'Rancor'
03-Sep-2030, 0030U
Hazel Levesque, Hero of Olympus, Daughter of Pluto
Joint Operation with Hunters of Diana, Legion XII
North McCullough Wilderness, Nevada, USA
Nico and I were walking in Berkeley, spending some time among the mortal populace (just for the sake of some normalcy and because I wanted to learn more about the modern world from time to time), when he suddenly collapsed next to an alley, clutching his head in pain.
"Nico!" I exclaimed as I knelt beside him. "Nico, what's wrong?"
"Agh... Hazel, back away! Back up!" he hissed as he convulsed.
"What do you mean—"
"I don't... I can't... get Frank! Reyna! Help!"
"Holy—kid, you okay?" a passing policeman asked, running up to us. "What's wrong? Is he having a seizure?"
"I'm calling 9-1-1!" a bystander said, walking towards us as more nearby mortals began noticing.
"Nonono—" Nico gasped before his face went blank and his body became completely rigid. He slowly turned towards me before speaking. But what came out of his mouth wasn't his voice. And his eyes were pure black—even the whites were gone.
"Autodikos is no more," a deep voice said, sending chills down my spine. "Your brother is mine, Ecaterina."
"What the hell—" the policeman began before Nico exploded... or more accurately, he caused an explosion, knocking myself and the mortals back and sending black smoke everywhere. Chaos ensued as I tried to get my bearings, seeing blood—some of it mine, some of it the mortals'. The policeman and bystander from earlier laid on the ground some distance from where Nico's body used to be, both bleeding and unconscious. People were screaming around me and it didn't take long for sirens to become audible in the distance. Panicking, I ducked into the alley, shadow-traveling back to Camp Jupiter, specifically the Principia. I couldn't shadow—travel quite as well as my brother—nor did I have the same sort of understanding and sense of the matter-but I could do it well enough to track his location.
"Holy—Hazel, what happened?!" Frank exclaimed, standing bolt upright along with Reyna, the legate, and the praetors, catching me before I collapsed, still shocked by the incident.
"Nico... he's... I..." I stuttered out, still trying to make sense of the whole deal. "He's in trouble!"
"Define 'trouble,'" Reyna requested, giving me her chair.
"Something's taken control of him. Like the eidolons. It said 'Autodikos is no more,'" I recalled, shuddering at my memory of the voice. "Then he exploded... mortals got caught in the blast, I don't know if any are dead. Nico's still alive and I can track him, but he said to get you two first."
"I can scramble a detachment to provide support," the legate offered.
"No way. Nico's too strong, too dangerous. Get a team inside the city and investigate however you can, conduct damage control if necessary," Frank ordered. "But whatever you do, stay out of sight!"
"Yes, Consul."
"We need Leo's help too," I pointed out.
"No, he's still handling the situation in Texas," Frank replied with a shake of his head. "And that's critical too. We need to work with what we have."
"Let's get our weapons and armor. Hazel, take us to him," Reyna said.
We ended up playing a shadow-traveling version of cat and mouse, pursuing Nico to Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and finally Nevada, where we stumbled upon the Hunters of Artemis.
"Thalia, did you happen to see Nico di Angelo?" Reyna asked as we approached the group.
"What do you think, Reyna?" Thalia asked sarcastically, gesturing to the destruction around her. A dozen Hunters laid on the ground with gashes, bumps, and bruises—the aftermath of "Nico's" rampage here. Shockingly, none of the wounded were on death's doorstep, meaning one of two things: either "Nico" wasn't aiming to kill or Nico was fighting back. Trying for optimism, I prayed for the latter to be true.
"So you three must be Ecaterina, Marcella, and Trajan. The three new immortals, yes?" Artemis asked, addressing me, Reyna, and Frank as she approached. But something was off about the goddess. "Artemis" looked older, more regal, and didn't snap at Frank for existing... she still looked upset, but it seemed as if that was directed towards "Nico." "Autodikos arrived earlier and attacked my Huntresses. He's still in the valley."
"We have to contain him!" Reyna said. "Are there any daughters of Trivia here?"
"Two Hecate girls... Cass, Tina! Get up here!" Thalia shouted, pulling Reyna—who pulled Frank—aside as the five began planning how they would handle the situation.
"You need to keep your Huntresses back," I added, looking towards "Artemis." "I think Nico's trying to fight whatever took control of him, but I don't know how much longer he has, or if he even has time. Next time they fight him, he could slaughter them."
"I already gave the order, Ecaterina," she replied. "I am well aware of the threat Autodikos presents. But he has gone rogue and must be stopped, whatever methods necessary."
"Hazel! They're gonna set up a barrier within a one mile diameter around the patch of land he's in. He is in the valley, right?" Frank asked.
"One mile diameter? It has to be smaller!" I protested.
"No it can't! He's constantly shifting his position. If we don't give him room to move, he could get more violent and break out!" Reyna shot back. "Hazel, where is he?"
"Uh, hang on... two miles out, thataway, he seems to be standing still!"
"Cass, Tina, do it!" Thalia ordered, with the Hunters complying as they began setting up the spell.
"Agh... it's getting tough to hold it already! He's already pushing against the border!" one girl groaned, sweat beading on her forehead.
"I'll give you two strength," "Artemis" proposed, stepping forward and grasping each Hunter by the shoulder, making the three glow in a silvery light. And it made sense: a full moon was out, so the goddess was undoubtedly at her strongest—but if she was focused on containing Nico, then she couldn't help further.
"It's getting easier! Thanks, Milady!"
"Consuls, Daughter of Pluto, you three had best be going."
"Wait!" Thalia shouted as if suddenly remembering something. "You're gonna need some backup!"
"I think we can handle it, Lieutenant," Frank replied as he readied his bow.
"Sorry, but di Angelo's gone berserk, so you're gonna need something equally crazy. Just hold on!"
"What's your plan?"
"One sec, let me call him!" she replied, dashing from the group to... make a call?
"Hey, he's en route!" Thalia reported, jolting me from my thoughts as she jogged back towards us. I wasn't sure who "he" was, but "Artemis" informed us that "he" was a warrior we'd likely need for this.
"We can't just wait! We have to go in!" I hissed, frustrated as I tapped the handle of my spatha.
"Trust me, you're gonna like this guy," a blonde—Carly, I think—said as she washed blood from her hands.
"And why do you say that?" Frank asked curiously.
"Let's just say he's... different," a raven-haired one replied.
"Thank you for making the understatement of the century, Jess," Carly replied sarcastically.
"What? I mean, he doesn't stab, slash, or shish-kebab the bad guys!"
"Meaning...?" Reyna prompted, motioning for them to continue.
"Well—"
"GAAAAAAAH!" a Hunter screamed as a hellhound barreled out of the shadows, cutting off Jess's commentary. We raised our weapons before halting at the sight of two things: first, the smiley face with crossbones on the collar indicated that it was none other than Nico's old friend, Mrs. O'Leary; second, there was a very certain cyclops sitting on it. I hadn't encountered him much, but he was hard to forget.
"Wha—Tyson?" Reyna gasped, mouth hanging open in shock.
"Hello, Consul Ramirez-Arrellano! Consul Zhang! Not-a-Consul-But-Still-Important Levesque!" he replied with a smile, wave, and typical blunt-yet-polite self. "Lieutenant Thalia was calling for help!"
"I was not!" the Lieutenant of the Hunt grumbled indignantly.
"Don't lie to yourself, LT," Jess sighed with a roll of her eyes.
"Listen here you—"
"LT!" a new voice said as a second figure jumped off Mrs. O'Leary with Tyson. Like Tyson, he carried a bag full of something, but that's where the similarities ended. He looked like a modern soldier I'd seen in newsreels and films: green camouflage, minimal (but apparently still protective) armor, helmet with night-vision goggles, and modern armament. His fatigues were bloody and dirty like he'd just been in a battle. "What the hell did you drag us out here for?"
"I told you! Nico di Angelo's gone berserk! Ask them!" Thalia shot back, pointing towards us. "Consuls, here's the equally crazy dude I was referring to!"
"Who the hell are you?" Reyna asked, suspicious of the newcomer.
"Consuls, huh? That's one helluva promotion," the man replied as he raised his night-vision goggles. I felt myself wince at the burn scars—which seemed to only cover about half of his face—but that faded quickly when I had a look at his eyes through his clear safety glasses. They reminded me of the time when, like a fool, I thought a Roman god was carrying a trash lady towards Camp Jupiter.
Wait, what?
"Percy?!" I gasped, covering my mouth in shock.
"Long time, Lev—AGH!" Percy exclaimed, cut off by Frank's sudden punch to his chest. "Damn, Zhang! Missed you too, brother!"
"WHERE THE FREAK HAVE YOU BEEN?!?" he bellowed angrily. "TWENTY YEARS, NO MAIL, NO ARCUS-MESSAGE, NO NOTHING?!?"
"In my defense, I couldn't do the latter because of a lack of the right currency. As for the former, I guess my letters to y'all didn't go through. Either the US Postal Service is lacking or everyone conveniently didn't get my mail to make my comeback all the more dramatic."
"... WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!?"
"I dunno, honestly. I'm just going off a script. Good to see you, man."
"Ugh... you too, bro," Frank finally relented, clasping Percy's hand and shaking it before the two shared a "bro-hug." "Sorry about that punch."
"Huh, you're still bleedin' maple syrup, I see. Besides, you oughta meet my dad and master chief. Hazel!"
"Hi, Percy. Glad to see you're okay," I sighed as we exchanged a hug. "A little warning would be nice next time."
"You got it. RA-RA."
"Don't, Jackson," Reyna shot back warningly, but shook his hand nonetheless, giving him a small smile.
"Alright, gimme a SITREP."
"Nico's been possessed by something—not an eidolon, but pretty damn close from what I can gather—and he's gone berserk. He caused an explosion in Berkeley, assaulted some police officers in Portland, attacked a crew of firefighters in Vancouver, and beat the stuffings out of a bunch of Hunters here," Frank quickly summarized. "They've trapped him in a patch of land with a one mile diameter to the southwest. We gotta go in and take him down before he hurts himself or anyone else."
"That explains a lot, actually," Percy replied matter-of-factly. "What kind of time window do we have?"
"Well, there's a full moon..."
"Uh, are those storm clouds?" Jess asked, pointing towards the barely visible clouds to the northeast. "Won't those block out the moon and make things... harder?"
"Yeah..." Thalia answered grimly. "Looks like they'll be here in one hour, max."
"Any way you can throw 'em off, LT?" Percy asked.
"No. I can call them, not divert them. Jason probably could, but he isn't here."
"No factor, we'll work fast. Do we have any way to track di Angelo?"
"I can!" I answered. "I'm not quite as good as he is with shadows, but I can find him."
"Check. Tyson, you know how to operate the M32?" Percy asked as he knelt and pulled off his duffel bag.
"And we're off," Thalia muttered, confusing me.
"And we're off?" What's an "M32?"
"I don't believe so, but I can figure it out!" Tyson answered as Percy pulled out a massive gun-looking object—a grenade launcher, if I remembered those modern war films—along with a vest carrying what I assumed to be ammunition and a bandolier with more pouches. As Percy pulled out what appeared to be radios, I could see more grenades, a shotgun slung on his back, and a pistol the size of my head in a holster on his right leg.
"Are you... going to shoot him?" I asked out of worry. Nico was immortal, but it would undoubtedly hurt.
"Yeah, but everything I've got here is less-lethal," Percy replied, trying to reassure me. "Nine-bangs, CS, OC, smoke, bean bags, rubber rounds... they ain't gonna tickle, but they ain't gonna kill him. Probably wouldn't kill him even if he weren't a god, just as long as they're applied properly."
"And do you know how to apply them properly?"
"Yeah. Not nearly as much as a cop or MA, but yeah. Wish we had a few MSGs..."
"What?"
"Old story, long time ago. Here," he said, handing me, Reyna, and Frank radios, switches, and headsets. "Comms systems. I've taped transponders to each radio, so I can know your positions on the ATAK. Put the radios on your belts and—yeah, there you go. Hold the button down when you wanna talk and vice versa. Gimme a quick comm check."
"Uh, is this working?" Frank whispered into his headset's microphone, his voice still loud and clear. Meanwhile, Percy pulled out another radio—minus the headset—and tossed it to Thalia.
"It's just like a telephone!" I exclaimed after each person's radio was tested.
"Tech's improved since the '40s," Percy replied with a grin before pulling out some belts with several pouches each, handing them out. "A few other party favors. Pretty simple: ID your target, pull the pin, and send it—watch out for the aftereffects. Our boy likes living in the dark... let's give him light. Nine-bangs will be best for this, but smoke will probably help in some cases. Bangers have gray tops, smokes have white tops."
"And the CS and OC?" Reyna asked as we tightened the belts around our waists. As weird as it sounds just going along with whatever Percy said given that all of it was foreign to us), not only did he sound like an expert on the matter, but I was desperate for whatever options he had for stopping Nico.
"Tear gas and pepper spray, basically. Like I said: it ain't gonna kill him, but it'll definitely make 'im cry. I've got two spray canisters, one of each. You and Hazel are CQB, so you're takin' em. Not sure if one's gonna affect di Angelo more than the other, but we gotta have options."
"Okay," I said hesitantly as I gingerly took the OC spray. It felt wrong, but so was this entire situation. It would undoubtedly hurt Nico, but if it meant stopping whatever was in his head... it'd be a risk I'd have to take.
"Zhang ol' buddy, you can still turn into animals, right?"
"No, transformations are one of my domains for no reason," Frank replied sarcastically as he adjusted the gear Percy had handed him.
"Right, you're gonna take the place of our ISR bird."
"Our what?"
"Just get upstairs and be our eyes in the sky. I'll roll in with Tyson, Hazel, and Reyna on the ground. Will you still be able to communicate with us via radio?"
"Uh, hang on..." he said. The towering figure of Frank disappeared and was replaced by a hawk on the ground, looking up at us. Somehow, I began hearing his voice—not in my mind, but through the radio: "Testing, testing, testing."
"Okay, brother. The skies are yours," Percy said with a grin, waving upwards.
"You and I will have a long talk when this is over. Be safe, guys," Frank replied as he took off into the night sky.
"If you're quite finished, Perseus, you ought to go in and stop Autodikos before the storm arrives or my energy is depleted," "Artemis" said suddenly, making Percy look her way.
"Well if it isn't Lady Diana... what's crackin'?" Percy asked, with the goddess tilting her head in confusion. And suddenly, it made sense: "Artemis" was in fact not Artemis, but Diana, her Roman counterpart, who apparently hadn't been seen since the fall of Rome... and was back for whatever reason.
"What's what?"
"Nevermind. Also, aren't you a major goddess with the best time of your domain out? And we have to stop who now?"
"Perseus... as you mortals apparently like to say: JUST DO IT!"
"Okay, damn!" Percy chuckled before turning towards Mrs. O'Leary. "Okay, girl. Just stay out here, alright? Don't try to pursue Nico or us, just wait here with Thalia. Love you, okay?"
After a bark of acknowledgement, Percy turned towards the southwest, where Nico was trapped. He drew his enormous pistol, took a metal cylinder from a pocket, and screwed it on the front. After some fiddling with a little box attached to the barrel, he lowered his night-vision goggles and took a breath.
"Okay, for patrolling in... Hazel, you're on point. I'll be around ten yards behind you. Reyna and Tyson, you two do the same thing, but transform your positions five yards back and ten yards left of ours. Hazel, you're in charge of leading the way, telling us when to stop and go and all that. Check your corners, maintaining 360 security. Good?"
"Good," we replied grimly, setting ourselves up. For better or worse, we were going in.
"Rancor's out there. Let's bag 'im and drag 'im. Levesque... take us out."
And so we went in our formation, advancing into the valley, only stopping to get Cass and Tina to open a small section.
"We're in! Close it!" Percy hissed as soon as we crossed the perimeter.
"Okay, it's closed. You guys are trapped in there... Lady Diana and I estimate the storm will be upon us in forty minutes. I repeat, forty minutes, forty-five at best," Thalia reported.
"Roger, LT. Just hang in there. Zhang, SITREP."
"I keep seeing something, but not for a second or two at a time," Frank replied. "He's still moving around."
"Roger. Provide continual updates every five mik—minutes. Five minutes."
"Okay, updating you every five minutes."
We continued "patrolling in," as Percy put it, with Frank providing updates and me guiding our group. Unfortunately, Nico's movement had become even more erratic with the magic barrier around him, leading us to backtrack our steps thrice as we kept after him. Finally, after three of Frank's updates, Nico stilled. Motioning with my hand for us to move left, I crept forward, keeping my spatha ready. I wished Leo, Jason, Annabeth, and Piper were here—at least Jason and Piper to try and talk Nico down—but there wasn't any time to dawdle. We could only move on.
"Guys, I see him! A hundred meters north of you!" Frank reported. Sure enough, there he was almost dead ahead. He was shaking and pacing like a madman, muttering about something as he slashed at a rock.
"Ramirez, Levesque, move up. Tyson, flank left. I got right. Tyson, when I tell you to, throw a nine-bang at him. Then, open fire," Percy whispered. "Haze, talk to him, keep him distracted."
Taking a deep breath, I kept stepping forward with Reyna not far behind while Percy and Tyson broke away from the formation to flank Nico. Finally, when we weren't more than fifty yards away, I called out to him.
"Nico! Nico, it's me, Hazel!" I shouted, getting his attention. "I'm here with Reyna!"
"Wha—Hazel? You—urgh!" he groaned, clutching his head while the hand with his sword trembled. "You... shouldn't have come..."
"We're here to help you, Nico. Please put the sword down! You're scaring me!"
"I can't... I can't stop it! Why—agh... are you armed?! Are you?!"
"We can help you, amigo!" Reyna assured, her voice calm despite Nico's voice changing between his normal one and the deep one of the monster controlling him. "And we are, but it's just as a precaution. I need you to put it down!"
"Back away, Marcella," Nico hissed, his pitch deepening. "I control Autodikos, not you!"
"Buster, that's Nico's body you're in! Nico, fight it! Fight it!" I urged, trying to get through to him. But in my heart, I knew it was too late when Nico's shaking ceased and he faced us with his sword raised and ready to fight.
"The son of Hades is mine, daughter of Pluto," "Nico" growled as whatever fight my brother had slipped away, the monster having gained full control of his body. "And now you die."
"Engage!" Percy whispered. Before I could blink, muffled gunshots rang out from the right as he began shooting Nico, making him yelp in surprise.
"Nine-bang out!" Tyson warned as an object was hurled at Nico, smacking him in the head. Before I could react, the object—as its namesake suggested—erupted with nine "bangs," each with a bright flash right in his face. While I wasn't blinded, the explosions left me seeing spots as I began hearing "thunks" from the left as Tyson fired his grenade launcher. Two grenades struck Nico in the torso, but didn't explode—the "bean bags," I assumed—making him bend over, shouting in pain.
"Move up, move up!" Percy ordered, but Nico was faster. Before Reyna and I could take a step, he stumbled back and melted into the shadow of a rock.
"Does anyone see him?" Tyson shouted as we looked around frantically. "Hazel, behind you!"
Whirling around, I just managed to dodge Nico's downward strike, with Reyna charging in immediately after. The two began a furious duel, faster than I could even register. But as I considered my next move, I sensed a certain something beneath the ground.
"Undead, undead, undead!" Percy yelled as several skeleton warriors with swords and shields crawled out of the earth around us. He was backing away from two, tossing a nine-bang while firing at them with his shotgun. Meanwhile, Tyson had resorted to brawling with his enemies, picking up one of the skeletons by its ankles and knocking down three others with a series of mighty swings.
"Oh, fiddlesticks!" I cursed as one engaged me in combat. While my swordsmanship had improved over time, I was still lacking compared to someone like Jason, Reyna, or Nico. Worse, while I did have more power to my strikes with two hands, the skeleton's shield gave it some extra versatility in terms of offense and defense, leaving us in a bit of a deadlock. However, I quickly realized that it was significantly taller than me, so I tried ducking and slashing for the knees. Upon successfully taking out its legs, I began stabbing downwards, needing three tries before successfully getting past its shield and nailing its throat.
Around me, I could see that Tyson had also pulled out a club, continuing to bash the skeletons into pieces while Percy's shotgun method allowed him to take down the two he'd engaged, giving him time to reload. As for Reyna, she was still locked in a fast-paced duel with Nico, but he had her on defense. Without thinking, I joined the fight, shouting a warning to Reyna before making a slash at my brother. My blade connected with his as he began simultaneously fighting the two of us.
Under normal circumstances, Nico could thrash me in a duel. With Reyna or Jason, it often ended up in draws. But now, even with Reyna and I fighting in tandem, Nico was holding his own, acting mostly defensively but occasionally getting a thrust or slash out.
"Ramirez! Use your CS gas!" Percy barked. "I gotta help Tyson!"
"Go!" I shouted, pressing my offense to try and force Nico back while giving Reyna time to pull out her canister.
"Gas, gas, gas!" she warned. Right after I sidestepped, she unleashed the CS gas. While I wasn't the target, I could feel my eyes, mouth, and throat burn. Nico, of course, got the worst of it, coughing profusely as he swung wildly but inaccurately. Reyna, meanwhile, kept spraying him to keep him disoriented as I backed up.
"Levesque, nine-bang him! Ramirez, keep up the gas!" Percy ordered. I fumbled at the belt of grenades in response, trying to find one. I found one right as Reyna ran out of CS gas, pulling the pin and—in a rather dirty move—grabbed him by the collar of his T-shirt and threw the nine-bang down his front before backing away and raising my sword as the explosions began.
I had a feeling after this was over, he wouldn't tuck his shirt into his pants anymore.
Nico was now blinded and swinging like a madman as he tried to counterattack, but with his moves wild and unfocused, it was significantly easier for the two of us to disarm him and knock him on his back. But he wasn't out of tricks, rolling over into a nearby shadow and disappearing.
"Come on!" I said, following his aura with Reyna on my heels.
"Wait, wait, stick together! Ramirez, get back here!" Percy shouted, but we were already in motion to catch Nico. I realized too late the value of Percy's words when we were led further and further away from the group. Frank kept saying something, but I wasn't paying attention as I looked around trying to get my bearings.
"Hazel... now might be a good time to pull out the OC spray," Reyna murmured as she stood with her back towards mine.
"Is that really necessary?" I shot back. "You used a full canister of CS or whatever it was called!"
"We—WHOA!" she exclaimed when Nico emerged from the shadows, sword in hand as he attacked, with Reyna just barely blocking the strike. However, in doing so, he'd overextended himself. But before I could move to exploit it, there was another explosion—just like at Berkeley—knocking the two of us back into rocks. When I regained my bearings, Nico was standing above me, the point of his sword at my throat while I was utterly disarmed.
"Nico... don't," I pleaded, trying to break through to him in a last-ditch effort.
"Silenc—AAAAAAH!!" Nico screamed as a set of explosions went off—but the nine-bang wasn't thrown by me or the unconscious Reyna. Taking advantage of the situation, I pulled out the OC spray, silently apologizing before hitting Nico with a full blast of it, making him stumble back. Disoriented, he swung his sword around in an undisciplined manner, shouting curses all the while. From my right, arrows sailed towards my brother, some hitting him and some bursting into smoke.
As I got to my feet, Frank stepped out from behind a rock, continuing to shoot the smoke and blunt arrows rapidly. Raising the canister, I unleashed more of the OC spray, making Nico yell at the chemicals hitting his face. Wincing internally, I prayed that he'd forgive me when it was all over, but in my brief moment of sympathy, I didn't realize Frank and I had backed him into some more shadows—which he used to his advantage.
"Crud! Hazel, where is he? Where is he?!" Frank called stepping towards my position. But before I could pinpoint him, I felt something slash the back of my thigh and hit my head, making me face-plant into the ground. "Holy—HAZEL!"
But before I could recover, my head was held up by my hair and a blade was to my neck, making Frank halt in his tracks with his bow raised.
"Step forward, Trajan, and your woman will be hurt... badly," "Nico" hissed, pressing his sword into my throat.
"Let her go, man! That's your sister!" Frank shouted.
"Hah! The sister of Autodikos is gone! This is naught but the result of a shared father's infidelity! A curse on all close to her!"
"This isn't you, Nico! Lay down your weapon!"
"I think not, son of Mar—AAAAH!" "Nico" screamed as a series of gunshots rang out, making him release me. With a quick rollover and upwards kick to the groin, I got him to stumble off of me. A glance to the right revealed Percy and Tyson with their pistol and grenade launcher as they continued to shoot. To my left, Frank was charging forward, continuing to launch arrows all the while.
Nico tried leaping for a shadow, but I was ready this time, rolling into a different one. In the shadow realm, he tried to get behind Percy and Tyson. Running at him with every bit of strength I had, I tackled him and forced us out, with the two of us collapsing in a heap next to an awakening Reyna—who looked like we scared the living daylights out of her. She was quick if nothing else, throwing a punch at Nico's face before he could try and swing his sword at her. But unfortunately for the two of us, he set off yet another explosion, knocking us back once again.
Frank, however, seemed to have had enough. Not even a second after Nico stood, the son of Mars shoved him into a rock, making him drop his sword. Pumping his fists, Frank unleashed his full hand-to-hand combat prowess, punching and moving in a manner that would make Johnson, Dempsey, and other such boxing greats proud. Also, it oddly reminded me of one scene in a film Leo dragged us to... Impossible Missions or something like that.
Whatever was controlling Nico still wasn't down, managing to kick Frank back and dive for his sword. Nico slashed upwards, cutting Frank's wrist as more skeletons broke through the ground, restraining him, Reyna, and myself before any of us could react.
"Flashbang and CS incoming, flashbang and CS incoming," Percy suddenly warned.
"You can't defeat me, weaklings," a bloodied and bruised "Nico" growled.
"No... but he can," Frank said, shutting his eyes right as a "thunk" came from the distance. Before I could do the same, several sudden bright explosions consumed us—not just from nine-bangs, but from what I could only assume were something similar from Tyson's grenade launcher. Moreover, we were engulfed by CS gas and plain old white smoke, making my eyes tear up as I coughed at the burning sensation.
I could just barely make out Percy firing with his pistol before he ran out of ammo, forcing him to bring up his shotgun and continue shooting. At a different angle a bit further away stood Tyson as he launched and threw grenades towards us.
Even the skeletons were affected, shrieking like banshees at the bright flashes, loud bangs, and suffocating gas and smoke. With their master just as—if not more—disoriented, it got easier and easier to struggle against the warriors of bone and break free as the smoke cleared and Percy charged. Acting fast, he unslung and raised his shotgun, slamming its butt against Nico's face before drawing back and kicking him in the stomach.
"The... the son of Poseidon?! Impossible!!" "Nico" hissed as he stumbled back from Percy's powerful blows.
"Let's dance, kid," the son of the sea shot back, slamming his shotgun's butt into Nico's face once again, with a third strike connecting with his throat. A broad swing with Nico's sword knocked the weapon from Percy's hands and forced him back.
"I'M NO KID!!" "Nico" roared, but the shout sounded less like the monster and more like my brother. "I HATE YO—OOF!"
He was cut off by Percy rapidly reloading, raising, and firing his pistol, with a dozen "less-lethal" bullets impacting Nico in the chest. Improvising, Percy grabbed the barrel with his left hand and struck Nico in the temple with his pistol grip, following up with a punch to the throat with his right hand. My brother choked out another shout of hatred as he stumbled backwards, but he was cut off by four "bean bags" hitting him square in the chest as Tyson charged him.
Bellowing a battlecry, the cyclops punched Nico in the face with a might that probably surpassed Frank's, launching him several feet back. My brother hit the rocky desert ground, knocked unconscious by the powerful blow as the sons of Neptune stood above him, pointing their weapons down at him and panting like they'd ran a marathon.
"Moving!" Percy warned as Frank, Reyna, and I limped towards them.
"Go!" Tyson replied, keeping his grenade launcher pointed at the unconscious son of Hades. Percy knelt, tossing Nico's sword away before turning him on his stomach, restraining his arms and legs with cuffs.
"Holy—you're bleeding!" I gasped, seeing the blood on Percy's stomach—one slash that his small armor didn't stop.
"So are you," he panted, looking at the three of us as he raised his night-vision goggles. After taking a breath, he turned on his radio. "LT, be advised, Rancor is down. Say again, Rancor is down."
"I'm assuming that's our friendly neighborhood di Angelo. Good work... and good timing too. We just lost the barrier," Thalia replied as lightning flashed in the air. "Storm's arrived."
"Check," Percy acknowledged before turning towards us. "Any idea if that thing's outta his head?"
"I... don't know," I murmured as I looked at my brother's limp body, thunder booming in the background. "I couldn't even sense it until it revealed itself... it's no eidolon."
"Knight, this is Torch," a new, older-sounding female voice suddenly said on the radio. "Do you read?"
"Roger, Torch. 'Bout time you showed up. Send traffic," Percy replied, unsurprised by the new voice.
Trivia... but how would she know him? And what's she doing on the radio?
"I just received word of what happened. Are you alright?"
"We'll live. Rancor too. Any idea what this is?"
"Unsure... I assumed it was an eidolon, but they cannot possess gods. And there's the issue of the black eyes rather than the gold ones, along with the fact that they cannot be detected by children of the Underworld. However, I did manage to detect this spirit with magic when Ecaterina could not, and I can tell you for certain that it no longer possesses Autodikos. Those last few blows, especially to his head, did the trick."
"So... we have to beat this thing outta anyone that gets possessed? Doesn't sound like a particularly difficult solution."
"Well, I'm looking through my records now, and I can tell you what little we know about these unnamed spirits: unlike eidolons, they are immune to charmspeak and can possess immortals. And do not forget that they wield the abilities of whatever poor soul they manage to ensnare in their grasp. Where there are deficiencies in one place, there are bound to be strengths in another.:"
"Ah..." Percy replied with a nod. "Gotcha. So what happens now?"
"It would be wise to remain in the valley until he wakes up and I can confirm that there are no aftereffects—something that is relatively inconsistent between those that survive being possessed. There, you are at least far from anyone," Trivia advised.
"Uh... what about us?" Thalia jumped in.
"Oh, I forgot about you... well, Diana and her Huntresses can help to keep an eye on Autodikos and provide security."
"She ain't gonna be happy about that."
"Just tell her what I told you, Lieutenant," the goddess ordered as thunder boomed and it began to rain. "Knight, secure Autodikos to a rock and keep him out of the shadows the best you can. I'm sending down a package to the daughter of Zeus. It will have all you need to hold him in place and perhaps clear his head."
"Knight copies all. Out," Percy replied before looking up towards us. "Okay, we've bagged him... let's drag him."
Autodikos - "the one who takes law into [his own] hands"
Ecaterina - "an affectionate, innocent and pure chaste being"
Trajan - "the most capable man to [lead] the empire"
Marcella - "a woman with the character of the warrior"
(according to www.momjunction.com)
An entirely less-lethal adventure... where are the riot police when you need them? Or Marine Security Guards?
This one was interesting to write. I suppose it could've been done with regular armament considering that Nico's a god, but I wanted to not only explore some different gear—even if it's the result of Vulcan's half-successful attempt to understand combat in the mortal world. I know, it's highly unrealistic Percy would have any knowledge in less-lethal weaponry/tactics, but I'd say he'd just try and figure it out. And Tyson understands the M32 because he's a mechanical genius.
Hey, if Leo could figure out a freaking helicopter, Tyson can figure out a grenade launcher.
But who would've thunk it? A cyclops, a SEAL, two consuls, and a not-a-consul-but-still-important person working together to take down Mr. Emo himself... with CS, OC, nine-bangs, bean bags, rubber rounds, and good old-fashioned brawling.
Yeah, definitely not me.
Thanks for reading and make sure to leave a comment! Tune in next time for a reunion between old allies!
Until then,
- ADF-2