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

[Not G. Ivingname]

Killing the cultists hadn't quelled everything that was going on within him, just made Steven fill drained. He only wanted to crawl up into one of those beds and sleep for hours and...

"Where's Etna? The dark haired girl?!"

Steven was shocked and didn't know what to say.

"Etna?" Steven looked around, "I thought she was with you... oh crap."

Steven shouldered the shotgun again. "She may be lost somewhere else in the monostary, or maybe she was grabbed by one of these things during the fight. We need to look for her."

He looked around the altar, looking for the door to the inner parts of the church.

 

[IFS]

"That? That's my seal stone. If anything needs my proof of support, that's how you know it's authentic. Surely old man Zeus showed you his when he issued you your tokens..."

"I don't think Zeus ever gave us anything like that, just brought us to Australia in a storm and handed us off to Prommy, er, Prometheus," she said, Apollo took the ring and she closed the glovebox.

"I guess I should probably be wearing it, huh..."

Apollo slipped the ring on, he looked sad for a moment if only in his eyes, but quickly cheered up. He lifted her out of the car and over a puddle.

"Can't...hold...too...heavy..."

He said, in what had to be a joke, before he set her down and took her hand moving quickly through the park towards and ice cream stand. He practically dragged her along at first though she quickened her pace to match his. It had been so long since she had last been to the park, and it felt strange to be there dressed as she was, but all the same she felt delighted to be home. Back among normalcy, if only for a little while. Apollo turned to her, his broad grin sparking a smile on her own face.

"Times a-ticking. What's your flavour?"

"Vanilla with chocolate chips," she said as they reached the stand, she let Apollo pay for the ice cream and they started to walk through the park again. She wondered how much time they actually had left on the date, almost wishing it could go for longer.

 

[Terratina.]

"Who the fuck are you?"

Well, this was the girl she had seen glimpse of earlier, even though Etna wasn't entirely comfortable with sneaking up on people while they showered - god, goddess, or no. However, a glint of silver among bloodied clothes, boots and a quiver - among other things - had caused her to venture forward. Rather like a breadcrumb trail. Nevertheless, it didn't make the experience of being caught off by a green-eyed girl any more pleasant. To be fair, she looked like she was the one caught off guard. Being the one stuck in a towel, that was probably the case. Still, Etna didn't think that the strange girl in front of her was helpless for one second. The black-haired girl only had guess to who the chestnut-skinned girl might be, but they were only guess... Etna smiled nervously and tried to quench the strange girl's hostility - just a precaution. She also moved slowly towards the quiver - just enough to be in range to grab it if the chestnut-skinned girl tried anything. It was a tricky situation.

"Funny that, I was about to ask the same question." Etna said, "I'm Etna, and you are?"

 

[Green Shoes]

Apollo narrowed his eyes as he handed Nicole her ice-cream, the God himself sporting peppermint choc-chip. Nicole could almost see the gears at work in his head, his eyes lost in thought, staring albeit somewhat strangely off into space. An errant frisbee passed alarmingly close to him, and still he remained unmoved.

Finally breaking his concentration, he looked at Nicole, his voice grave and serious. Any pretense of ignoring the situation she would return to was apparently dropped.

"So...you're not bound to him..."

Taking a slow deliberate bite of ice-cream, his movements were slow and precise. Walking over to a bench, he held his head in his hand, trying to work things through. The God looked remarkably like Andrew.

"Wait. Does Prometheus have one?! Does anyone have one!?"

His thoughts and speech becoming more erratic, Apollo met Nicole's gaze and implored her attention. His voice was kept low and rushed.

"Why are you doing this then? And why didn't he give you a token...if the others find you..."

Checking his watch, he cursed. Running out of time, he brought out a black token from his pocket. It shimmered eerily with the mark of his signet ring, the disc roughly the size of a large coin.

"Do you trust me?"

 

[IFS]

Apollo seemed lost in thought as he bought the ice cream, standing still and paying little attention to his surroundings as he considered what she had said. Nicole felt herself becoming somewhat worried by this, is the token thing that bad? I would have thought that Prommy counted as Zeus's personal sign of support... Apollo looked at her suddenly, speaking in a grave and serious voice that surprised her, especially considering how relaxed he had been before.

"So...you're not bound to him..."

"I guess not," she said, "Why does that matter though?"

Apollo continued to think, now moving over to a bench and sitting down clutching his head in his hands. She could almost see the gears turning in his head though she had no idea what was troubling him so. The thought struck her that he looked even more like Andrew now than before, though she wasn't quite sure why.

"Wait. Does Prometheus have one?! Does anyone have one!?"

"I don't think so, Prometheus never gave us any to my knowledge, and if he has one himself he hasn't mentioned it," she responded, becoming increasingly worried by what this might mean.

Apollo looked up and met her gaze, he seemed almost panicked now, speaking quickly and with an erratic pace.

"Why are you doing this then? And why didn't he give you a token...if the others find you..."

"I'm doing this to save people from Dio, I don't know why-" she was cut off by Apollo pulling out a black coin, a token, and holding it up to her.

"Do you trust me?"

"I, I guess I do," Nicole said, taken aback by the question. While the circumstances of the date itself could be considered suspect Apollo himself had given her no reason to mistrust him so far, but even with that she had only known him for a very short time.

"Just slow down, what does all this mean?" she said, her tone expressing her confusion.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Aria lazily looked toward Venus and the welp, and rolled her eyes "If your waiting for an apology, keep walken, your not getting one." coughing a but as the dull ache in her body got a little worse, in fact Aria did not look good at all, not that it would blunt her tongue any. "If you by some chance think I'm actually capable of finishing the girl off, your dumber then I thought, I don't have the strength to stand let alone attack anyone." Aria coughed again, this time more blood came up "Now if your done, leave me be."

 

[Green Shoes]

Vera

Vera began to breeze through the building, fanning out across large halls and funneling up narrow corridors. Flitting through a row of bedrooms, she now entered a large library, on the second floor between two dormitories. A strange blend of both modern technology and baroque furnishing, what caught her attention was the small piles of burnt books, scattered amongst the shelves. Parchment was thrown all over the place, and several large shelves had been completely torn down. One desk, somewhat isolated from the surrounding chaos, was adorned with several books and a laptop. Moving through, she came to the corridor of bodies, and heard Etna's confrontation, stopping herself just outside the door.

Etna

The girl stared at Etna, her gaze unflinching. Her fingers flexed and clenched, though still out of reach of any weapon. She held the towel pinned to her side underneath her arms, and tried to stand taller.

"I'm Yv...Artemis...I'm Artemis. This is my room, I think. You might be down the hall. Did you come here with Bacchus or..?"

Her gaze shifted from Etna's eyes to her jugular, the rapid pulse indicative of anxiety. Almost without thought she raised one hand to her own, which to Etna seemed somewhat still.

Venus

Venus nodded towards Prail, yanking Mahla's hand hard and forcing her to stand. Whispering something in her ear with a rather stern expression, the girl simply walked past everyone and waited patiently down near the gate. Venus spoke to Prail as she moved towards the door.

"Prail...I've heard of you. All of you, actually. Causing quite a stir. The van will have to do until we're further North, though I'll have to arrange transport for my daughter as soon as possible."

With just a slight glance towards Prometheus, he immediately threw her his phone, eager to turn away. The Goddess caught it and sent a text, continuing to speak now to Aria, imploring her forgiveness with a soothing tone.

"Come now, time heals all wounds. Though a trip to the doctor would probably be faster, as we haven't much time anyway. You'll make it to the Field Hospital."

Ushering everyone out with large sweeps, her actions hinted at urgency, though her voice was still calm. Prometheus frowned and withheld the keys for the time being, as Prail and the others followed the goddess back to the van, Aria leaning heavily upon her.

"We're a few hours drive from the North, where Dionysus is working to free Fenrir. I assume you're the hand-picked super-stars sent to stop him?"

The sarcasm was clear as day.

Steven

Steven managed to find a small, locked door at the side of the altar; the lock being both simple and somewhat archaic, it was open in a manner of minutes, revealing something of a supply closet. It had clearly been heavily raided, and there was nothing left save the corpse of a woman. Her skin was a deep chestnut brown, her hair tied in a ceremonial braid. There was one large wound piercing her chest, the white robe around her drenched in wine, blood, and black ichor. Her eyes were closed, and her face somewhat peaceful.

Prometheus

Prometheus nodded as Steven disappeared into the room, looking for Etna. On request of Venus he lazily threw his phone toward her, eager to be rid of both her and her daughter, keeping his eyes firmly averted. Looking at Shiro, he nodded, running his hand through his greasy hair.

"No...Vera's looking now, there's nowhere we can cover she can't get faster. I wish people would just stop running off. While the others get ready to leave, I think we should just...stay here. Wait for Vera, wait for Steven."

Inspecting Shiro's katana, he motioned towards the droplets of blood that had collected on the young mans clothes.

"You're fairly handy with that sword. Who's your parent?"

Andrew

The sounds of outside conversation penetrated his sleep as the pain lessened, though it drew him back towards the man, chained and somewhat confused at Andrew's leaving. He could hear them clearer now, and recognized their voices; Prail, Aria, Venus...people he knew.

The man looked up and smiled, baring sharp and savage teeth. Andrew could almost taste the few morsels that hung between them, rotting.

"Well...I guess this is adieu then. See you soon, monster..."

Light poured into Andrew's eyes as the creature laughed, filling his vision somewhat painfully, until the image of the dimmed van replaced the sheer darkness of his dream; although there was little light inside, it seemed almost blindingly bright comparatively.

 

[DarkRawen]

Andrew found himself feeling less pain, and voices could be heard. Voices from the other people in the group, as well as the goddess from before. He wasn't sure what to do, if he was to reach out to the voices and attempt to wake up, or stay in the state of self-pity. The chained man became clearer again, baring his teeth as he spoke one last time.

"Well...I guess this is adieu then. See you soon, monster..."

Andrew didn't reply, that word still bothered him. Monster. He really wasn't a monster. Andrew was just... like this. alone, in pain. Not as much pain anymore, but still. It hurt. The man, or, whatever he was, laughed as Andrew woke up, unable to see at first due to the huge contrast between the dimmed light in the van, and the total darkness of his dream. Then, slowly, his eyes adjusted, and he could make out details.

Wait. Why am I even in the van?

He asked himself, and sat up. Andrew found a note explaining the situation, he remembered most of it, apart from Prometheus carrying him to the van. Standing up, slowly, he unlocked the van so people could get in, not taking the time to examine anyone. He had heard Aria's voice, and he had no desire to talk to her at the moment.

What does it matter? I can't do anything either way.

He was still exhausted, and when he got back to the bed, he was already dizzy and feeling pain again, the 5 feet or so back and forth being enough to make him not want to move at all. Not to mention, the nightmare was bothering him.

Monster.

It had brought him questions he didn't ask, and conclusions he didn't want to reach. If someone spoke to him, how would he reply? Andrew really didn't want to be there now. He hadn't been very eager before, however, when thinking about interacting with others... what was the point? Andrew was still not going to understand them. He was still going to lack something, be too intelligent and logical to act on the emotions he did feel, state his opinion and end up being loathed again. And he was tired of that. No one ever tried to understand him either way, why was he required to understand them?

Perhaps lying really is the way to go.

Perhaps... but he couldn't do that here. They didn't want him to do that either. Andrew sighed. If it was going to be like this, then he would just not interact with anyone at all.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

"No...Vera's looking now, there's nowhere we can cover she can't get faster. I wish people would just stop running off. While the others get ready to leave, I think we should just...stay here. Wait for Vera, wait for Steven."

Shiro nodded in understanding, even as Prometheus took a moment to examine his katana. "You're fairly handy with that sword. Who's your parent?"

"Um... my father is Susanoo the god of storms. Do you know of him?"

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Steven looked down at the woman. He was certain it wasn't Etna, and by the smell of the wine Steven bet she was another cultist. Still, this one was so peaceful...

Shouldering the shotgun, Steven pointed at the ground, ready to quickly move up to fire, but not pointing directly at the girl for safety sake.

"Hello?" Steven said, "Are you ok?"

 

[DarkRawen]

"Excuse me."

Andrew felt someone touching, slightly, and sat back up, looking at her. It was that plain girl from before, the one who had charged in with her strange weapon.

"Yes?" he replied, his tone sounding something between bored, and confused. Andrew examined the woman, but he still found her to be... well, oddly unremarkable when it came to looks. As if she was intending to blend in. He made no attempt at hiding that he was scanning her, though, his hazel eyes basically taking in each detail he could manage to find as he looked her over. Still nothing of note, she was strange, and he could make out her most obvious traits, but he still had a hard time figuring out anything. Well, apart from that she apparently had killed more than enough of those crazy women-like creatures, as she was covered in blood. Then again, so was he.

Right.

He told himself that he was just tired, and that his mind still wasn't as sharp as it usually was.

I don't like this.

He never liked feeling less intelligent than he was. And while he could remember what had happened, he realized that part of it was strange, fleeting, almost. Andrew shook his head, and concentrated on the other person again.

Right. She wanted something, didn't she?

Ironic, wasn't it? It was something, at least. He didn't feel like figuring out just what. Right after he had said that he didn't want to interact with anyone, someone took the initiative to talk to him.

"Are you ok?"

"I'll live," he replied.

It doesn't even matter, does it?

"I don't know when I'll be able to heal anyone, though." That was what she was after, wasn't it? He laid back down, still watching her, but not really saying anything more. His body language could be described as distant and cold, but also purposefully withdrawn, as if he was forcing himself to appear different from how he felt, allowing some, but not much weakness from earlier to be portrayed. He then added.

"I'm Andrew, son of Apollo, by the way. I'm a doctor."

 

[Lunar Templar]

Venus set Aria down in one of the chairs as Andrew and this 'Prail' introduced her self and spoke, Aria left them to that conversation and instead answered Venus, "More like 'kidnapped and forced to clean up his mess'" her tone sounding more tired then anything else "I'd be more pissed about it, but I really wasn't gonna do anything with this week anyway and I got the added bonus of actual friends and finding out who my real mother is." Aria looked out the RVs window, then down "Shame she's a goddess though."

 

[Green Shoes]

Apollo's watch began to chime softly, his eyes glaring at the time-piece, almost willing it to stop. It was late afternoon in Des Moines, though Nicole was exhausted due to both travel and the time-difference. Finding it hard to focus, she found it even more difficult when he took her by the arm and began walking quite briskly back to the car, speaking rapidly as he did so. The God seemed more interested in his train of thought than in their date; a fact that was evident in his firm grip.

"That doesn't make sense. I thought you were fighting for Zeus and company. But you're not with anyone..."

Flicking his gaze back towards Nicole, he took a deep breath. Attempting to condense a large amount of information, he slowed his speech.

"There's three factions. Three groups of...deities...who are preparing for Ragnarok. Their allegiance is dictated by these."

Quickly flourishing the three different tokens; gold, silver and black, between his fingers, he continued, opening the door to the car and leaping into the front seat.

"These have been scattered since the last cycle, though when another begins, Gods are free to claim them with their mark."

He caught his ring in the setting sunlight and flashed it at Nicole.

"You make a pact on it and it protects you. Assuming you claim victory. Like...Lambs Blood. Or a name-tag. The point is..."

Apollo was speeding quite fast down the roads, his fingers twitching and reacting impossibly fast to the traffic. His focus was both intense and frankly fearsome; gone was the former friendship and charm.

"You're not bound to him. You succeed, he's free to kill you. You fail...you die anyway. You have no protection. Which is why I'm asking..."

He placed a black disc in the palm of Nicole's hand. It felt strangely heavy and impossibly smooth, save for the rigid bumps and marks from his seal-ring. Screeching to a stop outside the plane, he got out and, strangely, calmly opened the door for Nicole. Looking her up and down, he asked again, voice heavy with gravity.

"Do you trust me?"

 

[IFS]

Apollo's watch began to ring a quiet alarm, Nicole guessed that this signaled the end of the date, a guess supported by Apollo taking her by the arm and leading her quickly back to the car. The quickness and seriousness of his actions was still worrying her, and said worry only increased as he began to explain. His driving only served to further her worry, as he darted along the road with little concern for the speed limit, reacting with frightening swiftness to the other cars on the road.

"You're not bound to him. You succeed, he's free to kill you. You fail...you die anyway. You have no protection. Which is why I'm asking..."

Free to kill us? Why would he do that? Why does Apollo have all three kinds of token? These and other questions ran through her mind as he spoke, she didn't doubt that Apollo was telling the truth, likely because of the sudden shift towards seriousness in his demeanor, but all the same every word of his brought new questions to mind.

He placed the black token into her hand as the car came to a sudden stop outside of the plane. Apollo got out, his expression strangely calm now, and opened the door for her. He spoke again, his words carrying a great deal of weight and seriousness.

"Do you trust me?"

She looked down at the token in her hand, it was strangely heavy for its size, and incredibly smooth save for the seal that had been pressed into it. She hesitated then looked up at him, closing her fingers around the stone and stepping out of the car.

"Yeah... I trust you," she said, her voice carrying some hesitation and worry, she wasn't sure that she should trust him but she did "But why would Zeus kill us afterwards? And why do you have some of every kind of token?"

Her thoughts turned back to the rest of the group, if she was in danger from not having a token then so were they "Are you going to give tokens to the others as well?"

 

[Green Shoes]

Venus

The Goddess looked over the youths with deep interest, a flicker of a smile appearing at the corners of her lips. It was an image that wouldn't leave their minds for quite some time. A brown, smoking and beat-up van pulled up parallel to the RV, catching Venus' attention.

"Doctors, trackers, orphans. Not the most cheery group. Still..."

She laid her hands upon both Andrew and Aria, sending shivers up their spines.

"You're not the worst group of people I've met. I'll see you up North, I need to drop the baggage."

She motioned towards Mahla, who was already getting into the strange van. The driver was a young man, eyes clearly glazed over, smiling stupidly towards Venus. The group could almost feel the spell; he was rendered utterly helpless under the Goddess.

Laying a hand on Aria as she left, she trailed it over her collarbone, filling Aria with a weak painkiller. Not enough to cut the throb and ache, but it took the edge off. Waving briskly as they chugged away, they drove off into the early morning.


Prometheus

Keeping an ear out for any sounds, Prometheus looked down at Shiro, shaking his head and clicking his tongue.

"No...the brief time I spent in Japan was only as a tourist. I plan on going back soon, though we may end up there anyway. Recruiting and all that."

He breathed a sigh of relief as Etna and a stiff breeze, who he assumed to be Vera, descended the stairs rapidly; Etna wild-eyed and carrying what appeared to be a laptop. Escorting them out, he called to Steven, throwing his voice towards the room.

"Steven, come on! We have to keep moving!"

Looking back to Shiro, he narrowed his eyes, recalling the memory of a strong and sharp wind from the fight

"Steven is a mechanical genius and can create, fix, or destroy pretty much anything with moving parts. What exactly is your fathers domain?"



Vera & Etna

Etna noticed the distinct lack of arrogant confidence that acompanied most deities. She seemed almost unsure, and Etna called it out, trying to assume an air of authority.

"Ah, sorry. I must be further down. Sorry..."

Turning on her heel, she walked as humanly possible without running, adrenaline running through her veins and making her arms shake. Passing through the library, Vera blew a gale around the untouched table, interpreted as Etna as a sign of importance. Picking up the laptop, the pair continued down, happy to leave the bloody building at Prometheus' direction, arriving at the van as soon as Venus left.

Steven

There was no response from the woman; she was clearly deceased. Hearing the Titan's call, he took one last look around, noticing a beautiful anklet with an emerald bear cub still adorning her leg.

 

[DarkRawen]

"A doctor is always good to have around; I have a habit of providing them with work. I'm Prail by the way. I guess you could call me a tracker or something, we don't have anything that belongs to our prey do we? Back there wasn't exactly optimum sent getting ability. Who knows maybe we could get ahead of the game, get there before most people are already dead? So did you take your Hippocratic Oath in person?"

This one was... surprisingly chatty. Andrew glanced at her, and shook his head. "I don't think we have anything that used to belong to Dionysus. Well, not apart from what's still in the monastery. As for taking the Hippocratic Oath, that's not required anymore, simply a tradition. And I didn't take it at all."

I suppose it's good I never promised not to harm anyone. Would make fighting gods difficult.

Then again, he wasn't stupid enough to let an oath hinder his ability to save lives, even if he had taken it.

"Have you met many of them?"

"Gods? Or just of the enemy? I suppose I've met some of them. Enough to want this to be over with, anyways." Why was he talking? Habit? Or was there something in him that just wanted to talk with someone? "Hopefully, we will be done soon. People are dying, and we seem unable to stop it." He glanced over at Aria, who had entered the van now. A slight amount of guilt surfaced, enough to surprise and annoy him.

It's not my fault, I can't always save everyone.

He knew he should at least have tried, and he spoke a bit louder. "Not to mention, I don't want to be stuck with other people anymore. I want to be alone."

I don't. I really, really don't want to be alone anymore.

He started missing the two people who had ever mattered again. A slight amount of sadness appeared in his eyes, but he didn't notice himself. Andrew hardly noticed his sadness, and was about to say something more, he didn't know what, but something. However, the goddess whose name he had not heard -and he certainly knew it would be a bad idea to guess- entered, and his eyes were fixed on her. She smiled, slightly, and he felt warm inside again. He wasn't at all as enchanted as before, just regarded her calmly as she spoke.

"Doctors, trackers, orphans. Not the most cheery group. Still..."

She put a hand on him, making him shiver. It was the pleasurable kind of shiver, and she removed her hand far too soon.

"You're not the worst group of people I've met. I'll see you up North, I need to drop the baggage."

Then, she left. Andrew felt a slight amount of loss, but at least now he didn't have to worry about being unable to think straight, at least for a while.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

"Steven, come on! We have to keep moving!"

Steven quickly put the shotgun gun to the women's face as he checked her pulse. Nothing. The amulet might mean something, so he wrapped some cloth around his hand and pulled it off. Steven headed back to the van.

"Steven is a mechanical genius and can create, fix, or destroy pretty much anything with moving parts. What exactly is your fathers domain?"

"Need something fixed?" Steven asked, "I couldn't find any sign of Etna, all I found was a dead woman wearing this amulet."

He noticed her walking with Vera.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

 

[Lunar Templar]

Aria shivered twice, first when Venus touched her and Andrew on the shoulder, then again when the goddess ran her hand along Aria's collar bone, a move that was a little to intimate for her liking, but at the same to she felt the pain in her body dull considerably, but not vanish altogether.

The whole thing left Aria conflicted, on the one hand, she hadn't forgiven the goddess for the insult earlier so she didn't really 'approve' of the pleasurable feeling she had forced on her, on the other, she wanted her to come back and do it some more, as well as a few other things she was trying, and largely failing to shove out of her head. Aria looked at Andrew, then this Prail, sighed, as if to say 'are we done yet?'