Chapter Thirty-Four
"All right, this is the big day. The throat-slitting, skull-cracking, intestine-ripping day."
"Wow. You're really inspirational, dad." Nikias deadpanned as I let Akin braid my hair the next morning while we stood in my bathroom. Akin was all prepared for battle in his suit, mask in place, goggles sitting on top of his head, his hair done in a ponytail. Nikias was leaning on the wall beside the bathroom door, looking as peeved as he was yesterday about not being part of the physical part of the war. His dark hair was swept back from his face, green eyes glaring at the floor, and he wore just a simple pair of loose black pants and a cropped shirt.
"At least he's not spewing some speech before the battle like they do in those action movies." Akin offered as he tied off the bottom of the braid and brushed it over my shoulder. I just nodded my thanks as I picked the mask up off the counter.
"Akin, can I have a minute with my dad?" Nikias asked, pushing off the wall. Akin nodded, then glanced at me.
"Don't forget; everyone has to be out on the field in twenty. You have to meet up with Lucifer, Ambrosius, and Dania." He said. I nodded. Akin surprised me when he gave me a formal military salute, then a girly wave before leaving the room. Nikias watched him go, then turned to me as I adjusted my goggles over my head.
"You said you can't die because it'd rupture the balance. And yet, you offered to go after Rhea. That sounds like a suicide mission." He told me with a deep frown. I cocked my head in the mirror, my blue eyes staring back at me. Akin had left enough of my bangs down so it swept across my face and fell down the sides, and the braid he'd knotted fell over my left shoulder. And when I looked at Nikias in the mirror, I noticed how similar Nikias looked compared to me. I frowned at the concern on his face at my silence.
"I'm not going to die, Nikias." I told him flatly, looking back down.
"Are you sure? Because the only reason you'd face Rhea would be that you found a way to disconnect her from the Source and kill her." Nikias explained with a deadly calm. I blinked, then narrowed my eyes and looked up to see him holding a folded up napkin. I reached into the pouch on my holster, only finding ammo there. I turned and approached Nikias, snatching it from his grasp and shoving it back in the pouch.
"I'm going after Rhea, Nikias. I'm not going to kill myself."
"You've been depressed about something since the moment I saw you. The first time I looked at you, I couldn't help thinking... Wow, he's really sad. I don't know why. I wish I did, but you taught me that sometimes people deserve to have secrets about themselves. I just don't want you to do something stupid." He muttered. I smirked at that, folding my arms over my chest. All these years and I don't remember any of my sons treating me the way Nikias did. He knew all about my coarseness, I wasn't even letting him fight in the war, and he was still concerned. It was both amusing, and a little scary. I had no idea how to properly react to that. Should I hug him? I'd rather not. I still wasn't used to that whole touchy-feely thing.
"I'll be fine," I assured him after a moment of silence, watching Nikias bit at his bottom lip uncertainly, "I've fought them and won before. I can do it again. If we do our jobs right, we'll win." Nikias said nothing. He looked like wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words for it, so he gave up and settled for looking at me in distress. I sighed and stepped forward, putting a hand behind his head and pulling him close to me. Nikias appeared startled by that, but didn't hesitate to hug me around the torso tightly, squeezing his eyes shut. We stood there for a moment before I backed away, clearing my throat.
"I should get going before Ambrosius throws a fit." I told him. Nikias nodded solemnly, then gave me the same salute Akin did. I felt the strangest urge to smile at him, but I forced it away and just returned the salute before I closed my eyes and teleported from the bathroom in my room in Seth's temple. I appeared in the large field on the other side of the river where the Egyptian and Greek armies had gathered. It was a vast, crowded group. I recognized gods and demigods, creatures and monsters. Some who'd fought in the previous Titanomachy, some brand new and wary.
I stood a few feet from the river, glancing over at a crocodile that was sunbathing on the shore. He just stared at me with eerie, unblinking eyes, iron jaws clamped shut, tail slipping off into the water where two other crocodiles sat in silent wait. A snake flitted through the water and vanished. A few cranes had taken off, moving slowly across the sky that was painted in orange, yellow, and red hues around suns that were steadily rising over the mountains in all directions.
"Hades." I turned to see Lucifer approaching me with Ambrosius and Dania. Lucifer was dressed in his uniform with his mask hanging around his neck and goggles on his head, his gold hair in a short ponytail. Ambrosius had his black hair held back with a small black headband that looked like one of the girl's had lent him... or Akin. Dania's long auburn hair was done in a tight braid and twisted into a bun on the back of her head, her bangs swept across her face, her goggles over her eyes. She carried her bow and quiver tight around her. I cocked my head when I realized her quiver was empty.
"Need arrows?" I asked. Dania flashed me a charming smile, placing her hand on her hip.
"It's just for looks. The arrows are always with me." She added, and because she looked eager to show me, she whipped her bow off with expert ease, twirled it and aimed it into the sky to shoot down one of the cranes, drawing the bow back to reveal a silver arrow that glittered into place when Ambrosius gave her a gentle whack on the back, making her huff.
"Seth'll kill you if you kill another one of those." He warned her. Dania pouted, then looked at me.
"Well, you'll see when I skewer Julius's heart to the wall." She assured me, twirling her bow back over her shoulder. I shook my head at her cockiness. I looked at Lucifer, whose expression was grim.
"The four teams are being sent ahead. We need to let Seth know once we reach the mountains. He's going to drop the barrier for twenty seconds to let us run past before he places it again. It'll be easier to teleport to Hell than to run through the mountains. I suggest, once we get across the border, to teleport to Hell, just a few meters from our designated area." He explained. I nodded, reaching up to pull the goggles down over my eyes. Lucifer and Ambrosius did the same.
"Then I say we get to it." I said, bringing my mask up over my nose and mouth. The other nodded. We teleported from our spot in the group out to the mountains that towered around Duat and Hell. They were a dark foreboding group of shadows towering over us, blocking out the suns and making it darker. We moved along the narrow path that broke off the main path, leading to the border.
"Hey," Ambrosius said from beside me, making me frown and glance at him as he walked beside me, "I told dad to watch Nikias in the control room to make sure he doesn't do anything dumb. He'll be watching Ayo too." I cocked my head at that.
"Good. That's a load off my shoulders." I admitted honestly. Ambrosius nodded. We moved further down the path, then slowed to see a large horde of Titan soldiers just on the other side of the mountains, having set up camp with small fires still spewing smoke into the air. I followed the trails to the skies, frowning slowly at the sight of thick black clouds moving in the distance from Inferi into Hell. That cloud cover better hurry its ass up.
"Are you all in position?" Seth's voice crackled over the speaker in my ear.
"Yes. Hurry up." I commanded. There was an annoyed scoff before the air shuddered for a split second before we took off running past the border. The moment we felt the shift in the blistering heat to Hell's moderate temperature, we teleported directly off the path and across Hell to the other side. We appeared dangerously close to where the soldiers were standing guard just in front of the entrance. We stayed low behind the rocks that ran the length of the inner shoreline.
Beside me, Lucifer winced and I followed his gaze to the door. I mentally cursed as four soldiers milled around the door, a couple of them were sharing a bottle of liquor and two were standing stiffly with very unfriendly looking machine guns in their hands.
Seriously, whose idea was it to start using mortal weaponry? Guns didn't kill us; they just pissed us the hell off. Dunno about you, but a hole drilled in my liver wasn't really that fun or ticklish.
I ducked down low and waved for Lucifer to cover me and he obeyed. I opened the channel, glancing up at the sky to see something glint in the fading sun, indicating that the boys back at the control room had already sent out their eye in the sky.
"Four guards. Not two." I said into the mask, shutting the external microphone off and lowering the volume. There was a pause before the speakers crackled on.
"We're sending an extra two out to occupy the guards. Hang tight." Adrian whispered back. I looked at Lucifer and held up a finger for him to wait, and he nodded. Ambrosius and Dania sat back behind us on their hunches, eyeing the palace warily. I tilted my head up to look at it, frowning. It was almost completely destroyed. Not the way it would look after we set off the explosives, but destroyed in the sense that it was no longer a giant pearl. Now it looked more like a haunted house, dreary and dark with dim lights flickering in the windows as the heavy dark cloud cover spread across the sky like a black blanket. In the distance, I could see Zeus's lightning bolts cutting across the sky as he sharpened them for his attack. I narrowed my eyes and sat back, with my back against the rocks and Lucifer sat beside me. He glanced at me, a silent askance if I was all right, and I merely gave him a nod before a trickle of power went down my spine.
"We're set." Adrian said in my ear. I nodded, then looked at Lucifer, indicating with my hands that he was to follow me, and he nodded. I looked at Ambrosius and Dania, holding up five fingers for them to wait just behind us. They both rolled their eyes, but nodded to let me know they understood. I took a deep breath, turned the external microphone on, triggered the voice distortion and cracked my knuckles.
Lucifer swept past me with ease and darted out, grabbing their attention. The soldiers fell for the bait and scurried after out of curiosity, because Lucifer was a blur of motion. I moved to the other side, coming up behind a soldier that had his back turned. I grabbed him by the head, snapped his neck hard and tore his head off, blood spurting in a fountain. I dropped kicked his head into the nearby water, then grabbed the corpse and hauled it off behind the rocks where Ambrosius and Dania were moving out, staring at the corpse a bit warily.
"Wow," Ambrosius commented, "Didn't think you were that into it."
"I like popping the heads off insects. It gives me a sick thrill." I told him. He rolled his eyes, then cursed and whipped a throwing knife out and flung it at something behind me, causing me to whip around just in time to see Ambrosius's knife completely shoot through a soldier's head, causing him to instantly die and sink to the ground. I frowned, approaching the corpse as Ambrosius went to retrieve his knife.
"That was an awfully fast kill." Dania said from beside me. I nodded, inhaling through the mask before kneeling down to sink my hand right through his chest, ripping his heart out. I stood up, rolling the heart around in my hands, narrowing my eyes.
"It's a human heart."
"Uhm, yay?"
"Not yay."
"Not yay." Dania echoed, trying to mock my voice, even though it sounded the same anyway with the distortion. I threw the heart into the water and let Ambrosius drag the corpse off into hiding. I kept my suspicions to myself, not wanting to alert the others that maybe, just maybe, the Titans already knew we would plan something like this. Lucifer returned, dragging the two corpses of the other two soldiers, tossing them into hiding.
"You really didn't even need us, did you?" A voice asked. We turned to see Leon and Hannibal approaching us, their goggles pulled up on top of their heads. Hannibal was easily recognizable at his freakishly towering height, and the loose ponytail over his shoulder that Akin had styled for him.
"Not really," I admitted with a shrug, "Well, aside from keeping your asses out here to keep an eye on our asses." Leon nodded and went to strip the bodies of their uniforms. Hannibal approached me and held his hand out, depositing a small pouch of explosives.
"The remote for them is in the bag." He said montonously. I gave him a quick nod, snatched the bag and went to the door with my group following close behind. We walked into a short hallway with three other hallways ahead of us. We closed the door as silently as possible behind us and I hooked the bag Hannibal had given me to my holster. I heard the others behind me active their night vision just as my natural night vision snapped on. The hallway was very dimly lit with only a few wall sconces still in relatively working condition while others were shattered or completely torn out of the wall.
"Hades, can you hear me?" Ayo's voice came over the speaker in my ear.
"Yup, do me a favor. Show me the vent." I ordered. There was a scoff, some clicking before Ayo spoke again.
"All right, are you at an intersection of hallways right inside the entrance?"
"Yes."
"Go to the right, stick close to the wall. When you get to a three-way intersection, let me know."
"Got it." I waved for the others to follow me as we moved down the hallway, pausing at the slightest sounds. I approached a three-way hallway and went to speak to Ayo when I saw movement and cursed, waving for the others behind me to go back. Lucifer shook his head and ordered Dania and Ambrosius to stay put, but knowing them, they weren't moving. I didn't have time to watch them as I ducked back and pressed up against the wall just as two soldiers came around the corner. I pulled myself up using one of the curtain rods that held a torn drape, heaving myself up until I was sitting on top of it. Lucifer was pressed against the wall just below me now, Dania and Ambrosius further down.
I moved first, jumping on the first soldier's shoulders, grabbing his head, twisting sharply so his neck let out a sickening crack. He dropped to the ground and I stomped down on his spinal cord, pausing to kneel down, glancing up to see that Lucifer had broken the other soldier's neck as well.
"This one's human." Lucifer concluded, standing up. I reached down, sinking my hand into the soldier's back, ripping through his stitched suit, his flesh, before yanking his heart out, causing blood to splatter.
"This one is too."
"Do you really have to rip their hearts out? Can't you just sense it?"
"You can because you're an angel and anything that isn't angel is an impurity. Besides, I like getting my hands dirty." I added with a smirk, standing up and showing him my bloodied hands. He grimaced at that as I shook blood off one hand and opened the channel with Ayo again.
"We're at a three way hall." I told him, glancing straight ahead down the hallway we'd come, then to the right to the other hallway, then behind me at the third.
"Go down the one that goes deeper into the building. It's the longer hallway. Walk until you see the vent. Get in there and plant the bombs while two of you stand guard. I'll help you navigate through the ventilation system." Ayo explained.
"Sounds good," I told him, then turned to the others, "We need to head down this hallway. Come on. I have a bad feeling about the amount of humans they're using." I went down the longer hallway to my right and the others followed close behind.
"What's wrong with humans?" Ambrosius asked, walking to my left.
"Humans are expendable. They die far too easily."
"Why would they choose easy soldiers?"
"There's probably a trap set up somewhere," I muttered, making him sigh warily, before I moved ahead of him at the sight of a vent, "Finally." I whipped a small knife out of my pocket and twirled the screws out of the vent, tossing them over my shoulder down on the floor. I lifted the vent cover off and set it down on the floor. Surprisingly, I had to get on my toes to peer into the vent. I grimaced at how dusty it was.
"Jesus, Lucifer, you ever thought of hiring someone to clean these out? Or at least use your magic." I grunted. Lucifer rolled his eyes and went over to me. I scowled when he didn't reply, then gasped as I felt him grab me around the waist and hoist me up to the vent. I scrambled inside to get away from him, then peered out to glared at him as he just smiled innocently. Dania and Ambrosius stared at us, obviously intrigued by our relationship. I cleared my throat.
"The vent is kind of small. I can fit just barely. Ambrosius, you're smaller than me. Get in here." I commanded. He wrinkled his nose, but didn't complain as he walked over and I took him by the arms, heaving him up inside while I listened to Dania complain outside the vent.
"Why can't I go in? I'm tiny enough." She was telling Lucifer.
"Dania, I love you, dear, but don't take this the wrong way. You have the grace of a rabid badger. Besides, I'd rather have you beside me where I know you're safe." He assured her. I scoffed.
"Gee, thanks." I said mockingly. Lucifer winced.
"I didn't mean it like that."
"I know. I'd rather have Ambrosius with me anyway."
"Why, so you can torture me?" Ambrosius asked dryly, crawling down the vent to get away from me. I rolled my eyes and took the vent cover from Lucifer, placing it over the entrance before backing up and struggling to turn around to face Ambrosius, who was at the intersection of vents.
"We're in the system." He said into the microphone.
"Okay," Ayo's voice spoke into my speaker, "Hades, I'll be the one calling the shots for you while Noe gives Ambrosius directions. He's going to the left, so you go to the right. As soon as you do, plant an explosive there and move on." I moved through the vent, clenching my teeth before pausing at the intersection. My breathing was getting heavy, sweat leaking down the back of my neck.
"Hades? You stopped and you sound like you're having a heartattack." Ayo warned. I shook my head. I shouldn't have volunteered for the air vent. I should've just let Dania go. But it was too late to turn back now. They'd figure out about my claustrophobia. I took a deep breath and moved to the right, taking deep breathes as I went along.
"Hades, your heartrate is going crazy. I can hear it through the speakers."
"Sorry, I think I just saw a hot woman stripping at the end of the vent."
"If you can't breath, you should get out and let someone else--"
"Fuck you, kid."
"Fuck you, Hades." Blaine's voice snapped over the speakers. I rolled my eyes, ignoring them as I sat back on my knees, reaching into the bag and taking out a small explosive. It was round, the size of a baseball maybe. But it packed a major kick, especially in numbers. I put it back into place and hit the on button so that it was automatically connected to the remote. I moved further down the vent, sweat pouring down the sides of my face, my breathing ragged. I could feel my stomach churning, ready to heave up everything I'd managed to stuff into my already cramped stomach.
"Hades--"
"Where to next? Come on, we don't have time for this bullshit. Tell me where to go." I commanded. Ayo sighed, then cursed as the speakers crackled and I listened to Blaine take over.
"You're not talking to him like he's another one of your hos, Hades. Go straight ahead about twelve feet, then plant another explosive. When you get there, there'll be another intersection. Go left." He ordered. I rolled my eyes and obeyed, crawling through the vents. My heart was hammering so hard into my chest that it felt like it was going to explode. It was hard to breath in there. Too cramped.
"Hades, calm down," Blaine said after a while, making me scowl, "I'm not stupid. I was a bit claustraphobic too until I got used to, you know, being blind and whatever. Stop thinking about the vents. Listen to me talking."
"I think I'd rather listen to the vents."
"Fuck you, Hades. Just keep going. You're almost there. Do you hear anything unusual?"
"Aside from your obnoxious voice in my ear, nah. I'm great. Just peachy. In fact, I think I passed some cockroaches doing the salsa."
"I meant is there any suspicion that you're in the vents. If they figure it out, they'll send the god restraint gas through to try and smoke you out. Is the filter on your mask turned on?"
"Yes."
"Good. Okay, stop where you are and plant the next explosive. Move a little quicker."
"Easy for you to say. Your skinny ass could fit into a toilet paper roll."
"You shouldn't have gone in the vent then." Blaine replied snidely. I rolled my eyes, ignoring him as I reached into the pouch and took out the next explosive. I stuck it into place against the corner after turning the switch on. I moved to the left and continued to crawl. I still wanted to puke, wanted to scramble out of here as fast as possible.
"Where next?" I demanded breathlessly.
"Hades, stop. You're working yourself up into a frenzy. If you don't calm down, you're gonna go into a panic attack. Ambrosius is too far away to help--"
"Don't you fucking dare tell him about this. If I know him, he'll probably use it as a chance to cut my ass open and leave me a bloody heap in here."
"Contrary to what the kid says, he doesn't want to kill you, Hades. He just wants to punch you in the face and maybe castrate you on the weekends."
"Ugh, that amount of familial affection makes me want to vomit. Just tell me where to go next, Blaine, so I can get the hell out of here."
"Wow," Blaine whistled, impressed, "You still remember my name. Neat. Okay, go straight ahead. There's another four-way intersection. Plant an explosive in the middle. Move on another, I dunno, fourteen feet or so. There's going to be a huge collection of vents. One below and one above. Plant one there, then move up." I grunted in response, trying not to breath heavily. I held my breath for a moment or two, then let it out in a low steady stream as I continued to move through the vent.
I finally made it to the four-way and planted an explosive there, then moved on toward the collection vents. I grimaced at the amount of cobwebs hanging everywhere. A spider skittered across in front of me and I cursed, slamming my fist at it before coming to an abrupt halt, breathing hard.
Shit, I can't do this. The walls felt like they were closing in on me, swallowing me whole and even my night vision was flickering on and off, making me sick and dizzy.
"Hades? I'm patching Lucifer through to your channel."
"Don't--"
"Hades, are you all right?" Lucifer's voice asked in my ear. I cursed, clenching my fists, curling up on the bottom of the vent, eyes closed.
"Fine. Just fine."
"No, you're not. Raven told me about your claustrophobia just now."
"What the hell is this? Dr. Phil? Stop talking about me. I just need a second, all right?"
"You're all right," Lucifer said gently, and a shudder coursed through me as I suddenly remembered last night, the way his hand sank down between my legs, cupping me and his hot breath blew against my ear as he whispered the same words, "You're okay. Don't worry, Hades. You're all right. Just keep moving and listen to the sound of my voice, okay?" I clenched my teeth and propped myself up again, moving through the ventilation slowly on my hands and knees, grimacing at the way the wall seemed to press down into my back.
"Hades, if you were claustrophobic, why didn't you say anything before you went into the vent?"
"Hi, I'm Hades, god of the Underworld, lord of the scary shit, oh and I'm scared of tiny dark spaces."
"Even the strongest of us fear things, Hades."
"I don't."
"You're scared for your children." Lucifer offered. I said nothing. Just kept my teeth clenched together as I struggled to maintain a steady breathing pattern. I came to the collection of vents, fumbling for the explosive before placing it against a corner. I moved back around, sliding up the vent above me, pulling myself up. This vent was tighter than the others.
"Hades, you're breathing hard again. Just calm down. You're okay."
"I'm stuck in a vent in the lair of my harpy mother, Lucifer. I am not okay."
"You are. I won't let anything happen to you." Lucifer promised. I blinked at that, frowning slowly in confusion.
"I didn't ask for that." I told him.
"You don't have to ask for protection, Hades. If someone loves you enough, they'll do it because they want to." Lucifer replied. I hesitated. I wasn't sure how to feel about that. Was that a good thing? Was that a bad thing? I had never thought of that before. I was always protecting my sons without even really thinking about it. They were my sons. It was my job. I could do nothing else right in their world, but as long as I kept them safe, that was all that mattereed. Whether they hated me or not. I had always thought I was a fucking idiot for thinking such a way, but Lucifer thought that way too, apparently.
And he listed me amongst the people he'd protect. Would he give up his ass to protect me like I'd done for my sons? Was there a limit to his protection? Why did I need his protection in the first place? I was Hades, god of the underworld, lord of the dead.
And I couldn't even protect myself aganst Zeus.
Or Julius's men.
Or a tiny dark space.
"Lucifer." I said, staring up through the vent, watching my night vision flicker on again, lighting everything up in blue.
"Hades?" Lucifer asked in response.
"You know, just speaking hypothetically... If there was something I couldn't stop, would you stop it?"
"I'm not sure what you're asking."
Would you keep Zeus away from me? I didn't say it. It sounded pathetic the more I repeated it in my head. I clenched my teeth, shaking my head.
"Nothing. Never mind. Where do I go from here?" I asked. There was a short pause before Lucifer spoke.
"Ayo said to go straight up through that vent. You'll reach another large collection of vents. Go to the left. Plant another explosive there."
"Got it." I muttered, then wedged myself up through the vent, keeping my arms out in front of me, pressing my gloves against the vents, allowing them to stick so I could pull myself up. I managed to make it to the collection and dragged myself into the left vent, placing the explosive and moving down the vent, listening to Lucifer's instructions that he insisted on relaying in a gentle calm voice that was mostly making my groin ache.
Every time he said "you're okay" or "you're all right", it just reminded me of his breath in my ear as he leaned on top of me, filling me up inside. His long fangs slicing my throat open so he could feed on my blood, his hands wandering my body with a feverish desperation to feel me everywhere.
Ugh, god, now I was stuck and horny.
This was the worst job ever. Next time the little girl offers to go into a vent for me, I'll let her do that so I can fuck her dad while she's in the vent.
It felt as if I'd been in the vents for over an hour when I got the call over the speakers.
"Hades, Team Four is moving into position. You need to get out of the vents and cause some sort of distraction to give them some cover." Ayo informed through the speakers now. I took a deep breath.
"Finally, a job I'll enjoy." I muttered and made for the nearest exit. I approached a vent, turning onto my back, lifting my legs up and slamming them into the vent, causing the door to pop off and conveniently whack a soldier right off his feet where he'd been standing watching a couple other soldiers play a game of chess.
"What the fuck!" One of them shouted, jumping to their feet. The other leapt back, reaching to his walkie.
"We have an intruder on the second floor, main hallway. Back up." He ordered, then dropped it and reached for his gun, firing it off at my chest. It felt more like a punch to the chest. I reached up, dug my fingers into the thickly stitched partial at the steel plate, then let the bullet clink to the ground. I smirked, looking up as the soldier's mouth fell open in shock.
"I don't think so." I stated, then went towards him. He shot me three more times in the chest before I reached it, snatched the gun out of his grasp, broke it over my knee, tossed it aside. I grabbed the soldier by the skull and smashed it against the wall, blood splattering up against it. I laughed, then whirled on the next soldier that lunged for my back. I spun away, bringing my arm around and breaking his neck instantly with my elbow. He hit the ground and I looked up as several more soldiers came down the hallway.
Now this I could do, and enjoy.
I caught the first soldier to reach me around the waist, throwing him over my shoulder before stepping back onto his head, crushing his skul beneath my boot. I spun away from the next one and was grabbed by another around the waist. I cursed, then threw all my weight back against him and he yelped, smashing into the floor, I rolled off him and reached into my holster, whipping out a pair of daggers, shooting to my feet and slitting open a throat that nearly cut his head off and sent him choking and dying to the floor. I spun around, cutting open another soldier's stomach, spilling his intestines to the floor where he fell, choking and crying out in agony. I ducked a dagger that went for my head and dropped down to avoid a punch to the chest, spinning my leg around and knocking their feet out from under them, leaping on top of them and cutting them open like a pumpkin on Halloween.
I shot to my feet, breathing in the hot scent of blood, sweat, and fear. The air was thick with it and I laughed breathily as another soldier came racing down the hallway. I flung the first dagger into his chest, making him gasp in horror. I slung the next one into his face and he hit the ground a second later. I smirked before turning at the presence of a Titan. The power sliced through the air and I narrowed my eyes as a larger soldier entered the hallway.
I instantly recognized that thick mane of dark hair swept around a ruggedly handsome face, muscles bulging thick as if he'd pumped up on steroids before making his appearance in a tight back leather suit that hardly provided him with protection. Either he was stupid, or he really didn't need it.
"Astraeus," I greeted, watching him glare at me menacingly, "It's good to see you. Though, I was kind of hoping for your dad to show up so I could fuck him with my sword." Astraeus didn't take kindly to the insult. His father was Crius, one of the main Titans. Astraeus was the Titan-god of dusk, an astrology deity. But not for long.
"I don't know who you are," Astraeus sneered, pleasing me that he hadn't recognized me with the voice disguiser and the outfit, "But I'm going to find out when I wear your flesh as a blanket at night."
"Ew." I muttered, reaching down to withdrew a dagger. Astraeus smirked.
"I don't think we'll fight the way the mortals do. Let's dance the way gods were meant to dance." He mocked. So he knew I was a god, but not which god. Perfect. But I didn't need to raise suspicions, so I ignored his offer to use magic and ran at him with the dagger. He curled his lip and swung his hand out, sending a sharp blast of energy at me, but I sidestepped it and disappeared for a split second, making him scowl before I appeared before him, slashing my dagger for his throat, but he barely managed to pull back in time. He bared his fangs and lunged for me, but I ducked down low and rolled between his legs, appearing behind him and whirling around to cut his head off, but he caught my arm and threw me against the wall.
The moment he had me pinned, his gold eyes glowed.
"Hades," He sneered, lips quirking up in a sadistic smirk, "I should've guessed it was you. You always have a habit of showing up at the most inconvenient times." I shrugged.
"What gave it away? My dashing good looks?"
"Only one god has eyes like yours."
"Make that two." A voice stated. Astraeus scowled and turned just in time for Ambrosius to punch him so hard in the face that he flew back and slid across the floor, bashing into a wall and causing it to collapse. I whistled low, impressed as I stepped away from the wall, watching the debris clear to reveal Astraeus laying flat on his face. I turned to Ambrosius, whose eyes were glowing the same eere shade of blue as mine. I frowned.
"You have night vision." I stated. Ambrosius looked uncomfortable as he scratched the side of his head.
"I didn't really find out until yesterday. I tried on the goggles and turned on the night vision in a dark room. But when I took them off, I could still see. Have you always had this?"
"Yes."
"Does Zeus have it?"
"As far as I know, I'm the only one in the Greek pantheon with night vision like this."
"Sweet," Ambrosius admitted, making me raise an eyebrow before he cleared his throat, "Uhm, you know. The power. Not you. Also, the Juggernaut looks like he wants some more." I turned to follow his gaze down the hallway where Astraeus was dragging himself onto his feet, breathing raggedly in rage, fists balled up. He shook himself off, moving toward us. I stood beside Ambrosius, sighing in frustration.
"I really didn't want to waste magic on this idiot. I was kind of saving it for dinner I have planned with my mother."
"Maybe we don't need magic," Ambrosius offered, making me frown at him, "I have an idea. Just follow along." I wasn't fond of the whole following plan, but I suppose it was about time I gave this kid the benefit of the doubt. So I nodded and he appeared relieved at that.
"I'm going to smash your cum stain son into the floor," Astraeus sneered at me, "And then I'm going to haul your ass to that pretty little cage Julius kept you in. That way he can--" I whipped a dagger out and flung it at him to avoid him finishing that sentence. He snarled, dodging before charging for me. I backed up and let Ambrosius leap off to the side. Astraeus reached for my head, but I ducked and slammed my fist into his stomach, then hissed and withdrew, blowing on my knuckles.
"Jesus friggin' Christ. Did you eat a submarine?" I demanded, shaking my fist. Astraeus smirked.
"It's called a six-pack, princess." He mocked, reaching for me, but I spun out of the way, whipped a dagger out and managed to slam it right up into his left side. He roared angrily and swung around, grabbing me by the back of the neck and throwing me down the hallway. I breathed heavily, propping myself up on my elbows as Astraeus moved toward me.
And then I saw Ambrosius leapt up into a vent through the ceiling. For a moment, I didn't quite get it until I saw the ceiling shudder. I smirked as Astraeus approached me, reaching for my throat, but I flipped myself to my feet and kicked him so hard in the jaw that he stumbled and fell back a moment before the ceiling collapsed down on top of him.
"Whoop," Ambrosius exclaimed, standing on the rubble and hopping down to stand next to me, "That was great!" I looked at him curiously. He was breathing hard, sweat trickling down the sides of his face, a smirk spread across his lips as he wiped at his forehead, his goggles pushed up onto his head. His blue eyes glowed, exactly like mine. Damn, this kid was more like me than I'd ever really noticed. Or at least, the me that existed before I realized everything sucked.
The rubble shifted and we looked over to see Astraeus kicking and scrambling to escape the mess. He climbed to his feet, breathing labored as blood poured from a gash in his head and several cuts in his arms.
"Ugh," Ambrosius said in disgust, stepping back, "Xenon was right. Gods suck."
"You're a god."
"Yeah, but I'm an awesome god. This guy just pisses me off. Fuck no magic." Ambrosius grunted and waved his hand up in the air. Magenta sparks of magic swirled into the air, and Astraeus moved to stop him, but the magic shot out in thicker streams, grabbing Astraeus and squeezing him, making him choke and gasp for air.
"Remember not to kill him." I warned.
"I'm not," Ambrosius said through clenched teeth, "Just giving him a really, really tight hug." I rolled my eyes, then looked over as Astraeus eventually passed out from having his circulation cut off. The magic dispersed and Ambrosius shook out his hand, looking down at his fingertips that glowed pink before returning to normal. I was almost tempted to use the ritual on Astraeus, but he was hardly a difficult opponent compared to his more important superiors.
No, I was going to use the ritual on Rhea and Cronus.
Cut the head off the snake and the body won't know what to do.
"Come on," I muttered, "I think I'm gonna need your help kicking the shit out of our last visit."
"Does this mean I get to visit grandma?"
"Yes."
"Joy."