Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.
Consul of the Underworld: End of Disc 1
Chapter Thirteen: Titanomachy II - Black Ops Save 2
Beta: ShadowofAxios
A few weeks after their debut mission, Black Team was on their third mission, an international one at that. A mission that had led the group to Portkey to the city of Balkh, formerly Bactra, the capital of the ancient and long gone Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. Once there, they had set up shop in a Wizarding tent belonging to Alkaid. A tent that Pyrrha's wife had souped up for maximum comfort. It was even being serviced by a contingent of their family's House Elves they had brought along from the Potter Estate.
Why bother going to all that trouble? Well, Alkaid, the lovely but spoiled woman that she was, had taken one look at the accommodations that the Afghan city had to offer, which while acceptable by the local standards, was intolerable to the daughter of the Rich One.
It was in the opulent living room of said tent that Black Team, including Helena and Michael, were seated and enjoying some coffee after a whole day scouting out Balkh and more importantly the ruins of the old city where they would be carrying out the mission that had brought them to war torn Afghanistan.
"A grande caramel macchiato in a venti cup, one third whole milk, one third almond milk, one third soy milk, double the amount of vanilla syrup, caramel wall in the cup, no caramel drizzle on top, upside down, tall cup ice, whipped cream, rounded lid, one shot extra espresso (decaf), cinnamon sprinkled on top, please." Peggy belted out to Cappy in a way that frankly amazed the daughter of Ares as after finishing discussing the fruits of their labors for the day, the team settled down to relax for the day.
No, seriously, what in the Pit even was that kind of drink?!
"Of course missus, will gets it done right quick!" Cappy nodded, a motion that made his ears flop adorably, before he popped away presumably to prepare Peggy's complex coffee order.
"What by the Tiber kind of order was that? I mean, half of that made no sense!" Caelus said with a laugh.
Peggy gave him a stormy glare, as if she was ready to rip his tongue out.
Helena tutted at him, wagging a finger.
"It's not jive to judge someone on their coffee." She added as she took a sip of her own coffee. "I do like my venti, half-whole milk, one quarter one percent, one quarter non-fat, extra hot, split quad shots (one and a half shots decaf, two and a half shots regular), no foam latte, with whip, two packets of splenda, one sugar in the raw, with a touch of vanilla syrup and three short sprinkles of cinnamon more though."
Pyrrha would never understand coffee people. Flat out, never.
Caelus looked to Michael for some kind of male support to his argument.
"Don't look at me." He huffed. "I make my own coffee and it's pretty much three pots of raw caffeine distilled into one thimble shot."
"Dude, how has your heart not exploded?"
"I changed it out of course! It was slowing me down." Michael said, sounding 100% serious.
"Did you do it yourself too?" Pyrrha dryly asked.
"As if I'd let some hack job with a MD get in spitting distance of my creation. Of course, I did it myself."
Helena cleared her throat meaningfully.
"I had some assistance." The son of Vulcan amended.
As her coffee arrived, Peggy distractedly reached for it, grasping it only after a few attempts when she finally looked away from the multiple pages of documentation she was going over, speaking as she did so. "Alkaid, where is the most likely spot in the ruins for the deal we are here to stop to go down?"
Alakid hummed in thought for a moment at the question before gesturing at a spot on the map spread out on the table between her and Peggy. "We don't have any information on that but if I was to hazard a guess, it will be at the remains of the largest Zoroastrianism temple in the ruins of the old city. That would be where whoever Angra Mainyu sends will have the most power and in a deal like this, both sides would want to have as many advantages as possible."
Turning away from her wife and Peggy as the two continued her discussion, as the two of them continued their exchange by talking in circles over minor details like possible escape routes for both themselves and their targets and how to cover them, Pyrrha turned to Caelus with a smirk. "So~! Caelus, I've been wondering, how would you rate Imperial Gold weapons compared to Celestial Bronze?"
Before the trident user could reply, Michael spoke up with his opinion instead. "Imperial Gold is actually better at killing monsters. Not noticeably but I have run tests and it's like 0.5% more deadly. It's like 20% harder to get though, so that's the trade-off."
"Plus, in a last ditch effort, pour some power into it and it blows up really nice too." Caelus added.
"The shit? Celestial Bronze only just glows. Lame." The daughter of war pouted.
"At least you don't have to worry about your weapon blowing up in your face by accident." He shot back.
"I have opinions on this." Michael cut in.
"Really? You don't say?" The Legacy of multiple Roman goddesses drawled.
"Helena, aren't you going to say anything? Don't you have an opinion on this?" Micheal asked his wife, shooting Helena a questioning look.
"Not really," Helena said with a shrug. "Weapons are your thing, Michael. I just use what you make for me and sell the rest. Besides, I'm more just enjoying the fact that we're on a working holiday. We haven't been on a holiday ever!"
"Uh, sorry about that." Micheal said with a sheepish look. "We could-"
"No, no! It's not your fault." Helena said hastily. "Between us being Children of Olympus and our jobs, going on holiday is tough. Monsters follow us everywhere and even if they didn't, just planning a break is next to impossible with some client or another always needing a weapon or a hundred. I'm not complaining. I'm just enjoying the fact that we're finally on holiday!"
"Well, I'm glad you are enjoying yourself." Pyrrha told Helena with a smile. "Whilst I can't guarantee any other international missions, I think we might get a few more here or there."
"Though even if we don't, even the ones where we stay in the States are a chance to travel a little." Caelus commented. "I mean, our last mission took us to Yellowstone of all places."
Helena snorted. "Yeah. Who would've thought that a bunch of Telekhines would be stupid enough to think of setting up a forge in a supervolcano and risking it blowing up and triggering a mass extinction event? Seriously!?"
"Monsters are dumb." Pyrrha said with a shake of her head, prompting Micheal, Helena, and Caelus to break out into a laugh.
"How's the nerd squad doing?" Caelus asked a few minutes later as they all calmed.
Pyrrha chanced a look at her wife and Peggy and saw that they were still busy brainstorming about something. She had no idea what they were talking about by this point to be honest.
"They're still at it." Pyrrha replied with an amused shake of her head.
Suddenly, Pinky, one of the House Elf cooks, popped in. "Mistress Alkaid, Mistress Pyrrha, Missuses and Misters, it's dinner time."
This declaration finally snapped Alkaid and Peggy out of their discussion and prompted the former to stand and offer everyone a smile. "It would be bad form to let the hard work of the Elves go cold, so whatever you were doing you can continue after dinner, perhaps whilst I show you a particular amenity of our accommodations that I think you will enjoy."
Pyrrha exchanged amused looks with Micheal, Helena, and Caelus at this.
"Sure." Pyrrha said with a smirk even as the others agreed as well and followed Missy as she led them all towards the tent's dining room.
Later that night, Black Team, all dressed in swimsuits, were all gathered by the indoor pool of the Wizarding tent. And Alkaid took a moment to admire the others' reaction to the particularly extravagant amenity of their Wizarding tent.
"You have a pool inside a tent!?" Peggy said whilst gawking at the Olympic-size indoor pool that dominated the large room that she and Pyrrha had just led the rest of their team into.
Alkaid just shrugged in response to Peggy's response. "I like the finer things in life. Mediocrity is below me."
Peggy nodded. "But a pool!? Adding a pool like this to a magical tent must have cost a fortune."
"Well, I have the money for it." Alkaid rebutted with another shrug.
"We certainly do." Pyrrha piped up. "If we're gonna camp out then I'd rather do so in whatever luxury our money can buy us than rough it."
"Really? Are you really a daughter of Ares, Pyrrha?" Caelus asked, shooting Pyrrha a disbelieving look.
It was Pyrrha's turn to shrug. "Just because my dad is a boor most of the time, it doesn't mean I am. I like nice things."
"And I love giving them to you, sweetie!" Alkaid said as she tittered.
"Well, there's nothing wrong with that." Caelus replied as he collapsed into one of the lounge chairs set up by the pool and snapped his fingers. In response, a second later, Missy teleported to his side with a pop and shot him an expectant look. "A can of Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold Lager, please."
"Yes, Mister Vipsanius. Mes be back in a minute."
Nodding at the Elf in thanks as she popped away, Caelus turned back to Pyrrha.
"So, sugar momma, huh?"
Pyrrha glared at him dryly. "She's my wife. She can spoil me."
"I can indeed." Alkaid said with a thoroughly amused smile.
"In more ways than one I bet, huh?"
"No comment." Pyrrha and Alkaid both said in unison to giggles from everyone.
The group had just quieted down when Missy apparated back with Caelus' drink and after taking the can with a grateful nod before the Elf popped away, he commented. "Man this is better than Camp Jupiter. The service is far superior than those wind spirits they have, that's for sure."
To emphasize the point, the Roman Legacy patted his full stomach.
"Are you sure you don't have Ares' blood in you?" Peggy scoffed at his piggish behavior.
"Mars? Nah, that'd be awesome though! I have a whole bunch of goddesses' ichor in my veins but none of his."
Peggy scoffed. "I'm not surprised that you'd think that, Caelus. You're such a man!"
"And what's that supposed to me-" Caelus began only to be cut off before he could complete his sentence.
"This is the life!" Helena declared loudly, causing everyone to turn towards her as she lay in the jacuzzi that was adjoined to the pool whilst enjoying the experience of soaking in the jetted hot tub alongside her husband. "Alkaid, hire us full time! No, let me buy one of these magic tents!"
"Yeah, Alkaid, we would be willing to sell you an entire army of drones if you do." Michael said as Helena nudged him. "I'd even include a whole pack of the wolf-type drones that we brought with us for this mission."
Alkaid raised an eyebrow and nodded towards the flute glass in Helena's hand before he turned towards Michael's direction in turn. "Has she been drinking?"
Michael just smiled and tipped his own flute of champagne at her. "Your Elves have been most accommodating."
Alkaid palmed her face in response. "You do remember that the deal between the Titans and Angra Mainyu that we are here to stop is scheduled for tomorrow, correct? We can't afford to get drunk tonight and be hungover in the morning."
"'Kaidy, chill." Pyrrha said to Alkaid with a roll of her eyes. "Gracie brewed more than enough hangover cure potions. Even if all of us got drunk tonight, we'll still be fine for tomorrow."
"It's the principle of the matter." Alkaid grumbled under her breath but conceded the point. "Fine~! But you all should better be at 100% for the mission tomorrow."
She was somewhat assuaged by everyone's agreement to her reminder but she couldn't help muttering sulkily to herself. "They're lucky my super cute and adorable student was so thoughtful."
Pyrrha shot her an exasperated look and leaving her to her sulk instead turned to address the others. "Okay, with that out of the way, feel free to enjoy yourselves as much as you want, everyone."
This was met with cheers by the whole of Black Team as they proceeded to do as the daughter of Ares told them to.
As the impromptu pool party dragged on and Caelus got progressively more and more inebriated at the free flow of beers that the Potter House Elves provided him, he drunkenly made a declaration that if he was more sober he'd kill himself for making. "Alkaid is a-a 10 out of 10! With her alabaster skin, almond shaped emerald green eyes, big tits, hourglass figure, and a taut heart shaped butt, she's beyond gorgeous~. And that plain black bikini set with a bandeau top and bottoms that are practically missing their whole left side? It makes her look beyond sexy. By Olympus, she's pra-practically a second coming of Helen. Since she's Hades' daughter, that makes her Hades' Helen basically."
"Hades' Helen? I like the sound of that." Alkaid said with an amused grin even as Caelus cackled.
Even as he laughed though, Caelus couldn't help but think about the situation. If I wasn't a lush right now, I wouldn't have taken the risk of doing what I am doing.
You never knew how women would react to an honest appraisal of their appearance in comparison with their peers and with how dangerous the women on his team were, pissing them off wasn't something that he wanted to do. Some of the girls, like Peggy, he was sure would've smacked him or outright killed him for objectifying them in this way. Or maybe not, he knew plenty of girls who didn't mind and took it as a compliment too. For example, like how a tipsy Alkaid, who had started indulging in bottles of wine so expensive that Caelus felt real pain at seeing them being consumed, was as she offered him an exaggerated bow in thanks as everyone else applauded.
But whatever the case, he knew that if he wasn't blitzed out of his mind, he wouldn't be doing what he was doing. Thankfully, he wasn't drunk enough to not have the presence of mind to ask his boss for permission before he rated her. He was drunk, not suicidal.
"And~!" He drunkenly drawled. "Alkaid gets bonus points for being my boss."
Or maybe not. Caelus thought in response to his latest cheeky retort. He almost winced but before he could, he was relieved when Alkaid laughed at his joke before adding, "Caelus, rate Pyrrha too."
The spearman obligingly turned to Pyrrha who rolled her eyes but nodded. Nodding back, Caelus gulped down a healthy chunk of beer from the can he'd been drinking from before proceeding to look over Pyrrha carefully for a bit before offering his appraisal. "Hmm… Her hair is such a bright red that it makes her look striking. Her reddish brown eyes too, though not as much. Besides that though she has a very feminine figure, her breasts are very nice to look at for example, and she has plenty of muscles too. She's basically an ideal pretty gym girl. Even her swimsuit seems to emphasize that. That blue halter style one-piece with an open back criss crossed by orange ties? It radiates a sporty look that goes very well with her overall vibe. She gets a 9 out of 10."
Pyrrha blushed at his honest appraisal and offered him a smile as she replied. "I honestly think you're giving me such a high score on purpose because I'm one of your bosses but I'll take the compliment anyway."
"No need to doubt it." Caelus assured her. "I was entirely honest in my judgment."
"Oh! Me! Me! Caelus, rate me next!" Helena suddenly shouted enthusiastically.
Before he obliged, Caelus shot Michael a questioning look and received a shrug from Helena's husband before the head turned to nod at his wife, wordlessly communicating that it's up to his wife if he can go ahead.
Helena rolled her eyes at the byplay and continued. "Okay, now that you've got my husband's permission, get on with it, Caelus. I want to know how you think I measure up to beauties like Alkaid and Pyrrha after two kids."
Caelus nodded and looked Helena up and down carefully for a long moment before finally declaring his judgment. "Helena, you're a solid 8 out of 10. You've got an hourglass figure but it ain't quite as perfect as Alkaid's and your breasts are perky and your butt's nice and shapely but they aren't exactly outstanding. You also don't have the athletic look like Pyrrha either. I like your swimsuit though, the daring black one piece with the plunging cut out neckline is damn nice!"
"Oh, that's better than I expected." Helena said with a satisfied smile. "I've given birth to two kids, of course my figure isn't as good as Alkaid's and I'm not as into exercising as Pyrrha is, so there is no way I could beat her in the muscle department either."
"Well, you're a 10 out 10 to me." Michael said, offering Helena a loving smile.
Helena rolled her eyes at her husband. "Flatterer."
Despite her words, she nevertheless rewarded him with a kiss.
Peggy coughed loudly enough to catch everyone's attention and they all turned to her.
Caelus shot her a questioning look. "What is it Peggy? You want me to rate you too?"
"Yes," Peggy agreed. "But before that, since the girls are getting rated then it's only fair that the guys are too."
"Oh! I like that idea!" Helena agreed enthusiastically, whilst jumping up and down in her seat inside the jacuzzi, spilling some of her champagne in the process.
"Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea." Alkaid added as she sipped at her glass of wine.
Pyrrha, probably as the result of the mead she was drinking finally getting to her, likewise also expressed her equally energetic agreement. "Hell yeah!"
"So who's going to rate us guys? You, Peggy?" Caelus asked skeptically.
The daughter of Athena nodded.
"Micheal first! Peggy, rate Micheal first!" Helena demanded, waving the arm holding her flute of champagne at Peggy excitedly, spilling more of it.
Peggy shot Caelus a look and he shrugged as he replied. "Go ahead."
Turning to Micheal, Peggy was about to speak but she was preempted by the guy himself. "Just do it, Peggy. Since the girls got rated, it's only fair that we guys should be too."
Peggy nodded and offered him a teasing smile. "Okay, then. It is nothing personal but you are pretty average in the looks department. You've got your muscles going for you, but not much else to make you stand out to be honest. So on that front alone, I've got to say that you're only a 7 out of 10. But your choice of swimsuit? Pink trunks with a palm trees and pineapples pattern? 2 out of 10. What are you? 10!?"
"I like patterns and it's palm red actually, not pink. Besides," he said with a shrug as he turned to look at Helena meaningfully. "I've got no one to impress."
For that, Helena rewarded him with a kiss before adding, "Plus, our daughter picked Michael's trunks as a joke."
Everyone laughed goodnaturedly at Michael's expense for a moment and the man himself took it all with good humor, simply blushing lightly and smiling with coy embarrassment.
"Looks like it's just me and you left, Peggy." Caelus said as they all calmed. "You want to go first? Or should I?"
Peggy hummed thoughtfully, tapping her chin as she did before finally suggesting, "How about a game of Paper, Scissors, Stone? The loser goes first?"
"Sure." Caelus agreed with a nod and he raised a fist expectantly.
Offering him a smile, Peggy raised her own fist. "Ready?"
"Yup." Caelus said with a smirk.
Smirking back, Peggy began the customary pre-game chant. "Paper!"
"Scissors!" Caelus said, joining in with Peggy so that they chanted in unison.
"Stone!" They said as they both brought their hands down, revealing their choices.
"Well, you've beat me." Caelus said with a sigh as he saw the scissors he had chosen had been defeated by Peggy's stone.
Peggy smiled triumphantly and she immediately began to rate him, clearly showing that she had been appraising him for some time now. "With your mix of his blue hair, red eyes and Asian features, you have an exotic look that gives you plenty of points. And you get even more of those thanks to that perfect body you've got going for you. You've got a bloody eight pack and are still somehow not a hulking mass of muscle like those pro bodybuilders? That's serious points in the looks department. Plus those tight blue trunks of yours? Inspired. They show off that nicely sized bulge of your junk very well. You get a 9 out 10 overall."
Hmm… She scored me higher than I thought she would. Caelus thought with surprise.
Noticing his astonishment, Peggy huffed and said, "Do not think too much about it. I was just being honest."
"Ah, okay, then." Caelus said with a smirk. "So it's just your turn left, huh?"
"Yes, it is."
"Alright then. Give me a moment to decide how to phrase things."
"Take your time," Peggy said with an encouraging nod before he began to admire her looks and her swimsuit.
She's a dead ringer for what I imagined a poster girl for an English beauty would look like. A leggy brunette with breasts and a butt on the slightly smaller side of things but still plenty big enough for my tastes. Even those gray eyes she got from Athena just adds to that look, its intensity and the weight of knowledge behind them give her a taste of the strict English schoolteacher vibe. A sporty one at that, 'cause that black and blue V-neck one piece she's wearing might not be showing much skin but I can see enough to tell that she's got plenty of muscles, not as much as Pyrrha, but still in the same ballpark. In total, she's definitely in the top 1% of women. Heck, I wouldn't be adverse to having a go at it between the sheets with her if she's willing.
As he noticed Peggy, and everyone else really, looking at him expectantly. Caelus coughed and pulled his mind of the head in his pants before finally giving voice to his assessment he'd come up with for the daughter of Athena.
"Well, Peggy, you're a-"
The day after the drunken pool party in Alkaid's Wizarding tent, Peggy found herself waking up with a terrible hangover. Deciding that there was no time but the present to deal with it, she pushed herself up from the unfamiliar bed she had been sleeping on intent on calling one of the Potters' House Elves and requesting one of the hangover cure potions that the couple had stocked. As she did however, she heard a noise of displeasure from beside her.
Freezing, she turned to its source, seeing that it was Caelus. More importantly, she noted that she was naked and she suspected that under the sheets covering his lower body, so was the Roman Legacy.
For a brief moment, Peggy panicked. But she was a daughter of Athena and they never lost their cool for long. Their minds were the greatest weapons of the children of wisdom. As such one of the first things they learned was to always keep their cool. If they couldn't keep firm control of their greatest asset, then they weren't worth their mother's ichor that flowed through their veins.
Now able to think logically, Peggy quickly concluded that she must have drunkenly had a one-night stand with Caelus last night which was regrettable but not the end of the world. The Roman Legacy was not actually all that bad for a lover, not if the pleasant afterglow that now that her panic had faded and she was becoming aware of was any indication.
He is at least better than the last few guys I've slept with.
And him being a Roman didn't really matter all that much to her. Yes, the two groups of Olympus' children had bad blood between them, but they didn't. As their ability to work together as part of Black Team proved, there was no personal enmity between them. Plus, despite being a crass ass a lot of the time, Caelus was actually quite a good guy at least as far as she could tell from their short acquaintance.
And that was really the only downside to having slept with him. She barely knew Caelus. They had only been teammates for a few weeks and whilst she had known of him before then, and vice versa if what he'd told her was true, they had not met before then.
But is that really an issue? I've known him longer than the handful of one night stands I've had in the past.
All in all, as she thought things through, having sex with Caelus wasn't actually that bad.
Honestly, if there is anything to be miffed about, it would be that I was drunk enough last night that I don't remember anything that happened between us! She thought with a regretful sigh and a longing for a chance to experience what she was fairly sure was last night's fantastic sex again. She must've been too loud because it seemed to wake Caelus, his eyes blinking open sleepily.
"Morning Peggy," he greeted as his vision cleared enough for him to spot her with more coherence than most men waking up in his situation. Then again most men weren't Legacies of the gods and especially not one with so much ichor in their veins as Caelus did. "So, uh, you stayed."
What? Did he expect me to do the walk of shame back to my room? Peggy though, shooting him an unimpressed look.
"Hey, sorry! I, uh, just, um, thought you might, ya know? It's not like I know you well enough to know what you would do when you find yourself in my bed after a drunken one night stand."
He has a point.
"Well, let's change that shall we?" Peggy said with a tentative smile.
What she was about to suggest, to do, was untested ground for her. But if it worked…
Well, the benefits outweigh the risks. I always wondered how it would be like to have a devoted man of my own. She thought, pushing aside as she did the tempting image of domestic bliss that Helena and Michael, and even Alkaid and Pyrrha, had been presenting her the past few weeks.
"Huh?"
"What I am saying, Caelus, is that we should really get to know each other better. Especially if we're going to have sex again."
"Again?"
"Yes, again." Peggy nodded with a coy smile, already knowing the answer. "Or don't you want to?"
Caelus just stared at her searchingly for a long moment before nodding, "Yeah. I think I would like that,
Several hours after Peggy had unexpectedly woke up in Caelus' bed, Pyrrha and Alkaid found themselves laying down on top of some ruins of what might've once been a temple of some kind whilst under a series of invisibility spells and watched as the Titan of crafty counsel, foresight, and forethought, Prometheus; and the Daeva, Gannag Menog, also known as the stinking spirit, were a short distance away in the equally ruined Zoroastrianism temple in the ruins of the old city of Balkh, just outside the modern city.
Prometheus took the form of a seven feet tall man with long hair that he had tied up into a long ponytail, and had multiple deep scars on his face that must be marks from the vultures Zeus had sent to torment him as part of his punishment for stealing fire from the gods for humanity. Dressed in a tuxedo, Prometheus cut a suave figure that was in stark contrast to the disgusting and monstrous form that the Daeva he was meeting with had taken.
For his part, Gannag Menog had taken the form of a eight feet tall humanoid seemingly made out of gray sludge with kelp-like growths and reddish tubes protruding out of its body; and eyes with large, gold-and-black irises and red sclera. And fittingly for its name, it reeked, giving off a terrible stench.
"'Kaidy, Gannag Menog just keeps presenting stuff to Prometheus." Alkaid heard Pyrrha observe.
"Yes, he is." Alkaid agreed, nodding towards the Titan and Deava just as the latter teleported in yet another crate whilst looking mightily disgruntled. "It seems Prometheus is using his silver tongue to talk circles around Gannag Menog and swindle more out of him with every word out of his mouth."
"Looks like. Though what on Earth would the Daevas be willing to pay so much to the Titans for? I'm counting twelve crates of supplies already. Crates full of gods know what kind of dangerous war materiel. Considering negotiations started on one crate of stuff, the Daevas must be desperate for whatever the Titans are offering."
"Agreed." Helena chimed in over their magical radios. "That our intelligence suggested that the Daevas were desperate to get whatever the Titans was offering is why we're here. But this is getting a little ridiculous. Whatever it is, if it has All of the World's Evil and his children so excited, then we can't let the Titans keep hold of it or allow it to get into the Daevas' hands."
"That's all well and good but did our intelligence offer any clue what the damned thing we're here over is?" Caelus asked with palpable annoyance.
"That's not how intelligence works, Caelus." Peggy reminded him. "It rarely gives operatives on the ground like us the full picture."
"All of you, quiet." Alkaid said, shushing everyone. "It looks like Prometheus and Gannag Menog are done playing around, they're about to make the trade."
As she said that, Prometheus pulled something out from inside his jacket and presented it to the foul smelling Daeva. It was a simple looking gold crown that radiated power. Pyrrha did not recognize it but by the way Alkaid and Peggy gasped, they did. Caelus too if his cursing was any indication.
"What the Pit!? How in the name of Olympus did the Titans manage to get the Crown of Alexander the Great!?"
The crown of Alexander the Great!? What's that do!? Pyrrha thought with a frown. She knew who the legendary conqueror was of course. How could a daughter of Ares not? That said, she had no idea that there were any artifacts associated with him, much less what powers it might have.
She wasn't the only person ignorant about the Crown though as Helena, seemingly as clueless as Pyrrha was, bit the bullet and asked. "What's the big deal if they have Alexander the Great's Crown?"
"Alexander the Great never lost a single battle. Never." Alkaid explained. "And he conquered the largest empire known to the world up till the time he lived and since then has been a source of legitimacy of rulers for millennia thereafter. Any mortal who wears his Crown gains both unparalleled military acumen but also an almost divine level of authority over all the lands which Alexander once ruled, that is from Greece and Egypt in the West to India in the East, allowing them to compel all mortals and spirits within those lands to obey them. The Crown is an extremely powerful artifact that if given to a mortal champion would greatly enhance their ability."
"Well crap!" Pyrrha cursed. "Why would the Titans be willing to give something that valuable up?"
"The Crown is tied to the power of Olympus because Alexander worshiped the Olympian gods. And the Titans want to bring down Olympus." Peggy said as she picked up the explanation. "Anyone they tasked to use the Crown's power against Olympus would not be able to tap into its full power, its power cannot be easily turned against its own source. So to them, trading it away to get war materiel is a better deal."
"Ok. Got it."
"Same for me and Michael." Helena added.
Whilst the power of Alexander the Great's Crown was being explained, Prometheus had managed to wheedle another dozen crates of supplies out of Gannag Menog but it seemed that negotiations were finally over as the Daeva was steadfastly refusing to offer anything more.
"Oh, looks like Prometheus is disappointed that he won't be able to get more out of Gannag Menog." Pyrrha said as a bloodthirsty smile spread across her face. "But by the end of today, we'll be making sure that he will be feeling a lot worse than that."
"I like how you think, Py." Alkaid said with a murderous smirk of her own. "But enough talk everyone. Time to put words into action. Everyone knows their assigned targets. The mission is a go! Go! Go! Go!"
Michael tapped his foot rapidly as he sat before one of a pair of complex computer stations back in the safety of the Wizarding tent alongside Helena.
"This tent is really damned good." Helena mused as she manned her own computer station, the one commanding the small insectoid drones that Helena had commanded in the team's previous missions. Drones that for the moment were hiding in a myriad of hidey-holes throughout the ruins and waiting for the order to act. "To think not only does it have an indoor pool, it even has the power supply to support our drone control system."
"It is bullshit." Michael agreed. "And yes, I'll see about getting us one as soon as we can."
"You better," his wife told him firmly before tapping the headset she was wearing. "But it looks like things are about to get started. Unmute your headphones."
"Gotcha." Michael said as he complied, toggling his headset's speakers on.
He was just in time to hear Alkaid declare the start of their mission. "- enough talk everyone. Time to put words into action. The mission is a go! Go! Go! Go!"
With the go-ahead provided, Michael began rapidly giving commands to the various controls of his computer station via the control stick, keyboard and other input/output devices he had hooked up to it. And in response, the drones under his command surged out of the hideaways he had ordered them to secret themselves within inside the ruins and charged into the fight.
Said drones were not the small insectoid drones that Helena commanded however. No, his wife could handle those all on her own. Instead, he had come along to Afghanistan to command a whole new set of drones that he had just finished making for the team. These drones took the form of larger wolf sized automatons with a black frame with blue armor and had blade-like wings and a large weapon mounted on its back.
These lupine drones loped alongside the skittering drones commanded by Helena as together they targeted the monsters that were escorting Prometheus and Gannag Menog. Even with as well armed and well built as the drones he'd designed were, he knew they couldn't take on the heavy hitters. Their escorts though? Those they could handle just fine.
"Looks like Prometheus brought along a pack of Empousai." Helena noted as their drones began properly engaging the aforementioned monsters. "They won't be a problem."
Michael took a moment to scan the screens of his station that was showing him the visual feeds from the drones under his control, finding that his wife, as always, was correct. It seemed that Prometheus had brought with him a dozen of the vampiric monsters. All of whom had initially appeared to be extremely beautiful and seductive women but that changed as the fighting began. Their hair had caught fire; their skin turned literally white; their eyes turned red; their incisors transformed into fangs; a pair of small bat wings grew out of the small of their backs; the legs lost the illusion that hid their true form, revealing one to be a prosthetic made out of Celestial Bronze and the other to be a donkey leg.
The damned things were pretty dangerous if you faced them in person, what with their superhuman speed, strength, and, most importantly, their ability to enchant the men from whom they had drank blood. They were thus often surrounded by whole mobs of said thralls. Today was no exception, with the empousai being supported by squads of men armed with assault rifles. But even with all that, their drones could handle them just fine.
"I'll leave them to you then." Michael told his wife as he hotswapped control of a number of his lupine drones that were vectoring towards the aforementioned empousai and their thralls to his wife whilst simultaneously taking command of the insectoids that were skittering towards his own targets. "I'll deal with those Persian Manticores."
"Gotcha!" Helena shouted back enthusiastically.
Michael just grunted in acknowledgement, too busy studying his opponents. He had never fought a Manticore before, they were supposedly pretty damned rare monsters after all. So he wasn't really all that sure of what to expect. Especially when he wasn't facing the breed of them he had learned about at Camp Jupiter but their Persian variant instead. Not that they seemed all that different to be honest. The two breeds were still monsters with the body of a lion; and tail of a scorpion that could shoot venomous quills at its prey. The only difference from the Hellenistic breed seemed to be that their Persian cousins had the whole head of a man, and not just the face of one.
I wonder if that affects how they fight at all. Michael thought idly as he had his swarm of drones perform evasive maneuvers to avoid the hail of barbed quills that the manticores were shooting at them from their tails. His machines might have nothing much to fear from their venom, as far as he knew it wasn't corrosive, but the damned things had as much punch behind them as a crossbow bolt and could likely wreck any insect drone if they scored a clean hit. Even the new lupine drones would likely get pretty badly damaged if they got hit too. Hence why he was doing everything in his power to avoid taking a hit.
And even whilst his lupine drones continued their evasion, he had them fire their back mounted sonic cannons at the Manticores. The monsters dodged the attacks themselves but in so doing, the human headed beasties made a foolish mistake by moving away from each other and breaking their reasonably tight formation. This gave Michael the opening he was looking for and whilst he had the insectoid drones under his command harry the Manticores to keep them from regrouping, he had his robotic wolves gang up on the Persian monsters. One by one, using tactics that greatly emulated actual lupines' pack tactics, his drones began to whittle down their numbers.
"Come on, come on." Michael muttered under his breath as one of the Manticores got a lucky shot in and one of its quills hit the back leg of one of his lupine drones, before the foolish monster leapt on it.
"Gotcha, ya idiot monster." The son of Vulcan said with a smirk as he self destructed the drone, heavily damaging the monster and left it open to be gunned down by sonic blasts from two of the fallen drone's counterparts.
That leaves only three more Manticores. The master smith thought as he had the lupine drones under his command angle the Celestial Bronze edged wings built onto their backs to their sides, had them gun their boosters and burst forth in a headlong charge at the remaining Persian monsters.
The Manticores rained quills down at his wolf drones, but Michael countered that by having his insectoid drones shoot them out of the air. Most of the shots missed of course. Even with the advanced targeting systems of his drones and the immense computational capability he'd built into the network he was using to control them, it was next to impossible for any given shot to shoot an incoming quill out of the air. However, Michael had hundreds of drones in the combat zone at the moment and so where advanced targeting failed, sheer weight of fire succeeded in accomplishing the impossible. Thus under the protective proverbial wall of lead, the lupine drones continued rapidly closing the distance with the Manticores.
And when they finally got into range, Michael had the lead drone leap into the air and set its sonic cannon to rapid fire mode, he then had it return the favor to the Manticores and run down sonic blasts upon the human headed monsters. In response, they turned their fire skyward in an attempt to take down the temporarily airborne target. Under their concentrated fire, the lead drone did not last long and several quills quickly found their mark. Its destruction however was no loss. It had done its job.
Thanks to the distraction that it had created, two other drones managed, in combination with a sharp burn of their nitrous engines, to strafe past two of the Manticores. As they did, their wing blades cut deeply into the flanks of the two monsters, deeply wounding them and causing them to reel from their injuries.
Taking advantage, Michael directed the nearest insectoid drones to swarm in and burrow themselves into the monsters' wounds. In the process, they tore into the monsters' flesh, sometimes discharging the tasers built into their legs as they did. And with the two incapacitated by being killed from within, Michael was free to turn all his remaining drones towards the remaining Manticore and began subjecting it to a withering barrage. Under such an onslaught, it didn't stand a chance and was soon little more than a dissipating cloud of darkness.
"And it looks like we're done." Michael said with a victorious smirk.
"Then you can give me a little help." Helena said as he nudged him with an elbow from her station next to his own. "These thralls the empousai got for themselves are proving more pesky than I expected."
"A good number of them are local guerrillas so that's no surprise." Michael replied as he began redirecting his drones towards assisting his wife's which were fighting a pitched gun battle with the empousai's thralls, "If they could give the Soviets and the US Army trouble, they won't go down easy."
"Makes sense." Helena agreed with a sigh. "For once the empousai actually had the brains to pick useful thralls."
"It's got to happen sometimes." Michael commented idly as he noticed through the video feeds from some of the drones at the edges of his swarms how now that the Manticores were dealt with, Caelus and Peggy were rushing over to engage Gannag Menog.
"Thanks for clearing the way, Michael, Helena." The blue haired man shouted over the audio feeds as he and the daughter of Athena ran by the fight against the empousai and their thralls to face the Daeva, who after taking the Crown of Alexander the Great when the fighting had started had, for some reason, stayed to watch the battle with an air of aloft detachment.
"No problem." Michael replied as he toggled the mic built into his station on and had his words be pumped out of the speakers of his drones closest to the two Greeks. "Better you guys deal with that Daeva than our drones."
Michael was under no illusions. His drones couldn't last a minute in a fight against a god. Demigods, even if they were Greeks like Peggy, though just might manage.
He was of course smart enough not to tell his teammate that. Bruisers like him were all bravado. Even insinuating that they might not be good enough at taking down a god would likely be taken as an insult. So better to keep his opinions to himself.
"Michael," Helena hissed, nudging him with her elbow again. Harder this time. "Stop thinking badly of our teammates and focus on helping me!"
The son of Vulcan winced at his wife's real agitation and replied contritely. "Yes, dear!"
"Thanks for clearing the way, Michael, Helena." Caelus shouted in the direction of the drones as they kept dealing with the small fry after taking down the Manticores whilst he and Peggy ran past the scuffle to take on Gannag Menog, who was acting like an unconcerned jerk even as his escorting monsters got wiped out.
"No problem. Better you guys deal with that Daeva than our drones." Michael replied through the speakers of his robots.
Caelus just nodded back distractedly. His mind was too focused on being angry at how callous the Daeva was to not offer all but the smallest bit of attention to anything else.
To just stand there and do nothing when his own bodyguards get wiped out!? That guy deserves to go down!
"Gas masks on." Peggy shouted as she pulled out one of the special magical gas masks prepared for them by Michael for this fight against Gannag Menog from the hammerspace in her shield and pulled it on.
"Thanks for the reminder." Caelus replied to his new lover as he pulled his own mask out of the pouch he wore on his hip for the express purpose of carrying it.
Once properly dressed for the occasion, Caelus leveled his trusty trident in front of him and began sprinting forward. Whilst he did so, Peggy began shooting at the Daeva with that pistol of hers, Athena's Wisdom, and the various specialized bullets designed and provided by Michael. Armor piercing bullets (AP) shot massive holes through the walking humanoid sludge; electroshock bullets caused bursts of electricity to explode all over monstrous god's body; plain ol' explosions consumed whole parts of the Daeva's body in flames courtesy of high explosive rounds; and cyro bullets froze whole chunks of the dark god. Despite all that, Gannag Menog did not flinch. All he did was slowly turn towards Caelus and Peggy.
"Do you think that would be enough to hurt me, pathetic mortals?" The Daeva said pompously, whilst he continued to weather Peggy's assault dismissively.
"Say that after I've had a go at you!" Caelus shouted as he buried his trident into the ground like a pole to carry out a pole vault and leap high into the air in a trajectory towards Gannag Menog. As he did, he adjusted his trident so that as he fell down towards the Daeva, its prongs were lined up to pierce him through one of his inhuman eyes.
"You are no more a threat than your woman, little mortal." Gannag Menog taunted as he directed the reddish tube-like growths of his body towards him and shot from it a concentrated stream of what must have been his notorious super stench. "Did you think I would stay to watch this amusement if I thought you were?"
Thanks to his gas mask, Caelus thankfully did not smell the foul smell. However, he couldn't actually do anything to stop the kinetic force behind the gust unleashed by Gannag Menog and so he was sent flying. That was a setback but not that great of one, he could always close with the dark god again and some simple aerial gymnastics to shift his posture and rolling with it let him land safely. What was the problem was how the exposure to Gannag Menog's toxic gas had caused his skin to start burning. If just a few seconds of exposure to it was enough to irritate his skin like this, he didn't want to know what being subjected to it for any longer might do to him.
Though the way that Daeva looked at him in surprise suggested that the dark god had expected his gas could do much more than what it did. "How have you not been corroded away by my gas?"
"I guess my divine ancestors' ichor flows in my veins thickly enough to give me resistance." Caelus replied as he once more rushed towards his opponent. "Peggy, the bullets aren't cutting it. Amp up to something stronger."
"Not yet." Peggy shot back as she put away Athena's Wisdom and transformed her shield into its rotary gun mode. "Let's mix some quantity in first before abandoning the use of bullets altogether."
"Whatever," Caelus said as he dodged the streams of pressurized toxic gas that Gannag Menog was shooting at him as he continued to close with the Daeva. Streams that he noted with a wince were enough force that it cut trenches into the ground. "Just pull some heat off me!"
"Will do." Peggy replied as she unleashed the fury of her rotary gun. "Eat this, you foul smelling spirit!"
As she shouted at Gannag Menog, the first of the stream of specialized bullets unleashed by her minigun slammed into the Daeva. In response, the humanoid mass of sludge's body was once more torn apart by AP rounds or consumed in various elemental effects by the other special bullets she was using. Unlike when he was subjected to the same fire from Athena's Wisdom earlier, he could not just shrug it off. This time the sheer volume of fire unleashed against it was enough to send Gannag Menog stumbling back as whole chunks of his body were disintegrated by the onslaught.
"You are a pest, woman." The slimy god hissed as he turned one of his strangely colored eyes towards Peggy which proceeded to glow with an malevolent crimson before a beam of raw power shot out of it at the daughter of Athena. Peggy rolled out of the way of the beam only to find herself confronted by whips Gannag Menog had fashioned directly out of his body and began lashing out towards her.
"Caelus, some help please!"
"I'm working on it!" Caelus shouted back as he continued to struggle to close with the dark god only to be forced back at every turn by the pressurized streams of gas he kept shooting at him.
"You will not succeed in besting me, mortals." The Daeva declared tauntingly. "I worked hard for my stink. Do you know how hard it took to make it toxic enough so it could melt bone? And you neutralize it with just some magical gasmasks? Intolerable! You will pay for this affront!"
"We will see about that." Peggy replied defiantly as she tossed her shield, Athena's Wrath, like bloody Captain America did with his own iconic shield. And just like the comic book superhero, the weapon, with blades popped out of its rim, flew through the air like a boomerang. And as it arched back towards its owner, it cut the whips that Gannag Menog were using to attack her before Peggy plucked it out of the air with familiar ease.
"What Peggy said!" Caelus said as pushing his body, he sprinted forward. The boost to his speed allowing him to just barely manage to evade a pressurized jet of toxic gas and finally close the distance with the Daeva. "We'll be the ones to make you pay, you monster!"
"I am no mere monster, mortal! I am a Daeva! A god!" Gannag Menog retorted angrily even as Caelus cut deep into the Daeva's body with a powerful swing of his trident. A move that the damned dark god responded to by using the sludge-like constitution of his body to trap the trident.
"Shit!"
"Time to know your place, mortal!" The foul smelling dark god shouted as his body bubbled and a pseudopod of slime shot out of it right in front of Caelus and slammed into him with enough force to send him flying.
The fool sent me flying with the part of himself that my trident is stuck in. Caelus thought with a smirk. He wasn't above finding amusement at his opponent's stupidity.
"Caelus!" Peggy shouted in alarm, not realizing the mistake their opponent had made..
"You should worry more about yourself, woman!" The dark god said as his fluid body shifted so all his eyes were looking in her direction, all of which were already aglow with a malevolent crimson and promptly proceeded to unleash a massive barrage of deadly destructive beams in her direction.
"Peggy!" Caelus shouted as he finally managed to free his trident enough to use it to cut himself out of the rest of the sludgy pseudopod that had him pinned and he began dashing towards where he had last seen her.
"As I told the woman, you should worry about yourself, mortal." Gannag Menog said as a massive tendril of slime slammed down in front of Caelus, cutting his mad run off.
Caelus growled and turned back towards the god. "Now you're just being an annoyance."
"I would say the same about you, mortal." The dark god retorted as he had the tendril that had blocked Caelus' path reach towards him.
The trident user was readying himself to have to chop the offending pseudopod to pieces but was saved the trouble when a barrage of specialized bullets from a familiar rotary gun tore it apart before he could even take a swing.
"Yo, Peggy! Glad to see you're still in one piece." Caelus said as brashly as he could even as he breathed a sigh of relief at seeing his teammate looking a little more scruffed up than he last saw her but otherwise well. He had a reputation to maintain after all.
"It will take a lot more than what this stink god's been throwing around so far to take me down."
"Is that so, mortals?" Gannag Menog said, his eyes narrowing in anger. "Then let me oblige."
At his ominous declaration, his form practically exploded as innumerable pseudopods shot out of his body, each of which was either tipped by one of the tubes that he used to shoot his pressurized jets of stink gas or an eye that he could use to shoot his energy beams.
Oh shit! Caelus thought, only for Peggy to phrase things far more eloquently.
"This just got a lot harder."
As the escorting monsters were dealt with and Caelus and Peggy moved to deal with the Deava, Alkaid fired off her own opening gambit to divert Prometheus' attention towards her and Pyrrha. Slamming Le Grimoire closed around her spell card of choice, the sorceress aimed the multiple mana bullets conjured by her spell at the Titan.
"Axel Shooter!"
Dozens of the green magical bullets rained down at the crafty Titan. Her opening spell did its job, drawing the well tailored Titan's attention. Sadly, it did little else as acting with what Alkaid imagined was the foresight of his domain, Prometheus reacted seconds before the green mana bullets of her shooter spell struck their target and with a desperate wave of his arm, raised a wall of clay to shield himself.
The clay wall collapsed the moment that Alkaid's Axel Shooter made contact but it had served its purpose, a fact that was revealed as the structure collapsed to reveal a frazzled looking but unharmed Titan.
"Well, Alkaid Potter and Pyrrha Branwen. How utterly rude of you two to attack a simple business transaction." Prometheus said as he took a casual step to the left, just enough to allow him to dodge the Tidal Slash that Pyrrha had sent as a follow up to Alkaid's attack from her labrys. It missed by just a literal hair's breadth. How annoying!
If single attacks won't work. We will just have to overwhelm him with high volume or AOE (area of effect) attacks. Alkaid concluded as she swiftly cast her latest spell. "Elmekia Lance: Phalanx Formation!"
An array of lances forged from raw light appeared before her in a phalanx formation before shooting forward to bombard the Titan. At the same time, she decided to play along with Prometheus' game and replied to his criticism. "If that was rude of us, I find it far more rude of you to not invite others to your party."
"Miss Potter, this was a business exchange, not a party of any kind. Kindly know the difference. That you do not, makes you sound like a dullard." Prometheus retorted sharply as he conjured thick walls of clay out of the ground around him, shielding him from the lances of light from Alkaid's spell.
The destruction of the clay walls by the light lances created a massive cloud of dust that blocked Alkaid's view of Prometheus and she whispered over the magic radio at Pyrrha, "Check if you have a visual on him."
"I've got nothing." Pyrrha asked as she pulled her wand out of her storage space, Akoúo̱ (Listen). "Let me clear the dust away. Ven-"
That was all that Pyrrha managed alongside half of the v-shaped wand motion required for the Windy Spell when suddenly a beam of raw power shot out of the cloud of dust and slammed into the daughter of war, sending her flying.
Most other people who saw their spouses be sent flying by an enemy's attack would've probably panicked but Alkaid kept her cool. Not only was she made of sterner stuff than most but, more importantly, she had absolute faith in Pyrrha that she would not be taken out by something that weak. Especially, not when she was armored by the layer upon layer of protections that Alkaid had cast on her.
Thus, she was not caught distracted when she saw Prometheus through the clearing dust cloud as he turned his attention towards her and pointed the finger gun he had shaped his right hand into and fired a beam of raw power from his pointer finger.
"Mirror Alice!" Alkaid declared, casting the spell quickly. It conjured a large ornate mirror that shattered as it reflected the rather weak beam back at the Titan. Then again the Titan of forethought and crafty counsel had never been a warrior so…
However, despite the weakness of his offensive capabilities, Prometheus' defensive capabilities were top tier as demonstrated by how his foresight protected him from harm and allowed him to duck under the reflected beam. It seemed however that his precognition had limits, as whilst he evaded the beam that Alkaid reflected back at him, he did nothing to save himself from the Apes Igniferae (Crimson Bees) that Pyrrha shot his way.
"That was for sending me flying!" Pyrrha shouted as she charged forward at a superhuman speed whilst surrounded by the blood red aura of her Αιμοληψία (Bloodlust) spell.
"I would not have been able to if you were more like your wife and less like a brute, Pyrrha Branwen." Prometheus shouted back even as he patted down his tuxedo, smothering the small fires left behind by him being peppered by the explosive wasp-like projectiles conjured by Pyrrhra's Apes Igniferae. "This is an Armani."
Absent-mindedly, Alkaid cast Hesken on Pyrrha's labrys, covering it in red energy that spun and hissed like a chainsaw. Just in time for Pyrrha to get into close quarters with Prometheus and swing at him with the enhanced weapon.
Sadly, as deadly as the weapon had become thanks to the spell that Alkaid had been gifted by the horned god Cernunnos, it was useless if it could not connect with its target. And sadly, that was exactly the scenario that was playing out. As despite the superhuman ability granted to her by Αιμοληψία and her own formidable skill, Pyrrha was unable to overcome the advantage Prometheus' foresight gave him and he evaded every one of her swings.
"You are such a pest." Prometheus grumbled irritably before suddenly abruptly transforming into a clay statue of himself that was shattered by a swing of Pyrrha's labrys.
"Wha-"
Even as Pyrrha struggled to make sense of what had happened, Alkaid was already preparing for Prometheus' next move. Thus even as the world around her was obliterated by a massive blast of raw energy, she and the tiny patch of ground she stood on was unscathed under the six layer Multi-Defenser she had hastily and wordlessly cast. The spell was weaker for the lack of time provided to it to conjure more layers, but it was still more than enough to weather the impressive but overall still rather anemic energy blast that Prometheus unleashed.
A fact that she flaunted to the Titan by shooting him a most unimpressed look as he staggered breathlessly out of the ground, clay falling from his body as he did.
"You are an ill mannered woman, you know that, Alkaid Potter? Surely, your father raised you better than this?" The Titan said as he quickly recovered from the exertion of his previous attack and regained his breath and poise, dusting dirt off his ruined suit. "Or perhaps you would have benefited from a mortal upbringing? It certainly would have helped instill some humility into you."
"I quite like how I am now, thank you very much." Alkaid retorted even as Pyrrha tried charging Prometheus once more only for the ground under her to change into quicksand, almost trapping her. And though Αιμοληψία gave her the speed and strength to basically ignore the impediment, it did slow her down enough for Prometheus to snap his fingers and summon a quartet of six armed giants that stood between seven to eight feet and which had the appearance of clay statues wearing nothing but canvas loincloths.
"I was not aware that the Titan Army counted Gegeines among its ranks." Alkaid noted with a frown as she watched her wife get bogged down dealing with the Earthborn.
"We don't." Prometheus explained as he flexed his muscles and shattered the half-formed magical chains that Alkaid had tried to wrap around him with a silently cast Struggle Bind. "I just happen to have a special relationship with their kind from having used the clay they are made of to create the first humans."
"Fascinating. I did not know that." Alkaid admitted as she saw Pyrrha began using Miló's (Speak) flamethrower to cook the clay of the Gegeines' bodies, turning them brittle and allowing her to shatter them like glass. "I take it they respect you for essentially emulating the process of breathing life into clay that also brought them into existence?"
"You presume correctly." Prometheus replied with a pleased nod, as if he was enjoying having the chance to have an intelligent conversation. It truly said something about the company he kept if the only such conversation he could get was with an enemy. She almost pitied him for that. Almost.
He was still her enemy though, so instead of wasting time offering him sympathy, Alkaid instead began preparing for his defeat. To that end, even as she supported Pyrrha with shooter spells like Axel Shooter and the explosive blade conjuring Todesdolch, as her wife once attacked Prometheus at close quarters, Alkaid was gathering her mana for a more powerful spell.
It took a moment to ready but with Pyrrha brilliantly distracting the Titan, Alkaid had all the time she needed. Time that she used to cast Cross Fire Shot. The lengthy casting process beginning with a band of green magic appearing around her wrist as a magic circle formed in front of her open palm and the band began to spin like a generator, helping to accelerate the gathering of mana into spheres of mana at each of the four cardinal directions in preparation for her attack.
However, seconds before the mana spheres spiraled towards the magic circle in front of Alkaid's outstretched palm and merged before shooting forth as a powerful beam, the ground beneath Prometheus rumbled dangerously and prompted Pyrrha to retreat. A move that just barely saved her from being impaled on the peak of a massive mountain of clay that shot out of the ground. A mountain that was disintegrated by the destructive beam of Alkaid's Cross Fire Shot but in so doing shielded Prometheus from its fury.
"W-What power." Prometheus said, panting. "You are truly monstrously powerful, Alkaid Potter."
Alkaid offered a shrug, "That's not truly the case. You're just weak. Outside of your foresight, you're pathetic as far as Titans go. If you weren't, you wouldn't be playing so defensively. Or be on the verge of losing to a mortal."
Prometheus shook his head and with a snap of his fingers, a dozen fresh Gegeines stepped out of the earth to fight for him.
"Leave them to me, 'Kaidy!" Pyrrha shouted as she charged them, leaving Alkaid to level a decidedly unimpressed glare the Titan's way.
"You find fault in my measure of things, Prometheus?"
The Titan scoffed. "Of course I do, mortal. But not just with what you said. Nay, the whole system that the Hellenistic mythos is operating under is broken. If it wasn't, a mere mortal like you wouldn't let the fact that you have the favor of some god or other get to your head and think yourself an equal opponent to a mighty Titan such as myself."
"Prometheus, while you might be a Titan, you are hardly mighty." Alkaid retorted as she offered him a demeaning smile as she proceeded to use Firestorm to conjure three fire tornadoes. Two of which she used to sweep across the ranks of the remaining Gegeines thus baking them and making them easy pickings for Pyrrha, the last she formed directly around Prometheus.
However, almost as soon as the fire tornado Alkaid had conjured around Prometheus came into being, it was dispersed by a flaring of a golden aura tinged with a muddy brown. And stepping out of the dispersing flames, the Titan began advancing towards the sorceress at an unhurried pace whilst surrounded by the same aura. Each step of which turned the ground it touched into wet clay.
"Let me show you exactly how mighty I am, Potter." The Titan threatened with an angry glare.
"You're touching my wife over my dead body!" Pyrrha shouted angrily as finished with the weakened Gegeines, she dashed towards Prometheus with all her Αιμοληψία enhanced speed and swung at the Titan with her labrys.
"That can be arranged, spawn of Ares." Prometheus hissed back angrily, lacking most of the suave, intellectual veneer he had been wearing till then. Though it was replaced with a truly intimidating presence that was made evident by how he caught Pyrrha's ax mid swing by trapping its head between both hands.
"Yeah, if you think just catching my labrys is enough. You've got another thing coming." Pyrrha taunted back as she slashed her wand, which she'd kept sheathed in the wrist holster of her off hand the whole time since she'd first drawn it from Akoúo̱, and unleashed the most powerful Wizarding fire spell she knew. "Incendio Tria!"
In response, a gout of blue flame shot from her wand that proceeded to singe the Titan's suit but otherwise left him unharmed, prompting him to stare at Pyrrha with a look of disdain.
"Was that supposed to accomplish something, mortal?" Prometheus asked with a sneer, making his scarred face uglier.
"Nope. That was just a distraction." Pyrrha said with a crooked smirk. "Hit him, 'Kaidy!"
"Gladly," Alkaid said with a smirk of her own as she threw a card with deadly accuracy at Prometheus' face. A card which the Titan instinctively swatted aside, only for the stored spell within the card to be released upon the contact and causing him to be blinded by a high intensity Lumos Maxima spell.
"Gah?!" Prometheus cried out, rubbing his eyes in agony, dropping Pyrrha in the process as he staggered about drunkenly. "You utter bitch!"
Alkaid snorted at the insult. "Really? Have we devolved to petty name calling now?"
Accompanying her retort, the sorceress sent multiple magical chains that wrapped around the disoriented Titan. Her Struggle Bind spell should theoretically be able to restrain the Titan and allow her to take him prisoner.
"I find it to be entirely appropriate! You pretend to be some enlightened little mortal, but in the end? You are nothing but the gods' violent attack bitch!"
Pyrrha, who much like their Titan opponent was still recovering from being temporarily blinded, barked out her own rebuttal. "If we're the gods' bitches, then we're the alpha bitches at least!"
"Yes, if I was little more than a violent attack dog as you so disparagingly claim, would I have been able to figure out your lauded precognition needs focus to be of use?" Alkaid tacked on with mild smugness.
Prometheus' face screwed up into a rictus of anger and he bellowed out a furious rebuttal. "It matters not! It doesn't take a genius to figure that out!"
At the same time, he flared his aura once more and the chains of Alkaid's Struggle Bind snapped one by one. The spell threatened to fail entirely as the chains generated by the Titan's attempt at escape were rapidly being outpaced in number by those snapping from said struggle.
In a bid to not lose the chance to take the clever Titan prisoner, Alkaid came to the simple conclusion of knocking him out. Doing so would not be easy however. Titanic constitution was not to be sneezed at. Thus her mind was in a tizzy as she went through all the spells she knew that would fit best to take him out.
As if divinely inspired, and it probably was, one quickly came to mind.
Holding her hand out in front of her, a massive magical circle appeared before her flat, outward facing palm. The various star symbols in the circle spun as the mana gathered by her spell built and the air began to hum with her power, all whilst Alkaid chanted out the spell's required incantation. :And in accompaniment to her words of power, Le Grimoire snapped open of its own accord and flipped to the appropriate page.
"Rainbow light from the stars, heed my call! Descend from the heavens and cleanse the world of my accursed foe," Alkaid intoned just as Le Grimoire slammed shut around the required page. "Sacred Blazer!"
In response to her gathered mana, her artifact's support and her incantations, the clouds burst apart as a colossal beam of rainbow energy came down from the very heavens themselves and collided with the Titan of foresight.
"NO!" The Titan roared as he finally broke free from the Struggle Bind just in time to be hit by the full fury of Alkaid's Sacred Blazer.
It engulfed him in a mighty blast, shattering the ground from the sheer force of the spell.
As the devastation died down, Alkaid was disappointed to realize that instead of knocking Prometheus out as she had hoped. Instead, all it had managed was to leave the Titan a smoking, badly burnt mess. And surely adding a whole new mess of scars to his already scarred body.
Seeing the enemy still standing, Pyrrha, who had finally shaken off her temporary blindness, roared as she charged at him to take him down the old fashioned way. "Come here, you clever fuck!"
"I'm done with all this." He said it with a tone of utter loathing just as Pyrrha got close. Her first swing was just about to make contact when with one last furious look at the both of them, he teleported away from the battlefield.
That's one threat down. Alkaid counted. And with the Titan's Empousai escorts and their thralls in the process of being dealt with by Michael and Helena's drones, we're left with only one foe left on the battlefield that needs our attention.
"Pyrrha, Caelus and Peggy look like they need our help." Alkaid said to her wife as with Le Grimoire still in hand she turned to look at their teammates' fight with the Daeva. And it was not going well. It wasn't exactly going badly either, in that neither Caelus and Peggy looked worse for wear except being a little scuffed up but, and this was important, they looked like they hadn't managed to damage their opponent at all.
The redhead grimaced, but steeled her expression. "I hate fighting gods."
"Yes, they can be so bloody difficult to hurt." Alkaid agreed as she turned her attention to the still ongoing fight against Gannag Menog even as she ran through her list of spells in search of something appropriate. "Though, in this case, I'm thinking fire should be helpful in clearing away this particular god's stink. Incendium Gehennae (Hellfire Conflagration)."
At her incantation and Le Grimoire snapping open before slamming itself closed on the appropriate page, a spiral of black flames came into being where the Daeva was standing. Flames that rapidly expanded both horizontally and vertically into a tornado of hellfire that consumed him. Sadly, the cursed flames only survived for a moment before with a flaring of a putrid purple aura, Gannag Menog smothered them.
"I see you have driven off that coward Prometheus, Potter." The Daeva said as he grew a pair of eyes on the back of his head so he could look at Alkaid without having to let up on his offensive against Caelus and Peggy.
"What am I? Spare change?" Pyrrha asked peevishly as with a swing of her labrys, she fired off an Apes Igniferae at the foul smelling god.
"Yes."
"Well, screw you!" Alkaid's wife responded to the insult as eloquently as it deserved whilst simultaneously releasing a torrent of fire from Miló's flamethrower and silently casting a mix of Wizarding fire spells like the Fire-Making Spell, Exploding and Blasting Curses.
"I only speak the truth, mortal. Your puny flames cannot harm me. Your wife's magic on the other hand might pose a threat." The Daeva replied with brutal honesty as he nonchalantly weathered not just Pyrrha's fiery assault but also fire from Peggy's rotary gun and Caelus' attempts to cut him down to size with his trident.
It seems I was wrong. Fire isn't effective and neither is electricity or ice if the lack of a noticeable effect that Peggy's speciality bullets are having. Alkaid concluded as she relooked the list of spells in her arsenal that might prove useful against this particular foe. I doubt household cleaning spells will suffice against him even if it would be almost poetic if they did. Taking that into account… Yes, it has to be that.
"I am humbled you think that, Lord Gannag Menog. But let me correct one thing." Alkaid said, offering her foe a curtsy. It didn't hurt to be polite to a god, even if they were your enemy. Plus it might just throw them off their game if you were. "My magic is a threat to you."
Dwelling within the eternal and the infinite, Alkaid began incanting in her mind even as Le Grimoire began flipping its pages of their own accord.
"That remains to be seen, sorceress." The Daeva said as it started gathering its power into a purple sphere in front of the two eyes looking her way. "And do you honestly think I will let you cast that spell of yours unopposed?"
"You'll have to get through me before you can interrupt Alkaid's casting." Pyrrha said bravely as she stepped between Alkaid and their enemy.
Source of all souls, everlasting flame of blue.
Gannag Menog did not even deign to reply to Pyrrha, instead he just unleashed the power he had gathered into a beam of sickly purple energy that hurtled towards the Potters. The daughter of war was unfazed however and quickly reaching into Akoúo̱'s hammerspace and pulled out a set of spell cards that Alkaid had prepared for her.
"Exelion Shield!" The redhead shouted, activating the cards and calling forth two green multilayered barriers fueled by the magic stored in the cards. It wasn't much and alone the charges in the cards wouldn't have been enough to withstand the might of Gannag Menog's attack but two cards managed that. If only just barely.
But barely was more than enough. Especially when it had bought Alkaid the time she needed.
Let the power hidden in my soul be called forth from the infinite.
"Ra Tilt!" She shouted as she finished the incantation for her spell and Le Grimoire snapped itself closed on its corresponding page.
In response, ethereal blue light rapidly gathered just in front of the sorceress. Light that began shooting towards the dark god as it coalesced into a beam that crashed into the god. The spiritual attack burned away his stink even as it scorched his very essence, prompting him to release a shrill cry of both surprise and pain. As he did, the flame-like astral energies consuming him caused parts of his body to peel away like particles and be burned away.
"Grrgh! H-How dare you strike me in such a manner! Do you have no etiquette? No decorum?! To attack my spirit in such a fashion!" The stink god raved as the energies unleashed by the Ra Tilt faded and his avatar began to lose consistency, quickly falling apart into a puddle of disgusting goo.
"As the saying goes, my lord, all's fair in love and war. And whilst Olympus might not be at war with the Daevas, we are certainly close enough to it." Alkaid responded with a shrug even as she gathered her mana for another astral-type spell. As her most powerful astral-type spell, using Ra Tilt was rather draining and she would need time to be up for casting it again. Thankfully, she had other spells she could use in the meantime.
"I see." The foul smelling god said, his many eyes narrowed in annoyance. "If you want this stupid Crown so badly then you may have it! And have a good day!"
With that he spat Alexander the Great's Crown out of his body, where he had hidden it once the fighting began, like a bullet. A bullet that he proceeded to shoot at with dozens of crimson beams from his many eyes. Immediately after this, he transformed into something that resembled a flying saucer and shot up into the air, trailing his toxic gas as he flew off in the opposite direction of the Crown at high speed.
All this happened in less than a minute and everyone scrambled to react in time.
"Peggy, the Crown!" Caelus shouted seconds after the daughter of Athena had already shot the grappling hook from Athena's Wrath and pulled the Crown out of the way of the beams that were threatening to destroy it.
At the same time, Alkaid was focused on the problem of keeping everyone safe from the immensely corrosive gas that Gannag Menog was spewing as he made his escape. In that vein, she hastily cast Oval Protection over all four members of Black Team in the ruins, surrounding them in a bubble of protective green magic. Just in time to avoid the deadly effects of the cloud Daeva's corrosive gas which upon contact instantly reduced the still surviving Empousai to gold dust, caused their thralls to drop dead as their bodies literally rotted away to their bones in front of everyone's eyes, and reduced Michael and Helena's drones to misshapen slag heaps. Not even the ruins were spared as large chunks of it were corroded away.
His gas is truly something to be feared. Alkaid could not help but think as she surveyed the damage it had left behind. She did not however waste too much time on the subject. She was on a mission after all.
"Peggy, the Crown?" Alkaid asked over their radio. Peggy was a little too far away for them to speak directly without shouting like barbarians.
"It's safe. I reeled it into your barrier before the cloud reached me."
"Well, at least, that's a relief." Pyrrha said with a sigh.
"It is." Alkaid said with mixed feelings on the matter. "And now we have to deliver it to Olympus."
Oh joy. She thought sarcastically at the prospect.
As it always did, standing upon Olympus made the hairs on the back of Alkaid's stand on end in unease. She however kept herself stoic and respectful as she and her wife stood as they enjoyed an audience in the Hall of the Gods with her Lord Uncle Zeus and Lady Aunt Hera.
Bowing her head whilst respectfully bent on one knee, with Pyrrha similarly kneeling beside her, Alkaid raised the artifact she had recovered from Prometheus to the god and goddess. "Lord Zeus, I return the Crown of Alexander the Great to Olympus."
Whilst by all accounts that they were aware of, the great king had been entirely mortal despite his claims to be a son of Zeus during his life, thanks to his unrivaled accomplishments, he had been posthumously adopted by the King of Olympus as a son. Thus it was only right that his Crown be handed over to his divine father for safe keeping.
Rumor had it Lady Hera didn't even mind the adoption. Considering the fate she typically subjected any child of Zeus to, whatever the cause of said relation, for whom she was not the mother, this was indeed quite a feat. How lucky for the dead conqueror.
Yet, as the Crown floated from her hands under her Uncle's power and into the large palm of the King of Olympus, Alkaid's uneasiness grew. Throughout it all, Zeus' eyes were on her like a hawk. She couldn't tell if it was because of his almighty libido or, more worrying, lingering resentment on his part over the fact that her Father had gotten one over on him by raising her in secret. The King of the gods was known to hold petty grudges like that.
She was thus thankful Lady Hera was there to temper his behavior. Just dealing with the god she was raised to fear during her childhood was proving to be borderline unbearable.
"And you say Prometheus was there?" Lord Zeus rumbled, displeasure on his bearded face as the Master Bolt crackled in one hand while he eyed the Crown which thanks to his current size, seemed like little more than a coin in the massive palm of his other.
"Yes, Lord Zeus. We faced the Titan in combat in a bid to apprehend him and bring him back to face justice, however he proved his cleverness and cowardice by fleeing once the tide of battle turned against him." Alkaid informed dutifully.
"And once more those Persian gods try to trifle with us?" Zeus asked, but did not even wait for Alkaid to respond before shaking his head with annoyance. "I grow more tired of them by the minute."
His annoyance was matched by a snap crackle of lightning streaking through the sky, followed by a blaring boom. However, before the Lord of the Sky could vent his anger any further than that Lady Hera reached a hand out and placed it on his bicep. "Husband, calm yourself. You know they are merely acting as per her nature. It is not as if they can cause us more harm thanks to the terms of the Ancient Laws. Taking the high road makes us look better to the other Pantheons while it weakens the Persians' standing."
"As you say, my wife, but even our generous patience has a limit." Zeus said, his nostrils flaring as he rested the Crown on the armrest of his platinum throne. "We will have to send more scouts to keep an eye on them lest they attempt more trickery against us, despite how miniscule the chance of that may be. Niece, Granddaughter."
Alkaid and Pyrrha looked up from their bowed position to stare into the stormy blue eyes of her Lord Uncle.
"Yes, Lord Zeus?" Alkaid said, speaking up for both of them with tense shoulders.
"I commend both of you and your Black Team for your diligence and hard work. Continue to do your duty and impress us as you do, and you will be rewarded accordingly." He said and stood up from his throne, picking up the Crown as he did. "For now, you may take your leave."
With that dismissal, he left in a small flash of lightning, taking the Crown with him.
Ignoring her husband's departure, Lady Hera remained stoic as she nodded to the two of them. "Fine work, ladies. I am most proud of you both. Keep up the marvelous work."
With a nod of acknowledgement, the Queen of Heaven also made her departure by teleporting away in a flurry of lotus petals.
Now alone in the Hall of the Gods with Pyrrha, Alkaid took a shaky breath to calm herself and slowly pushed herself back to her feet whilst feeling glad she was finally able to leave.
"Ready to go, 'Kaidy?" Her wife asked, offering her a bemused smile.
"Yes." Alkaid said with a tired smile. "Let's head over to the elevator down to the Empire State. The sooner we get off Olympus, the better."
Without waiting for a reply, Alkaid began walking out of the Hall of the Gods whilst ignoring how Pyrrha and Aunt Hestia, who had been tending the Hall's hearth throughout the whole audience, giggled at her behavior. She really hated being on Olympus and just wanted to get out of there ASAP!
Pyrrha rolled her shoulder as they rode the elevator back down to Manhattan, her wife letting out a sigh of relief. As she did, an amused expression spread across her face and she turned to address her tense wife. "You're perfectly fine visiting the Underworld on the regular, but visiting Olympus gets you all frazzled?"
Her adorable wife pouted at her, crossing her arms in a huff. "We're official members of the House of Hades, wife of mine. We can expect hospitality in the Underworld. We can't have such expectations on Olympus, not with it being in Uncle's domain."
"Yeah, but we're also the Diplomats of Olympus, that's gotta count for something. You know?"
Pursing her pouty lips, Alkaid took a breath. "It isn't anywhere near enough protection for us if some god or other decided they want us dead."
"Yeah, but that's not any different from our usual day to day." Pyrrha shrugged as she leaned against the wall of the elevator.
"Well, yes, I suppose that is true." Her wife admitted with some reluctance. "I just don't like being up there, okay? They both may be homes of divinity, but the Underworld is my home. I feel safe and assured there. Olympus? It just doesn't feel safe or welcoming."
The daughter of Ares walked over and pulled the sorceress into a comforting one armed hug. "Hey, I get ya. We'll limit our time in Olympus, would that make you feel better?"
"Very much so, thank you." The black haired woman said with a grateful smile before she pecked her on the cheek with affection dancing in her emerald eyes.
Pyrrha stood a little straighter at that and glanced at the display showing what floor the elevator was on. The long ride down was almost at an end and they were thankfully coming closer to the ground floor of the Empire State Building. Looking Alkaid in the eyes once more, she asked. "Ready to head home?"
"Yes, I cannot wait to see the girls again. I need all the hugs from my little sweethearts."
The daughter of war smiled at that and shifted her arm from around the shoulders of her wife so that it wrapped them around Alkaid's arm instead. Before the pale witch could question what she was doing, the redhead Apparated them away on the first of the many teleportations that would take them back home to their mansion in California.
Done and done! Thanks to Nameless and Axios as always!
Phew! This was a toughie of a chapter! Lots of things happened. The swimsuit contest so to say was fun, so was finding some nice suits for the ladies. *wiggle brow* The set up for the mission was good too as it went out into the world since most of PJO series 1 is in the USA. But visiting other places that aren't Greece was a blast too as usual for Alkaid's stories.
Nameless: To be honest, for the swimsuit contest, I had the most fun out of us picking out Michael's swim trunks. The whole thing was just too funny. And yeah, visiting new locales not explored in either our fics or canon already was great fun. That it was Afghanistan this time was interesting in its own right.
Now, people may call foul with Prometheus being a pushover, but to be honest? He is. While he has foresight and wisdom and cunning, he isn't a combat build. He's more of an advisor if anything, so Alkaid being able to best him made sense. So him having to dip into his semi-Titan form (think a god's true form) due to his pricked pride? Yes, scary because he IS still a Titan. But he was still pushed back and he is going to hold a grudge forever.
Nameless: Prometheus is more like Mimir from God of War than anything. Well, except he's not just an animated head of course. As for how the Ancient Laws pertains to fighting gods, recall that, as per canon, demigods can challenge and fight anyone. So Alkaid fighting him is just fine. That he would lose so handily even after tapping into more of his power than he strictly speaking should need, now that's a reflection of his weakness.
And then we got our Kaiju shoutout for the Persian gods again! The power of stink be strong with this one. It's really a rare domain, if it can even be called that. It was interesting to see how we could spin it.
Nameless: After we made Zahāk take on King Ghidorah's form, it just made sense to have a few other Daevas likewise take on the guise of kaiju from the Gojiraverse. Plus Hedorah just fits Gannag Menog too well to pass up the chance.
You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!
