The giant has no name.
Alkie, if you're reading this, thanks for beta-reading this chapter and I won't forget the big boat we talked about. One thing though- READ THE DAM BOOKS!
The monkey bar idea worked, much to Alvie's surprise. Max promised a bag of cookies as a reward, cheering Alvie up. By the time they had crossed the monkey bars, Elsie had muttered a thanks to Max and the tension eased ever so slightly between them.
Elsie whistled sharply, staring out into the new tunnel. The sound bounced around and made it seem like a dozen Elsie's were whistling back.
"Can anybody do that yodelling thing Jessie does in Toy Story?" Max asked.
"Does it look like anybody can yodel?" Elsie countered. Max shrugged.
"I don't know. What do people who can yodel look like?"
"Cowgirls, apparently."
"We should keep moving." Alokia interrupted. Alvie nodded in agreement, glancing nervous around the semi-dark tunnel. What the hell sat at the other end?
The tunnel opened into a massive cavern at the other end, the ceiling lost far up into darkness. The walls were dark and damp, glistening in the glow of the Greek fire in the hearth at the centre of the cavern. Pacing around it, a fifteen foot tall giant was practising techniques with his eight foot long bronze sword. He was muttering to himself, which probably wouldn't bode well for the four legacies.
He stopped suddenly, inhaling deeply with his back to them.
"You're early." He sounded amused as he turned to face them. His face was fairly humanoid- ugly, but humanoid- and his skin was a dull, deep blue. He wore sunglasses as casually as anything. "But I only want one of you." His head turned slightly and he removed his sunglasses, his pure grey eyes fixed on Alvie. "I hear you've been gifted by Apollo." His eyes suddenly blazed a blinding white and Alvie's flared the same colour. "I, too, was gifted by Apollo, but he didn't seem to understand why I would use my powers for my own benefit. He cursed me to forever stay here, banished from history. I do not feed, drink or have any way to be comfortable. I was once as charming and as good looking as yourselves, but my wretched hideousness weakens my charms. New… friends are hard to come by." Alokia saw that Max and Elsie were both holding back sarcastic comments, but her main concern was Alvie. He had gone rigid, his eyes burning white hot and when she tried to take his hand, she got a nasty jolt of energy up her arm.
"Um… W-who are you?" She stammered, projecting her voice as best she could and trying to keep out the waver of pain, shaking her hand to try and regain feeling in it.
"You wouldn't have heard of me. My name is of no matter as I will make myself a new one." His eyes fixed on Alvie again and an evil smirk twisted his features. "You're a bit on the skinny side for my liking, but I can fix that."
Something really weird happened then; golden-white light twisted around the giant and, if they had blinked, they would have missed his dash towards them.
Max drew an axe while the girls armed themselves, but in the three seconds it took for them to do that, the giant was on the other side of the cavern, holding a petrified and squirming Alvie in his beefy arms. Alvie flinched as the giant seemed to sniff him, inhaling his scent. "Hm… blood of Poseidon and Athena and gifted by Apollo. Quite powerful blood you have here." He held Alvie at arm's length in one meaty hand.
"Put my brother down." Max snarled, hefting his axe and preparing to throw.
"Ah, I wouldn't." The giant smirked, moving Alvie into the line of fire. "I need him alive and I don't think your parents would be very happy to hear you tried to kill your brother a second time, would they?" Max visibly paled, looking sickly in the green glow cast by the fire.
"I-I didn't… I didn't-" He wavered, lowering his axe.
Elsie nocked an arrow.
"Why did Apollo gift you? Why did he gift Alvie?"
"No-one fully understands the mysterious ways of the gods." He studied Alvie, tightening his grip on Alvie's ribs. Alvie choked, practically miniscule compared to the giant. He instinctively tried to kick the giant, but he couldn't reach or see him. "I think the transition would be easier if he was unconscious." The giant drew his arm back. Alvie gave a fearful cry, which snapped Max back to his senses. He slung his axe and it sailed cleanly through the air, spinning as it did so.
It was too slow. The giant threw Alvie with inhuman strength across the cavern. He had lowered his arm and given a smug, triumphant smile before Max's axe lodged in his ribs and Elsie's arrow in his shoulder.
Alvie hit the wall with a sickening thud and slumped to the floor, landing on his arm. His cousins and brother screamed his name, but he didn't move. Alokia sprinted to his side while Max and Elsie turned angrily to the giant. "Ooh, temper temper…" The giant sighed, giving an amused smile as the cousins charged him, Elsie slinging her bow aside and drawing a sword.
Alokia didn't want to move Alvie in case of spinal injuries, but she needed to check him over somehow. Her fingers fumbled for his pulse and she was relieved to see it was there, although as weak and as slow as it was.
"Alvie, can you hear me?" She asked, leaning close to his ear and speaking as clearly as she could. He didn't even stir. Alokia took his hand and squeezed it, trying to work some form of response out of him. She dug her nails into the back of his hand and even dropped his hand on the rough ground, but she still did not stimulate a response from him. "Oh gods, Alvie, please…"
She glanced around at Elsie and Max, who had put their differences aside to cause the giant as much pain as possible. He deflected and dodged their attacks as easy as anything, laughing and taunting them. Alokia could see the pair getting angrier by the second, but before she could shout at that that was the giant's plan, their opponent waved his enormous hand and they were thrown back on some invisible force.
He turned to face her, his glowing white eyes cold and menacing, his grin evil and smug.
"Alokia Valdez, legacy of Poseidon and Hephaestus, controller of time on your mother's behalf. Very nice combination, that is."
"Go away." Alokia's voice sounded scared even to her, but she had to help Alvie.
The giant just laughed at her and her embers of resolve crumbled and she backed up nervously. He just snapped his fingers and suddenly she couldn't move. She tried to scream for her sister, but no sound came out. Panic surged through her and she could do nothing but watch as the giant stooped over Alvie, his hand hovering over Alvie's head.
"No!" Max shouted. His voice echoed around the cavern and there was a scrape of metal on rock as he retrieved one of his axes. "Get away from my brother!" He yelled defiantly. There was a whoosh and the giant turned, snatching the axe out of the air.
"I wouldn't interrupt, boy. Alvie could die if I don't remain focused." Max looked stricken and Elsie froze, having been readying an arrow to fire.
Throwing aside the axe, the giant turned back to Alvie. His eyes became too bright to look at and Alokia had to shy away from the light. It was almost as painful as looking directly at the sun.
Alvie gave a choked gasp and shuddered. Something about him seemed dimmer, as if the life had been sucked out of him. The giant gave a twisted smile and closed his eyes.
At first, Alokia thought he was shrinking, but he wasn't. He was crumbling away into ashes. She looked at Max and Elsie, praying that they understood.
Elsie fired at the giant, her arrow passing straight through his head and dragging particles and ashes splattering out. Max recovered another axe and ran forward, bringing the axe up in a diagonal slash and cleaved the giant in two, shoulders neck and head exploding into crumbs while his body collapsed backwards.
Max's axe clattered to the floor and he sank to his knees next to Alvie, carefully rolling the younger brother onto his back. He called his brother's name feebly, hands shaking as he checked for a pulse. Max choked as he recognised the absence and he shifted forward, placing his hands on Alvie's chest and started chest compressions.
Alokia didn't know she could move; scared so badly for her cousin, her paralysis had stayed. It was only when Elsie tackled her in a relieved hug did she realise the giant's imprisonment on her had vanished.
Max reached thirty and tilted Alvie's head back, offering two breaths. He kept doing this for ten minutes until all hope abandoned him and he curled up, his head resting in his hands on Alvie's chest.
"Oh gods, Alvie, no…" Elsie dropped to her knees opposite Max, Alokia at her side. "Max…" Elsie reached out to him, but froze, her hand hovering over his shoulder. He didn't react and they saw that he was shaking and his breathing was laboured. Was he crying?
I did say you would hate me.
But, wait! It gets worse!
I am practically doing a happy dance of evil glee here.