Marcus jumped aside quickly as Hunter dived for him, close enough Marcus swore he could feel the breeze from his ax swing. He could definitely smell the burning in the air as lightning arced from the wings on Hunter's back, lancing out and hitting him.
With a cry, Marcus fell. His body seized as the electricity hit him, the pain coursing through his body as he hit the ground. Though in a moment it was over, just as quickly as it began. Rolling quickly, Marcus forced himself to his feet. Let's… Not get hit by that again…
Marcus quickly spun just in time to see Hunter bearing down on him again, bloodlust in his eyes. That look could give Maddie's battle mind a run for its money. He knew if he tried dodging again he'd likely get hit with another explosion of electricity, so he waited for the last possible moment. Hunter swooped down on him with an overhead swing of his ax, attempting to cleave him down the middle with its weight and the force of his dive and gravity. Just before the blow landed, Marcus called upon the gifts his father had given him. If there was ever a time I needed you Father, it's now... He felt lighter. Faster. The air around him shifted. Using the currents of the air, he pushed himself back quickly, just missing Hunter's ax swing and, making himself lighter in the air, stepped on the handle to flip himself over Hunter's back, using the shifting air currents to push himself away. He saw Hunter's look of astonishment as he changed his watch to whip form, cracking him once along the back as he flipped over. As he landed heavily, he rolled on his shoulder, cursing. No good. That jacket is a suit of Gods damned armor!
Billy whistled once in mock amazement from the other side of the ravine. "Wow that's one hell of a swing you got there Hunt! Too bad you can't hit anything with it."
Hunter spun on Marcus, rising in the air again as Annabeth's Wings flapped behind him. "Mock me all you want, Son of Dolos. I seem to remember you didn't exactly kick his ass last time you two met." He said angrily, rising higher and higher.
Billy sputtered in rage and seemed about to retort when Isaac put a hand on his shoulder. "Enough. Together." He said simply before walking forward casually. Marcus was shocked to see him step into apparent thin air, before realizing what he was seeing. An invisible bridge… Of course Annabeth would have an invisible bridge!
Without another word, Billy charged at Marcus, murderous intent in his eyes. On instinct Marcus turned to face him, switching his weapon to sword form, when right before his eyes Billy started to blur. Marcus couldn't believe his eyes. There were now two Billys, both bearing down on him, though one seemed to be made of shadow. This could be a problem. Marcus quickly ducked a swing from the Shadow Billy, only to have to parry a stab from Billy a moment later. Spinning on his heel, Marcus was about to retaliate when Hunter seemed to appear out of nowhere, blasting him again with the arcing electricity from his wings. For a moment, Marcus was paralyzed in pain, regaining control just in time to block another swipe from Billy, who's grin was only getting wider.
"Not so tough now are ya?!" Billy mocked, watching as Marcus tried and failed to avoid a kick from a swooping Hunter, knocking him prone. Marcus tried to retaliate, rolling to his feet and swinging at Billy only for his Shadow to get in the way out of nowhere, forcing him to retreat or get blasted again with another burst of electricity. Dammit! Could use some backup!
Risking a glance around, Marcus saw that he wasn't likely to get any. Isaac was firing his bow into the forest, which Marcus could only assume were accurate to where Phil was hiding, if the return fire was anything to go by. In the split second he had turned around, Marcus saw Isaac fire four arrows to Phil's one return shot, with each of those four somehow multiplying mid fight. Don't tell me that's an artifact?!
"Eyes over here Marcus!" Hunter shouted, just as Marcus felt a shift in the air. On instinct alone, he created a gust of air, pushing him out of the way of Hunter's next diving attack. Unfortunately, that same Gust was strong enough to propel Billy at him, who sailed over Hunter's head, knife bearing down on him in an overhead stab. Marcus couldn't help but smile as he launched himself forward, reversing the Gust that he had summoned. A moment too late, Billy realized his mistake and tried to correct it, but that moment was all Marcus needed to launch himself through the air, both feet planted firmly into Billy's chest in a dropkick that would have made Chiron proud.
But Marcus had miscalculated. He had put everything into that desperation kick. He had to narrow down the playing field. As he watched Billy fall back, the breath driven out of him and no consciousness behind his eyes, Marcus fell to the ground, landing heavily on his back. In that split second, Marcus had stopped the first and most important tenet of his fighting style. Always move. Never stop. A target on the move is a target that's hard to hit. A stopped target is a dead target. As he landed, Marcus saw the blow coming. Billy had been taken out, and with him his shadow. He had gambled that Hunter would rise again for another diving attack, giving Marcus time to catch himself. He had gambled that he'd be able to recover. He was wrong. Hunter had seen Marcus' dropkick. He had sacrificed Billy for his shot to take Marcus down. And now he had it. Marcus saw Hunter spin and leap towards him and knew that from where he was, he couldn't move fast enough to avoid it.
Just as Hunter leaped into the air to deliver the final blow, Marcus saw golden strands of light wrap themselves around him. To Marcus, they seemed like golden chains, binding Hunter to where he stood. Quickly rolling to feet, Marcus turned to see… What in Hades?!
He saw Chastity standing on the edge of the woods that surrounded them, her lyre in her hands and her eyes burning holes through Hunter, though her look and her voice weren't matching. To Marcus, he heard the sweetest song he had ever heard with each note that fell from Chastity's lips. He had always enjoyed her voice, though he would never admit to it, but now he stood entranced. What… in… Forcing himself back to the present, he saw Isaac turn and see the situation before him. Without changing expression, Isaac raised his bow, this time aiming at Chastity, who was so focused on binding Hunter to the ground that she didn't notice.
No! Not her!
Marcus sped across the distance between them as fast as he could, not realizing until he thought back on this moment hours later that he had practically flown with the force of the winds he had generated. He saw Chastity's eyes widen as he approached, her voice faltering for a moment. He dove between Isaac and Chastity, gathering her in his arms. Not her! He screwed his eyes shut, ready for the pain in his back. The tell tale sign that he had just made it in time. That's all he cared about. Nobody else would die because of him.
After a moment of not feeling any pain, Marcus opened his eyes, seeing Chastity's own looking up at him in shock. Turning quickly, Marcus saw out of the corner of his eye a retreating shape in the sky that must have been Hunter, probably carrying Billy, as neither of them were where he had left them. But that's not what caught his attention. He saw Isaac stagger, the bow slipping from his grip. He took a step towards them, before collapsing face down into the dirt, a single arrow standing out from between his shoulders.