Disclaimer: I do not own Hero: 108 or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Chapter 11:
Lin Chung growled as he looked at his flickering magic. His brothers would have noticed by now. And they did.
They had been pestering him with questions, causing him to distance himself away from them. He ignored every one of their efforts to try and talk to him, while also refraining himself from using magic that was unnecessary.
He noticed Shen standing some distance away, looking at him with a curious expression without saying anything.
Eventually, the archer approached his younger brother, but Lin Chung only frowned. "I'm not saying anything."
"No. Do you want to go and shoot some arrows?"
Lin Chung nodded slowly, though his guard was still up. It was clear to him that his brothers were slowly giving up from the way that they had stopped asking him any questions, treating everything as normal.
But when he noticed them asking him if he wanted to train with his elementals, he knew he was in big trouble.
His fire elemental, being so destructive, was bound to burn his soul the more he used it. He would be facing the same situation if he had any other element, he knew it.
If he had water, it would drown his soul; if he had earth, it would crush it; if he had air, it would vaporise it, and lightning would only kill him. Metal would also crush his soul in due time, burying it under its riches.
He frowned, suddenly remembering a meeting with the gods. He tried to use it as a distraction. "Wasn't there a meeting with the gods in about ten minutes?" He asked, causing the brothers to look at one another and vanish, getting to the throne room in their different ways.
They reached the room just in time as the Japanese gods flashed in, Amaterasu flashing them a quick smile before taking her seat. The Chinese gods then made their way in, Lëi leading them.
Hawk leaned against the wall, not taking a seat.
"So what do you think Twin Masters is planning?" Athena started the meeting.
"Well, the first thing to do is to try and get rid of our most powerful."
"Then wouldn't he go for you?"
"No." Hawk shook his head. "If he wanted me, he would have easily just gone to the Hidden Kingdom and search for me."
"Then what could he want? More importantly, who?"
Eagle and Hawk then looked at each other, immediately realising who Twin Masters was after. They turned to the brothers, Lin Chung and Zhi looking like they already had realised it. "Them."
"Why them?" Athena demanded, her eyes narrowed. Having mere mortals being called the 'most powerful' on their side didn't suit her.
"They were bred to be clones to host Twin Masters, which means he must've trained them well. If he taught them, they know how he works. And they are some of our best fighters." Hawk nodded.
"But how can they reach them? It would be suicide, wading through our defence like that." Yuki-Onna pointed out, frowning slightly.
The six brothers looked up at the same moment. "The ardenys."
"The what?" Mighty Ray asked, confused.
Lin Chung licked his dry lips. "The ardenys. TThey are object Twin Masters connected our lives to, so that he can easily take us out. Before he panicked and let us kill one another, it was a backup plan if everything failed. He would hide us in the ardenys, then call us out if he had need of powerful hosts. Using the argents, he could also kill us or put us to hibernation."
"So what now?" Ares demanded, looking like he could care less. The six exchanged a look, before all vanishing.
They reappeared not too soon after, each looking slightly relieved. Yong spoke first. "Our ardenys are safe, but he knows where it is."
"How do you know?" Erlang Shen asked, curious.
Zhi spoke. "Because they were clearly recovered before being put back again."
"But mine wasn't." Lin Chung said quietly.
"What do you mean?" Shen asked his younger brother. "You mean they didn't find it?" Lin Chung nodded.
"It was left exactly like I had left it."
"Then we need to try and keep our ardenys away from Twin Masters." Yong concluded.
Ke tilted his head. "Well, if Lin Chung's ardenys remained untouched, that could help us. We merge ours with his and let him guard ours, without telling us. Twin Masters won't be able to find it." Lin Chung instantly shook his head.
"No. What if I fall? Then you wouldn't even know where your ardenys are, and if Twin Masters finds it before you do…" He trailed off; only Wong Tai Sin noticing the real reason. Jiao shook his head.
"You're the strongest of us. Keep it safe." Lin Chung hesitated, before nodding. Rachel, who was in attendance for the meeting, suddenly looked up. Her head tilted as her eyes turned green, smoke pouring out from her mouth as she spoke in a raspy voice.
"They shall go east to find one wrongly accused,
But their conclusion will be one that they choose.
The reincarnated, the six similar,
The king, the leader, and the one with laughter."
The room fell silent, before Kichijōten spoke. "Now, we know what to do."
"So the reincarnated is Hawk. The six similar are them. But who is the king?" Apollo asked, after Rachel had been taken care of.
"Do you think it means father? Or Lëi?" Artemis questioned, but Hawk shook his head.
"I thought gods weren't generally involved with prophecies unless specifically stated."
"What about you?"
"With everything I'm allowed to do, I can be considered an immortal rather than a god."
Lin Chung was the one who looked up, his eyes dawning with realisation. "'The king'. That could mean Jumpy or Golden-Eye Husky." At the questioning stares he received, he explained. "Back at home, Jumpy is the rabbit king, and Golden-Eye Husky is the liger king, remember?"
"But it says 'king'. Singular. Which one goes?"
"Jumpy." Hawk answered automatically. No further discussion was needed. "The leader?"
"Percy?" Zhi suggested. "He is the leader of Camp Olympus." Percy nodded. "Then who is the 'one with laughter'?"
Lin Chung frowned. "That should be obvious. It is either Daikoku or Hotei."
"It should be Hotei." Both Hotei and Daikoku tilted their heads at Hawk. "Daikoku, you are only known for your wide 'smile'. Hotei is known as the 'laughing' Buddha. It says laughter."
"But I thought gods weren't allowed in prophecies." Apollo noted, but Hawk frowned.
"We don't have much time for this. We let them go, see what happens. This is the best lead we have."
Hotei and Daikoku nodded in silent agreement before they turned to Lëi. "So, it is settled. Hawk, Yong, Zhi, Shen, Ke, Jiao, Lin Chung, Jumpy, Percy and Hotei are going to be part of the prophecy."