[ex vulgus scientia]
Tessa slipped on her glove, watching herself in the mirror with a resolute expression. Each motion she made was harsh and swift like Tempest's glorious arcs, as if she truly had become nothing more than a weapon. She couldn't tell if she should smile at that or glower, as she'd been doing all day.
In a matter of minutes, the Greek and Roman forces would be marching on Menoetious' forces on Wall Street. Held inside were the stolen objects, now believed to be giving Menoetious strength through the discord and bloodshed they had reaped in their absence. Lukas, Kaya, and Alex would helm the recovery of the Sword of Peleus and Ariadne's String, each leading their own teams throughout the building.
However, there was more within Menoetious' lair than just dusty trinkets stained with blood. Tessa's mission, rather, was centered around intel. Specifically, she'd tasked herself with reconnaissance of Menoetious' plans for Operation: Tempest and the remained of Project Maelstrom. If she could get out with that information, it could turn the tide of the war.
Tessa took a breath, meeting her own gaze in the mirror once more. She was ready for this op, with her hair tied back and armored gear on her frame. The black getup reminded her chillingly of the General's uniform, but she supposed her clunky bronze breastplate and greaves wouldn't be conspicuous enough for this kind of covert mission. Although, if Tessa ran a hand down either of her arms or her legs, she'd find enough bronze blades and other gadgetry specialized for this moment: Artemis' dagger was stealthily sheathed to her upper left arm, thin blades were tucked into the fabric of her right forearm, a gun was holstered to Tessa's left thigh, and Tempest gleamed in Tessa's hand, free of a sheath. Paired with that, emergency knives—courtesy of Jesse and the Hephaestus kids—were tucked into her boots, as well as the boots of every half-blood on this mission.
She was a walking armory with the force of a hurricane behind its doors.
A knock at the door ripped Tessa from her reverie, and she turned to find Adhara Wren propped up against the door. Violet eyes regarded Tessa, twinkling in some other-worldly way.
"Do you have something for me?" Tessa asked, her tone light despite the elephant in the room that was her armor and weaponry.
Adhara cast a suspicious look up and down Tessa's frame. She gave Tessa a sympathetic look. "You look like Tomb Raider met Catwoman. Hot, yet effective...if not a little overdone."
Tessa sighed. "Adhara."
"Right, right," Adhara waved a hand at herself, clearing her throat. "The Romans are in position in the financial district. They're waiting for your command."
Tessa resisted the urge to snort in contempt. Since when did Rome wait for anything? "We'll be there soon. We march as one."
When Adhara didn't leave to give the news, Tessa flicked her eyes up warily to meet Adhara's. "Did you have anything else?"
Adhara tilted her head at Tessa. "I've always admired you, Tessa. You're strong. Even when the universe is against you, you find a way to cleave your own path against those presented to you."
Tessa made a face. "That could be seen as pretentious and ignorant to others."
"Yes," Adhara mused. "But not to me. You see, I've seen a lot of tyrannical leaders using their strength and their power to make demands. But not you. No, you use your strength like a hidden weapon, even though you carry around that sword." She wiggled a manicured finger at Tempest, still in Tessa's hand.
Tessa turned entirely towards Adhara, turning Tempest into its dormant form before crossing her arms over her chest. "Adhara, what are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying," Adhara stressed. "That you are strong and you are brave. You are compassionate and wise. You're a different kind of leader, so I have no doubt that your missions in this war will be successful. However, that does not mean I can watch idly by the sidelines while the universe has presented me with the consequences that are not defined so binarily as victory or loss.
"There is no going back after this mission, Tessa. You may win, you may lose, but there will be something you cannot get back once you march into that base." Adhara warned, her eyes dangerously bright, as if she'd looked into the future and seen Tessa there instead of looking at her now. "You will know what you have to do."
Tessa watched Adhara warily, unsure of what to say. However, she merely nodded. "Thank you, Adhara."
Adhara perked up at that, as if her words of warning were nothing. "Of course." She sank into a sarcastic bow. "Oh, and by the way? Lover Boy's been trying to cut in for the past few minutes."
"Adhara." Kaden's stressed voice from beyond the door came. "Don't."
Adhara smirked, pushing away from the doorframe and slinking off without so much as a passing glance. In her wake came Kaden, in his own form of stealth armor. Whereas Tessa's was more like a catsuit, Kaden's was reminiscent of an Agent of Shield's: armored jacket, fitted pants, and just as many weapons hidden in its confines as Tessa's.
Tessa resisted a smirk. They were practically Black Widow and Captain America as they had been for Halloween all those years ago, before the war, before the quest, before everything.
"Hey," Kaden greeted, his voice gravelly. "Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Tessa decided, lowering her hands. "This could be our only opportunity to get the upper hand. Did you expect me to let it go?"
"No," Kaden stated. "No one did. It's just..."
Tessa arched an eyebrow, watching Kaden. "Just what?"
Kaden released a shaky breath. "You heard Adhara, Tess. You heard Lukas. Things are changing on higher planes; what if our own efforts may not be enough?"
"They may not be enough," Tessa said, taking a step closer. "But they need to be done."
Kaden nodded, walking closer to Tessa. It wasn't long until there was nothing but the space of the things they'd left unsaid between them, inches from one another. "I'd follow you into any battle, Tess, you know that."
Tessa nodded, looking up to meet Kaden's gaze. "I can always count on you."
Kaden reached up and brushed a flyaway strand of Tessa's hair out of her face. His fingers grazed her cheek, sending sparks through her veins. "Always."
He pressed his lips to her delicately, as if too much force would break her. She had enough time to kiss him back before the sound of people moving out floated in from the halls. Tessa and Kaden pulled apart, looking into one another's eyes.
"I ask you again," Kaden whispered. "Are you sure about this?"
Tessa knew that Kaden knew she was sure. She knew that he would not fight her on her decision, instead of support her wholeheartedly. Him, and all their friends, waiting for them downstairs. Him, and the Romans desperate for their reunion to lead a victory together.
So when Tessa said—
"I have to be."
--He merely searched her eyes one more time, pressed one more fleeting kiss to her lips, and then walked with her out of her quarters and into the base proper, where an army was waiting for its leaders.
~~
Tessa had to hand it to Kaya: the magic she'd cast was pretty damn strong.
As members of the mythological world, the Greeks and Romans pooled just down the block from Menoetious' base—a high-rise covered in thirty stories worth of shimmering windows—they should have been noticeable. They should have been not only a massive roadblock to the intransigent mortals ignoring the danger on its streets, but a massive red flag to the enemies within. However, Kaya's manipulation of magic and the Mist managed to turn their forces essentially invisible to the world around them, including Menoetious and his men on the inside.
According to Kaya, the magic would wear off after fifteen minutes of breaching the building's doors. Fifteen minutes, and they'd be showing up on security cameras and the like until they had more than just recon and recovery to worry about.
Tessa took a deep breath, looking up at the building as if trying to peer within it. Adhara's words reverberated through her mind like thunder, growing louder as the storm approached and now it had.
There is no going back after this mission, Tessa. You may win, you may lose, but there will be something you cannot get back once you march into that base.
Tessa turned to face her troops, rallied amongst the Romans. Streaks of purple and violet had been muffled by the armored black jackets on their figures, swords and shields and spears and knives and guns at the ready.
Tessa glanced to Kaya and Alex, who merely looked at one another and nodded to her. She looked back out over the sea of faces following her on this crusade, watching, waiting.
"This has not been an easy few months. We have seen countless battles, countless sorrows, and countless casualties. The memory of our fallen cannot be overshadowed by the darkness that Menoetious and his ilk continue to spread. With this mission, we can apprehend the means necessary to turn the tide of this war and put it to an end." Tessa began. "We fight today for a brighter future, one where half-bloods and mortals can live without fear. Each of you are heroes, and I am proud of you all."
Tessa lifted Tempest into the air. "For Camp Half-Blood, for Camp Jupiter, for our fallen brethren, and for Olympus!"
The army before her lifted their weapons, chorusing the cries, and that was when Tessa's duty occurred to him as vividly as those of her ancestors, who fought by decree of the gods. She had a duty to herself, this was true. To her friends. To Poseidon, who had championed her and praised her and loved her against his brother's advice. To her mother, who had been quietly defending half-bloods and mortals alike from their Chicago home. To her brother, who had been possessed by a vendetta that was not his and killed for it. To her sister, who had tried to evade the dangers of this world despite the shackles it had forced on her.
But most importantly, she had a duty to her people. They had become her family when she thought she had none left. They had given her a home, trained her, taught her how to be the leader she was today. She owed a victory, security, safety, prosperity to each and every one of them.
And she would not fail them. Not now. Not ever.
"Move out!" Tessa commanded, and as the sea of half-bloods broke under her will, she knew she had their strength behind her.
Tessa slipped into Menoetious' lair through a maintenance door, her heart thumping inside her chest as if reminding her of the time she was now attempting to fight against. She'd be under the radar for fifteen minutes; would that be enough?
It'll have to be enough, Tessa thought to herself as she scoped out a stairway before scurrying up it. And if it wasn't, she'd make it enough.
It was strange being stealthy when you were invisible to your enemies. Tessa would have to remind herself that she didn't have to duck nor sprint past open doorways, not when Kaya's magic was protecting her. But as always, she accounted for a chink in her armor, and watched her own back whether it was magically defended or not.
After hurrying up flight after flight of stairs and rushing past room after room of idle soldiers, Tessa eventually skidded to a stop after one room in particular. She'd only seen a glimpse of its interior through the rectangular window on the heavy bolted door, but she knew: this was the control room.
Tessa reached up to her ear, turning on her comms. "Dale, Eli, I'm here."
"Oh, excellent," Dale said from behind the unmistakable sound of crunching potato chips. "We're finally getting somewhere."
"Is there anyone inside?" Tessa asked, glancing over her shoulders. The hallway was still empty.
"No."
"How much time do I have?"
"Ten minutes of Mist protection."
Tessa blew out a breath, shaking out her hands. "Okay, get me inside."
"Coming right up," Eli chimed.
Whirs came from the electronic lock on the door, finally halted by a single click. "Open sesame."
"Thank, guys. Watch my back." Tessa said before muttering a silent prayer and creeping inside.
The control room reminded Tessa of the Arrow Cave if she was being totally honest. Screens and monitors hung around the room, some displaying idle security footage, others entirely blank. Tessa hurried to one of the blank monitors and quickly typed in the commands Kaden had given her earlier.
Instantly, a file folder popped onto the screen. Tessa rifled through it, scouring deeper and deeper, typing in security codes when necessary, until she came to the one file she needed.
OPERATION: TEMPEST
Tessa clicked on it and was met with a long list of files. She scrambled for the flashdrive in her pocket, plugged it in, and pressed her comms. "Condense this now, please."
Tessa watched as the dozens of files condensed before her eyes, until one plan was staring up at her. Her heart racing, Tessa read as fast as her eyes would allow her.
The final phase of Project Maelstrom, known as Operation: Tempest, will be administered upon Typhon descent on New York City. Having gathered the destructive energy from its rampage across the continental United States, Typhon will release his energy through the form of a host with Olympian blood. Paired with the godly power of this individual, Typhon's energy will summon a catastrophic hurricane, demolishing Manhattan before growing in size, rendering the Olympians and their half-blood descendants extinct.
Tessa's heart stopped. Menoetious was going to summon a hurricane by having someone host Typhon? She'd never heard of anything like it, but something didn't sit well with her. She continued reading.
The individual required to host Typhon's immense power cannot be any individual of Olympian descent. The power necessary is catastrophic, and only descendants of the three eldest Olympian brothers—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—can contain it. To summon the hurricane, the individual must be a child of Poseidon, and for this, the host of Typhon will be none other than Thalassa Arielle Brennan
No. No, that couldn't be. She would never surrender herself to that great an evil, she wouldn't.
"Catching up on some reading?"
Tessa spun away from the monitor to find Menoetious standing in the doorway, flanked by two soldiers. A despicable grin stretched across his lips, the way a lion would look upon cornering a gazelle.
But Tessa wasn't a gazelle. She was a lion too, and predators didn't like to be cornered.
In one swift movement, Tessa yanked the flashdrive from the monitor and shoved it in her pocket. She backed up, motioning to come forward.
"If you want me, then come get me!"
Menoetious' goons obliged and rushed her. One threw a punch and Tessa dodged it, using the momentum to kick him square in the stomach. The other pulled a blade and managed to swipe a streak across her arm, but thankfully, her armored suit remained intact. In that moment of confusion, Tessa brought her elbow into the man's nose. Blood spurted from the wound and he staggered away.
"Fools!" Menoetious roared, and before Tessa knew it, he'd surged towards her, his hand around her throat as he pinned her to the wall.
"You insolate child," Menoetious said from behind grit teeth. "You have the audacity to march on my territory?"
Tessa didn't try to rip his hands from her throat, something she'd learned the hard way while fighting Vinny. Instead, as he blabbered on, she managed to slip her gun out of its holster and swung it up into his temple. As he went down on one side, she elbowed him in the crook of his neck, rendering him to the ground.
"Yeah, actually," Tessa huffed a breath. "I do."
Before Tessa could make another move, a white-hot flare of electricity met her side. She cried out in pain and sank to her knees, everything turning fuzzy for a moment.
Menoetious got to his feet, brushing himself off. "Silly half-blood," He chided. "Always thinking you possess all the cards." He looked to his goons, flanking Tessa on either side. "Bring her."
The two men grabbed Tessa's arms and despite her restraint, they dragged her up and out of the room, marching down the hall. As they moved, images began to fill Tessa's head, followed by terrible shocks to her side.
Dale and Eli being apprehended in their van down the block, a sniper pointed at them both.
Sera Brennan's front door being barreled down, gunshots ringing through Tessa's childhood home as mortals and half-bloods ran for their lives, Tessa's mother standing amid the chaos.
Mark being run through with a weapon. Reese being pushed from his perimeter view on a nearby building. Kaya, Alex, Ben, Lukas, all of her friends.
Gone.
By the time Tessa caught her breath from the screams of pain and protest at seeing her friends picked off like sitting ducks, she was thrust into a harshly lit room with a drain in the center of its cement floor. A single chair was set before the drain.
Tessa's heart stopped. A torture room.
She was forced into the sole chair. Within moments, her hands were tied with zip-ties. Tessa panted, straining against them. She gritted her teeth as they bit into her wrists, but she wouldn't break. She glared through the thin curtain of her hair falling before her face, shooting daggers at Menoetious as he stood before her.
"That's all you've got?" Tessa hissed, her chest heaving. "I'd at least expect more from the Titan of violence."
Menoetious smirked, raising a hand from the pocket of his pants to hold up a finger. "You think that was the torture? Oh, Tessa." He chuckled. "You don't know me at all."
"Oh, really? Because I think I've got your number," Tessa managed. One of her torturers grabbed her hair, pulling her head back and she fought a yelp, still burning. "You're a coward."
Menoetious held her gaze. "You know, Tessa? When I was told about you, all those years ago, I expected a stone-cold warrior. I expected a girl with no emotion. And that's your weakness. Because as powerful and skilled as you are, you'd break if something played at your emotions."
Tessa barked a wry laugh. "You're hilarious."
"No," Menoetious watched her, and that familiar maniacal look in his eyes returned. "I'm right."
The door swung open, and two more torturers walked in...with Kaden in between them.
Tessa's eyes widened fractionally, meeting Kaden's blazing eyes. She understood his look: don't do it.
The torturers forced Kaden onto his knees, his hands tied behind his back. His jacket was lost, his shirt was torn, and sweat glistened on his skin from the high temperatures of the torture chamber.
"Kaden Thomas Gray," Menoetious spoke, his voice reverberating across the stone walls. "Son of Venus. Former Praetor of the Twelth Legion. Drakon Slayer."
"That's my name," Kaden managed. "Don't wear it out."
A torturer punched Kaden across the face, and Kaden spat out a bit of blood. "That the best you've got?"
"I see why you like him," Menoetious winked at Tessa. "So, this next part should be fun."
Tessa held Kaden's gaze, reassurance passing over her. She could handle being tortured by herself, with pain inflicted on her, but she couldn't let this new form of pain show.
"So, Tessa, here is what you'll do," Menoetious began as a torturer grabbed a blade from his belt and walked over to Kaden. "You'll give me the clearance I need to administer the next phase of Project Maelstrom. You'll give me the control I need. Give me this, and your little boyfriend here leaves safe and sound."
"Tessa, don't do it—" Kaden began, but the torturer slashed the blade across his chest. He let out a strangled scream, no doubt trying to keep it locked up
Tessa pressed her lips together, feeling tears form. She shook her head, although to what she wasn't sure. "What control do you need? Project Maelstrom can create natural disasters on its own. What do you need me for?"
Menoetious shoved his hands into his pockets, sauntering around the room like he owns the place. "You're the most powerful demigod of the age, Tessa. Your control over your father's domain is impeccable. You'll summon the hurricane, and keep it confined to Manhattan. Lives will be lost, but not too many. You can clear your conscience."
Tessa, breathing heavily, glared at him. "Nice try."
Menoetious frowned. "You really want to do that? Hurt your charming lover?" He waved his hand, and the torturer advanced again.
"Kaden's seen a lot of wounds," Menoetious announced as the blade neared his throat. "But he's managed to evade some tricky wounds. What happens if we pierce his lungs? His intestines? His heart?"
"No!" Tessa exclaimed as the blade lowered to Kaden's heart.
"Tessa, don't do it," Kaden breathed. "It's okay. I'm okay."
Tessa shook her head, straining against her ties. She was breathing heavily, watching as they continued to drag blades tauntingly over Kaden's skin, drawing blood and eliciting hisses of pain from the son of Venus. The whole time, he locked eyes with Tessa, forcing her to remain resolute.
But she couldn't.
"You've already seen what we've done to Mark," Menoetious announced. "Lukas and Madi. Your mother. Kaden would be another casualty on your conscience, Tessa. Do you really want that?"
Tessa held Kaden's gaze, tears slipping down her cheeks. He gritted his teeth as they dug the blade into his side, and blood began to flow. His emerald eyes shot down to her ankle, and Tessa remembered. The weight of the gun had disappeared in all of this, but now, it had come back. If she kept them talking, if she broke her ties...
"What do you need?" Tessa demanded, straining against her ties as subtly as she could.
Menoetious grinned. "Everything."
"Tessa, don't do it—" Kaden's voice was cut off as the torturer slashed the blade back across his chest. Twin streaks of blood began to ooze, and Tessa felt the pain as if it were her own.
Mark. Lukas. Madi. Her mother. Kaden.
"It's your choice, Tessa. Save Kaden and watch the rest of the world fall. Or spare those you love."
Dale. Reese. Flynn. Sierra. Eli.
"So, what's it going to be?"
Tessa wanted to fight. She wanted to strain against her ties until her wrists bled, she wanted to tear down every monster in this building, starting with the one watching her with beady eyes.
She wanted to be weak. She wanted to give in. Maybe she could live in those realities she kept seeing, the ones of a life so far from here, where she wasn't a demigod and there were no wars to fight. She could live with Kaden, she could live with her friends, she could live.
Something must have shifted on her face, because the next thing Tessa knew, Menoetious' face turned to stone and he barked at the torturer, "Do it!"
The torturer raised the blade towards Kaden.
Tessa's eyes widened, but by the time her lips formed the word 'no', her bloodcurdling scream was in vain.
A rumble shook the room, confusing the torturer and Menoetious alike. Tessa was panting, unsure as to how she'd summoned the tremor, but she couldn't complain. It was buying her time.
She had a duty to everyone in this building, everyone at camp, everyone in this world so close to being destroyed. The fate of her world rested on her shoulders, a feeling she hadn't felt since she'd received the Great Prophecy in Delphi on that cursed trip through time.
She wanted to find another way.
But she couldn't.
You will know what you have to do.
Tessa did know what she had to do. There was no doubt in her mind.
This war would end because of her.
And no one would get hurt in the process.
Menoetious eyed her. "So?"
Tessa took a deep breath.
There will be no going back.
But before Tessa could say a word, that's when the first explosion hit.