Present…
Shit.
"Jason, how long can you hold up this illusion?" Marcus asked in a whisper, watching as the New Olympian half-bloods scattered out of the stands, presumably to search the stadium building.
"Not… much… longer…" Jason replied, his whisper strained. Marcus could see beads of sweat starting to form on Jason's brow, the effort to shape the Mist over such a large group being something he wasn't quite used to.
"Alright, so things went to shit." Chastity snapped quietly. "Shouldn't this be the time we go to the whole 'run' plan?"
"The second we leave this illusion field we'll be spotted." Maddie replied.
"Okay, so have Jason move the illusion field thingy with us!" Elliot sighed, a bit too loudly for Marcus' taste.
"Won't work. Look at him, he can barely hold it while we're just standin' here." Joel said.
One way out… Marcus looked around at the party as they tossed idea after idea back and forth and locked eyes with Phillip. Phillip the scout, the soldier. In that glance, they each recognized that the other had come to the same conclusion.
"Somebody is going to have to be a distraction." Phillip said quietly, though still loud enough to silence the rest of the group.
"You're kiddin' right? One person out there on their own?!" Joel exclaimed.
"It's better than all of us being caught."
"So that's your big plan? Use one of us as a decoy?" Chastity asked. "I know I'm the sexiest but I refuse to be used as bait."
"Guys… whatever you're gonna do… do it fast…" Jason forced out through gritted teeth.
With a sigh of exasperation, Chastity pulled out her lyre and began strumming a soft melody. "I'll do what I can to support Illusion Chew Toy here, maybe then we'll get the illusion to move and nobody has to be bait!"
But Marcus was already shaking his head. "It won't work, Chastity. The best you'll be able to do is make the illusion last longer."
"So have it last longer! I can dig us a way out!" Elliot exclaimed with a grin. "I can dig really quick! Watch!" Elliot pointed at the ground at his feet, and the earth beneath their feets started to shift. "I can't believe I didn't think of it before!"
"That'll still take a while on your own." Maddie said. "But I'll try to help!"
Marcus watched as Maddie and Joel moved the dirt that Elliot was displacing, doing their best to get a tunnel dug. Too slow… Too slow… Looking back up towards where Aaron had been standing, he saw that while all the other half-bloods had left the stands, Aaron remained, watching over the field as if… As if he knows.
"Keep digging." Marcus said quietly, pulling out his pocket watch.
"Marcus what are you doing?" Maddie asked, her voice enough to almost make Marcus change his plan.
Marcus turned to her with a small smile on his face. "Buying time. Get them out." Without another word, Marcus stepped clear of the illusion, pocket watch in hand. Gazing up, he saw a small smirk appear on Aaron's lips, and without another word he leapt from the top of the Green Monster. Marcus watched with his heart in his throat, but was shocked to see Aaron land gently on the ground in front of him, as if he had done no more than take a step off a small ledge.
Dammit, remember the Smuggler's Den...
"Surprised?" Aaron asked. "You have no idea the blessings I've received, the aid I've given by my new Gods." Marcus watched as Aaron drew his sword from his side, his golden armor shimmering even in the simple stadium light. "The last time we met, I showed you mercy… I warned you not to stand in our way… And now I find you here, along with good little Joseph, defending the Old Olympians. Attempting to stab me in the back…"
"Aaron…"
"I warned you Marcus… and you didn't listen…" Aaron's features twisted, though Marcus couldn't tell whether it was from grief or wrath. As the two faced off, Marcus saw a sea of red coming for him from the tunnels around the field as the rest of the New Olympian half-bloods finished searching the building and started coming to search the field. Seeing him, they seemed to surge forward, but Aaron gestured with his sword for them to hold back, and it was then that Marcus noticed that his blade was different. It wasn't the sword Aaron had always carried. "So, you noticed. Like Luke Castellan before me, I decided a simple celestial bronze sword wasn't going to cut it this time around. But instead of mortal steel, I decided to forge this blade using the metals I found while wandering the ruins of New Rome. Imperial Gold and Celestial Bronze. What better weapon to use against a god?"
Marcus flicked his watch, transforming it into its blade form. "You really mean to do this..? To rebel against Olympus?"
"It was Olympus that decided to abandon us, Marcus ! To twist us! To use us! To kill us! They've abused their own for too long." Aaron cried, though Marcus couldn't tell if it was supposed to be for his benefit, or for the crowd of half-bloods around him.
"Kelly knew the risks Aaron…" Marcus said quietly. "We all do, each time we take on quests-"
"Shut up!" Aaron shouted. "Of course she did! You think I don't know that?! But she wasn't killed by a monster, or a Titan… she was killed by a God! The son of the same Goddess who, even now, twists your mind! I can see it, Marcus! I know how Aphrodite is playing with your heart! You think the Goddess of Beauty and Love is making your life easier? Attempting to match you with one person when your heart belongs to another? But then, the one you've chosen to give your heart to will never love you back, will she? Her heart belongs to a Goddess. Little Ma-"
Without a word, Marcus leapt at Aaron, swinging his blade in a murderous arc, his mind empty except for a rage that filled him completely at those last words. But Aaron's blade was there, blocking his own with ease.
"Such a temper. I can see why Lyssa took a liking to you." Aaron spat, kicking Marcus in the chest, causing him to fall back. Marcus rolled, avoiding the edge of his own weapon and barely managing to get back to his feet in time to parry a thrust Aaron had aimed at him. "Do you really think you have a chance Marcus? I know all your tricks. Hell, I'm the one who helped you come up with most of them! I'm the son of victory, and Nike herself is with us! A New Olympian! What hope do you have?"
Marcus swung again, this time knocking aside his own blade by hitting the hilt in his hand, switching his swing at the last moment to catch Aaron off guard, catching him a glancing blow to his armor, causing him to step back a few paces quickly to avoid actual damage.
"You talk too much." Marcus said quietly.
Aaron and Marcus stood across from each other for a moment in silence, and Marcus saw Lyssa appear from the crowd of half bloods. She walked forward, coming to a stop at Aaron's side, a smirk on her face as she gazed at Marcus. With a wink, she seemed to tap Aaron on the shoulder, and the moment her finger connected with him he stiffened, his face turning to one of blind fury.
Gods dammit…
"Fine then. No more talk Marcus. I'll show you you're wrong. Prove to you that this side is the right side…" Aaron brought his sword around and-
"Marcus!" Maddie's voice cried out across the field.
Marcus spun and saw that Jason had dropped the illusion, and all the dirt from what he could only assume was a completed tunnel was piled in a high circle around his group of friends, with a small opening in his direction.
"Marcus would you hurry up already?! You're hot but not 'I'll die waiting for you' hot!" Chastity called.
With a small smile Marcus turned back to see Aaron standing and staring in shock at the group that had just magically appeared before him, Lyssa's influence shaken off for the moment.
"Looks like we'll have to continue this talk another time." Marcus said, before turning and sprinting back towards the group. The moment he moved, it seemed as if a spell had lifted. The half-bloods around them surged forward, but the party had somehow solidified the walls of earth around them so that they could only attack them from the one direction. Marcus dived through the opening, quickly turning to kick back a half-blood that had almost gotten through the gap with him.
"What are you all waiting for?! Go!" he cried out. "I'll cover you all just go!"
"I'll help!" Elliot cried. "I need to be last anyway to close the tunnel off!"
The next few moments would forever be a blur in Marcus's memory. He and Elliot stood side by side, him blocking any half-blood from attacking in at the escaping party, Elliot reshaping their makeshift defenses around them as half-bloods attempted to tear them down. Finally, it was just Marcus and Elliot left.
"Will you go already?" Elliot said. "I can't close it till you're through!"
Marcus blocked once last attempt by a shorter half-blood to try and break through, then turned and jumped into the tunnel without another word. As he dropped, he turned to watch Elliot follow him through. At least, that's what he expected to happen. As he fell through the tunnel, Marcus saw Elliot, a smile on his face, pull in the earthen defenses around the tunnel mouth, and just before he could leap in himself, Marcus saw a blade appear. Straight through Elliot's chest. Marcus landed at the bottom of the tunnel, but didn't even notice, his eyes locked onto the scene above him. Elliot's eyes locked with his, and his mouth moved in one last silent message before Elliot put the last of his effort into sealing the tunnel before any more half-bloods could follow them.
"Don't die, okay?"
Marcus stood for a moment in the darkness. He couldn't think. He couldn't stop thinking. He couldn't breathe, and yet that's all he could force himself to do. Elliot had managed to dig their way into underground tunnels beneath Fenway Park, which could only be assumed to lead to the outside, and in so doing had given everything to allow them to escape. Marcus forced himself to turn and follow the tunnel, moving ever forward to the rest of the group. He wouldn't ever forget Elliot, or his sacrifice. Wouldn't forget everything he had done for them. Nor would he ever forget the Gold and Bronze blade that had taken Elliot's life.