Disclaimer: I do not own Hero: 108 or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Chapter 10:
Reyna's voice travelled over the field where the campers had not moved. "Who was that? Was that Rin?" Lëi hesitated, which Reyna took as a yes. Annabeth was the next to speak.
"Wait. But…he's a clone! A clone of Rin! The forgotten clone!"
Eagle nodded, eyes narrowed. "Is there a problem?"
"B-but he's evil! He'll-he'll betray us when he wakes! We should kill him!" This had the Chinese gods, Percy, Thalia, Nico, Jumpy, Hestia and Hades protesting while the campers supported her decision.
Hades glared at the now cowering demigod. "How do you know that? Did you read his mind? Do you have any proof?!" He demanded.
Annabeth timidly shook her head. The campers, who had supported her now, kept silent as Hestia's voice travelled over the field as well. "We will not kill an innocent man. Have you not heard the tale? He tried to help the Chinese gods despite it being against everything that they were taught." Her eyes flared before she vanished in flames. Hades growled as he also left, but not before turning to Lëi, bowing respectfully.
"We shall see you later on, when we are ready to go." Lëi nodded, frowning as Hades vanished. Lëi turned to the demigods, his voice cold. Even though the mortal was born to be evil, he had done good, and he was hosting his youngest son.
"Disperse and pack! The next person I sense talking bad about him will immediately get burnt to a crisp, or be left here to die, is that understood?!" The demigods nodded, before scuttling away. Jumpy stayed behind, looking after his friends sadly. Sometimes, they let their pride get the better of them.
"Why did you come back?" Percy, Nico and Thalia waited for Aiden's answer to Eagle's question. They had stated behind, Jumpy looking down.
Aiden hesitated before answering. "This is something that the Chinese gods have never confirmed, and that you don't know. I am only here to confirm it and tell what Hawk wanted me to tell you." He hesitated again, looking his sister in the eye. "Hawk has a host: Lin Chung."
Eagle froze. "A host? You mean that…when Hawk said something about a host, he meant Lin Chung?" The unvoiced question was detected by all of them, who now knew the truth. He chose Lin Chung, a clone of the one who was supposed to oppose some of the gods? He nodded.
"What is this with hosting and all?" Percy interrupted.
Zhu Rong turned to him. "Simple. It is possible for a Chinese god to put some of his essence into a mortal, who will instantly become his host. It is also possible for a god to put all of his essence into a mortal. That must have been what Hawk did when he cast a reincarnation spell, except that he had already planned this, and had already started putting his essence into Lin Chung."
"How do you know that?" Annabeth questioned suspiciously.
Zhu Rong sighed. "Hawk had been able to appear and retain his memories. I think that he slowly put more of his essence into Lin Chung to regain his memories when he was reincarnated." He looked at Lin Chung's still body beside him.
"So?"
The god sighed. "Annabeth. Don't you think that Lin Chung is too much like Hawk? An excellent archer, peaceful, has a grudge with Artemis, and seems so comfortable here despite never being here before?"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Percy asked, head tilted.
Zhu Rong sighed again. "Hawk was - is - the best sharpshooter of all of the gods and mortals, though Artemis doesn't like to admit it. And, with being comfortable here, he has to change and learn to adapt at any place here, because he is the protector of mortals. If he doesn't get used to the times and trends, then it would be a disaster."
Meanwhile, Hestia stared into the flickering and now dim flames of the hearth in Olympus, having a feeling that she would not be coming back for a long time.
She took out some long incense sticks, waving them in a pattern as the sweet-smelling smoke filled the hearth. She smiled at the smell, though it wasn't long before her smile dropped. She closed her eyes, praying to a god.
Please, Hawk. Show us something. Help us with the Destroyer.
Hestia opened her eyes. Eagle had previously nearly collapsed, now leaving Lëi as the last active god. She sighed, looking into the flames one last time. Time to go.
Percy looked around. It was nice to sleep, but not so nice with dreams. However, he only saw Lin Chung, sitting beside a river. Sitting beside the clone, he soaked his feet in, looking at the silent mortal, who turned to him.
"Lin Chung?"
Lin Chung turned to him, ignoring everything else. "You must be careful, Percy. The gods are weakening."
"I know!" Percy shouted in frustration. "I just want to know how to stop the Destroyer and TwinMasters!"
Lin Chung chuckled. "You're determined, aren't you?" Percy frowned.
"What can you do to help us? I know you're holding his essence inside of you." Lin Chung seemed to mull this over, before looking up.
"There is a saying about Hawk."
"A saying?" Percy asked.
"About his rebirth. His return. He will return." Percy noted how Lin Chung's eyes lit up.
"He will...return? He was reincarnated, right?"
Lin Chung nodded his head. "It is said that, when the gods are in desperate need, he will return to bring the gods back to glory."
"Then why doesn't he come now? You are hosting him."
Lin Chung looked at him carefully. "It is also said that the gods themselves were the ones who were preventing his return."
"The gods?" Percy asked, confused.
Lin Chung smiled slightly. "Yes. The gods are his brothers and sisters. They mean everything to him. They don't believe in him returning. But he'll always answer calls to him."
Percy nodded slowly. "So, if they believe, and they pray, Hawk will..." He couldn't wrap his mind around it yet. Lin Chung nodded.
"Yes. He will return."
"So if the gods are all believing, he will return?"
Lin Chung shook his head. "But there is one person you must convince. One goddess in particular is stopping him."
"Stopping him?"
"His sister. Eagle."
"Why?"
"Her word means everything to him. He cared about her. When she stopped believing in him, he was devastated. He left, and is still waiting patiently today. When his sister believes again, he will come."
With that, the dream had faded, leaving Percy incredibly frustrated and confused. What did that mean? Hawk would return? But how?
The campers were in good hands, Eagle tried to convince herself. The animals were more than willing to help the Chinese gods, who were brothers and sisters, or, in Lëi's case, father, to their protector.
Then why was she feeling as though something bad was about to happen? She rubbed her temples. The gods, along with the senior counsellors, Grover and the squads were retreating to the Heavens, anticipating the Destroyer's and Twin Masters' next move.
Lin Chung, even after the revelation, was still stuck in a coma. He hadn't recovered at all. Eagle frowned. The campers still haven't accepted him, avoiding the ones who supported him (except for the Chinese gods) like a plague. But that was the least of her problems. Eventually, Hawk would reveal himself, and they would regret it, blah blah blah. But, unless they could get his host up, they would never get Hawk to get up. Soon, though, they reached the Heavens, where Twin Masters was already waiting.
Lëi stepped forward, his eyes narrowed. By now, the early dawns of light as beginning to show. The shadows grew on the walls, reflecting the gods' moods. "What do you want now, Twin Masters?"
He was grinning maniacally, especially with the Destroyer right next to him.
The gods backed up, though ready for a fight. Twin Masters grinned. "Trying to be smart and hide people away from me?"
"You'll never find them." Aphrodite shot back. Eagle groaned inwardly. He had them. She knew it. The only thing that would make him so pleased was if…there. She didn't need to say it.
Immediately, several barriers appeared, blocking them out of the room. Campers appeared in them. Eagle growled to herself. It was supposed to be impossible to recover the Destroyer. It was supposed to be impossible for Twin Masters to return.
But they had been foolish. They didn't pay attention to the Mortal World like Hawk would have. They had been too dependent on Hawk. Now, they would pay the price for it.
With a laugh, the ground rumbled from underneath them, knocking them to the barriers. They closed once again, trapping them. Eagle banged furiously on hers, but her magic wasn't working. Why wasn't it working?! She needed to get out!
Percy looked around. He was grouped with the gods and senior counsellors. He frowned. This was it. He thought back to every memory he had. He had even forgotten to talk to his mother before leaving. She must be so worried. He was supposed to go home yesterday from camp.
He watched as Lëi was dragged out, his blade glinting, before he engaged the Destroyer in a fight. He duplicated himself, trying to bring a balance as Twin Masters joined in, frustrated with his creation's failure.
Percy glanced at the battle, turning to the panicking gods. Lin Chung's words echoed in his head. "About his rebirth. His return. He will return."
He looked to the gods, an odd look on his face. "It is said that, when the gods are in desperate need, he will return to bring the gods to glory." Percy frowned, tilting his head.
"It is also said that the gods themselves were the ones who were preventing his return." His eyes widened. "They don't believe in him returning. But he'll always answer calls to him." He stopped. "But there is one person you must convince. One goddess in particular is stopping him." He turned to Eagle, who was desperately trying to free herself.
"His sister, Eagle." He noticed the gods and senior counsellors were turning to him now, and he frowned to himself. "Her word means everything to him. He cared about her. When she stopped believing in him, he was devastated. He left, and is still waiting patiently today. When his sister believes again, he will come."
Percy froze, before Eagle spoke softly. "Percy?" He turned to them, eyes lighting. "Percy?"
Percy looked up, his eyes bright. "He'll come back."
"Who?" Zhu Rong asked cautiously.
Percy turned to them, reciting what Lin Chung told him. "It is said that, when the gods are in desperate need, he will return to bring the gods to glory. It is also said that the gods themselves were the ones who were preventing his return. They don't believe in him returning." He paused, before continuing. "It is mentioned that one goddess in particular is stopping him. His sister, Eagle. Her word means everything to him. He cared about her. When she stopped believing in him, he was devastated. He left, and is still waiting patiently today. When his sister believes again, he will come."
"Percy?" Thalia frowned at her cousin.
Percy's eyes were shining. "Don't you see? You can bring Hawk back."
"Impossible." Zhu Rong said, sounding pained. "He will not come." Percy growled with frustration as the others nodded. They were running out of time. Lëi was already tiring out, and Twin Masters had already destroyed the duplicate of him. Soon, the Destroyer was holding Lëi up, inspecting him, getting ready to throw him into the barrier with the rest of the gods.
"That is the problem! Hawk waits for you to believe in him. You don't think he will come back! He will come back, I spoke to him! Lin Chung himself said so!" He ignored the group's gasp. "He can come back. Imagine him there. He will come back!"
Zhu Rong inhaled deeply. "He is standing there?"
Percy shook his head. "He will be. He needs to wake his host. He needs time." The gods nodded, looking at the corner, but, even after several minutes, Percy noticed nothing happening. He turned to Eagle.
"Eagle!"
The goddess turned to him, expression sad. "Yes?"
Percy sighed. "You don't believe. I understand, you do not want to get your hopes up, but you have to believe!" His voice was earnest. "Believe, Eagle! Believe." His eyes widened as Eagle was snatched away.
Eagle breathed heavily. Believe. She saw the spell. The dreaded spell that took away her brother. Help. Anyone, help. Nothing happened. The spell got ready to hit its target. Please! The spell flew. It got closer and closer, until Eagle shouted. "Hawk!" Immediately, a hawk's screech came from above.
They turned, just in time to see a hawk grab Eagle and send her to the floor, turning back into a teenager. The teenager looked up, a familiar smirk on his face. His skin was slightly tanned, though not overly so. His hair was still grey, although it now reached the nape of his neck. He was holding a blade, which turned into an ivory bow.
He tilted his head, considering the scene. His pupil-less and iris-less amber eyes swept the crowd. "Well, you finally succeeded, Twin Masters. I'm surprised." Twin Masters growled, pointing to him. The Destroyer lumbered up to him, but the teenager didn't waste any time. The demigods and mortals watched with astonishment at the protector of the Mortals.
Immediately, he leaped over the Destroyer, notching an arrow and hitting it in a space between its ear and its eye. When the fearsome creation slowed down, Hawk notched another arrow and shot the monster in the side. He shook his head to himself, sighing. They just never learn. Twin Masters may have recreated the Destroyer, but its weak spots were the same.
The monster growled as Hawk thrust his hand out at the Destroyer, his eyes lighting. The Destroyer flew backwards. Not wasting a moment and learning from his mistake, Hawk immediately grabbed the spell and flung it to the Destroyer, who disappeared.
He then launched himself at Twin Masters, trying to gain the upper hand. He dodged and ducked, trying to land blow after blow, but failing terribly. Sparks flew everywhere and even the gods themselves could hardly comprehend the battle. Eventually, he had Twin Masters cornered, but before he could strike him, Twin Masters smirked. "Trying to get yourself killed?" Lin Chung hesitated, but it was all Twin Masters needed to get up and strike back.
Everyone held their breaths. The blades clanged as they locked. Twin Masters had now reverted back into a smaller form, making it easier to attack Lin Chung. Their blades locked, each of them pushing against one another, trying to gain the upper advantage, before Hawk's eyes glowed, and Twin Masters was sent flying back. Soon enough, Hawk had Twin Masters pinned again, but Twin Masters looked up. "You wouldn't dare. You know what will happen." Hawk looked at him defiantly.
"Are you sure?" With that, the blade plunged into Twin Masters, and his essence faded, turning into dust that scattered the courtyard. The barriers cracked, but didn't break yet. Another explosion happened as the energy spread outwards, leaving the two bodies separating from one another.