Howdy, let's respond to some reviews.

NiHaR Op: "Epic af chapter , honestly think that Matt is getting too strong"

Response: Thanks. Glad to see you're still reading the story, I appreciate it. And thanks for letting me know, I'll keep Matt's strength in check.

thesuperone342:"Awesome. This felt like Red Dead Redemption: Demigod edition. I guess Matt is way faster than he previously was, considering he ran like a hundred miles in two seconds, lol. I can't wait for the next chapter, and to find out who Jack Colter is.

PS. Ares fight is done, and it's the best one yet. Can't wait to post it."

Response: Thanks. And it was more like ten seconds for a hundred miles, but yeah, Matt's pretty fast. He's tapping into his latent power and he can't really control it, you'll read more about it in this chapter. Anyway, thanks for the review, and can't wait to see how you do the Ares fight and Luke's betrayal. One more thing, read closely, because this is the chapter where I tell my version of Nikandreos' story.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except the OC's) Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes Of Olympus, or Trials Of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.

Now then, on with the fourteenth chapter. Jack Colter is here.

14. Talon's Mentor Tells Us A Secret

After all of that chaos, you bet I had some questions.

First off, who the heck was Jack Colter, that he supposedly warded off Cherry and Grayson, two of Ouranos' big four?

The Big Four.

I guess Ouranos has been recruiting, which is great, it gives us more powerful demigods to fight. As if the Cloaked Guy and Malachi weren't enough, they had to throw the literal Flash and a dude that I'm convinced can predict the future at us.

Speaking of Malachi, the god killer was on his way.

Amazing, that's just what I wanted, another round with that guy. But if this guy's house was that well hidden, we should be fine. But that still posed a threat, because I have no doubt Malachi would destroy the entire town and kill innocents to lure us out.

I tried not to focus on that as we arrived at...the middle of nowhere.

We had jogged a good ways from town, to a barren desert plain, where nothing sat except some Cactus'.

I looked around, "Uh, no offense Mr. Colter, but this is the middle of nowhere."

He kneeled to the ground, his leather duster touching the orange dirt, "The mist is powerful kid, even fools demigods. And my house is coated with it." He muttered a few ancient Greek phrases, Roman phrases, and some other stuff I wasn't sure about.

"That's a lot of languages you're deriving from." Annabeth said.

He looked at her, his eyes the color of the desert, autonomously narrowed like a hawk's, constantly alert for danger.

"Can't be too careful. The other pantheons exist, and you never know when they might uh...cross over."

We stayed silent, not even going down that road.

After a few seconds, a building began to appear, it looked like a large shack or cabin type place. Fit for two people. It had old wooden boards, an unlit campfire out front, and a few more things I didn't recognize, like a stand holding skinned animals.

We entered the shack, and it surprisingly was pretty roomy. Everything was old style, the kitchen, the den, the bathroom. To the right stood a wooden ladder leading to a small space upstairs, I could see the outline of a bed through the tiny cracks.

He sat down in an old chair and noticed that we had no place to sit. He gestured at Talon, "Boy, make some chairs for them if you don't mind."

Talon glared at him, "I don't take orders from you, bastard."

Colter threw his hand up, "Fine, make them stand."

Talon groaned and closed his eyes, deep in concentration, after a few seconds, coins emerged from his hand like they had just appeared there. It was weird, I had never seen him do this, I had no idea he created them, he said it was just a magic item.

He flipped them and in an instant they morphed into four chairs, landing perfectly in position, we all took a seat, except for Talon.

"Aint you gonna sit?"

Talon looked away, not responding.

The old gunslinger nodded solemnly, "Anybody like coffee?"

"No thanks, sir. Although, an explanation would be good." I said.

"Explanation, like who you are exactly." Harper agreed.

"Well, like I said. I'm this one's former teacher. I taught him-"

Talon interrupted, "We didn't come to chat, old man. We came to hide out, right? Which I think is bullshit. We should be booking it right now."

Colter stared at him, "You know it'll take you another hour at least to create another truck that big. And do you know where your next monster even is?"

Talon was speechless, his face red with anger.

"Didn't think so. You don't have to talk to me boy, just stay inside."

"Well if they want an explanation, tell em! Tell them the whole story!"

"That stays between us."

Talon shook his head, "Oh no, I told others. When I was TRAPPED ON THAT FUCKING ISLAND YOU SENT ME TO! I TOLD THE VERY PERSON THAT'S ON HIS WAY MY FATHER'S STORY!"

Colter got up, now angry, "You did what?!"

Talon's eyes widened, and he raised his arms beside him furiously, "Oh yeah! I did, because he was my friend! That's right, I actually made friends you prick! But look how it turned out, he's on his way to kill us!"

"He can't kill you. Nobody can, because of the-"

"YEAH I KNOW! BUT HE CAN KILL THEM!" He pointed at us.

"I won't let that happen."

"You let me get tortured on an island! SLAVERY! I WAS THROWN IN A FUCKING PIT OF MONSTERS! A TWELVE YEAR OLD CHILD! AND YOU DIDN'T CARE!"

Colter looked genuinely surprised, "Slavery? Wh-what?! What are you-"

Talon turned to the door, "It doesn't matter. None of it. Tell them the story, I give you permission. They deserve to know anyway." He then firmly stepped out, and slammed the door behind him.

Colter tried to call out to him, opening the door, "TALON! GET BACK HERE!"

We were all in an awkward silence, the tension was too much, we didn't say a word.

Colter cursed under his breath and closed the door behind him, sitting back in his chair and taking off his outlaw hat.

He had his head in his hands, we just sat there, not sure of what to do.

I finally decided to talk, "Mr. Colter, just talk to us, what's going on between you two?"

He looked up, his face stricken with grief, "It's...a long story. Although I do agree with him, you deserve to know." He then slammed his hand on the armrest, "Slavery, I had no idea. It-it was supposed to be different."

We gave him a second, he finally sighed, and said, "Talon...is the child of Nikandreos. A god I would be surprised if you have heard of before."

"We haven't" Annabeth said.

"His story, is an ancient one, and it was nearly wiped from history, except for me and Talon...and a couple of others apparently...and now you four."

We waited expectantly.

"This could affect your quest, and the course of this upcoming war."

"War?" Harper said, "What do you mean war?"

"This is just the beginning, child. I have kept up with the schemes of Ouranos, and your progress as well...they have many things in store, many things prepared. That...boy called Malachi Stallard, is powerful indeed. Ouranos has created a monster out of him. A monster that apparently knows the secret of Nikandreos." He then tightened his lips and muttered, "You were a fool to tell him Talon."

Percy leaned forward, "But what is the secret of Nikandreos? Why is it so important?"

"It is...a tale about a greek villager that nearly wiped out the gods. A rare story. I refer to it as the darkest era of the Olympians, when they were at their worst."

"Can...you tell us?" I asked nervously.

He hesitated, "I can. I sense you are trustworthy, and it's knowledge could help you in this quest, and also in the potential war that may follow."

We got comfortable, knowing that this could take a bit.

He leaned back in his old chair, and sighed. "I suppose I should start from the beginning. This was eras ago, in Ancient Greece itself. At the time, the gods were at their worst in terms of how they treated mortals. They abandoned them, turned their back on them, not seeing the reason to continue caring for them at all, which would have proven catastrophic for the mortals. There was one goddess that took notice of this, and used her head. That goddess was Hera"

We were all shocked.

"Hera stepped in? To protect the mortals?" Annabeth said in disbelief.

Colter nodded, "Yes. As many mistakes as the Queen has committed, she did not make a mistake here. She went to Nikandreos, who at the time was a Greek villager, and told him of this. She told him that without the gods and goddesses, mankind had no chance of survival. They would go mad, kill each other, chaos would break out, and soon enough, the human race would be no more. And this began to occur. Mankind's once prosperous nature began to crumble, and soon enough, it would disappear out right. Hera sent Nikandreos on a quest to Olympus, instructing him to strip the gods of their powers, and bring them back to the focus of Earth and the mortals they once cared for."

I had to interrupt, it was a lot to keep up with, "Wait a second. Why Nikandreos? Why was he picked for this quest? I mean, stripping gods and goddesses of their powers? That's...impossible. He wasn't even a hero, was he?"

Colter raised his hands, "Not sure. I suppose she sensed something special about him. After all, in this era, there was no Hercules or Odysseus to take on the task."

I nodded, he continued.

"Anyway, Hera gave him some of her power. Don't ask me how this works, because it is a rare and ancient thing. Passing a deity's power can only be done by the god or goddesses' consent. So Hera did, giving Nikandreos enough power to confront the other Olympians, which he did so. Not killing them, mind you, but rendering them mortal."

Annabeth motioned a time out gesture, "Wait a minute, he took their powers away, and made them mortal? How is that possible?"

"Well, he didn't literally suck their life energy from them, if that's what you're thinking. No, it had to be a loophole, a materialistic thing. And you know how a Greek god or goddess is tied to their symbol, what they represent, right?"

We nodded.

"That's how he did it. He first defeated them in combat, and took their items. Rendering them no longer immortal, and helpless."

I was in utter shock. A guy able to render the Olympians mortal? That was incomprehensible. Sure, he had Hera's boost, but some of it had to be him, right?

"How did he defeat them all in combat? Surely Hera's help wasn't enough."

Colter shook his head, "No. Hera's energy gave him the strength and durability to stand up to them, but it was his combat prowess that proved their match. See, I left out a detail. Nikandreos wasn't just a greek villager. At one point, his city was attacked by invaders, and took up arms against them. He was quite the fighter indeed, a natural warrior. To my knowledge, he wiped out half the army by himself."

"And he wasn't even a demigod at that point?" Percy asked.

Colter nodded, "Not that I know of."

How the heck wasn't this guy's story more well known? He sounded way more powerful than my father, and maybe even more powerful than Malachi.

"So, he defeated all of the Olympians? Even Zeus?" I asked.

"Yes. First, he began with Demeter, Apollo, and Artemis. After defeating those three, and rendering them normal, he was confronted by Zeus and Hera. Hera told Zeus that Nikandreos was the usurper, and that he represented Mankind's retaliation, and that they were in full support of him."

"Why did she do that?"

"She later told Nikandreos that it was to trick the king of the gods, to make him think she was on his side. Anyway, it wasn't good to include the mortals, because that ended up being bad for them. Zeus got pissed obviously, and attacked Nikandreos, forcing him all the way back to his old village, which he discovered had been destroyed. Ares had brought in armies under his control, guided by Athena's strategies, and the place was finished off by Poseidon's waves."

Percy nearly got up, "No way. My dad's one of the good god's...h-he wouldn't do that."

Colter looked at him sympathetically, "I don't know kid, he may be nice now, but back then, things were different."

Percy leaned back again, not sure what to make of this, I was in the same boat.

"Hera told him that she was just tricking Zeus on Olympus, and told Nikandreos to go back and continue the quest, which he did. With three items of Demeter, Apollo, and Artemis, he was more powerful than before, and had absorbed some of their powers. This gave him the ability to defeat Ares, Athena, and Poseidon. After taking their items and defeating them, he goes to the top of Olympus, and confronts Zeus. The two have an epic battle, but due to Nikandreos having so many items of the gods, and absorbing so much of their energy, he became a god himself."

"He became a god?" I said in awe.

"Yes. All of the energy in him, gave him the abilities of a true god, the immortal life force of a deity. He defeated Zeus, but didn't kill him, he didn't kill any of the gods or goddesses. Instead, he made them promise to never turn their backs on mortals again, and to care for them like they once did. They agreed, but at a price. They couldn't allow the so called usurper to live, for fear that he would become more powerful than all of them combined. They made a deal. They promised by his terms, if he would sacrifice himself, for humanity. So that they could live."

I was angered by that, "That's awful! They didn't actually kill him, did they?"

Colter nodded grimly, "They did. You see, he agreed to it, and gave them back their items, causing his combined power to go away, but not his godhood, mind you. That's an important fact. He remained a god, but lost his overwhelming strength. Now, what does that mean?"

Annabeth said it before I could, "That he couldn't truly die, unless what he represented was destroyed."

Colter clapped his hands, "Exactly. The Olympians didn't know this, but Nikandreos was now a god, and he represented mankind, humanity, the emotions of the human race. And they had just made a deal to not kill or turn their backs on humans, meaning that they couldn't destroy what Nikandreos represented, and in turn, couldn't truly kill Nikandreos."

Harper was suddenly interested, "So what happened to him?"

"The Olympians struck him down, destroying his body, but not his spirit. They thought they had killed him, but they didn't. A few eras go by, and one day, Nikandreos' soul became strong enough, just strong enough, to take form as a being. A being that could reproduce, a being that could pass on to another. His son."

"Who's the mother?" I asked.

"That part even I don't know. It was a mortal though, due to Talon being a half blood. But either way, Nikandreos had a son in Talon. He couldn't raise him though, he was cautious, and knew that the Olympians would find out if he was truly alive. This is where I come into the picture."

Harper pointed at him, "You. You raised him, but why? Why did that super powerful guy trust you?"

"I'm a Son of Ares. I was a famous demigod back in the day, killed a bunch of monsters, gained a reputation...but the stress, the madness...it got to me. I couldn't take it anymore. I'm sure you know what it's like. Years of coming close to death takes a toll on a person."

We all silently agreed. I knew I did. I can't tell how many nightmares I've had, and I'm just fifteen. This guy was like seventy. He no doubt has had worse nightmares than I can imagine.

He continued, "So I began to lay low, keep a low profile. Soon enough, I had disappeared off the face of the Earth. The Marksman Jack Colter, was no more."

Annabeth said, "That's why he trusted you, because he knew you would keep his son in secrecy."

Colter nodded, "Yes. He knew of me, and gave me his son to raise, disappearing back to wherever he resided. Tartarus or Elysium, I have no idea. Anyway, I raised him as my own, caring for him as a baby, teaching him how to defend himself in my way of fighting. The way of accuracy, the way of patience, and the way of guns."

"He obviously learned well. I haven't seen him miss a shot on this whole quest." I said with a light smile.

He chuckled, "Yeah, I trained him a...little too much. He became quite the rebel, a lot of times not wanting to train and go off on his own. But I knew the life was dangerous, and I had to keep him close. Because if the gods found out, I was afraid they would try and kill him again."

"Wait, again?"

He looked stunned, and then facepalmed, "That's right. You'll have to forgive me. I'm an old man and my memory isn't so good. Well, when he was born, the gods actually did find out about his existence, and tried to kill the baby immediately, in fear that it would become another Nikandreos. But what they didn't realize was, that Nikandreos' life force, was in the child. Giving him the same invulnerability as a god."

I felt a chill down my spine. That was why Talon didn't take any damage from Malachi in Central Park, why he barely reacted to Mateo's shot.

"Talon and Nikandreos were connected, in order to protect the baby. The only way he could die, is by using up the life force. Which he does, little by little, after he creates something."

Wait a minute, this is getting unkempt. I spoke up, "Wait, Creation? You mean the coins?"

"Once Nikandreos took Zeus' item, he gained the power of creation, since Zeus is thought by many to have created man. Nikandreos could not utilize this due to his sudden departure, but he passed on the ability to Talon. I'm sure you've seen him do it on this quest. The truck?"

It explained it. All the times a weapon would pop out of nowhere, the truck, the coins, everything.

"And every time he creates, it takes a little of Nikandreos' life force away?" I wondered out loud.

Colter nodded for the hundredth time today, "Yes. He can only create what is within his power. So nothing drastic. I taught him to not rely on it, to focus on his skills with a gun, and the occasional sword. He...was difficult sometimes. Headstrong and good hearted, but always a little mischievous and rebellious."

"Why did you send him to the island?" Harper said, asking the question on everyone's mind.

Colter's face darkened, "I didn't know anything about this island business until he came back from it. And I did not send him there. What happened was..." He lowered his head and sighed, "We had an argument, a bad one. He said he hated me, and ran away. I tried to stop him, but he left completely, and I didn't see him for years. He was apparently kidnapped by Kronos and taken to this island, where they did awful things. I searched after him for weeks, to no avail. I hated myself for arguing like that, and the fact that he had been taken..."

"That's a lie, you let it happen." A voice outside the door said.

It was Talon.

He slowly walked in, glaring at Colter, "You were tired of me, you wanted me gone, so you let them take me!"

Colter looked up at him, "No! I tried to save you! I did everything I could to find you!"

"No way, you didn't care, you wanted it to happen."

Colter got up, and stared at him with pure sadness, "Talon, I loved you. You were like my son. We had our differences, but I never wanted you to get hurt. If I could have found a way to that Island, I would have rescued you."

Talon looked at the ground, fists clenched, "Whatever. It happened, and I still stick by what I said two years ago."

Colter explained before we could ask, "He returned from the island, telling me he wanted nothing to do with me, and that he was going to be on his own. That's when he began...assassin work."

Talon threw his hands up, "What else was I to do? I was good at fighting, and It paid!"

"You could've returned home! Stayed with me!"

Talon shook his head, "No, No. I've been doing fine, just fine!" He didn't sound sure, his voice was breaking a little.

Colter grimaced, we all stood in a tensed silence, not knowing what to say.

Colter finally broke it, "I-I'm sorry, Talon. I'm sorry that we argued, I never wanted that. I...only wanted to keep you safe. I realize that I was overbearing at times, and I am sorry. I...I'm not asking you to come back or anything, but I just...hope that you'll forgive me someday."

Talon looked at him, his face wasn't one of anger now, it was something else, something else entirely.

But before he could respond, a boom shook the ground.

Colter immediately took notice, "Oh no, there here! Boy, did you work on another truck in this time, please tell me you did!"

Talon was stunned, but he managed, "Uh, y-yeah, I did."

Colter nodded, "I want you to go outside, and flip the coin quietly, get in the vehicle as quickly as possible, and leave! I will hold them off long enough for your escape!"

Talon was still stunned, "Okay, b-but, what about-"

Colter's face was grim, but determined, "If I go down, so be it. At least it will be fighting, and for a good cause."

I grabbed the old outlaw's arm, "I can't let you risk your life like that, Mr. Colter, let me help you."

He grinned at me, crinkles forming on his cheeks, "I'll be alright boy. You worry about getting these fine heroes to safety. Alaska would be the best bet."

"Alaska?"

"Yes. The Cerynian Hind is what you are looking for? Talk to Artemis, and the best location I can guess for her, is somewhere cold, so try Alaska."

I nodded, "I will, thank you sir."

He patted my arm, "Now go!"

We walked out the back of the building quickly, scurrying out onto an open area, Talon was about to flip the coin, when a bolt of lightning threw him back twenty feet to the right.

I turned just in time to see Malachi landing next to us, three demigods behind him. I felt each of their auras. They paled in comparison to the god killer, but were still very strong. They included Cherry, Grayson, and a bulky kid at standing about six foot four, with hands that could crush a flagpole. He wore heavy leg armor and a layer of burlap on his waist, he was shirtless, albeit two straps around his torso like a backpack, holding two very large pots of what seemed to be a glowing liquid. It was orange and I could feel the heat from here, I got the feeling that it was lava, and this was Axel, the Son of Hephaestus mentioned as part of the big four.

We became alert, all drawing our weapons, me with my spear, the Nemean Lion shield on my back.

We stared down the group, Malachi stood in front of the other three, who were sneering at us.

"A decent attempt, but you should know you can't get away from me." Malachi said, "I take it you already met these demigods? They make up three of the so called Big Four. Unfortunately Bird Boy couldn't make it, he had other matters to attend to."

He looked as intimidating as ever. He was a little taller than me, his medium length blonde hair falling beside his face, still shirtless for some reason, and wearing the same cloak around his waist and baggy silk pants that looked like they belonged in Imperial Japan.

I tried to sound confident, "Hello, Malachi. Couldn't wait for us on the island?"

"Afraid not, Matthias. Have you grown stronger? I'm hoping for a little more effort this time."

"Why don't you find out?" I growled.

"Okay." Then with a blur, he punched me in the gut, sending me flying back a hundred feet into the desert sand, tumbling and rolling until finally stopping with a groan.

I lurched, feeling a throb in my stomach. I wanted to vomit, it felt like he had rearranged my intestines. I got up slowly, noticing that chaos had broken loose. The Speed battle between Harper and Cherry had resumed, which was not going in Harper's favor. I thought she was fast, especially when we sparred on that truck, but the Daughter of Hermes wasn't even trying, and she was doubling that speed, darting around Harper and striking her with punches and kicks, the Daughter of Nemesis trying to block and parry. Things weren't so well for Percy and Annabeth either. Percy was going at it with Axel, who to my surprise, was controlling the lava. He was controlling it like a bender from that show Avatar the Last Airbender, tossing it at Percy with deadly aim, the Son of Poseidon barely dodging it and trying to close the distance for a jab with Riptide, but every time he got close, the big demigod would swipe with his huge hands, and even smash the ground, causing crater's to form when he did. Annabeth was trying to attack Grayson, but like earlier, her half-sibling was dodging and weaving without a care in world.

Crap, we were not going to win this, these guys...were too much. I mean, maybe I could use pure speed to beat that Grayson guy if I was fighting him, but I know I wasn't faster than Harper, let alone Cherry. Perhaps I could anticipate her moves, and tank her hits. She wasn't doing much damage on Harper, due to her not using any weapons. I figured if we fought, I could tank some hits, then at the right moment, hit her with a full powered strike and incapacitate her. As for Axel, he was a little simpler. I would use speed to dodge his lava, and use full powered punches to kill him. Even if I got hit, I was confident I wouldn't die from the lava.

But no, I wasn't fighting any of them, I was fighting Malachi.

He was nowhere to be found, I got up groggily, looking desperately in the blinding sun for his figure, when finally I noticed him in the air, coming down at me like a falcon.

He had his hand above his head, lightning crackled in it, and he brought it down on me. I barely dodged, but his attack made contact with the ground and it sent me airborne, a few crackles of lightning hitting me as well. I flew in the air, a burning sensation over me, Malachi appeared and grabbed my arm, gripping it with extreme force. I couldn't even react, he twisted and threw me at the ground. Within a second, I crashed into the orange dirt, sending tons of sand everywhere and creating a large crater, which I lay face first in now.

I groaned, in some pain at the moment. The lightning made my mouth really dry, It felt like a squad of scorpions had stung me all at once, an intense throbbing still resided in my stomach from where he had punched me.

I barely pushed myself up, to see him standing at the edge of the crater. He smiled wickedly, "I am utterly disappointed Matthias, you remain a punching bag."

I felt my arms turn to jelly, but I remained an inch off the ground, just enough to retort with, "But I keep getting back up, now don't I?"

His face contorted with rage, if he was about to attack, I wouldn't know, because at that moment, a giant explosion erupted around the god killer, stunning him, but not moving him.

I turned to see Jack Colter and Talon standing twenty feet away, both with rocket launchers in hand, Talon's work I guessed.

"RUN!" I yelled.

"We're alright! Explosives more powerful than ten Greek Fire jars in here! It's enough to hold him off, now go!"

I got up, pain coursing through me, but I ignored it, I leaped out of the crater, and ran toward the other battle.

I got ten steps in, when I heard a wind surge roar behind me. I shouldn't have turned, but I did, to see Colter and Talon thrown back, and Malachi advancing on me.

I picked up speed, but just as I was about to launch off the ground, he roared behind me and I felt a bolt of lightning on my back.

Imagine the greatest force in the world ramming into you, then a forest fire being lit on your entire back, that's what I felt.

I immediately went soaring in the air, a hundred feet high, flailing and screaming in agony at the insane burning on my back. That bolt had really done damage. It was like I had been cooked in an oven overnight, and then set on fire. The feeling was so intense, the heat was almost cool than it was hot.

I soared towards town, trying somehow to not land on anybody, I flailed and kicked, but nothing happened. I simply braced myself and crashed through a wooden building. Breaking the roof and walls immediately, then coming to an intense stop on the ground, lumber crumbling and falling on top of me. I groaned and winced in pain, registering nobody screaming, so that meant no one was in the building, thank the gods.

I tried to get up, but instantly felt a surge of pain go through my body, I cried out, slumping back to the ground, planks of wood all over me.

I was helpless against him, it made me so mad, so angry with myself for not being strong enough.

I suddenly felt a boost of adrenaline, then a voice, gruff and deep, say in my head, get up.

I can't, I replied.

The voice was more urgent now, GET UP! DON"T BE WEAK, SAVE YOUR FRIENDS AND GET OUT OF HERE!

The volume snapped me out of it, I had just enough energy to get up and emerge from the ruins, staggering along the dirt street.

I saw in the distance the battle still raging on, no progress being made on our part. I noticed Malachi toying with Colter and Talon, dodging and flicking his hand, more wind attacks resulting.

We had to leave, now.

It took me longer than I'd liked, but I limped as quick as I could over to the battle, nearly falling down on the sand.

I cursed myself, we were not about to die, not here.

I heard the voice again. Here, save them with this.

I instantly felt reinvigorated, like my wounds had been healed, and a sudden boost of temporary strength.

I knew what it was though, a handout.

I don't need help, I can do this.

No you can't. Don't be a fool, USE THE POWER!

I gritted my teeth, things weren't good, we were losing, and something had to be done.

I finally decided to accept the help, and with all of my strength in one arm, I brought it down in a smash on the earth.

The ground shook, the dirt rumbled, cracks and craters formed for dozens of feet. Axel was thrown sideways, his lava spilling from their bowls and pouring onto the sand, Cherry had been caught by the upturned ground, tripping her and causing her to tumble. Grayson basically took a sandstorm to the face, and was thrown back in a pile of it.

My friends looked at me, registering that I was there.

"COME ON!" I yelled, "WE GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE!"

They all understood and we began sprinting towards Talon, to get him to come on.

He had been tossed back by Malachi down the hill, laying in front of us, groaning.

I looked up, Colter was fighting with seemingly every weapon imaginable, throwing everything at the god killer, who's face conveyed annoyance, he dodged and blocked the attacks, sending wind surges at the gunslinger, who to my surprise, was now dodging them, rolling and jumping over the attacks.

I hated to leave him against the monster, but we had no choice, we needed to leave.

I got Talon to his feet, "We need to go, flip the coin for the truck, now."

"But, master-"

"Knows what he's doing, now we need to escape!"

Talon looked uneasy, "I-I don't know, he won't-"

I shook his shoulders, "I hate it too, man. But it'll all be for nothing if we stick around, so we need to move!"

He finally nodded, "Okay, alright, stand back."

He quickly flipped the coin, a massive truck just like the one earlier appeared, waiting for us to enter it.

The others quickly got in, I let my instincts take over and I clapped my hands again at full strength, just like I had done in New York, a million years ago it seemed.

A shockwave burst from my clap, sending the other demigods flying back even further, knocking them down and sending truckloads of sand and dirt flying in the air. Even Malachi was pushed back from the clap a few feet. He turned and saw us, his eyes widened, but his mistake was focusing on me too much, and not on Colter. Off guard, the god killer was tackled by the old gunslinger to the ground. The last words I heard the old man say was a very loud, "GO!"

I nodded, vowing to never forget him, because there was no way he would survive Malachi after we left. I hated that to no end, it ate me up even now, but he made his choice, and we had to keep going.

I quickly leapt into the truck, the others waiting frantically. The doors were opened between compartments, Talon was in the driver's seat. He shouted back, "IS HE IN?!"

Percy replied, "YEAH!"

Talon took off, "I'M PUTTING THIS THING IN HYPER DRIVE, HANG ON TO SOMETHING!"

There were a few handholds around the container, seemingly designed for this very feature. We all gripped tight, and in an instant, we sped forward, the force sending us nearly in the air from our hand holds. The others were barely holding on, straining and staggering. Even I was clenching on the thing.

After a few minutes, that felt like forever of going at the insane speed, we slowed down, and eventually stopped.

The engine turned off immediately, and we heard the driver's door open and slam.

We all looked at each other uneasily, and knew right away what was going on.

We let go of the handholds and opened the rear door, jumping out into a totally new area.

Let me just say how insane it is to go from a super hot climate, to a cold one within a few minutes.

We were greeted by hundreds of pine trees, all separated at a perfect distance from each other. Light snow littered the ground, puddles and some mud in places, but half of it was snow. The air was cold and crisp, a complete one eighty from Texas.

I guessed we were in Alaska.

Wow, we were really going if we went from Texas to Alaska in a few minutes. This truck was insane.

But that wasn't the concern, we looked for Talon, eventually finding him fifty feet from the truck, punching a pine tree.

We ran to him, Annabeth shouting, "Stop!"

He turned to us, to my surprise, his eyes were watery.

"I just...left him behind. I left him to die. I mean, we...weren't on good terms...but damn, he was like my father."

We grimaced, the silence deafening.

"Talon man, I'm sorry-" I tried to say.

He interrupted with a yell, "FUCK!"

He brought out his revolver and shot it at the tree a few times, still yelling in anger. After he emptied the chamber, he threw the thing in the distance.

We just stood there, not dare interrupting.

He finally calmed down, and just shook in anger and sadness.

I stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder, looking him directly in the eyes, with as much sincerity as I could muster.

"I'm so sorry man."

He broke down, I had never heard him cry, but he was, and it was painful to hear. Soon enough for some reason, the others stepped to us and we formed a group hug. If anybody saw us right now, we probably looked like a bunch of weirdos, but to us, we were comforting not just our tracker, but our friend. I didn't care, he needed it, and we gave it to him.

After a minute like that, we pulled apart and he wiped his eyes, nodding gratefully to us and saying, "Thanks."

"We're so close guys. We just need to find the deer now." I said hopefully.

Annabeth had to rain on my parade, always the realist. "But we don't know exactly where it is, we'd have to look everywhere."

We all looked at Talon, who nodded, "I'll do some tracking tonight, you guys can crash in the truck."

"I can help-" I started.

He held a hand up, "No, but thanks...I just need to be alone for a bit."

I nodded, "Okay man, sure."

He walked toward the forest, and us in the truck, but not before I glanced back again, concern in my mind.

Turns out time is different in Alaska.

It got dark, we sat in the truck, silently, the somber events of what happened in Texas on our minds, as well as the story of Nikandreos.

I was having a hard time comprehending it. The story was so...unreal. The gods had turned their backs on us, and got defeated by a greek villager. No wonder they wanted to erase the story from history.

I felt bad for Talon. His mentor probably dead. I wanted to talk to him, a few times nearly going out there to look for him, but deciding against it.

After a couple of hours, I couldn't take it anymore, I told Harper, "I'm going after him."

She was resting on the couch, but she became aware once I said that, "You sure? He could be miles away."

I nodded, "I'm sure."

I walked out of the rear door, shutting it back with a thud, figuring if Percy and Annabeth had questions, Harper would tell them where I had gone. I trudged off into the forest.

After walking on a straight path for a minute or two, I decided to look from side to side, barely able to see, but whisper yelling Talon's name, to no success.

After ten minutes had passed of this, I gave up, and was about to leave, when I heard, "Matt?"

I turned, it was the assassin, he had a flashlight, and a strange looking device in his hand.

"Uh, hey Talon."

"What are you doing out here? I thought you were the deer for a second."

"You thought I was the deer?"

He kicked the snow in frustration, "Yes! I've been looking for over two hours and nothing! Thinking I've found a few little tracks, only to discover it was just a regular deer, then I had a feeling of energy, only for it to be you. This place is weird, it's messing with the tracker."

I guessed the cellular device in his hand was the tracker. He groaned and leaned up against a tree.

"We'll find it." I said half heartedly.

He nodded, then looked around, gazing at the dark forest. After a moment, he muttered, "So the old man told you the whole history huh?"

"What do you...oh. Uh, yeah he did."

"It's fine. You guys deserve to know."

"Yeah but, I hate what happened."

"Me too. The stubborn old bastard just had to go and do that. For me...the ungrateful brat."

"Hey, don't say that, you were twelve and angry. No doubt looking for someone to blame. I think he would be proud of you." I tried to sound reassuring.

He looked at the ground, messing with a mound of snow with his boot, "I don't know. It's all weird, the whole Nikandreos thing."

"The part where he becomes a god, or defeats the others?"

"All of it. And I'm the guy's son. So where the hell does that leave me?" He said it like it was a question to himself, not me.

I replied anyway, searching for the right words, "I don't know man. I really don't"

"It's just...If I'm the son of someone that powerful and great...shouldn't I be like him? Shouldn't I be a hero?"

I stumbled in my head, I couldn't fine the right thing to say, I tried though, "I think anyone can be what they want to be."

"Yeah, but shouldn't I be a good guy?"

"You are a good guy."

He shook his head, chuckling. "No I'm not, kid. I thought I was when I was little, and maybe that was true. But once I got off the island, I had nowhere to go, I didn't want to go back to Master, I had abandoned my only friends on the Island...so I just did the only thing I could think of...Assassin work."

I tried to say something, but he was on a roll.

"Which only came to my head because I heard someone on the island talk about it. Said he made a killing off of it. I thought, why not? Turns out...it takes a toll."

"You could've gone to Camp Half Blood."

"Maybe, but that just wasn't on my mind. Besides, I never knew about a Camp until I started hearing things through the hitman gig."

I leaned on a tree too, this turning into a conversation and all, "I don't know Talon. You've done some things, but...you've got a good heart. I mean, you've helped us out."

He shrugged, looking up at the stars, "I just...wonder sometimes. Being the Son of Nikandreos, am I meant for something that great? Am I supposed to follow in his footsteps? Become a Pillar of Mankind? What's my purpose?"

"You think about that stuff?"

He nodded grimly, "A lot, kid."

I was shocked, a few days ago I would have never thought Talon thought of anything more than drachmas and his next target. But these past couple of days have really proven that there's a lot more to the assassin than we thought.

"I'm not sure what your purpose is man. But I think...I think we all have one. And I know you'll find it."

He smirked, his face unreadable in the night, but I thought he might be showing gratitude.

"Thanks kid. Now, let's find that deer."

I nodded, and we were about to start looking for any signs of tracks when of course, as usual, something happened.

A volley of arrows soared toward us. I know this because I heard them whistle in the air. I thought fast and unstrapped my Nemean Lion Shield, deflecting every arrow but one. The single arrow bounced off of my skin, the point feeling like a small thorn on my leg.

Talon pulled out a coin and flipped it, the copper piece morphing into a Mossberg 500 shotgun, held firmly in front of him.

I pulled off my necklace quickly and gave it a squeeze, the familiar spear in my hand not three seconds later, the shark tooth glinting from the moonlight.

Moonlight?

Okay, it had been pitch black out, there was no moon in the sky sufficient for my spear to by glinting. It was like suddenly the moon had turned near full and the area in front of us seemed to glow.

Talon and I stood at the ready, I heard light howling and warning barks, they were wolves, and there had to be at least six or seven.

I squinted at the line of trees before us, sure enough the large wolves were stalking toward us, but to my surprise, they seemed to have masters at their side. The figures moved in unison with the wolves, holding what I thought to be bows and arrows.

I gripped my spear and threw it in line with the figures, not very diplomatic I know. But when I see wolves, I usually associate them with wanting to kill me.

My spear soared in a straight arc, and abruptly stopped, someone had caught it.

I suddenly felt an immense aura surge through the forest, it seemed to shake my core it was so powerful. I thought for a moment that Malachi had somehow found us, but no...this was calmer, not as coiled and rage filled, this was like a calm night's aura, only extremely powerful. It had to be a god.

Within a few seconds, the figures emerged. Seven females stood there, five of them had bows in hand, arrows knocked at us, wolves by their side. The other two were different. One was a girl that...kind of looked like Harper. Only kind of. She had shorter dark black hair, electric blue eyes, and a punk outfit. On her back sat a black shield and she held a spear. She had a powerful aura, not as powerful as Percy, but pretty close.

The girl to her left was a little shorter, she had auburn hair tied into a long braid on her shoulder. Her face was beautiful, natural, but like it had been preserved a thousand years. She wore a white blouse looking thing with what I guessed to be arctic camo jeans with combat boots. Weird combination, but it looked pretty cool on her.

She couldn't have been over fourteen, if even that. I noticed a necklace on her, it had a silver moon at the end, kind of like Harper's, only this moon was nearly full. Her aura was insane, very much comparable to Malachi's. I didn't know who the heck this was, but if those two fought...it would be quite the battle.

The powerful girl was the one that had caught it, she held it comfortably, looking at it like it was a treasure she had found.

I mustered the courage to say, "Who are you?"

She looked at me, her eyes intimidating, yet very...comforting. It was hard to explain, but they conveyed centuries of knowledge, centuries of power, and everything else. They were so bright for some reason, like two small moons themselves.

That was when I realized who this was.

An immortal aura, the moon thing, wolves, bows and arrows, it clicked in my head who I had thrown my spear at, and it made me wish I was back at the truck, asleep on the couch.

She seemed to read my mind, "Indeed, child. I am Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt."

(000)

There we go, chapter fourteen complete, and a literal day after I updated chapter thirteen, I'm on a roll!

In all seriousness, I had to make a few small changes to Nikandreos' story to fit mine. I tried to stay true to Apotheon, so if I didn't tell it right, I'm sorry, you can grill me in the reviews if you want lol.

Also, I realized this chapter was a bit of a lore drop and not too much happened, but don't worry, the next chapter will pick it back up!

Thanks for reading! And be sure to check out Chapter 15: We Talk To The Hunting Goddess