Jack gulped as he watched the chaos unfold on screen. This is bad...
The king of the giants had snuck into an O.S.I. base in Ventum using a cloak made out from numerous Helms of Darkness and went about unhindered and undetected as he sabotaged various weapons and machines. He did not know what exactly Porphyrion did whenever he removed his cloak to mess with the mechanical systems, but by the gasps of his brother and Annabeth he could tell it was bad. Every few seconds the images would shift to various monsters carrying on their daily routines, moving crates, polishing their weapons, and even just chatting with one another, only to have their skulls crushed or guts impaled by spear of the unseen giant.
"Father..." he heard the Mist-made image of Periboia whisper as she watched her parent crush an unsuspecting telekhine underfoot.
Jack felt bad for the giantess. Periboia had been the first giant to willingly join New Tartarus after the rebellion and had been a big help to when it came to erecting the early structures that would one day become part of the cities. A lot of the peoples of New Tartarus had held a grudge against her what she, her father, and uncles had done, but she eventually overcame their doubts and had even became a senator during their absence. Now he worried that when word got out about the attack that she would lose the respect she had earned. It's not her fault her father is a bad guy! A child should not be judged by the temperament of the parents! The Nemean lion cubs turned out nothing like their parents!
The images before him changed to that of a cavernous room filled with even more machines that he couldn't hope to name. While he couldn't see the giant king, he could see Koios leaning over a suspended walkway, surrounded by an absurd number of armed guards. The titan seemed to be addressing someone, but the sound was muffled as it was recorded from a distance. Before he could ask what the suit-wearing titan was saying, Porphyrion's ugly face filled the image.
"I have been waiting patiently for your return, false gods," the giant growled. "Tartarus shall be free once more and it shall be you who takes his place! Your cities will burn, and the natural order will be restored! Make no mistake: I am coming for you!" He then turned away and heaved one of the multi-wheeled machines over his head and tossed into the air before redonning his cloak. There were several explosions, followed by screaming, and then the giant king's voice could be heard shouting, "come with me if you want to live!"
"So... he finally reappeared," the image of Brontes laughed as the main projector turned off.
"It would appear that way," Periboia sighed, rubbing her fingers against her temples.
"And you're sure he's never contacted you before?" Knight asked from his place next to Annabeth on the couch. His brother for once paying more attention to something other than the daughter of Athena. "Or has given you a way to contact him?"
The image of the giantess shook her head. "As I explained before, the only time my father approached me was a few years after the rebellion. He tried to get me to join his cause, but I refused. After that, he refused to believe I was of my own sound mind and promised he would "free me" before he vanished." Periboia shook her head again and sighed. "Father... Father is stubborn. He refuses to believe that anyone can rule other than himself. He believes that giants are superior to all others..."
"There's a word for that," the imagine of Steropes grunted before taking a sip from a coconut glass with a tiny pink umbrella.
"Rhymes with bassist," Brontes scoffed as his Celestial Bronze hand turned into a stringed instrument.
"That's neither here nor there," Eurybia said, the titaness scowling at the two elder cyclopes. "What matters is whether or not we can find him." The images of the two-dozen or so senators echoed her sentiments. "No offense Periboia, but we need to stop him now before he attacks civilians. Triumvirate only knows what kind of weapons he's been taking all these years..."
He looked to Knight and Queen and saw they looked just as puzzled as he felt. How would we know what he has?
"None taken," the giantess' image sighed. "And I'm in total agreement with you: my father must be stopped."
"But how to track him?" the golden visage of Hyperion asked. His double chin far more noticeable up close than it had been in the Senate Chambers. "We've been looking for him for well over two centuries and we never found hide nor scale of the bastard."
"Language," Theia, Eurybia, Krios, Brontes, Steropes, and well over a dozen other snapped.
The titan of the East sank back in his chair with a pout. "They're eighteen for crying out loud..."
"Despite his poor vocabulary, Senator Hyperion makes a good point," an orange-skinned karpoi squeaked. "How do we find him?"
"Uh... I can try?" He said, taking a step forward. Every projected senator turned their attention to him and a tightness formed in his chest. He took a shallow breath (which he swore didn't reach his lungs) and gulped before continuing. "Chewie should be able to get his scent and if Porphyrion has been staying in one place long enough, his scent will be strong. Chewie should be able to sniff him out, but it depends on how far Porphyrion's spear can take him."
All eyes turned to the giant king's daughter and Jack had never felt more relieved.
"The spear was a gift from Gaea," Periboia explained. "On Earth it could take him anywhere he please with no effort on his part as Gaea was the source of its power. In New Tartarus though..." the brunette chewed on her lower lip and Jack wondered how her fangs didn't pierce it "He'd have to be using his own strength to power it... So at most a few hundred kilometers at a time?"
"If he's capable of even one-hundred kilometers, that's an area of over thirty-one-thousand square-kilometers he could be hiding in," Knight said, his head slightly bouncing from side-to-side as he did some calculations that Jack couldn't even begin to do with a sheet of parchment.
"Closer to thirty-one-thousand-four-hundred," the daughter of Athena said, arching one eyebrow at Knight as if she wanted him to challenge her.
"Well, yeah," Knight shrugged. "The formula simplifies to the product of pi and ten-thousand."
"Ladies, you're both smart," Brontes huffed, rolling his dark blue eye and making Queen chuckle. "But yes, that is an impossibly large area to search even with shadow travel." A grin spread across the cyclops' face. "However, the fool has given us a way to narrow that down to a few square kilometers..."
"How?" he asked, knowing full well that the answer would only leave him confused. Those two are worse than Knight and Annabeth when it comes to machiney-talk...
Steropes cleared his throat. "Every lightning bolt, trident, bow, helmet, and every variation contain a small tracker somewhere within it. This feature was added to help law enforcement know what their up against in a hostile situation, and to help with soldiers find any invisible items they might have misplaced. Sort of like the remote on a key ring."
Yup... No idea what he's talking about...
"Before now, we didn't know that Porphyrion had somehow gotten ahold of any helmets," Brontes continued. "So-"
"So now you just have to look for a cluster of signals that's outside of the expected area," Annabeth grinned. "Once you know that location, Jack can take Chewie and sniff him out." The daughter of Athena's smile grew with Knight's own smile following suit. "But... then what? He's a giant, and only the combined efforts of a demigod and a god can kill him." The blonde turned to Krios and Eurybia and knitted her brow as she examined the silver titan. "Would a titan work?"
"I don't know," Krios said as he adjusted his glasses. "But... please stop looking at us like that..."
"It's kind of creepy," Eurybia said, cringing under the girl's analytical gaze.
"And Jack and his four-legged friend don't need to go," Brontes grunted. "There are canine units that are just as-"
"Yes, I do," he said, stepping forward as if on reflex. "This attack wouldn't have happened if I had bound him properly the first time..." More
Queen rose from her seat, Soul Forge in hand, walked over to him and gripped his shoulder. "That's not fair Jack," she said with a sad smile. "How were you supposed to know that he could blink away like that?"
"It doesn't matter," Jack huffed. The fingers of his left hand tapping rapidly against his right forearm. "I should have- OW!" he cried as his sister yanked on his ponytail.
Still holding his head back with her steel-like grip, Queen stepped forward and addressed the projected senators. "I will accompany my brother on this... quest?" She looked over her shoulder to Annabeth. "Does this count as a quest?"
The blonde shrugged. "Sure?"
His sister beamed brighter than Eurybia and Krios' stars and her silver aura glowed nearly as bright as a titan's. "Yes! I shall accompany Jack on this quest and use Soul Forge to pacify Porphyrion once and for all." She then turned to the image of the giantess and her aura dimmed. "He did hurt a lot of people and broke even more laws, so I don't think we'll be able to pardon him..."
"You got that right," Hyperion scoffed. "Millions in damages, dozens reforming, and triumvirate knows what he stole. Not to mention he did some serious damage to Koios, that he is not going to take laying down."
"I understand," Periboia said with a sigh. "But I want you all to know that no matter what, my loyalty is to New Tartarus, its peoples, and the triumvirate. What we have accomplished is greater than anything my father or Gaea would be capable of or allow."
"Your loyalty was never in question, Senator Periboia," Eurybia said, offering a sympathetic smile to the giantess. "Everyone here knows all of your and the other giants' contributions to our society."
"Alright, it seems we have reached an agreement on what needs to be done," Brontes said, cutting off anything the brunette giantess was about to say and earning a scornful look from Krios and Eurybia . "Jack and Queen will head to Ventum to get the false king's scent."
"While my brother and I scan for any weapons that aren't where they're supposed to be," Steropes finished. "We'll send you the information over your phones, and Porphyrion will face judgement by tomorrow. So, unless anyone has any objections, we can adjourn this gathering."
There was a murmur of agreement and more than a few yawns from the projected senators.
"Alright, let's call it," Brontes yawned. "Some of us have to be up at three."
And with that, the Mist projector in the center of Penta-rail car turned off, leaving him with just his siblings, Annabeth, and his titan aunt and uncle. The senators disappearing without a trace they had ever been there.
"You guys noticed it too, right?" Jack asked as Queen released him from her grasp. Titanas, that hurts! He rubbed at his scalp and pulled his glove away to see if she had somehow bypassed his invincibility and drawn blood.
"The limited amount of footage from a highly classified facility? The fact that it was clearly edited?" Knight asked, leaning forward and rested his chin on his hands. "Or that Porphyrion was clearly talking to someone at the end?"
He furrowed his brow as he tried to make sense of his brother's words. "I'm not sure what a foot's age has to do with anything, but definitely that last part. He was clearly talking to someone."
"Or he was reciting famous action movie quotes," Annabeth suggested. She looked around the car almost expectantly before the smile disappeared from her face and she fell back into the couch and crossed her arms. "He somehow would have made you laugh... Even if you don't know what a movie is..." the daughter of Athena mumbled.
Queen looked at the pouting demigod with a puzzled expression that must have matched his own before shrugging and turning her attention back to him. "But why would Koios hide anything from us? Especially if it could potentially help us capture Porphyrion?"
"I know you're going to find this hard to believe, but there is a lot that is being hidden from you," Annabeth scoffed.
"Drop it," Krios said with a deep growl. "But I am in agreement with you: Koios is hiding something. Granted, Koios' job is to keep secrets as the head of the Office of Secret Intelligence, but he takes his job a bit too seriously. Extraordinary budgets without explanation, massive amounts resources being shipped to the locations unknown, and a standing fighting force that rivals the Praetorian Guard in size." The titan shook his head in disgust. "Anyone that even questions him does a complete one-eighty within days..."
Annabeth whistled. "Blackmail and extortion. You guys really do have a republic down here..."
"Don't worry uncle, we'll set this right," Queen growled as the gemstone at the head of her Stygian Iron scepter glowed with an eerie purple light. "I'll remind Koios where his allegiance lies..." And in the blink of an eye, the glowing stopped, and his sister's hardened expression was replaced by a smile. "So Knight, get the Omniferrum and the four of us can shadow travel to Ventum."
Knight cringed.
Which in turn made Jack cringe. Come on Knight, please don't say what I think you're about to say! You have to have realized what kind of situation you're-
"Yeah, I think it would be better if I continue the tour," the short-haired blond said, scratching at the back of his neck. "We don't want to put Annabeth in any danger."
You're an idiot... It took all of Jack's effort not to face palm at his brother's obliviousness. Queen liked Knight. Liked him in the way princesses liked knights in Grandma May's stories and had liked him like that for a long time. He always had always thought that it was just a matter of time before the two of them did the marriage-thingy people who liked each other were supposed to do. But now... now it seemed unlikely that it would ever happen. But -even if he wouldn't admit it- Knight obviously liked Annabeth. The way he looked at her when she wasn't looking during the tour of Sacred Trinity, how he held his breath every time he waited for her to react, and how during the play he kept moving closer to her during the musical had shown Jack how Knight really felt about the girl. And even if she didn't like him back, it was going to hurt his sister.
The blonde arched an eyebrow at his oh-so noble brother. "Uh, I've fought my share of giants you know?"
"With an exploding necklace?" Knight pointed out. "If Porphyrion were to knock you away from us, that would be it," he said, pointing to the golden chain around Annabeth's neck.
"I know how to fight..." The daughter of Athena knocked his hand away and gave him a glare that made Jack thankful he wasn't on the receiving end. "I have seen the three of you bring time to a crawl! Jack has a hellhound the size of house and can shoot freaking chains out of nowhere! Queen can shadow travel and I think can control monsters with her staff-thing!" She jumped up from the couch. "You- you have a suit of armor that would make Leo drool! And your sword-" she furrowed her brow and cocked her head to the side "-I don't know what it does, but I know it does something asininely powerful! Porphyrion is laughable compared to that! I-"
"Knight's right," Queen said, her voice just above a whisper. "He and Annabeth should stay here..."
"Huh?" was all he was able to articulate. The other two golden haired teenagers seemingly just as confused as he was.
Queen turned her back to the Annabeth and Knight and took a shaky breath. "While I do not doubt that Annabeth is a capable fighter -Bob's stories confirming her as such- and that she would be perfectly safe with us, someone has to continue on with the tour. If- if we were to all suddenly disappear people would begin to worry. But if Knight continues on to Therapeía, things won't look- look as bad." She then took a deep breath and plastered on the fakest smile Jack had ever seen. "Besides, we'll only be gone a day! Two tops!"
Jack felt a lump form in his throat. "Queen, they should come-"
Queen silenced him by placing two fingers to his lips. "It's fine, Jack." She pulled away and made her way to the compartment door. "Come on Jack, let's go get Chewie!"
He watched his sister until she disappeared from view and then turned to Knight and Annabeth. He wanted to yell at his brother to open his eyes, to chase after Queen, to tell the truth about why he really kidnapped Annabeth, to- to just be the person he thought he was. Yet when he opened his mouth, he couldn't make a single sound. And while his voice failed him, his hands communicated what he felt in a flurry of sharp, precise motions. Go after her!
But all Knight did was furrow his brow. "What?"
That one word hurt him worse than a blow from Hyperion's flaming sword, as at that moment he realized that Knight had never bothered to learn his preferred form of communication. Grandma May had known a more than a few gestures and could even sign a bit herself when he didn't feel like talking. Queen had asked him to teach her while she recovered from her injuries, and eventually could figure out almost anything he signed. But Knight... Knight never learned. Always too busy working on his projects.
"What?" his brother repeated.
Jack's hands stilled before clenching into fists. His mouth still refused to cooperate with him, so he sent a message to Knight that he was sure to understand: a copy of his Celestial Bronze vinculum launched straight at his chest.
"Knight!" Annabeth yelped as his brother was blasted through the coach and bounced off the side of the train car.
The demigoddess, Krios, and Eurybia rushed over to check on Knight as Jack made his way out of the compartment. Knight had the same invincibility as he and their sister, so there would be no real damage. He would hurt for a time, but it was a small price to pay if it knocked some sense into him.
----
The city of Ventum was radically different than that of Gnosis, Jack concluded. It had few true structures, besides the numerous bridges of silver and Tartarian Ivory, most carved into the cliff faces or seemingly growing out of the surrounding mountains. At first glance the city seemed almost empty, with only a few harpies and some land-based creatures moving around in the late night, but the numerous breezes that he felt were the only signs of the numerous venti that called the city home. The storm spirits preferring to be in their natural forms in their city as opposed to their human disguises like that of Acri and Blandus. He absently concluded that he would have preferred the city with the mostly invisibly populace to that of Imperium or Gnosis as it felt less crowded, if it wasn't for the fact that it was built over part of what was Tartarus' Palm.
Jack looked to one of the numerous waterfalls the city offered, with spotlights shining on it for reasons he couldn't fathom and frowned. It's always been the venti's home, but... I really wish they would have left it alone. The three of us played- His train of thought was interrupted by a giant pink and black tongue licking his back, nearly lifting him off his feet. He shook the drool off him to the best of his ability and craned his head over his shoulder. "Chewie!"
The massive hellhound, who took up nearly the entire width of the bridge, lowered himself to the ground, folded his ears back, and let out a heartbreaking whine. Chewie then rolled his head slightly to the right and whined again.
Jack followed the hellhound's gaze even though he knew it was directed towards Queen. "Yeah, Chewie, I know..."
Queen had hardly said a word since they departed the Penta-rail; only telling him that the Praetorian Guard would find them in Ventum and asking him if he knew the way. She rode atop Chewie in silence as they darted in and out of the shadows, gripping her left wrist tightly and squeezing her eyes shut.
He had never seen her so upset since their grandmother's death.
He turned back to his oldest friend and gently scratched the hellhound's nose. "I know. But what do I-" Chewie nudged him backward with his nose "Hey!" The hellhound jumped to its feet and pushed him again. "What are you- HEY! NO!" he cried as Chewie lifted him off the bridge by the hood of his Nemean Lion fur clothes. "PUT ME DOWN! CHEWIE!" he screamed as the hellhound practically pranced forward. "CHEWIE! LET ME- WOAH!" Chewie dropped him without any warning, sending him crashing to the ground.
Right in front of his sister.
"Jack? Are you okay?" Queen asked, looking between him and Chewie in confusion. She offered him her hand which he gladly took.
"Only thing hurt is my pride," he managed to smile as she pulled him to his feet. "But what about-" his eyes met Queen's and his breath hitched when he saw all the hurt contained in those amber orbs "-you..."
Queen yanked her hand from his and spun around. "What are you talking about?" she asked with a nervous laugh. "I'm fine! I'm just thinking about Porphyrion and Koios! You know getting into the right mind-" He placed his hands on her shoulder and gently pushed her to the side of the bridge, where a small platform stood for viewing the illuminated waterfalls and the rainbows they made. "What are you doing? We have to-"
"Talk," he finished as he leaned against the silver railing.
"About what?" she asked, joining him at the railing in an attempt to hide her nervousness.
I wish Grandma was here to help with this, Jack thought as he dragged one claw-tipped finger across the gleaming white stone. The lion's claw cutting away the stone as easily as it did flesh. "About you liking Knight."
Queen's face turned as red as Damasen's skin as she quickly turned away from him. "Well of course I like Knight. He's our brother," she answered, nervously spinning Soul Forge around in her hand. "It's been the three of us since the beginning. It would be pretty bad if we didn't get along, I mean-"
"That's not the kind of liking I'm talking about and you know it." He thought about moving closer, but his sister's body language was similar to that of a cornered animal's. If she felt that she was trapped, then there was a real chance she would lash out at him in an effort to save herself. He didn't want that to happen. He just wanted her to talk through her feelings as Grandma May had made them do when they were younger. "You love him. You love him like Krios and Eurybia love each other..."
He watched in silence as her body went rigid, her breathing halted, and her skin went from bright red to white; her glow disappearing completely for the first time in years. She suddenly looked small in her dyed Nemean Lion fur cloak and the gold and purple clothes that Arachne had made her, almost as if he was looking at the same little girl he had rushed back to the cave after he accidentally stabbed her. And he didn't like it. He didn't like that his sister, who could make giants dance, hydras sing, and titans bow before them, was hurting so badly because of their brother.
"I... I do," she said after a silent eternity. "I love him, Jack. And it hurts..." she said with a strangled sob. "It hurts so bad! No one ever said it would hurt! It- it feels like my heart is be-being ripped out whenever I see him- him-"
"Drooling over Annabeth," he finished, Queen nodding in agreement as tears streamed down her face. She held her arms open and he immediately pulled her into a hug, pressing a chaste kiss to the top of her head. "It will be okay, Queen," he whispered in her ear. "His feelings for her will pass soon enough..."
"But what if they don't?" Queen mumbled into his shoulder. The breezes that surrounded them came to a sudden stop, the air growing still as the unseen storm spirits left to give them some much needed space. "What if he loves her? What if they end up-"
"They won't," he whispered, gently patting her on the back. "You know Knight. He's always interested in what's new and exciting-" Queen stiffened up in his arms "-but he always comes back to us. Annabeth... Annabeth just caught his interest is all, but he'll eventually realize that she isn't for him. She can't be for him."
"How do you know?" she asked. "She understands nearly everything he talks about, knows how his machines work, and is just so smart." She buried her face deeper into his shoulder and he was glad that Asterion had worked the lion's manes there as a cushion for both their sake. "And I know she's just using him to escape, but what if she eventually does like him back?"
He frowned. "Queen," he sighed, running one hand through her hair; the claws on his gloves cutting through a few knots in her long, dark tresses with ease. "That will never happen. He kidnapped her. Just as Hades did to Persephone. She will always resent him for that."
Queen pulled away slightly and looked into his eyes. "You think so?"
"I know so," he chuckled, pulling his sister in close again. "The second Annabeth is freed, she'll drop her act and never want to see him -probably us too- again." He rubbed circles into her back the way their grandmother used too and kissed the top of her head once more. "And you know that too. So why are you upset about this now?"
"I..." she paused. "I don't know... Just... It's been a lot, you know? Gaea, Olympus, Knight's behavior, how much New Tartarus has changed, Krios and Eurybia, Flippy and his grandson, the tour..." Queen shook her head and took another shaky breath. "Something just feels off. Something feels off within me. The last day I've been having blackouts and-"
"Queen, you're exhausted," he smiled. "You said it yourself: there's been a lot going on. A lot of change and it's all happening way too fast. If you're like me, you haven't been sleeping well, and that giant-singing-thingy had us up late before all this Porphyrion stuff happened."
"But what about the blackouts?"
"Eh, I get those too when I'm on a long hunt," he shrugged. "That's your body's way of telling you that you really need to sleep. Remember when I'd come back and sleep for like a whole day after being away for days? I would blackout before that."
Queen pulled away and wiped her eyes into her sleeve. "Grandma May and the titans would get so upset when you did that," she chuckled, brushing away a loose strand of hair from her face. "But are you sure I'm just tired? Something feels... off..."
Jack nodded. "I'm positive." He leaned back over the railing and looked out at the city. "How about after we meet up with Koios, we take a quick rest before heading out? I think we could both use a few hours of sleep and Chewie could definitely benefit for some rest. And if you still feel off, we'll take you back to those dog-tors."
"Doctors, Jack. And I know you know the word. Dr. Thorn would lash at you if you ever called him a dog-tor," Queen giggled, joining him once more at the railing. She leaned his head on his shoulder and let out a content sigh. "Thank you, Jack."
He looked down at her and arched an eyebrow. "For what?"
"For being you obviously," she laughed.
He grinned and scratched at the tip of his nose. "Don't thank me, thank Chewie. He's the one who made me talk to you."
Queen lifted her head from his shoulder and spun around to face the hellhound who had been watching them in silence... and licking himself. "Well then," she laughed as Chewie pulled his head out from between his hind legs, "thank you, Chewie," she said, bowing to their oldest friend. "You and Jack are always looking out for me."
Chewie jumped to his feet and licked her from her boots to her forehead before doing the same to Jack. The massive hellhound began to run around in circles and barked excitedly; the sound echoing off the nearby cliff faces and even knocking loose a few stones that tumbled into the valley below.
"Really, Chewie?!" he cried in disbelief as he shook himself dry for the second time in minutes. "You know better than to lick Queen!"
Queen attempted to shake herself dry with just as much vigor as him and Chewie, laughing the entire time. When she stopped her hair was a mess, a few strands plastered to the side of her face, and her clothes were completely disheveled, but she was beaming brighter than now returned her silver aura. "No, it's fine! It was just what I needed." Still giggling, she held out her arm for him. "Now, let's go find Koios so we can take that nap!"
Jack nodded and looped his arm around his sister's. "Yeah, let's go-" he went silent as the moment their arms touched, a golden light arced from his arm to hers. It happened in the blink of an eye, and he wasn't sure if it actually happened.
"Is something wrong?"
"Uh... no," he said blinking several times before he looked for any sign of the golden light. "Just realizing how much I need that nap too."
Queen rested her head on his shoulder once more as she intertwined their fingers. "Then let's go find our favorite titan." They stepped off the overlook and back onto the bridge proper, Chewie following closely behind. After a one-minute-thirty-two-seconds-and-fifty-milliseconds, Queen spoke up once more. "Hey Jack?"
"Yeah?"
"You know I like Knight, but... is there anyone you like?
The question made him stop. "I..." He furrowed his brow as he tried to think of an answer. The question should have been easy as he had never known a female close to his age besides Queen and now, Annabeth. Neither of the girls brought forth any of the feelings Grandma May had told them about or the urges Brontes and Steropes had warned him and Knight about. And even when they were on Gaea, surrounded by females of all shapes, sizes, and colors, did he see one that roused his interest in more than a passing curiosity. So, what does that mean? Is it because I just haven't met anyone like Grandma May said? Or is it something else? "No... There's no one," he finally answered, resuming their so slow strolling once more. "But that's fine. I'm happy helping you with Knight and playing with Chewie."
Queen arched a single eyebrow. "Or maybe you like Annabeth?" she asked with a playful grin.
He grimaced at the thought of being anything more than friends with the daughter of Athena. "Uh, no... Smart blonds is your thing."
Queen snorted. "Okay, I'll believe you. But you know... Ivy really likes you..."
"OH TITANS, NO!"
Their laughter filled the valley.
----
"Get a good sniff, Chewie," he said as he scratched behind the massive hellhound's ears as it stuck its nose into a crate containing the dust that had been Porphyrion's arm and a few ichor covered copies of Babylon. "This is one we have to find."
"You really don't have to do that," Koios said through clenched teeth. The titan unable to hide his contempt for the three of them while dealing with his own wounded body. "We have people trained to handle this sort of scenario..."
"Nah, I think we'll stay and handle it," Queen said, shooting the titan a phony smile as she made a little cut in the arm of a centaur; just one of many soldiers who asked for the "honor" of being made into one of her "chosen". "And we have some questions. NEXT!"
It had taken them far longer than he would have liked to find the location of the O.S.I. base, having to walk around Ventum until the Praetorian Guard found them. It was a bit embarrassing to need the guards to take them to take them to their destination but walking around the mountainous city and talking about old memories with Queen more than made up for it. The Celestial Bronze and Stygian Iron clad warriors eagerly led them to the entrance of the facility, which like everything else titan related, was far to ornate and unnatural for his taste.
The armed guards stationed at the gates tried to deny them entrance, giving them excuses like the tunnels were unstable, the situation was under control, or they were on something called lockdown. The Praetorian Guards started to argue that they were the Triumvirate and could not be denied, but Queen simply sliced the offending soldiers with Soul Forge and ordered them to take them to Koios. Normally he would be slightly against his sister using her weapon like that, but his gut told him that she had done the right thing and potentially preventing a fight.
The guards, under Soul Forge's sway, led them into the mountain base without a word. Other members of the O.S.I. tried to intercept them, but the they were quickly dispatched by either Queen's guards flashing some kind of badge, Queen cutting them with Soul Forge, or him chaining them to the wall with Babylon. After about two dozen or so incidents, the rest of the O.S.I. began to simply follow them as they passed. A good thing too, as he was getting concerned as to what the titan was trying to hide.
They were led through a labyrinth of tunnels and passageways filled with boxes, racks of weapons, and even cages filled with various animals. At the last one the guards not under Queen's control shrank back at the glare he gave them, some stuttering that they would be released as soon as possible. He didn't believe them in the slightest and used Babylon to shoot the locks off the cages of the animals that weren't predators; mostly centicores and catoblepi.
From there they were taken to the hangar they had seen before. Dozens of mechanical beasts and soldiers were busy removing the damaged sections from the explosions the giant king had caused and replacing them immediately. The doors at the end of the hangar, which appeared to be a giant set of the Doors of Death, were receiving the most attention. Flying orbs with dozens of small arms inspected every inch of the colossus gateway, poking and prodding it with tools he couldn't even begin to guess what function they served, while the titan they had been searching for barked orders at them.
Koios tried to pretend that they weren't there at first, which Jack thought was rather childish considering there was well over twenty-five monsters following them between their Praetorian Guard and the soldiers they had picked up along the way. But the titan was forced to acknowledge them when he launched a copy of Babylon between his feet. Koios then rather rudely tried to get them to leave, but he and Queen were quick to tell him that would not happen until they were done. The senator then barked out orders to a pair of centaurs to bring them the sample.
"We have the best to track him down," the titan snarled, his eyes snapping back to the gateway as a telekhine types furiously on a projected keyboard in front of the doors; several images filled with gauges and charts snapping into existence as it worked. "And I'm sure your questions can wait until a later date..."
"Like who?" he asked as Chewie removed the ichor-soaked vinculum from the crate and proceeded to gnaw on it like one of his favorite bones. "Who can be better than the Hunter of Tartarus?" he asked with smirk.
Koios' eyes momentarily darted to him as he uttered a single word, "Orion."
The room became completely silent at the mention of perhaps the greatest hunter in history. Even the mechanical beasts stopped what they were doing to make sure they heard Koios correctly.
"Orion?" Jack repeated excitedly. He had always wanted to meet the legendary hunter and see if he could learn from him to improve his own skills. Granted, he had met the giant once before, but that was during the rebellion and hadn't left a lot of room for interaction. What with him raining down Celestial Bronze chaos on the assembled giants.
"He's the best tracker known around!" a telekhine barked, mistaking his tone for ignorance.
"With exceptional equipment of both ssssight and ssssound!" a dacaenae hissed, flipping up her welding mask.
"He was raised by wolves!" a laistrygonian giant shouted with the smoldering remains of a vehicle held over his head. A fact, that Jack knew to be untrue.
"He can kill with his teeth!" a cyclops bellowed.
"He can blend into shadows!" a centaur neighed.
"He can hide in the trees!" a harpy squawked.
"If he cannot find Porphyrion, then nobody can!" the cyclops cried.
"I'm telling you my lord, this is your man," Koios smirked.
"Wow, that's... really incredible!" Queen beamed as she cut yet another soldier. "Where is he? I think we'd both like to meet him," she said, winking at him.
The titan's brow furrowed. "Uh... that's actually a really good question."
"Oh! He's dead!" a telekhine barked from the walkways above them. "Bad giant stab him and collapse hall on him!"
Koios slammed his hand into his face and growled; his silver aura momentarily flaring. "He's not dead," the titan snarled. "But when you unbury him, throw him in the garbage! What use is the greatest hunter if he's taken out that easily?!"
While he was disappointed that he wouldn't meet Orion on this day (and slightly concerned that Koios would actually toss the giant out), he was glad that he and Queen would be the one to hunt Porphyrion. This is my fault after all... He looked up at his uncle and beamed, "looks like you need us!"
"It would appear that way," the titan said, his left eye twitching ever so slightly. "Now," the titan said placing one hand over his bandaged stomach as he started to limp away, "I have other matters to attend to that require my utmost attention. Please-"
"Stop," Queen barked, the titan senator immediately halting as the Stygian Iron scepter's gem illuminated. Some of the monsters nearest to her took a few steps back and eyed the weapon warily, while those in the Praetorian Guard and those who saw them as deities bowed their heads in reverence. "We still have questions." She smiled. "And you're going to answer them..."
Jack watched as the titan ground his teeth, the veins on his temples bulging as he tried to fight against his sister's control. Good luck with that, he thought with a smirk. The only thing to ever resist her was Tartarus, and he was a primordial.
"What- what do you want to know?" Koios growled as he gave up his fight.
"Uh... first of all, what is all of this?" he asked, gesturing to the multitude vehicles, guards, and supplies surrounding them. "And answer truthfully," he quickly added.
"Project Proxy," the titan said as he adjusted the remains of his burnt tie and jacket. "My pet project," he grunted.
Jack looked to Queen and saw that she was just as confused as he was. "That's nice... but what is it?"
"A way to ensure our victory," their uncle smirked before turning back to the giant gateway. "Tell me, do you know about the other pantheons? Those that are neither Greek or Roman?"
Now he was even more confused. There were no other pantheons outside the Greek and Roman gods. "Father ruled the entire world," he frowned. "There are no other gods."
Koios chuckled and shook his head. "Oh, there are most assuredly other gods. The Norse to the North. The Egyptians to the South. The Tribes to the West. The Ascended to the East. These are but a few of the groups that your father and Zeus shared the world with. None of them as mighty as us mind you, which was the reason why your father was unconcerned with them, but I'm afraid under Zeus' rule they've become... problematic."
"How so?" he asked, still doubtful of the titan's claims.
Queen frowned. "And how could they pose a threat to us?"
"Oh, normally they wouldn't," Koios said, his grin reminding Jack of a Nemean Lion about to pounce on an unsuspecting boar. "Normally they would stay in their little corners of the world and let Zeus and the rest of your delinquent siblings do as they pleased, but things have changed. Your abduction of Zeus and the resulting war for his throne will have the Olympians reaching out to these foreign gods for aid. Aid, that they will gladly give if it means they can in turn gain some sway over the throne."
"And that's going to make the war worse," Jack gulped. He knew that their win over the first encounter with the Olympians had been lucky; the gods not viewing them as a real threat. He had been preparing for a second encounter that would potentially reshape Gaea herself, but the idea that they could have gods on their side he knew nothing about made his stomach flip. What if there's a god immune to Celestial Bronze? Imperial Gold? Or Soul Forge? How would we fight them?
"I see your concern nephew and I can tell you with the utmost confidence not to worry," the senator chuckled as he limped his way over to a stack of shiny metal cases. "These foreign gods are just as cruel as your divine siblings, and when you're that cruel, there are peoples who are oppressed. Peoples, who were in a similar situation before you three led us to our glorious present," Koios said as he popped open the latches on one of the cases. "And over the last few centuries -or months depending on your preference- I've had the venti search for where these oppressed souls live and placed... a few gateways there so we could make contact with them. Which, was what we were about to do before our little interruptions earlier this evening." The titan flipped the case open, reached inside, and pulled out the strangest hammer Jack had ever seen.
"What's that?" Queen asked, striding over to the titan of the North to get a better look at the strange, golden hammer.
"A weapon we intend to give the downtrodden masses," the titan explained as lightning danced across the hammer's head. "A recreation of one of their god's weapons, similar to that of the Master Bolt." The arcing electricity disappeared and Koios returned the hammer to its case where eleven others sat in non-conductive foam. "I- We, the O.S.I., intend to supply those poor souls with weapons, technology, food, and whatever else they need to stage a rebellion against their own godly oppressors."
"Which will keep those other gods from aiding the Olympians," he realized. Problem solved! And those other guys will get to improve their lives and homes too! Everyone wins!
"But how do you know those peoples won't turn against us?" Queen asked, killing his joy. "They could someday decide that we're the enemy as well."
The titan's smile wavered for a millisecond but stabilized. "Worry not my dear Queen, every weapon we will supply them with has a remote kill switch installed in it. If they were to ever turn against us all we have to do is-" he snapped his fingers "-and they're back to nothing. Trust me, I've foreseen every possible outcome. Studied mortal history," Koios chuckled.
He felt conflicted about what the titan was telling him. On the one hand, he didn't want others to live in fear of the gods. On the other, he wasn't sure that all those gods were as bad as the Olympians. What if Koios was wrong and was giving powerful weapons to the bad guys? Or those weapons turned them into the bad guys once they overthrew their gods? Grandma May did say power made people do bad things... He scratched at the back of his neck. But we won't know until we try...
"Alright," Queen sighed, reaching the same conclusion as him. "You may continue on with your work. If only until the war ends."
"Thank you for your blessings, my dearest niece and nephew," the titan said with a smile that was less than sincere. "And I only planned to help until the war was-"
"But first you need to tell us who Porphyrion was talking too," his sister interrupted.
"He told someone to come with him they wanted to live," he clarified. "And the images show you could see who he was addr- address- talking to."
Koios frowned as he resealed the case, grumbling something unintelligible under his breath.
"What was that?" he asked.
The titan turned to him and Queen once more and narrowed his eyes. "I was hoping to have the O.S.I. handle this ourselves but that is no longer possible." He stroked his white-blue bared with one hand. "You see, the first of Olympus' forces have arrived in New Tartarus. Three demigods with a hellhound about a third the size of your... friend there."
"What?" the two children of Kronos gasped.
"Why were you trying to hide that?!" he growled, readying a barrage of Babylon to launch at the titan. "That is not something to be kept hidden!"
"We're trying to not harm any demigods!" Queen cried, the soldiers behind her readying their weapons as her emotions leaked into her scepter. "What? We're you just going to have them killed? And what about warning the senate that there are potentially more invaders?!"
The titan raised his hand, completely unphased by their outcry and the number of weapons aimed at him. "I didn't tell everyone because I wanted to keep that information compartmentalized, due to some troubling revelations."
"What revel- revela-" He growled in frustration. "What did you learn?!"
"That there are traitors in our midst..."