Children of the Gods: Arc 2 [Game/Closed]

[Green Shoes]

Prometheus watched as Aria walked off, confused. Lying down, he groaned out loudly.

"Aria...what are you doing...?"

The others emerged, some more battered than others, all throwing themselves among the bank. The sun was just setting; Prometheus had no idea how long they had been gone for.

Then Andrew emerged. After spouting his tirade against the group, Prometheus simply propped himself up on his elbows and watched him. Silence fell on the group, before he spoke generally, keeping an eye on him.

"Alright, lets find somewhere to rest. We need to recover after that. Then we'll figure out our next move. I think we're a few hours walk from the city..."

Standing up, he spoke directly to Andrew.

"If you wish to leave, then by all means, go. You'll be hunted by other Gods. You'll be putting anyone you cared about, if you do, at death's door. You'll....you..."

The Titan didn't have the steam for this.

"You selfish asshole."

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

"Please, don't energize us again..." Steven said as he got to his feet.

"Screw them. I'm done with these imbeciles and our retard guide. I'm done acting like the nice guy just because of these people."

"If you wish to leave, then by all means, go. You'll be hunted by other Gods. You'll be putting anyone you cared about, if you do, at death's door. You'll....you... You selfish asshole."

"Great... just what this team needs..." Steven thought as he walked to Andrew.

"You think the rest of us are having a joyful time chasing after Dios?" Steven said, "None of us like this, none of us asked for this. However, if we fail, one of two things are going to happen. Dios is going to kill a bunch of people, power himself up with their belief, and take over this planet. Or he will fail, but make everyone aware of the existence of the gods, and make them start hunting people like us. We just killed a god with some slashes and a BOW, how do you think they will fair against Apaches? You think you can take on a tank?"

 

[Dogmatic99]

And then there was water... lots of water.

Able had no idea where it came from or how they got there, though he wasn't thinking about the logistics too much. He was busy focusig on the crushing weight of the water that was quickly trying to dill up his lungs and the looming dark that came with it. The lad comprtly lost his cool and kicked and thrashed with all he had until he broke the surface and gulped up air by the gallon. He had to scramble for the spear on the way up as it was washed out of his hands, though it didn't get far.

Soaking wet - yet again - Able dragged himself to land, scraping a line in the ground with the spear shaft before keeling down and collapsing spread eagled onto his back. Yeah his eyes and lungs were burning and his clothes were weighing him down like bricks but who cared? He was back in the world of the living, the sun was on his face and the wind was rustling the trees.

The others were bitching at each other about various thing, not that Able couldn't get it, the whole thing was a load of crap anyway.

"...how do you think they will fair against Apaches? You think you can take on a tank?"

Really well, DUH! One of them sent a spear by comet post! Plus Able was pretty sure the swords and bows were magic or something, come on the gods clearly plaid by different rules. Not that he could be bothered to try and express any of that to Steven, too much hassle and frankly Abe just didn't care right now.

 

[IFS]

"Screw them. I'm done with these imbeciles and our retard guide. I'm done acting like the nice guy just because of these people,"

Nicole turned to Andrew shocked by his cold tone and dismissive remarks, she had hauled herself onto the shore after Prometheus's help and was standing rather close to Andrew. Prometheus replied telling Andrew he was free to leave, and what the consequences of doing so would be, Steven spouted an idiotic speech that sounded like it was out of an action movie. She ignored them and looked at Andrew fighting a desire to slap him.

"I'm sorry we don't meet your standards you ass, but we've been struggling and fighting alongside you as best we can with just as little guidance as you, so if you've got some brilliant idea how to end this that we've been missing feel free to share it" she began trying to find the right words to admonish him, "we never asked you to be nice to us you know, but you could at least respect us for suffering through all this alongside you."

She paused for a moment before continuing "Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to see if anyone else needs help, since you're clearly too important to be bothered with stuff like that, Doctor."

With that she turned and walked back to the edge of the shore looking to see if anyone needed help making their way out of the water. Able looked to be having some trouble, though he had made it to the beach, so she went to help him up.

 

[DarkRawen]

"If you wish to leave, then by all means, go. You'll be hunted by other Gods. You'll be putting anyone you cared about, if you do, at death's door. You'll....you..."

Wait, what?

Andrew's smile lessened slightly, what was Prometheus talking about? Why was he saying this to him?

"You selfish asshole."

Oh.

His smile faded a bit more, as he realized what had happened.

I said it aloud.

All this time, and he had never made a mistake like this. However, he was exhausted and annoyed, and now people had heard him. In about the middle of Steven's speech, he had stopped smiling completely, and coldness and arrogance surfaced in his eyes. Nicole was the next to speak, these people never knew when to shut up.

"I'm sorry we don't meet your standards you ass, but we've been struggling and fighting alongside you as best we can with just as little guidance as you, so if you've got some brilliant idea how to end this that we've been missing feel free to share it. We never asked you to be nice to us you know, but you could at least respect us for suffering through all this alongside you."

"Are you done now?" he asked, sounding uninterested by her. "If you want respect, stop being worthless." It seemed she didn't stop there, because she continued.

"Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to see if anyone else needs help, since you're clearly too important to be bothered with stuff like that, Doctor."

With that, she left. Andrew shrugged, he had done enough already, and no one seemed to be dying, so he looked towards Steven and Prometheus.

"I'm not going to leave, because you clearly need my help, and I have reasons to stop the wine god myself. I just can't stand you, and I detest acting like I do." It felt good talking about it like this, not having to lie or pretend anymore, although it also felt a bit odd. He lacked the emotional depth to feel embarrassed about it, though. And he was still tired, and still too proud to show them how exhausted he really was.

I need a break.

"Now, leave me alone for a couple of minutes. Anyone else want to lecture me? Don't. I can't hear myself think with all this bitching." With that, he walked a bit away from them, and sat down, sitting so that he could hide his face in his arms. As he did, he allowed himself to relax without his pride being in the way.

 

[Terratina.]

It seemed something else had broken the surface, specifically the true Andrew. Etna couldn't help but feel a bit amused about the whole thing. Or maybe that was just the smug satisfaction about being right, or maybe it was just the fact that she had even more material for her paper. Or even it was because she didn't even have to use her powers for this to happen. After all, all people need is a nudge in the right direction in order to lower their barriers. The sheer exhaustion of struggling through Hades and of this whole ordeal properly ground Andrew's barriers to a halt. Sure, he wanted to be alone, but in all honesty, Etna couldn't help herself. Rather than bitching or gloating, she simply clapped her hands, "Well done for admitting that to yourself." Afterwards, she turned towards Prometheus, finally able to ask that question, "'Oath by blood' - what's so important about that phrase?"

 

[Dogmatic99]

Able kind of just squirmed on the flor for a moment before accepting Nicole's help and using his free arm to grab up his spear and using it to pull himself up. His body language grumbling, five more minutes. But those minutes would have to come later! He gave Nicole a thankful nod, she looked pretty pissed off. Though Nearly drowning could have that effect on a person.

Or maybe it was Andrew's outburst. Able had been busy breathing and enjoying not being dead before so he kind of zoned out for the first half but it was easy to see that nerves were wearing thin and people were starting get snappy. It wasn't suprising really. He shrugged his shoulders at Nicole and waved off Andrew's comments in a forget about it fashion. He was too tired to feel awkward about stuff right now.

Of course that was before he noticed how the water had soaked Nicole's clothes and caused them to cling to her in such a way that made every awkward part of his being spring to life and bring all their combined might to bare on his less than perfect socail skills. There was even some stereotypical jewish guilt mixed in there, because who cares if he never embraced his grandparent's religion that didn't mean it couldn't mess with his head.

Suddenly remembering himself, Able stood as straight as the spear by his side and practically marched over to Prometheus and Etna. They were already discussing weird phrases and languages so he may as well join in. Abe untied the sodden ribbon from around the spear shaft and displayed it to them, the writing had survived the transit somehow. In fact the water was just running off the wooden shaft like... well like water off a duck's back.

 

[Deu Sex]

"Now, leave me alone for a couple of minutes. Anyone else want to lecture me? Don't. I can't hear myself think with all this bitching."

Remus hadn't paid attention to Andrew's original outburst, still in a mental haze. But as he continued to speak, trash-talking Nicole and the others, he heard it all full well. At first he gave a confused look, which warped into a scowl as he absorbed the gravity of the doctor's words. Remus was disgusted. He had thought Andrew was a friend, and a loyal companion to the group. But apparently his true colours were yellow.

"What a fucking wonderful day. First my mother dies, and now this bullshit." Remus groaned and continued to rub his brow. He was going to get a headache from all this stress As his eyes wandering about, he spied Able walking over to Prometheus and Etna. They were probably gathering to discuss what had just gone on. Although he would have liked nothing more than to run off and cry some place where nobody would see or hear him, Remus realized he should probably do the same.

He got up off the bank and walked over to the three of them. His face looked completely flustered, despite his best efforts to hide it. As he got closer Remus opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. This was because he saw what Able was holding in his hands. His eyes went deer-like before he spoke. "Where the hell did you get that?"

 

[Dogmatic99]

"Where the hell did you get that?"

From hell! Able couldn't help but quip in his head.

He spun the spear upsidedown and jabbed the point at the earth a few times to try and bring it across. Remus wasn't looking too good, but then none of them were, something about his body language and expression seemed different to the fatigue and stress of the others though. Able convinced himself that Remus must have just had an extra bumpy rentry, besides he wasn't the type to want people to make a fuss of him right?

 

[IFS]

Nicole nodded at Able's gesture, yeah he's probably right, best to forget about it for now. Still she was going to have trouble letting this go, but she pushed that aside for now trying to focus on what was next. Everyone seemed to be out of the water now so there wasn't much point to standing around on the shore, besides she was cold wet and tired the sooner they figured out where to go next the better. This in mind she followed Able over to Prometheus and Etna, with Remus soon joining them.

"Where the hell did you get that?"

Nicole hadn't paid much attention to the spear before, having had other things on her mind, but Remus's question got her thinking. What was it and where did it come from? Able pointed downwards which really only could mean one thing. So that was that thing streaking through the sky down there, what is it though? I think Odin had a magic spear or something, goon-gear? Glug-ear? something like that I think, can't think of any others though...

"That was in the underworld? What is it?" she said somewhat quietly, I wonder how it can help us...

 

[Green Shoes]

Prometheus turned to Etna, his brow furrowed. This memory was from a long, long time ago...

"It's the first line from a pact made, many many years ago. When Zeus overthrew Kronos. It was his way of knowing who was on his side. The Pact of the Usurper, if I remember correctly. Though I don't know why it's on that token..."

Turning to Remus and Nicole, Prometheus started talking in an effort to communicate for Able.

"Able dug it up in the underworld; it crash-landed in a tower. Reduced the thing to rubble, and left it smouldering."

Running his fingers under the edge of the ribbon, he tried to remember any Latin he knew. PAX AUT BELLUM. It meant nothing to him.

"I don't know what it says, but it looks like Latin; very, very old Latin. I'm sure we'll find someone who can read it, if we go looking."

Doing a quick survey, he found that Andrew had gone to sulk further away. Aria was still missing. He hoped she'd come back.

"Alright. Are we staying here for the night, or do you want to try and make it back to Syracuse?."

The sun had begin to set, and darkness rapidly began to descend upon them. Stretching, he heard several bones crackle, and every muscle in his being ached. Exhausted, he lit a flame at his fingertip, swirling it between his fingers.

 

[Deu Sex]

"I don't know what it says, but it looks like Latin; very, very old Latin. I'm sure we'll find someone who can read it, if we go looking."

Remus shook his head. "There's no need. Give it here." Despite asking, instead of waiting for Able to hand it over he simply snatched the ribbon out of his hand. He stretched it to its length and read the words on it. He wasn't fluent in Latin, few except linguists and catholic priests were, but he knew plenty of words and phrases. His mother had taught him. He tried hard not to think about her as he read the text.

"One word means war, and the other means peace. Peace and war." he said before tossing the ribbon aside. He took another long look at the spear in Able's hands. His face was still flustered, although seemingly less so. "Most likely then this is the spear of Mars."

 

[DarkRawen]

Andrew used a few minutes to rest, and he felt himself drift towards sleep. At that moment, it was comfortable, very much so, and he had no reason to not attempt getting a little shut-eye while the others were acting like the morons they were. However, suddenly Etna clapped her hands, startling him slightly.

"Well done for admitting that to yourself."

He needed a quarter of a second to get the meaning of what she had said. It seemed off, she sounded almost as if she was congratulating him. Obviously, she wasn't, the woman loathed him, that he had made sure of himself. Was it sarcasm then? Etna hadn't sounded particularly sarcastic, but she might just have relied on the words themselves to be rude.

Probably. I won't retort though, she's just baiting me. And I don't want to waste my time talking to her.

Besides, he had decided not to bother her anymore, and even if he hadn't, he had no reason to anymore. They all knew he had fooled them, and he didn't regret telling them off. If he was lucky, they would decide that he was not worth the trouble of yelling at. Probably not yet, but as long as they eventually left him alone, he would be happy. He attempted to go back to that relaxing state of almost asleep, but found himself unable to do so.

Damn, Etna's remark woke me up too much. Why couldn't she just leave me alone like I told people do to? What an annoying woman.

Andrew was still exhausted, but he started brushing what sand he had gotten on him -although still being wet made that difficult to do- and stood up, stretching slightly. He glanced over at the group that had gathered around Prometheus, they were discussing unimportant things, it seemed. Of course they were. It was starting to get dark, he noticed. If they didn't start moving soon, they would have to walk in the dark, or stay, neither seemed like a good idea at the moment.

Clearly, some insignificant spear is more important than actually getting somewhere safe.

He didn't have the bow and arrows anymore, not a surprise considering that it had belonged to one of the furies. Most of the others didn't seem like they were much in a fighting condition either.

"Alright. Are we staying here for the night, or do you want to try and make it back to Syracuse?."

Andrew decided to speak up. "Staying here is a bad idea, it's pretty much abandoned at this time. The cities have been the safest so far," he simply stated. His tone was cold, but it didn't harbor any other sort of emotion, even though the fact that Prometheus even had to ask made Andrew want to sigh.

"Most likely then this is the spear of Mars."

"That is very interesting," he said sarcastically. "This isn't the time to stand around like retards. I assume you can speak and walk at the same time, right?"

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Steven walked over to the spear.

"One word means war, and the other means peace. Peace and war. Most likely then this is the spear of Mars."

"Or it could be Athena's, or Min... Mis... what ever her Roman name is," Steven said as he walked over, "If I remember correctly, she was both the god of strategy and wisdom, while Mars was only the God of War. As far as I remember, Mars did not like peace."

Steven turned to Prometheus.

"According to Dis, my brand on my arm can be sensed by gods for miles, did you know about that?" Steven tired to ask as neutrally as possible, "I rather not be a beacon that warns Dio or anyone else we need to find of our location."

 

[Deu Sex]

"This isn't the time to stand around like retards. I assume you can speak and walk at the same time, right?"

Remus felt a throb of rage at Andrew's words. He slowly craned his head around, soon looking at the doctor with an hateful expression on his face. His eyes glared almost violently as he stared and Andrew for several seconds. No words escaped Remus' mouth, only a feral grumble that was muffled behind his teeth. Reigning himself back, he turned his head back to the others just as Steven spoke.

"Or it could be Athena's, or Min... Mis... what ever her Roman name is. If I remember correctly, she was both the god of strategy and wisdom, while Mars was only the God of War. As far as I remember, Mars did not like peace."

He frowned at Steven's words. Less angrily like he had at Andrew, but more sadly so. "Oh." he said, a disappointed tone still tinged with anger. "I suppose...that could be true." At the mention of Latin text, Remus had been hopeful that it was Mars' spear that he had simply jumped to the conclusion without thinking. In truth it could have been sent by any number of Roman Gods or otherwise. Remus then thought on the rest of Steven's remark shook his head. "But no, that's wrong. Mars was a protector of peace."

 

[Terratina.]

"It's the first line from a pact made, many many years ago. When Zeus overthrew Kronos. It was his way of knowing who was on his side. The Pact of the Usurper, if I remember correctly. Though I don't know why it's on that token..."

Etna had her answer, but the answer just led to more questions, and of course in the mist of it was Andrew being... Andrew. Even though from a therapist's standpoint, she should have been glad that he finally stripped off that stickily sweet façade, Etna couldn't help but sigh. The whole thing had taken a lot out of her too. Masked or unmasked, it was all the same, just that the venom wasn't buried in pretenses of kindness. At least she didn't have to put up with any of that passive-aggressive crap anyway, if Andrew stayed like that. Ironically enough, just as he broke out of that mask, she had watered-down her own venom with kindness. Burying and watering-down are different things, anyway. At least, that was what she told herself.

Etna resisted the urge to tell off Andrew for expecting the clearly exhausted group to march on and replied to Prometheus, unleashing some of the questions, "Why is the token and that Pact even important in the first place? Why did you want to hide it from Hades?"

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

"I suppose...that could be true. But no, that's wrong. Mars was a protector of peace."

Steven was surprised by how sad Remus sounded about that. He wasn't sure if Remus was somehow insulted, thinking of the women down below, or something else, but Steven suddenly felt guilty.

"Sorry, I never really studied the difference between Greek and Roman gods, even after I learned of my origins," Steven said, remembering the denial over the situation he had, "I wasn't aware that Mars was the protector of peace."

"Why is the token and that Pact even important in the first place? Why did you want to hide it from Hades?"

"When Hades saw the spear, he immediately changed his attitude," Steven said, turning to Etna, "That is when he so rudely threw us into the lake. I am assuming he feared it. I wonder if that spear has some special god killing powers..."

 

[Green Shoes]

"Staying here is a bad idea..."

Prometheus turned with an expression of curious humour.

"Oh you're back! Glad to have you on board sir. Didn't want to interrupt your day-spa routine."

Prometheus was tired, and as such prone to childish anger. It came with the package of being primitive, and he decided to roll with it for now. Turning back to the group, he addressed Etna first.

"The token? I don't know, but if Hades had read the line, he would have assumed it was our pact. And not Loki's. It does make you wonder though..."

Prometheus heard something crunch underfoot. A black feather. He picked it up, inspecting it's broken form, before looking at Etna.

"I truly hope this was a bird."

The sun had set, and it was truly dark now. Prometheus figured it was too late to be travelling. They were exhausted, and he thought it best to set up a somewhat defendable position; just in case. And he hoped the task would bring Remus out of his malaise.

"Remus! I think we'll be staying here tonight; don't want to risk an ambush. Can you find a clearing nearby you think is best defended?"

Turning to the group, he paused. They needed warmth, and food, but he didn't want to risk their safety.

"Errm. Nicole, Vera, Able, Etna; Can you gather firewood? Able, can you go with Remus; you can both share the spear."

He chuckled, before noticing the emotional tie Remus had to anything that could be from Mars. He stopped.

"Oh. And take Andrew with you; don't want him running off and getting himself killed."

Doing a head count, he wheeled. It was dark. Not risking the groups safety, he swore with a whisper.

"Where in hell is Aria!"

------------------------------------------

A pair of sunken, pale eyes watched as the girl trekked through the bush. It had grown dark, and she had begun to shiver; the skin on her bones rippling. As Aria rounded a tree, the figure flitted silently, like the wind, always getting closer.

 

[IFS]

Nicole ignored Andrew as best she could, although the way Remus was acting if Andrew kept this up it wouldn't be long before he got torn in half. Or at least punched, she couldn't deny that she wanted to slap him still, but she wasn't going to. The others debated what the spear could be, no one seemed to think of Odin's spear, she couldn't remember if the spear of Mars or Athena was particularly notable although she did remember that Athena had the Aegis, a shield with medusa's head on it.

"Errm. Nicole, Vera, Able, Etna; Can you gather firewood? Able, can you go with Remus; you can both share the spear."

She nodded, given how exhausted everyone was after being thrown out of hell into the ocean walking didn't seem a terribly good idea to her, but they would need to find some shelter for the night. She turned to look for Able, Vera and Etna to head out to look for the wood.

"Where in hell is Aria!"

She glanced around, a look of slight concern appearing on her face "I don't see her... maybe she wandered off? I'll keep an eye out for her when getting the firewood," she said, "I'd try flying but its getting too dark to spot her from the sky very well."

 

[DarkRawen]

When Remus glared at him, clearly pissed off for some reason, Andrew had to ignore the urge to take a step back. It was self-preservation, rather than fear, although he had to admit that he had no desire to get close to the Italian. Andrew hadn't really realized in how bad a mood Remus was in before now. Not that he cared why, though.

There were some muttering in Hades, but I didn't pay attention.

Some of the ones there, Steven, Etna and probably others, either ignored what he had said, or decided to waste more time on those artifacts just for the purpose of spiting him. He did consider speaking his mind, calling them out on the obvious stupidity, but he kept quiet.

People don't react well to honesty, and I don't feel like getting lectured again. Besides, it's not like they are going to listen to what I say either way.

And, of course, his decision to leave Etna alone. She wasn't that interesting a person, after all. He glanced over at her for a slight moment.

Her only winning point is that she's not as stupid as the rest. But that's hardly an achievement.

As he was thinking, keeping quiet, Prometheus spoke, having decided to act like the leader again. Firstly, he addressed Andrew mockingly.


"Oh you're back! Glad to have you on board sir. Didn't want to interrupt your day-spa routine."

Andrew shrugged, keeping his mouth shut. Prometheus already sounded sulky enough.

If you're going to insult me, at least be decent at it.

Not that insults mattered to him, whatever people tried to say, he was confident enough to ignore it. Prometheus continued with that they had to stay, because it was gotten dark -as someone had wasted all the time on chit-chatting about sticks- and told people to group up and do stuff. Apparently, he feared that Andrew would leave or something, despite him having specifically said he wouldn't. Andrew glanced over at Remus, before smirking, albeit it being an annoyed smirk.

"No thank you sir, I'll manage to be on my own just fine."

He wasn't sure whether or not to attempt to sound polite, or have his normal arrogant tone, and the mix was a rather strange one, sounding not as rude as simply confused.

"After all, I'd rather not get stabbed."