The Son Of Hercules

by Echoxenvy

Follow Matt Beckett, the Son of Hercules, as he and his friends wage war on the Primordial God Ouranos and his wide variety of allies. Love, hardship, battle, loss, and glory are just five of the many things he will experience on his epic journey. Current Book: The Rising Sun. OC-Centered.

34. I Can’t Save Him Anymore

Welcome Back.

This chapter I think, you'll all find perhaps the best so far in Storm Bringers. Let me put it this way, it's the one I'm most proud of so far in the second book, not counting the first book. I had fun writing this, and some parts not so much fun, but ultimately, I hope you enjoy it.

Review and Response time, skip if you don't like this part.

Merrik69: "Great writing and characters, Matt is far more likeable than Zane, but he's so damn OP. Seriously, what is it with you guys and your power boners? Like how is a Son of Hercules have enough power to destroy a planet or a solar system? It doesn't really ruin the story but damn, just chill out with it and the brutality on Hephaestus."

Response: Okay, thanks for the praise on my writing and characters, but I have to disagree with you about Zane. The point of his character is, not to get too in depth, he let the power get to his head, and being brutal is part of his nature, he's trying to fight against that and become a better person. I think you may have misinterpreted his development. You might want to go back and reread the story to get a better grasp. About the "power boners" comment, Matt isn't OP, he has suffered a number of losses, and nearly died a couple of times. He is powerful though, and the reason for this is that Hercules was the strongest hero of all time, and he became a god, and had a child. Wouldn't you think that child would be powerful? Also, he got a year of training from his dad, a god. A good reason to be powerful if you ask me. About the brutality on Hephaestus, that wasn't very brutal, Krios was worse. And this story is rated M, I keep it brutal because that is war, and the characters are at war right now. If it bothers you, just don't read, it's that simple. But if you want to stick around, feel free to do so, I welcome any other criticisms you have.

Shadowhunter2077: "So instand of a epic fight we got to see our main character struggling with his own flaws and seeing what he did in his anger, that's perfect, as a guy with a fierce temperament myself can understand how hard it is to hold back your anger and not lash out in other peoples, not always you maneged to control, so it was good to see that Matt is still learning how to control himself, it show that despite his godly powers he is still human.

And also I agree with that the archangels are extremely powerful, I think Zeus could still overpower Raphael and Uriel, and would be in the same level of Gabriel, and be slight weaker than Lucifer and Michael, I believe if Zeus fought either of these two the fight would have the same result of the fight between Battle Beast and Thragg, while Zeus would deliver a lot of critical blows he would still lose to them, he still would leave either of them in a very bad state though.

And dude I made a quick research in the Yoruba pantheon, and for what I have seen these guys are around the same level of the Egyptians gods, with most of their gods being Continental Level, and with their king Olorun being at least Planet Level, so their are at least a Mid tier pantheon not very strong, but not very weak.

And dude you really though that may idea to Talon girlfriend was good, well you could use that to tease the arrival of the Shinto pantheon, not show them but with her we could get a glisp of how they work, and before I forget we need more parts of Talon, Harper and Malachi being a chaotic trio, they are too funny together."

Response: Thanks, yeah I wanted to portray Matt's vision as a struggle with his rage, not an actual real thing with Ouranos. About the angels, yeah I agree with you on that, it sounds about right. I didn't know the Yoruba were that powerful, I figured Olorun but the res to them? Wow, thanks for doing research man. And yeah, I loved your idea about Talon's girlfriend being Shinto, I'm probably gonna go with that, no lie. I'll be sure to add more Talon, Malachi, and Harper scenes, glad you like their banter.

darkwalker11: "loved the chapter cant wait to see what will happen to Hephaestus."

Response: Thanks, that will be the next chapter, going to be a fun one to write, as they all are really.

SuAvE ViPeR: "Nice chapter, although I was expecting a sort of tag team fight, what We got was fine too. But what happened to Arges? Did Hercules beat him? I enjoyed the vision, it was crazy lol, wasn't expecting a baby Ouranos and for Matt to lose control like that. All In all, good chapter and I Can't wait for the Camp battle!"

Response: Thanks, you'll find out about Arges next chapter. And yeah, Baby Ouranos is creepy lol. The Camp battle will probably be next chapter, since this one is already 15k, sorry! But you'll get plenty of good moments and the Sons of Thor fight!

thesuperone342: "Damn this chapter made my head hurt lol. Nice fight with Hephaestus, and good to see that Matt gave him the full Hyperion treatment. Well, Hephaestus is still alive so not the full treatment. Only wish we could have seen Hephaestus and the Cyclopes team up to fight both Hercules and Matt at the same time, as I feel like that could have been an awesome team fight and that Hephaestus got beat a little bit too easily by Matt, but still a good fight all together. And I'm surprised you brought Baby Ouranos in this early. I thought you were going to leave him til the end of this book and have his appearance be a major shock, but I'm fine with him appearing here and now. Matt's inner turmoil with his rage is always good, although I'm confused whether it's from his nurture or nature? Is he naturally rage filled due to being Hercules son, or is the anger from something else, like a combination of his previous tragedies in his life? Anyway, good chapter as always and I can't wait until more.

PS: On a scale from 1-10 how violent is next chapter going to be?"

Response: Thanks man, yeah he didn't quite give him the full treatment, but oh well. And maybe he was beaten too quick, but I felt that a full power Matt vs Hephaestus would turn out like that, I don't know. And Baby Ouranos wasn't really a big deal, it wasn't a real vision anyway, the whole Baby thing isn't supposed to be the shocker, it's just a vision, that's all. And about Matt's inner rage being Nurture or Nature. It's actually both. It's Nature, with Nurture added on to it. Being Hercules's son, he had anger built into him, a genetic temper if you will, and with his mom getting PTSD, being alone for years with no friends, that only added on to his anger and frustration. Now he had to leave his girlfriend and friends...yeah, he's mad. About violence, I don't know, read this chapter and be the judge lol.

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 eighth chapter.

8. I Can't Save Him Anymore

(Seven Years Ago - Third Person POV)

The farm sat against the descending sun in the distance, trees surrounded the clear opening of the comfortable abode, a dusty dirt path led half a mile towards a meadow. Yellow flowers and green grass littered the landscape, blowing slightly with the wind, a pond sat in the center of all of this, murky and unclear, full of fish.

That was the main topic of the children's day so far. One sat on the buzzed grass, a rod in one hand and her head in the other. Her name was Harper Pierce. She had just passed the age of nine, her raven black hair now long enough to come down to the middle of her back. Her skin was pale and milky colored, it could be seen on her arms and legs through her small black shirt and jean shorts, a leather strap was tied to those jean shorts around her waist, two knives sheathed in them.

The boy to her right's name was Levi. He was standing up, looking at her bored expression. He was fourteen, his hair the same color as his sister's, but much shorter, coming down to his ears. His skin was light, though not quite as pale as Harper's. He wore a black sleeveless shirt, cargo shorts and sneakers. As well as Harper's, he too had a leather strap around his waist, but the blade was much bigger, a long sword, well used and showing clear signs of it's sharpness.

To any stranger, it could be assessed that the pair were siblings, based on appearance alone, but by behavior, it was obvious as well. The two did almost everything together, getting along nearly all the time, as opposed to many other siblings. Did they have their arguments and sibling banter, of course they did, but it meant nothing at the end of the day. To her, he was her hero, her mentor, and her friend.

Today he had taken her fishing, an activity they did often after he taught her. Levi was worried that day nearly four years ago that she wouldn't like it, as most five year old girl's didn't enjoy waiting around for a slimy fish to bite. But surprisingly, she did, and would often ask that they go to the pond behind their house. He took her as often as he could, when time would allow. They were good at it, and caught several each time they went.

But today was different, they hadn't caught anything for three hours. Sometimes a dry period would happen where an hour would go by and they wouldn't catch anything, but usually after that hour the fish started to bite. This was not the case today.

Not even one bite for either of them. They were fishing for Bass, a large green colored fish that liked artificial bait over live bait. Levi had bought some at the local store in their small town nearby, black worms or sinkos usually did the trick, but today, it didn't. It wasn't that their pond was empty, that was far from the truth. They always threw back the fish that they caught, and they bred naturally, so there were plenty to catch. Whether they wanted to bite or not...that was the problem.

Levi looked past the forest to the left, where the sun sat behind them, sinking lower and lower by the minute. It would be dark soon.

He turned back to Harper, who was almost asleep from boredom. He frowned, not blaming her, this wasn't turning out as planned.

"Bored?"

Her eyes opened, and she groaned.

"Out of my mind! Why won't they bite, Lee?"

He shrugged at her, "Sometimes they just aren't hungry, kiddo. They must be full today."

"So we fished for nothing?" She said, her shoulders slumped and lip slightly pouted.

Levi wanted to cheer her up. He didn't mind not catching anything, it was just part of it, and he honestly thought the peace and quiet was half of the appeal. But Harper was younger, and her attention span was shorter.

He suddenly remembered something he found a couple of years ago, a perfect spot that she would probably like. He could never think of a reason to use this spot, but ever since Harper had been training with her knives, she had gotten better. So good to the point where Levi wondered...

"Hey kiddo, I know something that's gonna make all of this worth it." He smirked at her.

Her attention spiked, eyes lighting up, "Really?"

"Yeah. Follow me, I wanna show you something."

She popped up quickly, a smile planted on her lips. "Do I take the rod?"

Levi shook his head, "No, we'll leave them here. But you can bring those knives."

Her eyebrows furrowed a little, but she ultimately agreed and followed Levi.

After a minute of walking, they came upon a large tree near the forest, a lookout of the farmhouse in the distance. The tree was bright red, each leaf full in the color, and there were so many, the trunk could barely be seen. Under the tree sat an arena-like circle of solid flat dirt, a tiny wall of stone separated it from the grass, outlining the circle. Levi had put those there to keep him from stepping out of boundaries when training with his sword, but now, it could be used for a different reason.

They both took a step over the short wall of stone, and stepped into the ring like area.

Harper was in awe at the sight, especially the beautiful red leaves on the tree.

"W-What is this place?" She asked.

Levi too looked up at the tree, admiring it. "Little place I train at, found it a couple of years ago."

"It's amazing!" She exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.

"It's pretty awesome, huh kiddo?"

She nodded, "Yeah!"

He stepped over to her and knelt down, "You've gotten pretty good with these knives, huh?" He pulled them out of the sheaths on her waist.

"Yeah, I train every day!"

He stood up, holding the knives comfortably, taking notice of their wear, how often she's using them.

"I know you have, you've gotten so good in fact..."

She leaned upward on her toes, "In fact what?"

"I think you're ready to spar with me."

Harper reared her head back in surprise, "What?!"

Levi chuckled, "Before you say no, kiddo. Trust me when I say that you're good. I never thought you would catch on so quick, honestly."

"Really?"

"Totally. Look, I won't go too hard on you. Really, I might have too with your skill, but the reason I want to do it, is because we can get stronger together, and if any monsters come to hurt us, we can fight together, as a team."

Harper was entrapped by his words, his voice, they were her source of wisdom, her source of comfort. He sounded so confident, so convincing, so experienced.

"Whaddya say, kiddo?"

She registered what he was offering. She was a little nervous, but Levi was the strongest person she knew, and if he was going to help her get better, of course she would accept.

"Let's do it!"

Levi laughed, and handed the pair of knives to her. She gripped them, and waited for Levi's further instructions.

Levi backed up, and motioned for her to stand parallel to him. She did, and stood at the ready, her knives in front of her, legs bent slightly, her body leaning back, head forward, like a panther.

Levi unsheathed his sword, and spun it a few times skillfully, deciding to stop in his own stance, a wide footed stance with his hands at the side of his head, elbows behind his shoulders, the sword pointed directly at Harper.

"Ready, kiddo?"

"Yeah!" She said, determined.

The two ran at each other, a tradition born within an instant.

---

(Present Day - Harper's POV)

I don't have super strength.

Newsflash, I know. I'm not Matt, I don't have bulging biceps, rock hard pecks, a six pack, thighs the size of-

Okay, you get the picture.

I don't have some "mode" that I can go in, no super Harper, no revenge boost or whatever you could call it. No, I had to train and bust my ass to get here, to be...me.

Just me. Really fast and good with knives.

Now to normal people, that might be cool, but to the Sons of Thor, piece of cake.

I received this rude awakening the moment the fight began, if you're generous enough to call it that. Immediately the big boy Bjorn and Malachi went at each other, their bodies clashing in mid air. The split second after their skin touched, a large bolt of lightning soared from the night sky and connected with both of them. A blue flash spread everywhere and they disappeared in the newly formed gray clouds, streaks of light zooming through each one.

So I guess Malachi's got the big one. That leaves Talon and I with the little brother.

He chuckled, his axe tight in hand. "Show me what ya got, eh?"

I leaped from the roof and darted towards any objects I could find, from vents to the other side of the ledge, to the top of the ladder leading up here. It wasn't as easy as trees or walls, but I was able to build a good speed and circle this guy, nothing but a blur.

The wind of my run blew his red hair wildly. He laughed, slowly turning in a three sixty circle, trying to follow my speed.

"Fast little girl, aren't ya? But can ya do anything sides' run away?"

I was faster than him, I noticed, due to his eyes. They never caught me, not once. But that didn't mean I could win. I needed Talon's help.

I hoped to Olympus the idiot assassin would understand what I was trying to do with the circling thing. Something must have clicked in his thick head, because he did.

I meant it as a distraction, and it worked. Talon fired off several rounds from his revolvers, Bo the little Norse brother deflected all of them with his axe, growling at the annoyance.

I took the opening, I immediately jumped off the ledge behind him and spun in the air, building momentum in my leg. The distance between us closed in a fraction of a second, I brought my shin down swiftly at his neck, the one place that I suspected a soft spot on his durably enhanced body. Well, that and...his dick, I guess. But I wasn't going to resort to that yet.

My eyes widened when he swiftly turned around and caught my shin with his forearm. A small shockwave burst from the clash, blowing wind at all sides.

"Do ya really think I'm that stupid, girly? I knew it was a distraction." He laughed and firmly gripped my shin with his hand, I felt myself being pulled every which way, spinning wildly, the wind whistling in my ear, I was starting to get dizzy.

He released me after a few spins, launching me towards the sky. I flew thirty feet before gravity took over and pushed me down, falling very fast towards the asphalt. I turned my head, gasping at the deadly situation. Holy crap I needed to get out of this.

I looked desperately for a piece of metal to grab, something to stop myself and swing upwards. But no, there was nothing. Panic welled up in my throat, a queasy feeling coming over me.

Was I going to die?

I kept looking, but it was hard to spot anything with the wind, and my hair flapping in front of my face. I pushed it away quickly and turned my head frantically like a sprinkler, searching for anything, anything at all that I can latch on to.

Nothing.

I turned my head to the street below, it was gaining rapidly. A hundred or so more feet and I'm done.

I nearly gave in, that is until I heard the faint sound of a yell and something hit me in the chest.

I grabbed it quickly, it was a leather rope, wide enough to get a good grip.

What?

I didn't care at the moment, all I knew was that I didn't splat on the road below. I held on tightly to the rope, momentum swinging me towards the side of the building. I planted my boots on the brick, looking like a rock climber now, I finally had a chance to see what had happened.

I vaguely saw Talon at the top, the other end of the rope tied in his hand. He was motioning for me to get up there fast.

I nodded, a smirk on my face. "Sometimes you actually come through, huh assassin?" I muttered.

But he couldn't do it forever, I needed to get my ass in gear. This was proven when my gut nearly came to my throat, my body started to lower rapidly, the rope had slacked, and finally, it went full limp. My mind luckily wasn't asleep, and I immediately jumped over to the railing of the fire escape, hanging on to it by my fingers, the edge slippery from some liquid. I glanced below to see the rope smash into the sidewalk, luckily there was nobody walking out tonight.

I heard loud clanging sounds from above, thunder boomed even higher. I looked up to see more blue flashes in the sky, occasionally taking form of bolts, switching to different parts of the area. I could feel the shockwaves from here. Malachi was really holding his own against Bjorn, and probably even beating him. That was good, keep them separated. As long as they're separated, we have a chance.

The clanging must be Talon fighting Bo. I wasn't sure how long we could last, I needed to get up there and help.

I swung my legs back and forth until I felt comfortable with jumping. My legs went over my head and I let go, landing on the platform of the fire escape.

I had a good grip, so the rest came easily. I quickly latched on to railings, window ledges, and even brick ledges, using my feet occasionally to propel myself. Within a few seconds, I was five feet below the edge of the roof.

I grabbed it and pulled with all of my strength. This allowed me enough air time to do a front flip and land on one knee. Hey, entrances matter.

Scratch that, Talon's life matters more, as tough as it is to say that.

Bo was better than him at swordplay, but Talon was blocking, albeit barely. The Norse demigod was pushing him back, swinging powerful and skilled strikes, laughing the whole time, Talon hardly kept his footing, his teeth were widely gritted.

I bent down, ready to take the Norse by surprise, when he knocked Talon's sword out of his hand, and sliced him right across the chest.

"TALON!" I yelled.

Bo kicked him in the place he just sliced open, and Talon flew back, his legs hitting the side of the roof. His body flipped and disappeared from sight. No yell, no sound of a grappling hook, nothing. Talon was dead on impact.

"N-No." I said, barely able to get the words out. He was an idiot, but he was...my friend too. A good friend, a guy that had a good heart, deep down.

Killed by this Norse asshole.

I turned on him, enraged.

Bo chuckled, "So yer still alive, girly? Huh, tougher than that bastard, apparently."

I gritted my teeth and appeared in front of him in an instant, a kick already aimed at his head.

It connected, and he recoiled back.

I kicked again and again, to the chest, neck, head, you name it, I delivered. Each strike with skill, all hitting the spot I wanted.

But it did no real damage.

He caught the bottom of my boot with his hand, my leg trapped in a high kick. I was basically doing a standing split right now.

"Nice moves, but yer not quite strong enough." He pushed my leg upward, bending it very uncomfortably.

I winced, trying not to show signs of pain, but trying instead to pull it from his grip. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do it, his hand was too strong.

He pushed it higher and higher, to the point where it nearly passed my head. I was flexible, but I had my limits, and right now, I was about to be ripped in half.

I felt my groin muscles tighten, my thighs burning and pleading for relief. I let out a yelp of pain, any more and my leg will be torn off completely.

I finally thought of a desperate solution. I groaned and yelped louder, to make it seem like I was about to die, he responded by simply chuckling, thinking the threat was gone.

I surprised him with my other foot on his cheek. I jumped off the ground and turned it against his face. It was enough to break his grip from my leg and send him stumbling sideways.

I landed on my butt. Immediately I moved my leg back and forth, trying to get the tightness out. I winced as a sting shot up my entire body. It hurt, but I would be fine, nothing a little walking off won't fix.

I stood up, my knives now in hand. I was ready to take this to a weapons only exchange.

He rubbed his cheek and turned back to me, a sinister smile on his face.

"Now then, why'd ya have ta go and do that? I thought we were gettin along just fine..."

"You killed my buddy. That kind of killed the mood."

He laughed, still rubbing his cheek, "That one actually hurt a little. And I don't like being hurt. Yer gonna pay for that, girly." He spun the axe in his hand, advancing on me.

"Come on, then."

He swung his axe in an arc, I blocked, the hit was tough, very tough to hold against. And I had the feeling he was only using a small portion of his strength.

We went on for a minute, me blocking and parrying, my arms were burning though from the ferocity of his attacks and the power behind them. Each one was like getting electrocuted, or hit with a ten ton truck. I was barely standing right now, and he wasn't breaking a sweat.

Finally, I saw an opening, and swiped upward at him, my left knife chipped his chin.

He laughed, "Good." Then he roared, and lightning encased his axe, a blue glow around it. He brought it to his side and swung it like a baseball bat. I did the stupid thing and brought my knives in front of me. The axe connected and I was thrown back immediately, the knives clanging on the ground next to me, too far to reach. Electricity hit my body, it felt like I was being punched over and over, my vision turned white, I felt myself fall to the ground. When my vision returned, so did the pain, a burning tingle came in waves all over my nervous system, like a million fire ants biting me simultaneously.

I saw Bo walk toward me, taking his time. I tried to reach to my jeans pockets for my gloves, if I could get them on, I could bring my knives back to me magnetically. I reached to my back pockets, my fingers were trembling from the electric shock still, making it harder to grab them. He was gaining, his axe gripped to his side, his face sinister and sadistic. He was enjoying this.

I finally latched on to the fingers of the gloves and yanked them out. The only reason I was still alive was due to his psychotic behavior and the fact that he didn't know what my gloves could do. Even so, I only had a few seconds. I quickly pulled them on the best I could, the fingertips a little loose, but it would have to do.

Bo laughed, "Worried about how ya look at a time like this? Yer gonna be dead anyway, so why bother?"

I reached out and opened my palms in the direction of my knives, just as I pressed my thumb into the center of my hand, Bo brought down his axe towards my chest. I barely grabbed the knives out of the air and blocked his hit. It was like a building had fell on me, a crater formed beneath me, I felt myself drop in the roof several feet, my back being stabbed by pieces of rubble. I had no idea how I was able to take that, but I managed to not get cleaved. My elbows were pressed against the concrete, my hands and knives only a few inches from my chest, and slowly descending. He was pressing against my blades with the axe, a sign of anger now on his face.

"Why won't you just die, you little bitch! He yelled, and pressed further, I yelled in pain as my hands hit my chest, and I was forced down further. Finally, the entire area collapsed, concrete and rubble fell around me as I plummeted into the floor below. A split second passed before I caught my sense and saw the floor coming, I forced my legs to spin backwards, allowing me to land on my feet instead of my back, which was throbbing at the moment.

I landed on the heels of my boots, more so on my right leg, the one that he had nearly tore in half a few minutes ago. Instant pain shot up my leg, causing me to fall over and yelp. It was worse than I thought, that asshole might have tore one of my muscles.

I took notice of my surroundings. I fell about ten feet or more, into an office. Desks and tables with computers on them sat everywhere, those swivel chairs tucked in under them, a couple of novelties sat next to those mice things, like action figures and little oscillating palm trees. Neat.

My knives were out of my hand again, probably escaping during the fall. I looked in front of me, Bo wasn't there, but there was a pile of rubble, packed on like a pyramid, above it, a gaping hole.

I raised my hands towards the pile, going back and forth like a radar to retrieve my knives, within a moment, they broke through a crack and flew into my hands. I held them firm, searching for any sign of Bo.

Where did he go? Did he not fall with me?

My question was answered when I heard footsteps above, closing in on the giant hole.

My chance to take him by surprise, If I could hide behind something, maybe I could catch him in the neck, and do at least a little damage.

I rolled behind a desk, sitting up against the wide side, peeking around the corner. About the time I did this, he dropped down and landed on the rubble.

He stepped to the floor, spinning his axe like a staff.

"Where'd ya go?" He mused, looking around the room.

He was walking in my direction, I would have to move soon. This was a bad angle to attack him from, as he was facing me. I needed to get behind him.

I remembered Talon, how his lifeless body fell over the side of the roof, killed so quickly.

My lips tightened, this asshole was going to pay. I may not be good enough to kill him, but I can ruin his day, for sure.

I barely peeked out again, he was a few feet away, creeping slowly, a thin line of blood in his cheek, where my knife had cut him.

"Y'know, not a lot of people have made me bleed before, side's my brother and a couple of monsters when I was a baby...but you, bitch, managed to not only kick me, but you CUT ME!"

I knew what was coming, so I rolled backwards to the desk behind the one I was on, within an instant, it flew in the air, and shattered the windows to the right, falling down to the road below. He had hit it with the axe in anger. I was glad I moved in time, had I not, I would be flying in the sky along with the desk.

He looked at the empty floor where it once sat, like I should be there. He growled and shook his head, "Such a slippery girl, aren't ya? I know yer still here, so why not just come on out? Yer gonna die anyway!"

Shut the hell up, I thought. I couldn't wait to stab this guy, but I needed to somehow get to the other end of the room.

I scanned a path, a way to make it possible. It took a few seconds to play the scenario out in my head. Okay, I needed to roll there, sneak there, roll again, hug the wall, and then...take my chance.

Alright, I could do this. Time to see where this guy was...

SHIT! My mind practically screamed, he was right around the corner!

"Are ya behind here?" He said, and brought his axe behind his head. Aimed at the desk I was hiding on.

In the next half second, I came up with a desperate analysis of my options. If I rolled further to the left, I would be behind him, but he would notice quickly, and if I rolled right, he would still see me. So I basically had no options left, I would have to face him head on, or run.

Or...

I could go up.

The instant this thought hit me, I acted on it, I used all of my speed to leap on the ceiling, praying to Olympus that I could grab onto something. I suppose prayers can be answered, because I managed to grab onto a small space, the tips of my fingers the only things connected.

I heard the desk I previously leaned on smash into pieces, sparks of electricity flying around the room. When he didn't see me, he groaned in frustration. I remained on the ceiling, watching his every move.

He looked around, checking every desk a lot quicker now. I guess he was done taking his time, no enjoyment left out of this. Good, I wanted to make the bastard pay.

"This is gettin' old! Just reveal yerself already!"

I would, dumbass, if you would just walk a little closer. If he would only step a few feet to the right, I could drop on him and stab him through the neck. I now knew that Celestial Bronze did some damage, so if I could catch him by surprise and stab a soft spot, well I doubted he would find that pleasing.

My fingertips were starting to burn a little, and I had no other place to hold on, so my legs were basically just hanging there.

"Fine then, I'll just make ya come out!" He yelled, and held out his hand. A blue glow outlined his fingers, it soon turned into electricity. With a crash, he shot dozens of tiny bolts of lightning all around the room, except for the ceiling. Any remaining objects on the floor were disintegrated, there ashes all that remained.

He grunted in frustration, still looking, while...walking backwards.

In my direction.

I waited patiently, just a few steps further, and I would get him.

Finally, he stepped just under where I hung on, his neck in full view, wide open for attack.

I took my chance, quickly grabbing a single knife and holding it with both hands in a stabbing position. He had no idea, not turning around at all. I had him.

A second's delay, and I crashed onto his back, thrusting the knife right on the crook of his neck.

It only went a couple of inches in, to my disappointment, but either way, he was surprised, and it seemed to hurt, because he yelled and grabbed my wrists, trying to swing me off. I held on tightly though, trying to push the blade in even further.

"AGHH! DAMN YOU, YOU BITCH!" He spun and bucked wildly, not taking in that there were walls he could slam me up against. But that was a good thing.

I kicked off of his calves and put my boots on his shoulder blades, this gave me better leverage to push the knife deeper.

I put all of my available weight on it, and I felt it go an inch deeper, he yelled in pain, shaking more wildly.

This time, I fell off, the force of his spin too much. My body flailed in the air for a bit, until I felt a firm grip on my shin, just like last time.

He slung me up like one of those paddle ball things and switched his grip to my shin to my neck. On instinct I grabbed his wrist, trying to break free, but that wouldn't work, he had me. His fingers were like iron, gripping my windpipe with insane force.

I couldn't get any words out, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't break free.

I kicked at his stomach, to no avail. He didn't even grunt, just stared at me in anger.

"Got ya now, and yer gonna pay, ya stupid slut." His voice held death, the next few seconds would determine my fate.

I couldn't reach for the knife on his shoulder, it was too far away, and my other knife, well...I didn't know where it was.

But I had my gloves...

I flung my arm around wildly, in an attempt to locate the other knife. Luckily, it wasn't far, because it shot from the ground and made it's way to my hand.

Only to be caught by him.

The knife struggled, but it was overwhelmed by his strength. He chuckled, "None of ya little tricks are gonna work now. Yer dead."

With that, he threw me against the ceiling, my gut went into my mouth at the sudden throw, my back throbbing from the impact. I felt myself go through yet another hole, back into the night air. My vision was blurry, but I could make out another gaping hole in the roof, right where he had slung me.

I landed hard on my back again, no doubt fracturing a couple of ribs. It felt like everything was on fire, or getting squeezed by a hydraulic press. I could taste iron in my mouth, a clear sign of internal bleeding.

I tried to get up, but my body wouldn't allow it. This was not good, I was going to die.

Malachi. Anyone, please.

But he was busy with the other brother, or at least I thought. No more blue flashes, no sign of them anywhere. Had they moved somewhere else?

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud clanging. I glanced at my feet, my knives lay there, scratches on them.

Bo hopped up from the hole, popping his knuckles audibly, "Go ahead, take em. I wanna play with ya a little longer."

I wanted to retort, but I couldn't. My lungs felt like they were about to explode with pain. He had really done a number on me.

"S'alright, ya don't have to talk. I did want to hear ya beg for death, but I suppose a silent one'll have to do."

He closed the distance, his axe now sheathed. Oh gods, he was going to pummel me to a pancake, wasn't he?

I felt so weak, so helpless. I hated having to rely on others to save me, it just wasn't my style. But here I was, broken and battered, begging internally for Malachi, or anyone to save me.

Sure, these guys were Sons of Thor, but it didn't matter to me, they were opponents. I needed to at least do something.

It was like the psycho could read my thoughts. Bo clicked his tongue, "Aww, don't be sad, girly. Ya got me pretty good with that surprise attack." He leaned forward and pointed at the wound. It was a pretty thick gash, some red blood seeping out, dripping down his shoulder. "Ya should be proud of yerself, any other mere girl couldn't do such a thing."

I had to stay still, in fear that my body would burn from all the pain. But I also had to do something, I couldn't just let him kill me.

Bo raised a fist, about to bash me in the face. It would be too late in another moment, I needed to do something, anything.

But I couldn't. My body wouldn't move, not a muscle. Everything ached, everything stung, I was trapped and helpless.

So I did the only thing that instinct told me to do, I forced my knives to shoot back into my palms, and I raised them out in front of my face, hoping that it would at least save me from dying. I closed my eyes shut, expecting death.

But it never came. I heard a grunt and a loud BONG! A series of clanging and shouts occurred, I figured either my prayers had been answered, or his big brother had confused him for someone else, and they would attack me again soon.

But when I opened my eyes, expecting something totally different, I was greeted with a shocking sight.

It was Talon.

He held in one hand a giant celestial bronze sword, swinging it fiercely at Bo, in his other hand sat a sawed off shotgun, which he hadn't fired yet. Bo was clearly in shock, barely defending against Talon's assault. For some reason, Talon had a clear advantage, and his sword...it seemed to be glowing yellow, or no, rather golden. Yeah, it was golden now that I look closer at it.

Bo swiped at Talon's shoulder, and to my surprise, Talon let it hit him. I wanted to scream at him to cut the crap and dodge, but again, I was surprised when it simply bounced off of his body, no harm done.

What?

How was he still alive in the first place? That fall was like two hundred feet! And that axe hit him right across the chest! What was going on?

I had no time to think, as Talon's display was too crazy. It was very unlike him. I always thought we were on the same level of power, but right now, that was proven very wrong. Talon was making short work of the guy that almost killed me.

Bo attacked and attacked, grunting with frustration each time. Talon simply dodged gracefully, not a single time did it even nick his skin.

Finally the assassin had enough, he ducked under a wide swing from Bo, and brought his other arm up to the Norse's face, firing off a slug point blank. The blast knocked Bo back several feet, blood flew everywhere.

Talon wasted no time, I didn't even get to see what Bo's face looked like after that shot, because Talon had already kicked him over the side, just like Bo did to him earlier.

I heard the Son of Thor scream all the way down, and eventually, a faint smash in the asphalt below.

The night was silent after that, no people screaming, no cars honking, just the slight wind and the sound of my heavy breathing.

Talon spat over the edge, in the direction of Bo's body.

"Payback's a bitch, asswipe." He growled, and turned to me.

"You alright?"

I tried to get up, but I slumped back down, whimpering. I think I had some broken ribs.

He jogged over, "Alright, take it easy, I got ya." He grabbed my arm with both hands, and pulled me up, the process hurt so bad, It felt like my torso was getting ran over by a dumptruck. I made a loud yelp at the pain.

"You're alright, you're alright." He said dismissively.

Talon threw one of my arms over his neck, making me lean on him for balance. That was good, it helped ease some of the pain.

I winced, "Piece of shit nailed me pretty good."

"I can tell." He placed a hand on my rib cage area, and felt around. I felt a throb at the sensation.

"Yeah, you got a few broken." He said, retracting his hand, "No wonder you didn't pass out."

"I almost did."

"Here." His eyebrows furrowed over his sunglasses, showing a sign of concentration. Within seconds, a coin popped out of his hand.

He flipped it into mine, and when it landed, it morphed into ambrosia.

"Eat." He ordered.

I didn't object, I popped the small square in my mouth, and chewed. It tasted so good, like the homemade cookies Levi used to make for me.

Within a minute or so, I could stand on my own, albeit barely, I was healing fast, but I doubt I could fight anymore.

When I felt comfortable enough to talk, I pushed Talon hard on the shoulder.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"What?!"

"I thought you were dead, dumbass!"

He just shrugged. I noticed his sword had stopped glowing gold. Maybe I was hallucinating.

"Part of my arsenal, I can't die."

I reared my head back, "You can't die?"

He nodded.

"But that's like...the ultimate power! Invincibility? Why haven't you done it before?!"

"I have, you just weren't paying attention. It's part of my father's...deal, I guess. I can't physically be harmed, or killed."

"B-But, how?!"

"Why? You want me dead? Thought we were buddies?" He said that last part with a knowing smirk.

I felt my ears heat up a little, "Shut up. I didn't mean it."

"Sure."

"But seriously, how do you-"

"I don't know. And don't ask me about the glowing sword thing either, I just-"

He was interrupted by thunder, booming in the clouds. We both looked up to see a blue comet flying our way, towards this roof...

"Is that...?"

"Yep." Talon confirmed.

Another moment passed, and the lightning bolt crashed into the far corner of the roof, shattering it completely, rubble and concrete flew everywhere, tumbling into the streets.

Two figures popped out of it, one was being thrown at our feet, the other was doing the throwing.

Bjorn the big brother rolled and skidded on the ground, eventually stopping face up in front of us.

He looked awful, far worse than his brother probably. He had cuts and bruises everywhere, blood covered him, his face was sunken in, his entire body was misshapen. It was like he had been held in place and hit with a godly hammer over and over again.

The perpetrator stepped out of the electricity, his entire body encased with lightning, a blue aura of pure electric power.

Malachi.

My jaw fell to my chin. Malachi had done that? I mean, it made sense, he was the Son of Ouranos, so I guess that put him higher than a single Son of Thor. But seeing it here, and how intimidating Malachi looked...I was glad the guy was on our side now. I don't think he needs anyone posessing him to kick butt.

His aura faded, the wind stopped blowing and the tension eased. He walked over to us.

"He proved troublesome, but ultimately I was victorious. You guys?"

Talon motioned his head to the street below, "Little ginger is napping on the road down there. Green Day and I took care of him."

"You took care of him." I said.

Talon groaned, "You did good, Harper. You damn near cut the guy's head off!"

I didn't say anything, I was still disappointed at my helpless state earlier.

Malachi nodded, "I suppose that's that then. They won't be destroying Camp anytime soon."

We were about to exit the roof, when a chuckle sounded nearby.

Bjorn coughed up a cup of blood, still chuckling. "Quite the contrary, little Greeks."

We had no time to be shocked, because another voice rang in our ears.

"Big Greeks now, brother. There good, oh they are good indeed." Bo said, jumping over the edge Talon kicked him off of, his face looking like it had been drilled in by several power tools. The celestial bronze slugs stuck inside of his skin like cactus needles, blood poured from each wound. His face was entirely red, and his teeth, through his sinister smile.

Bo jumped twenty feet into the air, and landed next to his brother.

"Come now, brother, I believe it's time to go."

They both summoned wide lightning bolts to their bodies, engulfing them out of vision, like two UFO portals.

Eventually, the blue lines disappeared, and the brothers stood there, unharmed.

"WHAT?!" Talon yelled, completely shocked.

I was too. How the hell did they do that? And more importantly, all of that work...for nothing?

Malachi was the only one that didn't look stunned. He actually winced, like he expected this.

Talon noticed too, "You wanna explain why you look like you saw this coming?!"

"I feared they had the same ability as me. Lightning is our natural element, therefore, if they summon one of their own, with all of their power, it will heal them. Like water to a Son of Poseidon."

"No...No way." I gasped, completely drained.

The brothers laughed.

"The Demi-Primordial's smart, indeed we can heal by lightning."

Bjorn popped his neck, shaking it back and forth, "I needed it too, that guy is no joke. I was giving it my all!"

"Ouranos's son, brother. Next time, we must do to him as we did to Matthias, attack him together."

"Don't say that name!" I spat, completely disoriented and angry at our futile efforts.

Bo chuckled, "Aww, don't be sad, girly. We'll get to see each other again soon, and next time, we won't be so nice."

Talon raised his sword at him, "Next time? We're gonna finish you right here! You ain't taking our Camp!"

The brothers looked at each other, deadpan, then turned back to us, and broke out in howls of laughter.

We were all getting sick of their game, Malachi especially. I could feel the entire city shake at his anger.

He roared, "ENOUGH!" The building nearly crumbled, his eyes glowed blue again, threatening to shoot out lightning beams or something.

They faded as the shaking did, but his eyes held the brother's firm. "Tell us what you mean immediately or I'll kill you where you stand before you can even blink!"

The brothers stopped laughing, but they still had smirks planted on their lips.

Bjorn pointed at Malachi, "Don't get testy, ya may be able to kill one of us, but together, we can overwhelm even you, and ya know that."

Talon hefted his sword, and growled, "He won't be alone."

Bo chuckled, "As much as I hate to say it, we had our orders, and we accomplished them."

I raised an eyebrow, "Orders?"

Bjorn nodded, "Ouranos was very specific."

"About what?!" Talon yelled, "Start fucking talking!"

Bo pointed in the direction of Camp, more than a dozen miles away.

"Ya see, while you idiots were fighting us, that bastard Levi Pierce led an invasion on your precious Camp."

My heart sunk at the words, everything seemed to stop once I heard that. A ringing began in my ears as I processed the thought.

No.

No, no, no, no. It couldn't be true.

"You're lying." I said lowly, the words escaping me, unconvinced. Because I knew from their faces that they weren't lying.

Levi had done it.

And it was our fault.

It made perfect sense, to draw us out and attack while we were gone, fighting the Sons of Thor. It was genius, or either we were really dumb.

Probably the latter.

Bo shrugged, "Go see for yerselves, if ya don't believe me."

"We ain't going anywhere!" Talon said, his sword still aimed at the smaller brother, "We're gonna finish this!"

Bjorn shook his head, waving at us, "Fraid' not greeks, but we'll meet again soon...if those Big Four pricks don't get ya first."

With a bang and flash, a large bolt connected both of them, blue light spreading throughout the entire area.

"MALACHI!" Talon yelled.

The Demi-Primordial understood, and leapt at the Sons of Thor, his hand reared back, a crackle threatening to break. But the brothers were quick, they both let out a roar, and a shockwave burst in a circle, sending Malachi skidding back on his knees.

The bolt disappeared as quickly as it came, sucking the Norse demigods into the gray clouds, and out of sight.

"DAMMIT!" Talon shouted, flipping his sword angrily, a coin morphing from the flip, and landing back in his hand.

Malachi's teeth were gritted as he stood back up, gazing at the now dissipating gray clouds.

"It's no use, I can't sense their auras."

Talon raised an eyebrow, "So they're gone?"

"Yes."

"Son of a bitch." He grumbled, pacing back and forth.

I was caught in my own world. Levi? Camp?

My line of sight focused only on my vision earlier, the one where the Camp was in ruins, Chiron dead, and the population either burned or ripped to shreds.

"No, no, it can't happen." I whispered, my eyes probably as wide as my hands, my legs threatening to wobble.

Talon turned to me, "Oh c'mon, you don't actually believe the asshole, do you? They're just leaving cause they're afraid! Malachi had the big one beaten!"

Malachi nodded grimly, "Indeed, but together...they could overwhelm me. That was not a bluff."

"And Matt?" Talon asked.

Malachi shook his head with uncertainty, "If he fought them at the same time like they said...then I wouldn't be surprised if he lost."

"Holy shit..." Talon sighed, a hand on his forehead.

"We have to get back...now!" I said, my eyes still focused on the ground, worry the only thing on my mind. If my vision came true...

No, we could still make it. We could still do this.

"Harper-" Malachi started.

"NO! We have to get back! It makes sense! This was all a distraction!"

Talon held up a hand, "Wait a sec, didn't you say that the Sons of Thor destroyed the Camp in your vision? Is that where they're going?"

Malachi shook his head, "No, they went the opposite way, towards the water."

"It's Levi! Don't you see? Ouranos was somehow messing with me...or, or something, I don't know! But we have to get back!" I shook my hands frantically, acting like a crazy person. But I couldn't help it, I was going insane with concern. I could not let my vision come true, especially at the hands of my treacherous brother.

The two sensed my urgency, even Talon, who had objected, now agreed. He was motioning his head to the road below.

"We better get going then." He muttered.

Malachi stepped in between us, "Grab my shoulders, and grip tightly. I'm going to teleport us to Camp."

"You can do that?" I asked.

He nodded, slightly uncertain. "It is a god's ability, but like aura sensing...I seem to have it."

"Have you teleported other people before?"

"Once."

"What happened?"

His face darkened, "Let's just say it did not go so well."

Talon nodded, "Uh yeah, I was the one that got thrown two miles into the ground!"

"But you survived!" Malachi said in protest.

"I can't die, man!"

"GUYS!" I yelled, stopping their banter. "We have to do this. And I'm...willing to take the chance, so let's just do it."

Malachi exchanged a nervous look with Talon, but finally nodded at me, and motioned for us to hold on to him.

I reached up and grabbed his shoulder, Talon did the same.

"Close your eyes!" Malachi ordered, the wind now blowing wildly, blocking out all sounds.

We obeyed, and with a giant pull, we felt ourselves spin at a million miles an hour, my stomach threatening to come out of my mouth, my eyes about to explode with pressure. I heard that if you dive far enough into the ocean, you'll eventually be crushed like a soda can from the pressure, well, this was similar to that, to give you an idea.

But as quick as it came, it was gone. We fell to the ground face first, all but Malachi of course, who didn't even stumble.

I felt the soft grass on my face, prickling my nose. Yep we were back.

But what was that smell?

It smelled like...smoke.

Oh no...

"Um...guys, you might want to see this."

I pushed up, my ribs still in slight pain, but I managed. I turned around and looked at what Malachi was staring at. As soon as I caught sight, I regretted ever coming here.

Half of the Camp was in flames, lighting up the night with it's orange ferocity, rising twenty feet in the air. The training arena was already in ruins, every part of it completely destroyed, like it had been hit by a wrecking ball, half of the cabins were currently on fire, the deepest parts charred. We were standing on a hill overlooking the Camp, but we were too far away to see anything specific.

Like if Aiden was okay.

Talon had taken his sunglasses off, his eyes were wide. "Holy shit...holy shit."

"We have to get closer." I said, not up for discussion. I ran towards the trees next to the lake, a full frontal view of Camp would be seen from that spot, the perfect place to see what was happening.

The other two followed me, and finally we hid behind three trees, one for each of us, hiding our frames.

I peeked out from behind it, the Camp now thirty feet from us, and every horrifying detail in full view. The flames were hotter, and more intimidating this close, they seemed higher, gaining space on the burning cabins.

"Oh gods..." I whispered, my home...my real home, being destroyed. It was hitting me, how bad we screwed up, how bad I screwed up.

I saw about eight dead Campers on the ground, two decapitated from no doubt Levi's sword, two melted to a crisp, from that big bastard Axel probably, two were impaled, from Grayson I guessed, and the last two had their necks broken, their heads turned around like Owls. Cherry, the psychotic daughter of Hermes's work.

My fists clenched, rage filled my head, burning my ears and causing them to ring. Of course they would be here. Levi had to bring his crew of emotionless killers, that was a given.

I looked past the dead bodies, and saw the rest of Camp outlined by the fire, over two hundred Campers were lined up side by side, maybe two feet in between each demigod. They were all on their knees, facing forward.

I scanned the faces, trying to find Aiden, but I couldn't.

A yell rang through the woods, a deep shout that sounded like a bear.

It was Axel, "BURN! BURN! BURN! BURN!" He was tossing lava on the pavilion, burning the tables and pillars that held the roof.

Cherry was watching, her short frame and medium length pink hair outlined by the growing fire, she was jumping up and down with joy.

"Yay!" She pointed at a clear spot, "You missed one, Axel! Make sure you get it!"

Axel guffawed stupidly, throwing his hands in haymakers, the lava following it in bucket fulls, splashing on the pavilion. Before long, it was covered, and nearly melted all the way to the ground.

Grayson tried to mediate, both hands waving back and forth, "Not all of it, you imbecile! We are trying to negotiate here!"

So that's three people that need to die, where's the fourth?

I looked to the right a bit more, and spotted Levi standing in front of the Campers, his signature black cloak on, only his hood was down, revealing his scarred face. He had his arms crossed, like he was frustrated.

I noticed several shadows walking around Camp, large shadows, beast like shadows. Were they...monsters?

I wasn't sure, I was still trying to find Aiden...

Levi shouted, "Enough with the lava, Axel! Come here!"

Axel obeyed, any remaining lava on the ground was summoned back to the two large pots on his back, holding the fiery liquid I guessed. He walked back over to Levi, who was probably six foot two or three in his own right, extremely muscular...and Axel dwarfed him, three inches taller, and probably a hundred pounds heavier.

Grayson, the Son of Athena stood at my brother's right, sighing, he whispered something to him, but Levi waved him off.

"Oh they'll surrender, I assure you of that!" He said, and Grayson backed away.

Levi began to pace back and forth, eyeing the campers.

He raised his voice, "Now that we have you all in one place, I can finally speak to you."

No one responded, but he got a lot of glares. Many faces I recognized.

He raised his hands at his sides, "Look around you, Campers! We had no intention of attacking you, we simply came to talk! Yet you immediately became aggressive, forcing us to take action. Look where that got you! Half of your cabins in flames, the arena smashed to bits, and the pavilion melted! Are you calm now? Are you finally ready to be adults?"

He raised an eyebrow, scanning the crowd for any takers. No one said anything.

He smiled, "Good! Now I can do this the way It was meant to be, non violent."

"You came here with the intent to destroy Camp!" It was a deep, fatherly voice, Chiron's voice.

I searched frantically until I saw his face, he was being held by two monsters, Laestrygonians by the looks of it.

Levi held a hand out to shut him up, "I'll get to you, Chiron, just be patient."

He turned back to the group of Campers.

"This is quite simple, campers. Ouranos does not want to harm you, he doesn't! He wants you to see the truth, the better path of the demigod life! Why should you waste your time believing in the gods? Why should you worship them, when they don't deserve it?"

He looked down the line, and smirked when he saw a familiar face, Percy Jackson.

He was kneeled next to Annabeth. Immediate worry rose in my throat. If he hurt either of them...

"Percy Jackson. The prime example of a god's pawn. How many quests have you been on? How many times have the gods used you? And given you no real reward for it?"

Percy started to respond, but he was cut off by Levi.

"Oh wait, I know what you're going to say. It doesn't matter! I have friends, I have a girlfriend, the demigod life has it's ups and downs, but it's been good to me altogether!" He said this with a mock smile.

That smile faded into an emotionless stare at the Son of Poseidon.

"But you see, Percy. The very next year after your so called happy ending, another war started, and what does Hera do? She wipes your memory, to have you meet some idiot Roman Camp, in order to work together! You spend how many months away from home, from Annabeth and your mother? Six months? Eight months?"

"We saved the world." Percy said.

Levi laughed, "Ah! A classic answer. Percy, has it ended yet? Have the gods taken you up on that wish of yours? Have they really kept their promise?"

Percy remained silent.

Levi motioned to the Cabins, "I mean, more cabins is it's own thing, but you have to imagine, that there are still plenty of kids out there without a home...without support. Who weren't claimed by their parents."

Percy glared at him, but Levi only kept his smirk.

"I have to commend you though, declining immortality was the smartest move. Becoming a god is far worse than following one in my opinion."

Annabeth leaned forward, "Do you think every god is like your mother? Is that it?"

Oh, she had hit a nerve. I knew it.

I could feel his hatred from here, Levi's fists clenched, but he remained calm enough.

"All gods are the same. That's a fact."

"How do you know?" Annabeth retorted, "Have you met one, besides Nemesis?"

He shook his head, "No, I haven't. But I've done my research..." His confident sneer returned, he bent down and tucked a stray hair of Annabeth's behind her ear, Percy looked like he was going to explode. Hell, I was going to explode. You do not touch Annie like that, you sick traitor.

She tried to back her head away, but Levi was too close, any further and she'd fall on her back.

He chuckled, "Ran away from home at seven years old, mortal parents ignored you, lived on the streets for weeks, until a duo of demigods came and rescued you. Luke Castellan and Thalia Grace?"

Annabeth barely kept her composure, those names hit her hard, especially Luke. I knew the history.

"Yes. From what I understand...reading his journal, you two had a thing, correct?"

She wouldn't meet his eyes, "No."

"Really?" Levi looked up, a hand on his chin in mock thought, "Because I remember passionate lines from him, talking fondly of you, your beauty, your intellect, he seemed to love you."

Annabeth looked like she was going to cry, Percy had a murderous stare aimed at my brother. I begged the Son of Poseidon to kill him right there. How dare you use Annabeth's past against her.

"Now, I don't understand all of the fuss, a twenty four year old man and a sixteen year old girl...well, I suppose that's all history now, since he's dead. Right Annabeth?"

She bit her lip, the tears threatening to fall.

"Leave her alone!" Percy yelled angrily, he tried to get up, but Levi snapped his fingers, and Axel rushed behind Percy, locking him firmly to the ground with his grip.

"Don't try that again Percy. You don't have any water available, so Axel's lava would hurt if it were to spill, I imagine."

Percy gritted his teeth, but stayed put. Axel laughed stupidly at Percy's situation. The other campers watched on with hate. Why didn't they do something? They outnumbered them.

Levi turned back to Annabeth, "Where was I? Oh yes, Luke is dead, all because of his father's refusal to take care of him, a god's fault. And you, Annabeth, if you say the god's are good, then tell me, where was your mother when you were on the streets? Where was she when you had nightmares? Fighting for your life from monsters? Anybody! Can anybody answer this question?! ANY OF YOU?!"

They stayed silent, but Annabeth said, "It doesn't work that way. You have to become strong on your own. If they do everything for you, it's pointless."

Grayson scoffed and stepped forward, "You were seven. You can't sit there and tell me you don't hold resentment against your mother for that."

"I did, but once I realized that it made me a better, stronger person, I got over it."

The Son of Athena practically pushed Levi out of the way to get to his half sibling, bending down to Annabeth's level.

"You're lying through your teeth! You and this aquatic bafoon both know that your exploits were pointless! The gods, had they any real intelligence, would have stepped up and done it themselves! Our mother is a fool for alienating her children!"

"She never alienated me, she cares for me, and you, whether you accept it or not!"

He huffed, "Are you that afraid of change? Are you afraid of the possibility of a better ruler than the gods? Listen to yourself! You don't actually think they're the best people for the job! You just think they're the lesser of two evils!"

Annabeth started to say something, but stopped. Grayson got her good with that last line, because it was kinda true. That was sort of how we all felt. The gods, they've done some awful things, shady things, and they are very far from perfect. But we always said, at least they're better than the Titans! Proving that we never thought they were good leaders, just better than the past examples.

Damn, this guy was smart. He and Annabeth were having a battle of wits, a debate of sorts. I waited for Annabeth to respond.

She did, "That may be true, but do you think Ouranos is better? It's clear as day that he's a tyrant! And a manipulator! You're all pawns to him, and when you're value runs out, he's going to kill you! Surely you can't be dumb enough to not see that!"

Grayson shook his head, "I am observant. Ever since Ouranos saved me from the hell that was isolation, I have gauged his authenticity, I have observed his actions. I sense no ill will from him, I have not seen a single case, in which he has killed for the wrong reason."

"Then you're blind!" Annabeth shouted, "He's colonizing us! Forcing us to surrender just so we can do his dirty work!

"You aren't convincing me. And I see the case is vice versa. We have our own ideologies, and I see that you are stubborn with yours."

"And you are deaf to reason!" She spat, he backed away.

Levi pushed him to the side, "Thank you for that little debate, but we have more important matters to discuss."

He stopped talking, looking past the Campers, towards the Hermes cabin, where Cherry was poking around.

"What are you doing?!"

She looked at him, a frown on her face, "This thing is so...icky! It looks awful! Can I destroy it?"

"Your father's cabin?" Levi asked, and he started laughing, "I'm surprised you haven't destroyed it already! Go ahead!"

She clapped excitedly and disappeared with a blur. A split second passed and the Cabin crumbled to pieces, wood flying everywhere, bunk beds, Camper's belongings, everything was leveled.

She reappeared behind Levi, smiling.

"All done!" She said.

Levi smiled, "Good, now shut up, I'm getting to the good part."

He turned back to the Campers, "As you can see, we have great power, monsters..." He motioned around the edges of Camp, where the large shadows sat. So there were monsters here, well that explained why the Campers hadn't used their numbers advantage yet.

"And we have you all hostage." He continued, "But we don't want to kill you. We want you to join our cause, and see that our way, is better. You can be a part of the new world! Think about it! No more pain, no more suffering, no more boring camp activities, just a perfect world!"

The Campers weren't buying it, or at least they didn't seem to be buying it, it was hard to tell.

I had forgotten Talon and Malachi were next to me, behind their own trees. Talon whispered, "Bullshit."

I agreed, Levi was so delusional, it was infuriating. He clearly couldn't see through the lies fed to him by Ouranos.

"If you surrender here and now, you will live, and join our forces. But if you refuse..." He unsheathed his long sword, six feet or so, thick metal. It was very different from the one he had as a kid. This one was huge.

He held it, "You will be killed. I don't want to do it, but if you cannot even take a chance, and just see that we are trying to save you...then I will just put you out of your misery. I will make it painless, don't worry."

"Just don't make us mad!" Cherry said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Quiet!" Levi barked, she cowered away from him.

He sighed, walking to the end of the line, starting with the first camper, someone I didn't recognize.

"I will start from this end, and make my way down. I will ask you only once, if you surrender. If you say Yes, then you will be let up, and you may join us. But if you say No, then I will quickly cut off your head. Again, painless, because our goal is not to hurt you. We cannot give you any more chances however, because if you say no, that means you will continue to blindly follow the gods and resist, so you should be put out of your misery."

I wanted to throw up. He made it sound like he was being merciful. This whole thing made me sick, lining up all of Camp to decide their fate, burning half of the place down. We needed to retaliate, especially before he got to Aiden, because I knew that kid wouldn't dare surrender.

Talon whispered next to me in disgust, "Bastard's making em' choose."

Malachi nodded, "Betray your home, your friends. Or die." He looked at me sympathetically, "I always knew he was a bit extreme on the Island, but...not this bad. I'm sorry Harper."

I was about to respond, but a sob broke through the area.

It was the Camper Levi was at, a fifteen year old boy probably, crying for his life.

"P-Please, I don't wanna die." He begged.

Levi's eyes stared at the boy, no sympathy whatsoever in them, just indifference.

"Make a choice. Surrender, or die. You have ten seconds."

The boy began to sob uncontrollably, "No! No, I d-don't wanna!"

Levi raised his sword.

The boy noticed and screamed, "OKAY! OKAY, I'LL JOIN!"

Levi lowered it, the boy cried and cried, very loud, unable to look at his fellow Campers. They didn't look at him with hate, or anger, they didn't even look at him. He had betrayed them, but really, could you blame him? He was just a kid.

Levi helped him up and led him to Grayson, who grabbed his shoulder and held him firmly, to not let him escape I guess.

Levi walked back to the second Camper, another boy, probably sixteen, and this time, I recognized him. It was a Son of Hermes I think, Trevor? I wasn't sure.

He didn't cry, he just glared at Levi. I had a feeling this would be different from the first, and my heart sunk.

Levi pointed at the crying boy, "A smart decision, from our first recruit in this Camp. And you see how he's treated? I did not kill him, I did not harm him, I simply led him to the side. He will now live, and see the new world."

"Shut the hell up." I muttered, sick of his delusion.

Talon heard me, "Let's kill him."

"Oh believe me, I plan to."

Malachi held a hand up, "Wait. If we attack now, it won't work. Look." He pointed at the large shadows, there were more than two dozen of them, clearly outnumbering us. And there was the other three of the Big Four, who were very powerful in their own right.

"If we go in, the Campers won't be able to act immediately, and we'll be picked off."

Talon shoved him, "Are you insane! You're like, way stronger than the pussy Big Four, just blast them!"

Malachi pointed at the Campers, "And hurt them?! Look where they are kneeling, right in the line of fire. If I release even one bolt, it will hit several!"

"Then what the hell do we-" Talon started, but he was interrupted by Levi, who had started on the second Camper.

"Do you surrender?" He asked, his sword reared back, ready to slice.

The boy looked up at him, and smiled, "Go fuck yourself."

Levi swung it at his neck, and the head came clean off.

I winced, the cries of campers rang through the area, fearing for their own lives. Some remained calm, but many were frightened that Levi wasn't bluffing, crying or sweating nervously. I couldn't blame them in the slightest, a lot of these kids had probably never seen anyone die before, so a decapitation...yeah, that'll make someone fearful.

Levi caught the boy's head in his palm, blood spouting from the boy's limp neck stump, a puddle eating the grass away.

Levi's gloves were now dark red with blood, the flames of the cabins showing it off in detail. Levi didn't seem to care, his emotions were still empty, as he threw aside the head. Cherry caught it, and looked at Levi for further instructions.

"Throw it in the woods." He ordered.

She nodded, and threw it in our direction, it soared and bounced, until finally stopping five feet behind me.

I didn't dare look back, I didn't want to.

He wiped his glove clean, "You see what happens? You die. Now that we have an example, you know what not to do. I expect no more wise asses." He hefted his sword again, and started on the third camper.

This process went on for five minutes. After seeing the second boy get his head sliced off, many surrendered. The pressure of death too much for their teenage minds. Levi went through twenty campers straight, and they all surrendered, half of them girls and the other half boys.

We still couldn't find an opening, a position at which he was standing in that we could strike.

"Damn it! If the bastard would just step away!" Talon grumbled.

"He will, we just have to wait." I said, praying that they would hold out a little longer, that something would give. I hated being a watcher so bad, just sitting here while the Campers, my people, feared for their lives, forced to betray their friends. But Malachi had a point, if we went in, they would be too shocked to help us fight back, so we needed to take out Levi first, and then the Big Four. But the timing just wasn't right. And if Malachi went in guns blazing...he might end up killing all of the Campers, defeating the purpose.

After ten more campers, forty or so in total now, all surrendered but one, Levi looked confident, like this was going off without a hitch.

Until he walked up to Will Solace.

Oh gods...No. Not him.

He and Nico were lined up together, knowing Nico was dangerous, Levi had a legion of storm spirits hold him down. It was barely working, as the Son of Hades glared daggers at my brother.

Will was before him, on his right, Levi stood on his left, sword gripped.

"So you're the healer, Will Solace. Right?"

Will looked up at him, a scowl on his face.

"Thought you weren't going to make small talk. Surrender or die, right?"

A vein appeared on Levi's forehead, unappreciative of Will's smart remark.

Please Will, surrender. Please surrender. He can't die, Nico would be...oh gods.

But I knew he wouldn't. Will was no traitor, he would never do it. He was loyal, to the end.

And that's what would get him killed.

No, we had to step in. I could not let this happen. Will was so nice to me, both he and Nico. Will always had that sense of warmth, of happiness. He was there for you, whether you wanted him to be, or not.

I almost got up, but Talon hissed at me, "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm not letting Will die!"

"He'll surrender, he's a smart kid!"

"No he won't! He's loyal to the Camp! And it's not like they know we're here!"

Talon was about to retort, but we were all interrupted by a swooshing sound, Levi spinning his sword.

"Just curious, Will. We've heard a bit about you. Son of Apollo, and a good healer. I bet you're very important around Camp."

"I help out where I can."

"But don't you want it to stop? The pain, the suffering? Don't you want the infirmary empty?"

Will shrugged, not wavering a bit at Levi's intimidating frame.

"The way I see it, pain and suffering will only rise if you guys rule this world. You're a bunch of animals."

Levi glared at him, "Animals?"

Will nodded, "That's right."

Nico's face was desperate, he called to Will, "Solace, what the hell are you doing?! Save yourself!"

Will looked at him, love in his eyes, "I can't Nico. I just can't."

He looked back at Levi, "I'd rather have an honorable death, than to surrender to the likes of you."

Levi nodded, "Then your choice is clear."

Will lowered his head, accepting death.

No.

Will...

Nico went nuts, trying to break free from the spirit's grip, "Get the fuck off me!" The ground started to rumble, black spikes threatened to shoot out.

Levi nearly lost his footing, "Restrain him!" He ordered.

Axel, Grayson, and Cherry rushed to him, replacing the storm spirits in their hold. Axel had Nico's arms behind his back, Grayson secured his legs, and Cherry sat in front, holding his head in a snapping position. All three were on Nico, the rumbling stopped, and Nico struggled, but it was futile.

Axel laughed, "Sorry queer, but if you're boyfriend doesn't want to see the truth, then he deserves to die."

Nico headbutted him in the nose, causing Axel to bleed from one nostril, he yanked on Nico's arms and held him as tight as he could, Nico cried out in pain.

Levi held up a hand, "Now, Axel. There's no need to call anyone names. Will has made his choice, and he accepts his fate. It is somewhat admirable. But only somewhat."

Axel shoved Nico's head to the ground, pushed against the charred grass, turned enough so he could see Will's face.

"Solace! Solace, look at me dammit!"

Will didn't look at his boyfriend.

Nico screamed louder, "Don't you dare do this, Solace! Don't you fucking do this, you hear me?! DON'T DO THIS!"

Levi raised his sword.

Will's face remained focused on the ground.

Nico begged him, "You can't leave me! I need you! I need you here with me, Will! Please!"

Levi gripped the sword, ready to strike.

In his final moment, Will turned to look at Nico one last time, tears streaming down his cheeks, but there was no sign of sadness in his eyes.

Just pure love.

"I love you, Nico." He said, and the moment after, his head rolled clean off his body, slumping on the grass below.

Nico's screams were the loudest I had ever heard. Screams of pure pain, suffering, like a wounded animal times ten, calling out in agony. It was horrifying to listen to.

My jaw fell open, I slumped back on the tree, my knees giving out from shock.

I felt my eyes sting, Will...was gone. He was dead.

Levi had killed him. Levi had taken him away from Nico, from the Camp, from his friends.

He would never utter words of encouragement, heal another camper, or smile, ever again.

Thanks to Levi.

A tear rolled down my cheek. Will...

Rage replaced grief.

I will kill him.

I will make him suffer.

That is not my brother, that is a psychopathic monster, no emotions, no remorse. He deserves it, he deserves my knife in his chest.

I got up, walking away from the tree.

Talon and Malachi pulled me back down, I turned on them and hit them several times, trying to get away, trying to get to Levi, so I could kill him for Nico, for everything he's done.

"Let me go! Dammit, let me go!"

"I know, I know." Talon said, looking as angry as I did, "But look."

I looked down, Nico's awful cries still covered the night, along with several camper's, grieving their friend. But in front of them, near the forest where we sat, were two giant monsters.

One scorpion like, probably twenty feet long, and the other, was an elder cyclops, of equal length, only it was height for him.

Malachi shook his head, "Damn! If we go, we can only take them out!"

I didn't care, "I'll find a way, I don't give a shit how long it takes, I'm going to kill him."

"Harper, no! You have to stay put!" Talon pulled me back down, I tried to get away again, but this time he grabbed the sides of my face firmly.

"Listen! We'll get him, okay, we will get him. That bastard will pay, for everything, I promise you that, kid. On my fucking life, I promise you that."

His words were so strong, he meant it, with all of his being. I believed him, and when I calmed myself, another tear rolled down my cheek.

Talon wiped it away, "Don't do that, you have to be tough. Get your revenge with the scariest look on your face, okay?"

I was about to reply, when yet again, I heard a yell from below.

Nico was shouting at Levi, "Have your minions let me go! I'll fucking kill you! You coward!"

Levi nonchalantly walked by, "Guys, hold him a while longer. I want him to stare at his lover's body, to let the message sink in, and let him think about his choice."

I nearly cried again when I saw Will's body. The head was next to his neck stump, his eyes lifeless, a hint of a loving smile on his pale lips. Blood lay everywhere under though, making the image far, far worse.

Nico spat at Levi's boots, "I've made my choice! I'm gonna send you to the fields of punishment, hell everyday! For eternity!"

Levi walked on, ignoring him. He skipped several Campers, but finally stopped at a specific target.

Aiden.

No.

This was where I draw the line.

If he so much as touches that damn sword, I'm going to go down there. I don't give a damn what Talon or Malachi say, I will kill him on the spot.

Levi chuckled, "Aiden Walker, my half brother. Cabin's been empty lately, huh?"

"Fuck you, coward."

"Off to the point, huh?" Levi said, slapping Aiden across the cheek.

I clenched my fists, every moment added to my rage, my hate for this monster, this shell of a human I once admired.

"Listen to me, you stupid kid. You think you know me? You think you know my sister? You don't know a damn thing about us! What we've been through! Coward? I think not! I am doing what's necessary! A coward wouldn't come all the way here, face you, and give you the option of surrendering instead of just straight up slaughtering you, which we could have done."

Aiden shook his head, "Save your words, fucking traitor. If you're gonna kill me, do it already. I ain't surrendering."

Levi sneered, "As expected." He stood up, and lifted his sword, ready to strike.

"I have to admit, this one, I'm going to enjoy."

I stood up, enough is enough. You do not lay hands on him, you do not threaten his life, and you most certainly, do not, try to justify anything you've done!

He already killed Will, and now Aiden...No, I wasn't hiding anymore. I was taking the fight to him.

"He'll kill Aiden when hell freezes over. I'm going down there. Join me or don't, I really don't care." I took off with a run before they could stop me, my sights on Levi and Aiden only, everything else blurry.

You want to end this, Levi? Well, here it is.

Payback.

I leapt from the hill, and planted my boots firmly on one of the trees, darting around like a pinball, I instantly appeared above the Camp, knives in hand.

"LEVI!" I yelled down, rage written all over my face, hatred in my eyes, all aimed at him.

I held my knives firm, and let the air shoot me towards him, his sword still raised, and Aiden okay. Thank the gods.

Levi turned around, his eyes widened to point that they resembled saucers.

I shot down with incredible speed, all of my momentum in this one hit.

He raised his sword at me, ready to clash.

"THIS ENDS HERE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, which had healed from the ambrosia. Meaning I was back to normal, and I would be giving it all to kill Levi.

Finally my knives connected with his sword, the metal clanged together in a loud BANG! The shockwave sent several Campers flying, including Aiden.

My feet landed on the ground, Levi and I were locked in a cross weapons press, struggling to gain dominance over the other.

The Campers went crazy, getting up and running everywhere, the Big Four started to attack them, but within an instant after I clashed with Levi, A single lightning bolt knocked them all back into the burning cabins, the charred wood shattering at the impact.

It was Malachi, he was yelling out to Campers, "Grab your weapons! Fight back! We can take them!" The campers obeyed, grabbing whatever weapons they could find, and going at it with the monsters. Malachi, seeing that was done, started to call out to Sera.

Oh gods, I hadn't even thought about her. She better be okay...

I shook my head, Malachi can handle it, I need to focus on Levi.

My teeth were gritted, I stared right into his eyes, hatred inducing.

Our struggled blew wind in every direction, cracks forming in the ground. This was going to be harder than I thought.

He smirked, "So then, you figured out it was distraction, huh?"

I kicked his chest, knocking him back several feet. He stabbed his sword into the ground, stopping himself.

"You're gonna pay for everything, Levi. Here and now, this ends. And it ends with your death."

He frowned and shook his head, "You made your choice clear that night in the forest, we're enemies now, Harper. This is not a sparring match under the red tree."

I looked around at the battle raging around me. Fully armed campers fighting a variety of monsters and spirits, the Big Four going at it with Malachi, Talon shooting any demigods Levi brought with him, Chiron in the back ground attacking the elder cyclops, Percy and Annabeth taking on a number of duties. It was clear to me that this was not a sparring match.

I raised my knives in front of me, like all those years ago. Only this time, it wasn't friendly. I would kill him, right here, right now.

Levi took the hint and got in his stance, the sword by his head, elbows back, in a stabbing position.

"I'm done trying to save you, Levi. You're too far gone."

He scowled, "Enough talk. If it must be this way, then let's finish this."

I gripped my knives, and ran at him, ready to kill my target of vengeance.

---

(000)

Wow you guys, I don't have much to say here really except...wow.

I had a lot of fun writing the fight scene at the beginning, and not so much fun on Will's death. Damn you Levi!

I know you probably expected the Camp battle this chapter, but it went on longer than I thought, so the chapter after the next, will be the Camp battle, I promise! You'll just have to stay tuned to see it!

Any questions or comments, feel free to review!

Until Next Time.