, it was relieving. She was the only one who can talk normally to me, even made fun of me.' He smiles, with a hint of sadness in that smile.
Marcus slightly shifts his position.
I just realized this by now but somehow, Marcus is similar to Percy. They don't really look-alike, but they have the same eyes. Not the sea's eyes, but the same kind of gentle feelings you get when you look into their eyes. You can feel the kindness in his eyes with just one look. He may look a bit intimidating, but there is no doubt that he is a kind person. The same comfortable feeling you get when you're near them, that you can always count on them, that they will protect their friends and families no matter what. It's crazy to say, but I don't think I can hate Marcus no matter how much I try. No other son of Poseidon gives me this kind of calming feelings. It's a bit saddening to think that he's an enemy.
'My life became brighter after I met Sophia... I found friends who finally accepted me for who I am, not because I'm a son of Poseidon. The next five years in the camp were the happiest years in my life. Sophia and I fell in love after five years of trying to deny our feelings for each other.' He stops and thinks, and then he chuckles. 'Then again, it was more of her trying to deny it. I accepted them long before she did. She punched me whenever I got too close, made fun of me whenever I did something stupid, one time she even kicked me off from the third floor just because I tripped and accidentally kissed her forehead.' Marcus' face brightens up in that instant. He laughs again. 'Which is strange because at that time she already kissed me twice before. She told me that she only did that because she thought that I was going to die, and most of the times I actually believed her. Gods, I was really clueless back then.'
Listening to his story makes me see more and more of Percy in him. Even his life is similar to Percy, it makes me wonder, will Percy grow into someone like Marcus? I've heard the stories about Ironheart, they said that Ironheart was the kindest and the strongest demigod, two qualities that can rarely be found in a person. Yet here he is, Marcus "Ironheart" Rain, with the same kindness and strength that the stories have told. It relieves me a bit to think that Percy might grow into someone like Marcus.
Marcus face darkens, 'Then comes 1861... The civil war.' Marcus holds his hands. He looks down. 'That was the time when they named me"Ironheart".'

'You took part in the civil war?' I ask.

Marcus sighs, 'In a way, yes. It was quite ironic, I was born in South Carolina but I joined the Union.'
Lisa holds her open palm hand against Marcus' face, the other hand holding her face, 'Wait wait wait... I never heard of demigods participating in the civil war.'

'We didn't. At least not in the normal civil war... Something else took part that at that time, in fact, it may had been the real war all along.'

I can feel my breath getting shorter by each minute, 'What happened?'

Marcus grits his teeth, 'The Centauromachy. The Lapiths are the union, and the Centaurs are the confederate. Things that have happened in the past, they tend to repeat themselves again in the future.' Marcus turns to me, 'You should know... You fought against Kronos.'
He's right, it's all bound to happen again one way or the other. It's not surprising that something like the Centauromachy happened again.

Marcus continues, 'We fought the war for three years. Lost many good comrades, but Sophia and I held on. They named me "Ironheart", because of my unwavering will and conviction...' Marcus faintly smiles, 'Funny... They all looked up to me because of this, but Sophia was the only thing that kept me going through each night... Without her, I wouldn't even be here today.' Marcus face's darkens again, 'We were winning the war, and it looked like it was going to be over soon.' Marcus clenches his fists, 'Then there they came... Out of nowhere, camping right outside our border.'

I lean even closer, 'Who came?'

Marcus looks angry, 'Demigods... But nothing that we have ever seen before, they fought differently, with different weapons, and with a single unity. We didn't even know that a large group of demigods like that could exist outside of the camp.' Marcus looks up to the ceiling, 'It's been so long that I don't even remember how it all started nor can I remember the reason we fought... All I can remember is that we were at another war.' Marcus looks back to us, 'Finally after many planning and preparation, both sides march to war against each other... The enemies were strong, they were much more united than us, much more efficient in a war. But we had many powerful campers back then, including the genius strategist, Sophia Hunt. The battle took three days long, so much blood was spilled... And I lost everything that day.' Marcus' eyes are suddenly filled with despair and sadness. 'Sophia was struck from behind by a spear... It went straight through her chest.' He clenches his fists tightly. His face shows all signs of hopelessness. 'Her grey eyes... And her dying face... Looking at me, smiling as blood spills out from her chest and lips... That is the one thing that I can still remember clearly until today...' Marcus adjusts his breathing, trying to keep his composure. 'Driven by rage... I unleashed the full limit of my powers upon the enemies, slaughtering dozens of them without mercy. I don't know how it all stopped but by then both sides have withdrawn. I bathed in the blood of my enemies. When my friends saw what I have become... They were terrified of me.'
Marcus' face turns dead cold, a face of a murderer. It sends chill down my spine to see that kind of expression on Marcus' face. It was kind and gentle at one second and it turns into the opposite in the next.

Marcus' face softens up, he's trying to stay calm, but I can see this story is shaking his heart.
'The gods saw the bloods that have been spilled that day, and then they finally decided to take measure. They split us apart, putting them somewhere else that we don't know about. And then comes the memory wiping spell.' Marcus continues.

I widen my eyes in shock, 'What memory wiping spell!?'

Marcus stays silent for a minute, 'The gods decided to wipe the memories of everyone about that battle, so that everyone will forget about it and never encounter the other side anymore. Those who can still remember and the immortals, were made to swear on the river Styx that they shall never again speak of it.'

'What about you then?' Lisa asks. 'If you still remember, then wouldn't it be breaking your oath by telling us this?'

Marcus shook his head, 'I didn't swear on the Styx... I didn't want to forget about the war, I wanted to remember about Sophia, every single scene...' Marcus looks up briefly, but his stare is empty.

'I wanted to die at that time... I've lost Sophia, and I had no more reason to live... I was enraged by the gods because they wanted to erase that part of history without ever remembering who died in that battle.' Marcus sneers. 'They crowned me a war hero... Many of the gods congratulate me, even Poseidon... But all I can feel was disgust... Sophia died and no one is going to remember her, and nothing I can do about it... So before the gods casted their petty spell, I ran away...' Marcus looks sad. 'Wanting to die, I march straight to the centaur's stronghold. There were still around fifteen hundreds of centaurs in that stronghold, and I had only one hundred and fifty Lapiths behind me. It was a suicidal move, but I didn't care, I wanted to die an honorable death. Strangely though, after eight hours of fighting, I found myself still alive. I took the stronghold and lost only a hundred Lapiths. The war was effectively over after that, the remaining centaurs scattered and the Lapith had won.' Marcus stares blankly at his hands, as if he's looking at a different version of his hands. 'I realized at that point that looking for an honorable death would be useless. No one would remember Sophia even if I died, and Sophia should be remembered for how she truly lived and died. So I decided that I would live on, I would remember how Sophia really died, for the camp. I won't let the only people that know Sophia are the ones that read about her in a story that the gods wrote.' He looks at me with eyes that have no regrets. 'Ironheart died that day, as far as people concerned. I traveled again after that, looking for a way to become immortal.'

'And then you found the casino.' I continue him.
Marcus looks surprised for a moment, and then he nods. It's all starting to make sense, the dots are connecting with each other. How no one ever knew about them before, how they all stayed under the radar for so long.

'What casino!?' Lisa looks a little bit annoyed and confused. 'And what does that have anything to do with your creepy leader!?'

'Lotus hotel and casino. Let's just say that once you enter, you will never want to leave or age. As for my brother, I'm about to get there.' Marcus shifts position, 'Over the years, I began thinking about the injustice that the gods have spread. I knew right away that there will be many demigods that will suffer the same fate as Sophia's, or mine, or even worse. So with my magic, I tracked down every son of Poseidon that live... And then I see Willy, dying, and I knew right away that I had to save him.'

Lisa glares, 'Really? Some choice that was. No your precious brother ends up trying to destroy Olympus.'

Marcus roars, 'He is my brother!' It startles both me and Lisa, we both stumble back. Marcus growls. 'He's family... And I swore never again to lose my family if I can help it.'

Marcus' anger fades right away, he looks bitter now. 'After that, we both track down our brothers and sisters, those who share our fate. We saved them, and I had a family once again. I was satisfied with what I had, but Willy had nothing but rage in his heart. He wanted revenge, and many of our siblings felt the same. Over the years we tracked down more of our siblings, and then Willy began to move. He went in search for the beings that can topple down the gods of Olympus. He needed beings that can grant him his wishes, but he didn't want them to replace the gods, so the titans were out of questions. Immortals are selfish, all of them, titans are no different from gods. That's what he said. So he searched for the first beings, the protogenoi.'

'He found Gaea.' I mutter.

Marcus nods, 'He made a deal with the goddess. And the rest after that, is as you know it.'
All of us stays silent after that, it's a lot of information to process. No one says a word about anything for a long ten minutes.

I look at Marcus in the eyes, 'You never wanted any of these.'

Marcus looks down full of guilt, he shook his head, 'No, I don't... I've lost four siblings already because of this war, and I may even lose more... I want to stop this war more than anything else in the world...'

'Then join us... Help us stop this war. I know that Percy doesn't want this as well, he doesn't want this war just as much as you don't.' I try to persuade him.
Marcus smiles sadly to me, 'I cannot, Annabeth... They are my family... I cannot leave them, nor can I betray them... I love them too much.'

I bite my lips, trying not to get angry 'Isn't Percy your family as well!? He is just as much your sibling as the other sons of Poseidon.' I don't want them to ever fight, it would just be too sad.

Marcus smiles gently at me, full of kindness. 'Percy has you, Annabeth. He has friends that he can count on. He doesn't need me, he has all of you to support him... My brothers on the other hand have no one but me... That is why I cannot abandon them...'
Deep down I know that it can't be done... But still, I silently wish in my heart that the day will never come when Marcus and Percy fight each other.
Yukimura abruptly enters the house. All our attention shifts to him almost immediately.

Yukimura looks at Marcus, he looks serious instead of his normal playful self. 'It's time.'

Marcus stands up. 'Annabeth, Lisa. Come... It is time for you two to leave.' Marcus walks out of the house with Yukimura.
Lisa and I stay there for a couple of minutes, before finally getting up and leave the house.
The moment we take a step out of the house, we are greeted by the presence of an army. My jaws drop, and my eyes widen with shock.
The army consists mainly of earth spawns, but it has some Cyclopes, telekhines, and even harpies. I don't know exactly how many of them are here, but there must be around a thousand of them, maybe even more. I gulp, fearing of what they will use this army for, and I even have a pretty good idea about what they're after.
The three sons of Poseidon are facing them, and next to them is another portal, which wasn't here before. They all turn to me and Lisa, waiting for us.
It's clear of what we need to do. Lisa and I walk to the portal, and then suddenly Marcus stops us.
Marcus grabs my arm, he leans next to my ears, he whispers to me, 'I cannot stop Willy... But if there is someone who can, it would be Calypso.' Marcus pulls back, he looks me in the eyes, 'Keep her alive, she is the key in stopping all of these.'

I bite my lips, 'What is this army for!?'

Marcus stays silent for a minute, 'You know full well what this is for... It's for a war against camp half blood.' Marcus glances at the portal, 'The portal will take you back to your friends. Chiron has been briefed about this, you'll know of what to do then. Now go, Annabeth. War is coming.' Marcus' face turns grim.
I knew the answer, but I just wished that it wouldn't be true... War means a lot of people are going to die, just like last year. I bite my lips even harder, not realizing that my lips are bleeding for a moment.

'Annabeth...' Lisa mutters.
I turn back to Lisa, somehow she looks resolved.

'I'm staying here.' I stare at her like she's crazy, but before I can say anything else, she continues. 'Someone needs to stay behind and observe them... Besides, I don't trust these guys that much to leave Nico behind.'
I examine her face, it doesn't seem anything I say at this point will change her mind. I turn to Marcus with a pleading face.

Marcus nods, 'Don't worry. I'll keep her safe, my brothers will not touch both Nico and Lisa. They would have to go through me.'
I exhale in relief, and then I nod. At least I know Marcus will stay true to his words. I turn back to the portal, about to go in but then Willy stop me.

'Wait, Annabeth.' He says
I turn to him, and then smiles wickedly.

'Before you go, you should see what other surprise we are going to send to your friends'
Willy snaps his fingers, and then the lake behind him looks like it's about to erupt. Something then surfaces from the lake, something large and horrifying.

I stare at the creature full of terrors, my jaws drop, 'What in the gods' name is that!?' I scream in despair.