Zoe stepped away from her aunt, tossing her backpack on the ground. The soft dirt shifted as she settled into her stance opposite of the mammoth of a man before her. "So, If I win we go free?" she clarified, her voice ringing clearly across the parade grounds. Thunder crackled overhead. She swung her sword about. Three feet of celestial bronze whistled the song of battle through the air. Her opponent nodded his head deeply, revealing the slew of scars that marred not only the front, but the top and back of his head. The man drew his celestial bronze sword from it's scabbard but his stance assumed one of disinterest. Light from nearby lamps and spotlights shined off of his armor plating. Zoe eyed the man warily. Half of her instincts were flaring at her to run from the imposing figure, run from the fort, run from the quest all together. Her other half, well, it howled in hunger. The hunger to prove herself worthy of her strength. Worthy of her sword. Worthy of calling herself 'the Daughter of Heroes.' She wished to dominate her foe. To test her will against his and prove she was stronger. Zoe took a deep breath, steading the nerves that threatened to shake her out of her sneakers. This was it. This was what she had trained for. She circled her opponent, emerald spheres scanning the adversary for weaknesses. If Zoe's fears were true, then she would have to deliver the first strike. The unidentified man mirrored her actions, crimson eyes scanning her stance, her walk, her sword. He looked on impassively, as if this was beneath his skills and status. Zoe flared her nostrils in irritation. She would make him take her seriously.
Zoe launched herself forward, unleashing a volley of strikes at her opponent. Sparks flew through the air like tiny stars as the large man parried each blow and countered with powerful attacks of his own. Zoe evaded her opponent's attacks with a Hunter's grace, using her smaller size and agility to swiftly move in and out of his reach. The daughter of Perseus lamented at her lack of armor, wiling to sacrifice a degree of flexibility for the additional protection. Each blow from her opponent struck like a hammer blow, carving up the terrain around them or forcing Zoe to redirect the slab of bronze with great effort. The man overextended a thrust and Zoe stepped forward into his guard, bringing her sword to bear. Only to be knocked aside as the man brought his knee to her side. Zoe flew across the grounds, bouncing and rolling several times before coming to a stop. The sound of her friends call for her fell numbly on her ears, as a ringing filled her head. The man rested the tip of his sword on the ground, his expression devoid of the effort exerted in the fight. "Atelus," the man said, his deep voice harsh like the instructors Zoe watched training legionaries.
Zoe climbed to her feet shakily. Her breath erratic as her body screamed in protest at the movements. "Imperfect?" she voiced with effort, trying to regain her breath. "Are you...are you grading me?" she asked in bewilderment as she looked at her friends questioningly. Zoe felt a pull in her gut and her sword was raised reflexively. Riptide clanged against the unnamed sword. Tremors rocketed up Zoe's arm. The ground beneath her gave away. Zoe leapt out of the crater, distancing herself from the imposing man who followed after her in a calm gait.
"Pay attention Zoe," Thalia shouted from off to the side. Zoe didn't dare look away from her opponent as the two traded blows yet again. She struggled to keep pace with the bulky man. His movements quick and precise as they were devastatingly powerful. Years of training mixed with talent and sheer luck were the only things that prevented her from being cleaved in two.
"Yeah. I got it, thanks," Zoe bit back irritably. Her frustration growing as she failed to strike her adversary. Zoe rolled back, avoiding an overhead attack, and out of her opponents reach. "You know, you haven't even told us your name yet," she told the armor giant before her as she jumped towards the man and reengaged the fight. Zoe came at her opponent aggressively. Intent on throwing the man off balance and create an opening. The man took every strike from her with ease and threw his own at her. Each impact of their swords felt throughout her being. A particularly powerful swing threw Zoe off balance herself. She used the momentum to plant herself and rolled to side. Zoe thrusted her sword to the man's side. Only for him to catch the blade in his gloved hand and pull her forward.
Zoe was pulled into the man's guard, his sword held out to the side. "Pallas," the man answered before he shoved Zoe backwards.
"Pallas," Zoe repeated as she regained her footing. "The Titan of Warcraft? Great," she drawled as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear. The now named Pallas approached her with his sword held out away from his body. Zoe readjusted her position and began circling the titan again, who mirrored her movements. This time Pallas struck first in a wide arc. Zoe ducked the blow and leapt forward into a flurry of attacks. Her focus on creating an opening she could exploit. Each attack from Zoe became more desperate than the last as her frustration mounted. Again, the titan over extended a thrust. Zoe refused to take the bait. She slapped his sword aside with Riptide and kicked the titan square in the chest. "Oh, come on," Zoe complained as her opponent remained unmoved, his armor with merely the dirt from her shoe marring it. "That armor is so unfair." She dodged a fist thrown her way, before leaping away from his sword as it crossed her path. Zoe pushed herself faster. Fatigue plagued her body as the damage began taking it's toll. The fear of failure welled up inside Zoe as she felt her form slipping. And if she felt it. Her enemy could see it.
"I got to know," Zoe tried to distract the titan. "How do you know my father?"
Pallas hummed. He delivered several devastating strikes that Zoe barely was able to avoid. "I have fought many battles with and against your father." He shoved the girl back. "I am the one who forged the Destroyer."
Pallas dealt a vicious blow sending dust and dirt flying about like a shower of debris. Zoe rolled through the dirt before pivoting off the ground and found her feet. The daughter of Perseus heaved great lumps of air, glaring at the unimpassioned titan. "Zoe," Liam's voice called out to her. "You got this-Gah." Zoe risked a glance at her friend. A dragon woman stuffed a rag into his mouth as the cyclops held him down, silencing him. Zoe's gut pulled at her again. Her sword raised to intercept. Only to be smacked out of her hand. A meaty leather bound hand clasping around her throat. Zoe kicked and struggled as Pallas lifted her into the air. Fists and feet colliding harmlessly against the unyielding armor.
"Zoe!" Thalia screamed. Thunder booming overhead.
Pallas held the girl before him. Firm enough that she could not escape, but not so tight as to restrict her breathing. The titan's eyes moved about her person, seemingly searching farther than skin deep. As if he was gazing into her very soul. "Weak," he spoke simply, his eyes finally meeting her own.
Zoe's eyes widened before narrowing tightly. How dare he call her weak. She was strong. She would prove it. She would not be beaten. Not here. Not now. Not with her friends counting on her. Her father counting on her. She refused to be weak. A deep, animalistic growl emanated from within her throat. Her eyes burned in defiance. "I'll show you weak," she snarled. A tug pulled in her gut. Electricity arced around her. Twin suns of emerald fury blazed in her sockets. A bolt of lightning struck her, arcing off of the girl and blasting the titan backwards. Zoe rolled to her feet, redrawing Riptide from her pocket and uncapping it. Pallas climbed to his feet, looking on at the girl quizzically though his face remained ever set in stone. His breastplate dented and covered in soot where the arc struck him. "Let me show you, what a Daughter of Disaster can do," she boasted. Her eyes pulsed. Riptide was engulfed in a blaze of fire as lightning arced off her being. The wind howled. Dust and dirt swirled about them like a tornado, cutting them off from the world around them. Pallas stood his ground, uninhibited by the winds buffeting him. Zoe smirked at the titan. She bounced from foot to foot. The urge to flee banished from her mind. For it was dominated by the domains of her father. They screamed for war. For destruction. For domination. Zoe surged forward. The call of her blood overriding her caution. Pallas blocked the first thrust. Dodged the follow up swing. But failed to see the kick thrown at his head. The titan's head rocked back as a sneaker clad foot collided with his head. Pallas stumbled back as Zoe regained her footing. The warrior girl shook with the fury of nature pumping through her veins.
The titan stood his ground, shaking the stars from his eyes. He held his sword between himself and Zoe. His eyes gleamed with the fires of desire. The desire to test her further. A wicked smile overcame Zoe's features as she lunged forward. Her attacks swift and deadly. Her flaming sword boiled the air around them. Lightning arced off of her, striking her adversary and the grounds beneath them indiscriminately. Pallas met every swipe. Every attempt to skewer him. He locked blades with the small demigod. Who slid her foot along the dirt, kicking a blanket of smooth dirt into his face. The titan sputtered and stumbled. Zoe slipped into his guard. Her blazing blade sliced through the titan's armor like cloth. Pallas grunted in pain. His sword lashing out at the demigod who slipped out if his reach. Lightning crackled through the clouds. Thunder shook the earth beneath them.
"How's that for weak?" Zoe asked. Her braided hair flapping in the wind. Dirt and dust swirling into miniature tornadoes between them. Flecks of gold glittered throughout the currents. The rush of battle urging her farther and farther. Pallas brought his glove, stained in his own golden ichor, to his view. The titan entered his stance, sword pointing at Zoe's chest. "Seriously?" Zoe questioned, breathing heavily as she prepared to reengage. "Nothing? You're like Centurion Bernard when he catches me sneaking out." She dashed forward, pushing herself faster and harder. Her muscles ached in protest. But the titan matched her speed and strength. Bronze met flaming bronze as Zoe failed to drive the titan back. The unstoppable force losing to the immovable object.
Zoe's eyes began to flicker. The tug in her gut became painful and her muscles were failing. The winds became erratic and her lightning disappeared. Zoe knew she would lose. Pallas feinted right. Zoe fell for it and was kicked across the parade grounds. The winds ceased. The swirling masses of dirt and dust fell. "Keep your hubris in check Atelus," said Pallas as she collided with a stockade. Zoe coughed violently into her hand. Blood coated her palm and her vision became blurry. Pallas approached the wounded girl. He eyed her warily.
"For Olympus!" Thalia shouted. Two bolts of lightning struck Pallas in the side. Thalia and Liam leaped at the titan with spear and sword in hand.
"Zoe?" Karina ran up to her friend. She grabbed Zoe's arm and hoisted the bigger girl up, placing her arm around her shoulder. Zoe grunted in pain as she was dragged to her feet. "Come on we got to get out of here." As Zoe's vision cleared she could make out golden dust scattered throughout the parade grounds. Through the corner of her eye, Zoe could make out the forms of Liam and Thalia battling the large titan. Their attacks, though uncoordinated, were effective in keeping the titan off balance. The two children of Zeus alternated their attacks. Thalia driving the titan back with her spear as Liam parried Pallas' large sword away from them.
Karina supported a limping Zoe across the parade grounds, making their way to the gate to freedom. Zoe's mind was fogged in pain and fatigue. Her body felt like it was falling apart from the strain of her father's domains. Her legs barely moved and her arms appeared inert. Her breath erratic and uneven. She really wished she had some nectar right then. The ringing of bronze to bronze seeming far off in the distance. Karina grunted as she adjusted Zoe in her grip. "You're heavy. You know that?" she asked in a stained voice.
Zoe shook her head, clearing some of the muddiness from her mind. "We can't all be-," a shout from Thalia cut off her retort. Zoe turned her head and Thalia's body collided into them. Zoe and Karina quickly met the dirt becoming a tangle of limbs. Zoe groaned from under Karina and Thalia. The weight of the two girls straining against her already broken ribs. "We have got to stop ending up like this," she complained as she pulled an arm free. A thud shook the earth around them. Zoe looked towards Liam and Pallas. Pallas stood in a small crater, standing over an unmoving Liam. The side of his face swelling and a gash poured blood over his eye. Zoe watched as Pallas raised his sword over his head. She panicked. She couldn't lose her best friend. Not like this. The tug in her gut returned with a vengeance. Her blood burned through her body like fire. Zoe shot her arm out. A scream of defiance tore through her throat. Her vision turned golden. Thunder rumbled through the clouds. Pallas paused. The air around him thickened with divine authority. A beam of heavenly fire pierced the clouds and struck the massive titan in the chest. Pallas was blown backwards, crashing through the barracks of the far wall. The barracks collapsed within itself, burying the titan in rubble.
The storm clouds parted, giving away for clear skies. The noon sun shown brightly, illuminating the ruined parade grounds. Golden dust, scattered throughout the grounds, sparkled in the light. Discarded weapons and armor littered the ground, abandoned by dead and cowardly monsters. Silence consumed the fort. The heavy breathing of the three girl's the only noise heard. The fire in Zoe's veins receded slowly, leaving behind a lingering pain. Her throat was dry and lightheadedness overtook her.
The three girls untangled themselves from each other. Thalia ran to her unconscious brother as Karina helped Zoe to her feet. "What was that?" Karina asked the girl, helping her towards Thalia. Thalia called out to her brother, shaking him violently before reaching into her silver pack.
"I...I don't know," Zoe answered, her voice weak and exhausted. Her vision fuzzy and her head filled with cotton. "Everything just went white...no, golden." Just what was that? Zoe felt a bit of fear creep into her heart. What was her father and Reyna hiding from her?
Karina eyed the girl curiously. "You were hot. It was like laying down on the sidewalk on a summer day in Texas," the girl told her friend. The two reached The kneeling Thalia as she pulled a canteen from her pack. She unscrewed the cap quickly, grabbing Liam's face and opening his mouth. Slowly, she poured the sweet nectar into his mouth, making sure to not pour to much. Thalia massaged Liam's neck, forcing him to swallow the godly drink. Moments passed before Liam began coughing. Sitting up, Liam coughed his lungs out before examining his surroundings. His eyes focusing on the destroyed barracks.
"What did I miss?" He asked, his voice hoarse.
Thalia reached for her brother, who clasped her hand and was hauled up. "We can talk about this later." She gave Zoe a pointed look. "Right now we have to get out of here. I don't think that will stop him for long," she told them, her head turning towards where Pallas was buried. She turned back to Liam. "Can you walk?" Liam nodded. "Good. Lets get out of here." She retrieved Zoe's bag before taking her other arm. The girls walked to the gate of the fort, Liam limping behind them.