Disclaimer: I do not own Hero: 108 or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Chapter 13:
The mortal paid no heed to the snow woman's voice, focused only on the opponent in front of him. As Hawk turned into a hawk and flew away, Lin Chung's hand glowed purple and shot to the sky. Hawk immediately dropped to the ground, rolling neatly away from the long whip, then pushing Lin Chung back with his own magic.
Lin Chung put out a hand to block the attack. Smoke erupted as the force collided with the strong shield. As the shield dropped, Hawk charged at Lin Chung, forcing him to dodge, and be put on the defensive as he skilfully blocked each strike.
They were soon baked against the demigods, who were still watching them carefully. Lin Chung's dagger and blade were still in hand, while Hawk's weapon changed too fast for them to comprehend. As Hawk landed a blow on Lin Chung, his weapon changed, and an arrow came flying to Lin Chung, who used the dagger to cut the arrow in half.
Meanwhile, Lëi was struggling against Twin Masters as he ducked a blow, rolling onto the ground, before leaping up and striking Twin Masters from behind. Twin Masters had anticipated this, however, and he dodged at the last second.
Lëi blocked a blow aimed at him and then backed away. Twin Masters' eyes glowed with anger as he pushed hard against the Chinese god of power. Lëi dodged the strike, blocking the energy that managed to follow him. Lëi also struck out, his hands glowing light blue as he swept a hand to Twin Masters. Twin Masters blocked the blow. Lëi charged again, landing a blow on Twin Masters.
Twin Masters bellowed, then faced Lëi to the ground to avoid the wave of energy that came at him, only for another one to come and send Lëi flying back several metres, where he finally landed in the middle of the Ares cabin. Hawk noticed his father painfully standing up, blade still in hand. "Father!"
He charged at Twin Masters, who didn't have time to block the blow. However, Hawk forgot the mortal, who managed to send a kick his way which sent him into the sea. Hawk changed into a shark, coming back at rapid speed as he turned into a panther, striking Lin Chung in the shoulder.
Lin Chung growled, dropping his dagger, which was in his left hand, and transferring the blade from his wounded right arm to his left. He wielded it skilfully as Hawk tried in vain to land a blow on him. Twin Masters struck from behind, only for a purple aura to surround Hawk and protect him from the blow.
The purple energy disappeared, and Lëi charged Twin Masters, who was forced to the offensive. Eventually, however, Lëi managed to land a blow on Twin Masters, causing Twin Masters to growl and disappear in a flash.
Lëi turned to Hawk and Lin Chung, who were evenly balanced. One was ducking, the other was striking. The one who ducked then struck, and the one who struck ducked. This went on for only a few seconds more, before Lëi notched an arrow and fired straight at Lin Chung, who growled as he ripped the arrow out of his already wounded right shoulder. He ignored the pain, and continued to fight Hawk.
Suddenly, Lin Chung's direction changed, and he charged at Lëi, who had no time to dodge. He managed to send Lëi back to the cabins; Lëi tried to sit up, only to find that his bones were broken. He placed a hand on them, trying to heal them. However, before he could, he looked up and realised Lin Chung's blade was raised above him. But before the clone could strike, he was tackled from the side by Hawk.
Lin Chung growled as he sent Hawk flying to the far reaches of the ocean. He growled once more before vanishing, all the monsters also disintegrating with him.
The same person appeared, on his knees, in a room. He examined the wound, before smirking. Mission accomplished.
Lin Chung flew back, growling as he remembered what had happened. Twin Masters had gotten suspicious, and had done an energy read around the army. Thus, he was forced to retreat before Twin Masters noticed the unusual readings.
He frowned, stopping abruptly as Hawk flew in front of him, his forehead creased with worry. "Hawk? What's wrong?"
Hawk was looking worse for the wear. He looked more worn out than usual. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he glanced at Lin Chung's right shoulder. "Your shoulder."
Lin Chung glanced at his right shoulder as well. "Yes. What about it?"
"It's not wounded." Hawk noted, to which Lin Chung nodded, impatient.
"Why would it be wounded?"
"You didn't heal it?"
Lin Chung shook his head incredulously. "Why should I? It's not wounded. It has not been since I left." Hawk's eyes widened.
"It was a trap."
"What trap?" Lin Chung asked, confused.
Hawk turned to him. "This morning, the camp was attacked earlier than we anticipated. Herint is dead, and when Lëi gained the upper advantage, Twin Masters retreated with someone else."
Lin Chung felt dread settle in his heart. "Wait. You mean that the 'someone else' is…?"
"You?" Hawk nodded. "Oh yes. His plan worked like a charm. If you were there, then it would've turned out suspicious. But it worked. You were fighting us, and the 'clone' of you nearly killed Lëi."
"But I didn't get cloned, nor did I make a clone of me."
Hawk frowned. "Then what is it? It must be someone that looks like you in order to pass off as you, maybe only needing a simple charm spell." Lin Chung's brow furrowed.
"Why are you here?"
"Don't come back. The gods, demigods, everyone, well, except for Yuki-Onna, thinks you're evil."
"Why not Yuki-Onna? You, I understand. But her?"
Hawk smirked. "She's more observant than people give her credit for. She recognised your style of fighting after engaging her in battle for several days, and noticed your unpredictable style. This clone, whoever he is, has a fast fighting style, like yours, but not as unpredictable. I could easily predict what he could do. You… not so much."
Lin Chung frowned. "What are they going to do now?" Hawk looked worried once again.
"They are having a council right now. They won't believe you even if you go and swear you were innocent on the Styx. If Twin Masters manipulated the oath somehow, then it could lead to disastrous results. For now, hide. They're voting whether to hunt you down or not." Hawk gland up, seeing thunder rumble. "I need to go. Go!"
Without a word, Lin Chung flew away, not glancing back as Hawk disappeared.
"No!" Yuki-Onna was protesting. "I told you! His fighting style was different from the one he always uses! He's innocent!"
"No. You cannot be sure. He could've changed them."
"Then why were his moves so predictable?" She challenged Athena. "When Hawk or I, or anyone else for that matter, fight Lin Chung, we cannot predict his moves, only guess them. I could tell you what this person's moves were going to be. His unpredictability is his most useful advantage! Why would he abandon it?!"
The crowd fell quiet. Yuki-Onna was very observant, that was clear, and she was never wrong when she was talking about something like this. Athena hesitated, but quickly shook her head. "None the matter. He must be eliminated."
"He was framed!" Hawk protested, suddenly bursting in. "I met him not too long ago, and he was perfectly fine! Not even a scar on his shoulder! He was framed!"
Eagle drifted to her younger brother. "Hawk, I know that mortal is like your own brother, but-"
"No! You're not listening!" Hawk backed away from his sister. "You're not listening! You're listening to your own hate! You're going to hunt him down! Do you know how cruel that is?!"
The crowd murmured to one another angrily, ignoring him. Hawk growled.
Zeus then cleared his throat. "Those against hunting Lin Chung?" Only three hands raised. Yuki-Onna, Hawk, and Hestia. He then looked around. "Those in agreement?"
Almost everyone put their hand up. Zeus looked at the fuming son of Lëi then glanced up. A snowstorm, a rather violent one, was starting. However, the weather was hot, making people already feel uncomfortable. Poseidon could sense several tsunamis destroying coasts, and several earthquakes affecting dozens of cities.
Hestia was scowling, and most of the floor set itself on fire. The demigods and gods backed away nervously. Zeus immediately cleared his throat. "We must hunt him before we lose his tracks!" He turned expectantly to Hawk and Yuki-Onna, who simply shook their heads and left.
Percy looked around while running. Out of all of the place he could've picked, Lin Chung just had to choose a desolate poisonous forest. Percy was following the lean figure ahead of him. He saw the figure stop, look at another group, then turn right sharply and continue running.
On second thought, skimming. His feet were touching the ground, yet he seemed to be floating. Lin Chung ran faster, not seeming to burn out like everyone slowly was. Percy frowned. They were all on the point of collapsing. He turned to Rick, Aron and Igor, who were right beside him, and had to agree on their one decision. Lin Chung was dangerous.
Lin Chung started to blend into the trees, leaping up and vanishing. He randomly appeared behind them, or some other place, forcing the pursuers to rapid change direction.
Percy growled. Wonderful.
Soon enough, the trees thinned, opening up to reveal the edge of a cliff, where the thick mist that had suddenly appeared was covering the bottom, making it look endless. Lin Chung backed away as the gods approached him.
He drew his staff, refusing to give in. Growling, Zhu Rong, Lëi and the Big Three readied their weapons. Lin Chung put his arm up, as if to block it the potential strikes, before glancing down at the chasm below.
He looked up again.
The weapons were thrown.
The demigods were watching eagerly. At the last moment, just as the weapons gained contact with the shield that had suddenly appeared, Lin Chung leapt down the cliff. The gods froze as the smoke cleared, revealing nothing but their weapons.
Looking down, Rick stepped forward, spitting. "Good riddance."
As the demigods cleared, Hawk glanced down. He had not participated in the hunt, trying to slow them down, but it haven't worked. He looked down again. He could sense the mortal. He was just barely alive.
Closing his eyes, he prayed to the one person he could trust, his mother, Tian, to protect the mortal.