Chapter Title: Rise Of An Angelic Dancer
Alternate Chapter Title: The Rise Of Lavinia, Part Two
(A/N: There's quite a bit that I have to get to in this opening author's note for the chapter, so I won't be beating around the bushes with this any. First of all, I recently started a new job that has me working on weekdays, so progress on these chapters — given that I am only limited to some time in the morning before 8 am (or 7:45 am if I want to leave fifteen minutes earlier than 4:30 pm), as well as two paid 15 minutes breaks and an unpaid 30 minute lunch break in addition to the time I have when I get off work on weekdays — will generally be slower than in the past. However, I am still working on these chapters despite all of this. But either way, chapters will still be coming out when completed, even with my slower schedule for working on them now since work can really take up your focus indeed. With that out of the way, on with the chapter!)
My eyes opened, and what greeted me was not the Underworld, that was for sure. I was standing, in what looked like the insides of the monster, and I tried to move my limbs, but I couldn't. My hands and feet were stuck, encircled by what seemed to be the flesh of the creature, leaving me standing and helpless in this damp, filthy, gross place.
Yuck.
Absolutely gross indeed.
Even so, a sense of dread, shame, and terror crept over me. I thought my death would be swift, being simply eaten by the monster. But instead, it seemed that fate had far worse plans for me. And worse of all, no one would realize that I wasn't dead yet. That made tears come to my eyes.
Honestly, this fate sucked completely — like my fate had been designed to be nothing but an eternal torment. A monument to how inferior I was compared to people like Colton and Michael — to other Romans like Octavian. I was weak, worthless.
No, I thought to myself. Stop thinking like that..
I rallied every ounce of positive energy I had within me to try to stop my tears. The situation might be hopeless, but I shouldn't give up yet. Not now.
I closed my eyes, trying to stop the tears. I did, but then I got more than I bargained for. When I opened my eyes again, it was like I was in a completely different place, even while still unable to move.
The scene that greeted me — the location, at least — was definitely not Camp Jupiter, that was for sure. It seemed to be somewhere out on the eastern side of the United States, possibly New York, though I wasn't sure. I was looking towards the coast line of a strip of land directly in front of me, with the sound of screaming ringing in the air. I turned, and gasped. The sight that greeted me was one that words failed — even for me — to most accurately describe, for some of it was familiar and some of it wasn't at all.
On the coast line in the woods there, people were running about — either screaming or holding weapons, trying to fight a literal 100 ft tall statue of someone — I couldn't really see their face — that was holding a blade the size of a bomber or something that was fixed to a fifty foot tall pole. The smaller people on the ground, including one who looked to be a centaur if I wasn't mistaken, were trying to slow it down, to little effect.
You had to admire their bravery in trying to fight this behemoth, but you also had to admit that it definitely was a losing battle.
None of the teenagers — at least I figured they were teenagers, and probably also demigods since they were fighting this thing alongside a centaur — I recognized at all, so I had to wonder — is this where Colton was from? Was this where Camp Half Blood is?
I shook myself from those thoughts as the sound of a loud crunch was heard in the air, the behemoth having moved into the woods and stepped on something before turning back and marching towards a group of people on the beach, including a redhead who seemed very similar to a certain person Colton had talked about.
Just as the giant thing was about to stomp a group of people on the ground, a very deep, high pitched and crazy loud roar ripped through the air, making everyone except the giant thing cover their ears — while also causing the giant to lose balance and fall flat on its ass onto the ground with a loud thud. I did as well, due to me being apparently very, very close to the source. My ears were ringing because of it.
Gods, that hurt.
The sound of the sea behind me caused me to turn around and I gasped.
The water rose to a massively tall height, even taller than the thing tearing through this camp. And as it fell back down to the sea, it revealed something massive standing there. Something with a crown.
I might not have seen all of what rose out of the water due to whatever this was ending then and there since I blinked, but the crown was so familiar enough that there was no doubt as to what had exactly risen out of the water.
None other than the Monster King. Only he was a lot, lot bigger than the first time I saw him in my dreams.
Once I had blinked, everything was back to normal now just like that. Right back to my current situation, which was depressing in and of itself to be honest. I mean, it would be foolish honestly to describe this as anything else other than that, as it was like some eternal pit of torment that its victim was not intended to escape from.
Was this the end..?
"Having visions of my eventual triumph..?" a sinister voice now asked. I shivered at the sound of that voice.
Soon enough, a woman appeared out of thin air just to my left inside the belly of the Trojan Sea Monster. Although you couldn't see her feet since it was concealed by the murky water, you could definitely tell that she was not normal, that was for sure. You could tell that she was a woman, but not much beyond that honestly. She was wearing some sort of black colored cloak that churned and shifted, as well as what looked like a veil seemingly made out of dust — and a face that looked like she was asleep.
It soon hit me as to who that was, although I was thinking for quite a few moments. That was.. Gaea.
"But.. how..?" I gasped. "How.. are.. you.. here..?"
"I'm not — what you see is merely a projection, or hologram if you may.. generated from my still slumbering power.." she explained, while keeping a very creepy smile on her face, one that unnerved me greatly. She smirked in a very malevolent kind of way, though it was more subtle if anything.
"Events are transpiring to you just as I had predicted they would.." Gaea said to me, and tears came to my eyes once more. "This was your fate from the start, Lavinia. You cannot outrun it anymore."
"No.. that's not.. true.." I spoke back, more tears coming to my eyes. I wished it wasn't, I really did. I wished that this wasn't what my fate was supposed to be at all.
"It is.. Lavinia.. and you know it.." she said cruelly. "It has been written by me long before now.. now just accept your.. fate so to speak and do not trouble me any longer, demigod."
I wanted to break down completely and just submit to my fate now. I couldn't resist this torment any longer — the pain of not being able to be as useful as Colton or Michael. The self doubt of being inferior — it was crushing my soul.
At that moment just as I was about to do that, however, Gaea's voice as she started up again was interrupted by the sound of an all too familiar voice.
"ACK, SON OF A FUCKING BITCH—..I HATE THIS SHITSHOW SO MUCH.."
I recognized that voice all too well.
"COLTON?!" I shouted.
"I hear you, Lavinia! Hang on, I'm coming!" he shouted back in response.
Gaea's surprise was evident clearly, as she couldn't believe it herself from what I could see.
"It.. It can't be!" she shouted.
And to be fair, I couldn't blame her any at all for that. I just couldn't — at all for there was just.. there was just..
There was just no way. There was no way that this boy had just decided to follow the path of Hercules and let himself be swallowed by the Trojan Sea Monster just to save me. He had to be crazy to even do that.
But lo and behold, there the guy was, plodding through the murky water and pushing flesh out of his way as best as he could, looking as angry as ever with fire in his eyes as well as a sword in his hand, to save me. As noble as a knight would be in rescuing a damsel in distress, it seemed. Noble to the end indeed — without a shred of irony present at all while also probably crazy too.
"You.. didn't have to.." I started, before Colton interrupted me. He briefly had a glint in his eyes that would have reminded you of that of the ideal knight in shining armor from fairytales, if such a thing was even possible.
"I'm not leaving you to such a shitty fate as this.. not now, not ever.." he said back, before he then turned to Gaea sharply. I couldn't help but smile at that — it warmed me up inside. It really did.
Colton glared at Gaea, gripping his sword tightly in his hand — I would bet five cents that if she wasn't a deity, he probably would have slashed her with the sword at least five times by now. "And YOU.." he said loudly. "..you really think you can control people's destinies the way you want them to go.. with your manipulation and all of that..?" he spat at her. "Well, news flash woman.. go FUCK YOURSELF!"
I gasped. This boy.. one could only guess at the level of rage lurking inside of him for this guy to be able to have the gall to insult the earth mother herself to her face. Like holy shit, Colton seriously was not giving any shits here at all. This man was through the fucking roof level angry right now.
Gaea stared back at him, looking very angry. She definitely didn't like being insulted in such a way and especially by a demigod, even if said demigod just so happened to be a walking force of nature. "Beware, Monster King.." she spoke back, trying to maintain a sense of power and dominance over the situation when it was rapidly becoming clear that Colton was in control now. "..I still have many minions willing to do my bidding. I can still keep the Olympians divided and the Gods from helping you all out, making my plans that much easier to accomplish. Face it, I have already written in the stars that you aren't going to be able to make it back to your beloved girlfriend."
If she expected that Colton would just back down and cry over that, she had another thing coming. For instead, Colton angrily growled, more pissed off than before. It was clear that Gaea's attempts to intimidate him and make him back down had only succeeded in making him even angrier now and therefore even more determined than before.
"I don't even give a flying fuck or one collective piece of shit about what you could do to me.. but if you even so try to harm my precious Kayla, I will fucking rip you apart limb from limb in the slowest, most painful manner possible before scattering you so fucking hard you might as well be considered dead for real. Even you being a primordial will not save you from this, for I will find a way. So know this, Gaea.." he said ominously, bordering on psychopathic territory now — and believe it, it was honestly scary just to witness. Had the monster I was witnessing come out of Colton been inside of him the whole time? From what it seemed, he might as well have been born the Monster King. "..I don't care how many monsters you or Porphyrion send my way. I am going to tear through every single fucking one of them with whatever I can get my hands on, even if it means using nothing but my motherfucking bare hands, and probably through you and him as well because fuck you pieces of shit both.. if that's what it takes to get back to her."
From the way his eyes seemed dead set on making sure that happened for real, you could tell that he was deadly serious about that right now. That come hell or high water, he was going to kill anything and anyone that stood in his way to make his way back to her. When he was truly pissed off, he was an unstoppable killing machine, the likes of which could only resemble that of a certain cyborg from a galaxy far, far away. It was, of course, a testament as to how deeply devoted the man was to his girlfriend.
You could tell from the way his hand infrequently twitched — like a very rough twitch — while gripping his sword that he was not only deadly serious, but about ready to lose it and start slashing the primordial out of pure rage right than and there. There was an aura of malice, hatred, duty, and conviction surrounding him now — a very strong one at that, which only added to how intimidating he was right now. He may have only been about 6 feet tall — in my estimates — but that aura made him seem even taller. I had to admit, even in my current predicament, even I was trembling at how scary Colton was. Thank the gods it was aimed at Gaea and not me.
"I love her.. I love Kayla Elizabeth Knowles.. and by the River Styx itself, I will fucking tear apart limb from limb anyone who tries to tear her apart from me.. and by extension, I will tear apart limb from limb anyone who tries to harm my allies, my family, or my friends.." he continued, malice seeping into every word he spoke, except the first seven words. That part about Kayla was spoken with a longing for her so great and so evident there was no doubt that the man was genuinely head over heels for her for eternity. The fact that he was swearing it on the River Styx only reinforced this greatly.
"You're just a Greek.." Gaea said back. "And she's a Roman.. she hates your kind, just like the other Romans do. It's only natural then that Romans and Greeks would fight and kill each other."
I shuddered. Did Colton see me that way all along and just hid it? More tears threatened to come out of my eyes before Colton spoke up. "That's where you're wrong.." he said through gritted teeth. Gods, if he was pissed before, words couldn't describe the level of pure brutal rage that might as well be coursing his veins now. He really did want to snap Gaea's neck right then and there, it seemed like. He was so mad I swear to you I could see what seemed to be a shadowy crown form on top of his head, as if he needed to just show to Gaea exactly who she was currently dealing with right now. Like, beyond this, words pretty much failed at describing how angry Colton Reynolds was now.
"Excuse me?" Gaea asked back, incredulously. Even she was taken aback by that.
"Lavinia isn't my enemy — and neither are the other Romans, unless of course.. that shitty brat Octavian fucks things up. I do not intend to harm any of them unless they get in my way or the way of the Gods by doing your dirty work — whether unknowingly or knowingly.." he said back, and I gasped. What exactly did he mean by that? "Either way, Lavinia has proven to be an ally of mine on this quest and nothing is going to fucking change that at all. I'm bringing her out of this alive, per the prophecy — and neither you, nor this fucking monster, can stop me."
I didn't know about Gaea, but Colton was definitely more than capable of tearing this monster apart and freeing me, that was for sure. The part of me having proven myself to be an ally of his on this quest did make me smile a little inside, though.
"Foolish to the end.." Gaea mocked. "..I shall have sweet pleasure breaking you, Monster King. You can't stop me — for soon, you will have more than my giants to have to deal with.." She ended that very ominously, like she knew something we didn't, then started to disappear into what seemed like a wind blown cloud of dust that seemed to vanish into thin air.
"Fuck you!" Colton angrily shot back. "I WILL KILL YOU ALL! DO YOU HEAR ME, GAEA?! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"
I couldn't tell if he meant everyone who dared to oppose him and the Gods or just Gaea and the Giants by that last part. I just wasn't really sure about it at all.
Either way, he was really leaning into that cyborg from Star Wars, it seemed. But then again, I honestly couldn't blame the guy at all. After all that he said he's been through, why wouldn't a guy — a son of Mars at that — be that angry? And to be fair, the more that I thought about it, the more it occurred to me that the monster inside of him might have been merely showing a taste of the darkness that lurked there. As if it was more or less sealed away..
It then hit me. Is Kayla Knowles the seal on the darkness inside Colton Reynolds? I thought to myself. If so, then she truly was the reason Colton, despite being the Monster King, hadn't turned against the Olympians at all. He had a strong sense of family, that much was true for he had said it himself, but family — as was common in Rome — could only go so far. Then again, it didn't seem to stop him right now, that was for sure.
He turned to me now, and I smiled. "So you've come to free me..?" I asked, and his face just morphed into one of pain — like he really was having a hard time just paraphrasing how best to say his next words. That did not sit well with me honestly.
"Well.. yes and no.." he said.
I was confused. "What..?"
"I had a conversation with Michael and Cháris before I let myself get swallowed.." he said back to me. "We realized something during it. The one who is meant to ascend in the prophecy — it's you."
My world felt like it had been flipped. "Are you serious..?" I asked, as a loud roar filled the air, and the area rumbled like an earthquake, knocking Colton off of his feet, and causing him to momentarily disappear into the murky water, which then caused me to scream.
He soon resurfaced after a few moments, trying to fight off what appeared to be some sort of seaweed. "It's you — it has to be. I'm just not sure how I am supposed to make it happen.." he clarified. "Fuck! The hell is this shit..?"
"I don't know if I can do it on my end.. both you and Michael are better than me.." I whimpered, letting my own insecurity come to the surface. Colton looked at me like I had gone crazy or something.
"Are you nuts...?" He said, throwing off those seaweed looking things left and right, or tried to. "You've proven yourself useful to me already — there's great potential in you, and given that you are the one that the prophecy speaks of ascending, I have a feeling you are destined for something more.. not as powerful as me, but definitely something on par or above Michael.. I have complete faith in you on that."
My spirits lifted from his words. "You're better than you think you are, Lavinia.." he continued, the seaweed like things going limp and starting to fall away from his body, as if they were being killed off by him eliminating my self doubt. "..you really are better than you think you are, totally. You can do great things, kid. Seriously, you can — I believe in you completely."
"You.. do..?" I asked, tears in joy. At the moment, the thought crept into my head. Maybe I am as good as Colton and Michael, even if I am not as powerful as they are.
"Totally.." he replied back, a smile on his face. "Without any doubt."
I smiled. "Thank you!" I shouted, happiness on my face, and it happened.
My body started glowing.
I gasped. "What.. what's happening to me?" I shouted.
"I think it's starting! The ascending!" Colton said back to me.
I was about to reply back to him, but.. things took a turn.
I didn't see at all what happened next because at that point..
I blacked out. Cliche, ain't it though?
(A/N: And there you have it! The other half of the climax of the quest to retrieve the Sword of Jupiter! A minor spoiler — since the final POV chapter before Luke's two chapters will be Michael, I will go ahead here and reveal that Lavinia's ascending does kill the Trojan Sea Monster, just so you all aren't confused if I don't mention it in Michael's next chapter. Other than that, like I said, with work being as it is, chapters will be worked on slowly — but I'll try to keep them coming out as best as I can. So anyways, hope you enjoy and see you all in the next chapter!)