The Forgotten One
Chapter Six: Camp Jupiter
The battle was raging…and the monsters were winning.
Aita watched as an army of demigods-the Twelfth Legion, Hemera had told him-fought hordes of six armed monsters, which he remembered were called Earthborn as they were the children of Gaea. Massive scorpions fired bolts of green fire into the ranks of the monsters, but for every one that was killed, a dozen more seemed to emerge. A massive gray elephant stomped around, but it was quickly becoming overwhelmed. As he watched hundreds of Romans fight and pray, a small tugging sensation was felt in his gut and a splitting headache took him by surprise. He gasped and rubbed his forehead.
Are you alright? he heard Hemera say through his ear. He shook his head. "I'm fine, Hemera. What do I do?"
Take care of the giant. The Legion will handle the rest.
He nodded and began to sprint down the hill toward the thirty-foot-tall monstrosity. The giant was as ugly as Agrius; with his wild green hair, blue skin, scaled legs and bronze armor carved to resemble the faces of monsters. In his hands he wielded a massive trident and a net. Two massive phalanxes surrounded the giant, though he shook his head and large snakes dropped from his hair whenever they got close. Up above, a girl wearing golden armor over a white robe rode a Pegasus. The giant shook his head. The girl swooped down and tried to stab him with her spear, but Polybotes swung his massive trident and the Pegasus dodged.
Aita brandished his swords-both his own and Lityerses'-and slashed and hacked through a sea of cyclops. Polybotes was at least a hundred feet away, but that didn't deter Aita, who continued to carve a bloody path through the invading monsters. Above him, he saw giant eagles battling two gorgons in the sky.
Just as he was about to reach his target, a massive cyclops appeared, brandishing a massive spiked club. "Out of my way!" Aita shouted as the monster raised his weapon. Quick was a flash, Aita leapt through the air a cut the head off his enemy before he could register what had happened. The club slipped from his grasp and crushed his body before it turned to golden dust.
By now only half of the remaining demigods surrounded Polybotes. The rest were either fleeing or desperately trying to douse the flames on their armor, weapons, and clothes. Basilisks, Aita thought, those snakes are basilisks.
Just as he reached the phalanx, he leapt up with the grace of a jaguar and aimed for Polybotes. The giant saw him out of the corner of his eye and stepped to the side, avoiding Aita's sword. He rolled and recovered quickly, twin swords twirling.
The giant scowled. "Who are you?"
Aita pointed his sword. "Your death."
Aita charged. Polybotes swung his massive trident. Aita parried it with one of his swords and made to stab at the giant's fingers with the other. Polybotes staggered back, unharmed. Aita stepped back, careful to avoid tripping or straying too close to his enemy's reach.
The two cohorts watched the fight intently, keeping enough distance between themselves and the combatants to ensure nobody else got hurt while staying close enough to cut off any possible escape routes.
Polybotes snarled and threw his net. Aita leapt out of the way and then rolled at a giant trident slashed where his head had been. The girl sailed down and stabbed at the giant's neck, providing an opening. Aita would've taken it if a sudden flash of irritation came over him. The giant swept his feet out from under him with his trident and would've impaled him if Aita hadn't rolled out of the way in time.
What's happening? Hemera demanded. What's wrong?
"Nothing!" He snarled. "I'm fine!"
Polybotes laughed. "Is that the best you can do, little one? I expected better!"
"Ask and you shall receive!" Aita said. He vaulted to his feet and charged again. Polybotes caught his blade with his own, but Aita twirled around him and slashed across the back of the giant's thigh. Polybotes fell to one knee with a roar of agony.
Aita was panting, his brow covered with sweat. He couldn't understand what was wrong with him, or why he was having such a hard time killing this giant. It was almost like a large gong was constantly being hit behind his eyes.
Polybotes rose to his feet, his eyes filled with malice. "You…you will die slowly."
Aita dropped his swords and clutched his head, the pain almost unbearable now. Aita! Is everything all right? Do you need… He didn't hear the rest as the pain was so all consuming it threatened to tear him apart. Finally, he let out a bloodcurdling scream and was forced to reveal his true form; the light that was released forced everyone to shield their eyes for fear of being incinerated by his presence.
For a long minute, there was silence…
When the light faded, all eyes fell upon a new figure. He was on one knee, looking down, the spear of Diomedes's point in the ground. The figure wore a black tunic under plate armor. On his arms and legs were vambraces and greaves. His head was covered by a closed metal helm. In his left hand he held a shield and in his right he clutched the shaft of his spear.
"Who…who are you?" The giant took a step backwards, fear evident in his eyes.
The figure rose to his full height and smiled through his helm. "Who am I? That's a good question." He looked at the assembled army. "I think I used to be called Aita…but…who am I?" He glanced down for a moment. He smiled and faced the giant again. "Hear me!" He shouted. "I am Sorus, youngest son of Jupiter and Latona, brother of Apollo and Diana! God of warmth, joy, and music!" He pulled the spear from the ground and twirled it until it was pointed at the giant. "And I will destroy this menace."
What the Hades…
A/N: I just want to say I'm s-o-o-o sorry that this is late. My week was spent either doing school work, working, or writing my newest story. I had originally intended to hold off on revealing Aita's Roman form, but then I thought 'Hey, he's in New Rome, so why not!?' I know this wasn't terribly long, so I'll try and make the next one by the end of this week (if I'm lucky). If you enjoyed, please leave a review saying what you thought. If you want to keep track of this story, then follow and favorite. One final thing: I've been thinking about adding a cover image to this story, so if you all either want to make one or suggest one, either PM me or leave it in a review. Thanks for reading!