(RYDER'S POV)
"Me! Ha." Thanatos scoffs. "I'm surprised you found me."
I point a sharpened stick at him, and his eyes move between it and my face.
"What's that gonna go, honey? Give me a boo-boo? The thing's a twig. If you wanted to cause any minor damage you'd use those fire powers of yours."
"I don't use those. Where is he?"
"Who? My son?"
He smiles.
"He's on my side now, babe. I just had to...hmm...give him a little boost?"
"A little what?!"
Stella stares at him.
"You didn't hurt him, did you?!"
Thanatos shakes his head slowly.
"I'm offended you think I'd hurt my own son!"
"You have before...there's no reason for me to think otherwise."
He makes a mock frown.
"Awww, I'm so hurt and confused. I just had to make him swear on the—woah—what the fuck?!"
He slides out of the way from a falling Boulder, looking at all of us.
"What was that?!"
Myra looks at us, the sky, then him.
"I don't know!"
The ground starts to shake, and Thanatos growls under his breath.
"Goddamnit! Idiot!"
"What?! What happened?!"
His eyes snap on mine, and he runs his hand angrily through his hair.
"The Titans! Alec! Aiden! Fucking fools! I told him one thing!"
His eyes then snap on Myra, and Thanatos grins.
"My, my, my...I have a great idea."
"What?!"
He teleports in front of her, grabbing Myra off the ground before disappearing into thin air.
Something whacks me in the face, and I look down to see a thread. A glowing blue one.
What the—?
Me and Stella run over to it, looking at each other.
"I'd that Aiden's life thread?!"
Stella asks, and I shake my head quietly, my heart dropping.
"It's meant to be, Myra was holding it, right?"
Stella nods.
"Year. She was."
I stare at her worriedly.
"This—this is fake."
*********
TEN YEARS AGO...
JANUARY 10th, 2011.
Alec's 9th birthday.
"Alec, honey?"
I look up, seeing my smiling mother.
"Happy birthday, my baby boy!"
She wraps me in a large hug, and I smile.
"Where's dad?"
"Outside. Do you want to see him?"
I nod and she smiles, taking my hand.
"Let's go then."
I follow my mother outside where my dad is, staring blankly into the woods behind our house with a gun, pointing it at something.
"Thanatos?! What're you doing with that?"
His eyes snap on my mom, and he lowers the gun.
"A deer. I saw it in there," his eyes move to mine and he smiles. "Son! Happy birthday."
He pats my back and I smile back at him, staring into the trees as well.
"I'll go catch it!"
"The deer?" Thanatos laughs heartily. "It will knock you over, son."
I give him the side eye.
"I'm big."
"You're 4'10."
"So?"
I cross my arms over my chest.
"It's not like you're any taller, dad."
"I'm 6'10, Alec. You're two feet shorter than me."
He stands up, and I stare up at him blankly.
"Never mind then. I'm still going."
Nyx's eyes widen.
"Wait—!"
I run off before my mom can say anything, and she glares at Thanatos.
"What're you waiting for?! Go get him before he gets lost!"
"He's a big boy!"
"No, he's not! Go now before I kill you!"
Thanatos's eyes widen, and he begins backing away.
"Okay, woman! I got it!"
He runs into the forest after me, searching.
*********
"Here, deer! Come!"
I run around looking for the darn deer, stopping when I reach a pond.
"Woah..."
I go closer to it, staring in awe at the luminescent teal water.
I reach my hand out to touch it when I hear a soft voice.
"Don't touch it!"
I turn around, seeing an almost translucent girl who's almost the shade of the pond.
I back away slightly, falling backwards when she panics.
"No!"
Her hand shoots out, and a bed of light blue vines form underneath me before I can fall into the water.
The vines with me on it float over to her, dropping me off on the ground.
I stare at her wide eyed, and she drops her hand.
"I—I'm sorry—"
"You're pretty, miss."
She pauses, looking down at me.
"Me? Oh, I'm nobody...you're a cute little boy though. Where are your parents?! Why are you in the woods by yourself, boy?"
I shrug.
"I was trying to catch a deer for my dad. I don't know where he is. Or my mom. I probably went a little too far."
"You sure did..."
She picks me up, brushing some twigs out of my hair.
"You're a mess...what have you been doing?! Hiding in the bushes?"
"I got stuck in a tree. But I got down, miss!"
She sets me down again, plopping in the dirt.
"I'm sure you did...do you like adventures?"
I nod, and she smiles.
"I'll get you a cute little deer if you go on one for me, okay? But first...what's your name, child?"
"Alec!"
She bops my nose.
"A Greek name! Interesting. Defender of men."
"What?"
"That's what your name means. Alec...the defender of men."
I sit down in the dirt in front of her, drawing in the dirt with a stick.
"What's your name, miss?"
"I'm Echo."
I cock my head to the side.
"Why are you almost transparent, Echo?"
"It's because I'm a nymph. Us nymphs are spirits."
I grin.
"That's cool. Guess what, Echo?"
"What?"
"My birthday's today."
"Let me guess...hmmm...ten?"
"Nope! Nine."
She laughs.
"Aww, you're so little. But we have to let you go on your adventure! Follow the wisps down the trail...they'll lead you to your deer!"
"Will I see you again, Echo? You're a nice friend."
"Of course...come by whenever you want, Alec. Just don't get lost. Better yet? I'll come find you. Go on now, boy."
I smile, waving.
"Bye bye!"
I run off away from Echo and the pond, following the little spirits down a trail with blue flowers all the way back to an opening where I see a cute little deer.
"Deer!"
I jump up and down, picking up the animal.
I look ahead, seeing my mom and dad arguing.
"What do you mean you couldn't find him, Thanatos?! That's our son! Our nine year old son!"
"Dad?"
They both snap their heads around, and my father runs over to me, picking me up.
"I thought I lost ya, son! Where'd you go?"
I shrug.
"In the woods. I met a pretty nymph named Echo. Her wisps led me back here."
I hold up my deer with a smile.
"She even gave me a deer at the end of my adventure, dad!"
Nyx smiles, taking the animal from my hand.
"It's cute, sweetheart, but we should let it back in the wild. Your friend can take care of it."
She walks away with the deer towards the woods, and I stare at my dad, dumbfounded.
"But—my deer?"
I scratch my head, before hugging my dad tightly.
He freezes slightly, before hugging me back.
"I love you, dad."
Thanatos strokes my hair gently, smiling.
"I love you too, son."
**********
BACK TO THE PRESENT...
JANUARY 10th, 2021.
(ALEC'S POV)
"I love you too, son."
The words echo in my head, and my eyebrows furrow.
"Disappointment!"
I shut my eyes, rubbing my forehead.
"I-I'm sorry, dad..."
Laughter echoes throughout the place, and my mind goes blank as I hear a high pitched scream.
"ALEC!"
"What?"
I open my eyes, and Aiden flies into me, knocking me over right when a ball of yellow light slams into the floor, causing an eruption of bright flames across the grass.
"Hyperion..."
Aiden lifts herself up, staring at the sky before looking down at me.
"Alec, what's going on?! Get up! We have to hide!"
She grabs my hand, pulling me behind a large willow tree.
She slides down against the trunk, looking at me from the corner of her eye.
"You good? And who the hell is Hyperion?"
"The Titan of light."
Thundering laughter resounds everywhere, and Aiden's eyes widen as a deep voice is heard.
"I'm back! Brothers, sisters, I'm back! Let the twelve of us arise to wreak havoc on this wretched planet!"
She looks at me, holding onto my hand.
"Are you okay?"
She looks down at my hand, at the small scar of where Thanatos cut my skin.
"An X...what did you do?"
"I made an oath, and I broke it. Now the Titans are here."
"You cannot hide from me forever, children!"
We hear his laughing again, and Aiden sighs.
"Listen. We'll be okay. We just have to defeat them, right? That's how it works?"
I shake my head silently, and Aiden purses her lips.
"Don't give up now, Alec! I think I have a plan, okay?"
"Okay, Aiden. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything."
"It's okay. Everything's okay. There's a reason for everything you do, I've noticed that. You try to do your best. And you don't stop until you can do it. I admire that in you, Walker. So come on, and help me! We can do this. Together."
She smiles, and I nod.
"Thanks, Weiss." I grin. "You should consider being a motivational speaker."
She rolls her eyes.
"And he's back. Here's what I got for you."
I nod.
"I'm listening."
"Great. This is stupid—but I say we make a run for it."
*********
(HAZEL'S POV)
"Haha. So funny. We're stuck in this fucking forest at night?!"
Pandora nods.
"Seems to be that way, Hazel."
I roll my eyes.
"God-fucking-dammit. Well...nice. Who's ready to go get eaten by a pack of wolves?"
"Not me."
Althea look at Alaric behind me.
"You're still bleeding...?"
"Yes. I am if that concerns you, Thea. I'm glad someone's so worried for my well-being."
She rolls her eyes.
"Never mind. Let's go."
She turns around, walking into the trees before running back out with a shrill scream.
"Bats! There's millions of bats!"
We all watch a single baby bat fly from the trees, and we look at her.
Alaric grins.
"Wow. Millions of bats."
Althea grumbles something under her breath.
"They're scary! You go first!"
Alaric rolls his eyes before walking into the trees, peaking his head out.
"Nothing here. You coming?"
We all nod, following him into the darkness.
********
After a while we come across an opening, then a large white house.
Alaric smiles.
"Ahhh...the house where we originally were."
He gets thrown forward when the ground moves harshly underneath us, letting out a groan.
"Ow! What the hell?!"
Althea looks up at the sky, then back at Alaric.
"Uhhh...guys?! That's not good. The ground only rumbles like that when the Titans are arising."
"Titans?"
I stare at her blankly.
"I thought they were extinct? The Titans are fucking ancient!"
Pandora helps Alaric up, frowning.
"If the Titans are arising we're gonna need help."
Alaric grins.
"Luckily for us I remember where the portal is."
"Portal...?"
"To Hecate and Athena, of course! They're the ones who sent us here...and they're gods. They should know what the fuck to do."
He points at a shed, and I raise an eyebrow.
"The shed?"
He nods.
"The shed."
We follow him into the shed, seeing a mirror.
"Uhh...what do we do from here?"
Alaric looks at me.
"Wait for it to open you impatient idiot."
I roll my eyes.
"Yeah, yeah whatever. Shut your mouth."
I jump slightly when it starts swirling, and Alaric starts laughing.
"What the hell are you laughing at, big guy? I am not a laughingstock!"
He snorts.
"Laughingstock? No one says that, babe."
"Oh whatever, bastard!"
I push him in, and we all watch as he flies through the darn thing.
"Uhhh...did he die?"
"One way to find out."
Pandora walks in, and I hear her screech.
"Umm...you wanna go?"
Althea stares at it.
"I guess...let's hope we don't die!"
Me and Althea jump in, free falling in the weird colorful portal-thing before landing with a thump on tile.
"Ouch!"
I see Pandora fall from the sky as well, landing on top of Alaric who wheezes.
"Jeez, Pandora! How much do you weigh?"
"135 pounds!"
She rubs her back, grimacing.
"Where are—"
"Children!"
We all look up to see Hecate glaring down at us, Athena standing next to her with the same sour look.
"Hi?"
"Do not hi me, Hazel! Where are the rest of them!?"
"No time for arguing!"
Althea stands up, a frown creasing her lips.
"They're in danger!"
"What?!"
"The Titans are back."
*********
(CARDEN'S POV)
I wake up, to see Rylan and the same mint green haired girl yelling at him.
"Did you seriously leave her with the damn deceivers to die, Rylan? You're a fucking idiot! Idiot, idiot, idiot!"
"Oh please, Adrienne. Since when did you care about other people besides yourself?"
Her eye twitches.
"Are you trying to throw shade at me?! I do not—woah!"
The room begins to shake, and she stares at him.
"What was that?!"
"I don't know."
"The Titans."
They both snap their heads around, and her face softens.
"Are you doing okay, Carden?"
"Yeah...umm...just a little sore. But I've learned before in a past life...the Titans are arising from the dead, you see? Someone broke their oath and now they're coming for revenge. I have to fix this."
I sit up, cringing.
"Ooh...my ribs feel dead."
Adrienne rolls her eyes.
"Blame that on Rylan. I'm coming with you. To find the girl."
"Aiden?"
"Yes, her. I think she will be able to fix this mess...however we got in it."
Rylan sighs.
"Sorry, Carden."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I don't want to hear it. First we have to fix whatever is going."
I hold my hands over my stomach, watching as the wounds heal up completely.
I stand up, smiling.
"Who's ready?"
*********
We exit the room, and I sigh.
"Okay. So...Duskmire Woods is where we need to go. Got it? I believe they're somewhere in there..."
Rylan and Adrienne nod.
"Yeah, alright. Got it."
I touch the chain around my neck, frowning slightly.
"We just have to get out of this place first..."
Rylan shrugs.
"Easy. Come with me."
We follow him into a room full of glowing mirrors, and my wide eyes follow them.
"So many...are these portals?"
"Yes. Portals to anywhere important."
He points to a blue and yellow one.
"This one leads to Duskmire Woods. You ready?"
Me and Adrienne nod.
"Yeah."
"Good. Let's go. But remember to be quiet...if the Titans are actually there they'll kill anyone they can get their hands on."
"Okay."
We walk through the portal, and into Duskmire Woods.
********
(AIDEN'S POV)
Alec makes a face.
"That is kinda stupid. They're Titans. First of all...they're huge. Second of all, they'd be way faster than any of us. But it's worth a try."
I sigh heavily.
"I guess so. We should try to get across the way into those trees...they're really thick so the Titans wouldn't be able to see us through them. And I'm pretty sure through those woods somewhere we can find help. Or somebody."
Alec nods.
"Makes sense."
He stands up, seeing an extremely tall man walking around.
My eyes snap on his.
"Holy shit. That's Hyperion, isn't it?!"
"Sadly, yes."
I rub my forehead.
"Shitsticks. But don't worry! We can do this?"
Alec sighs.
"Maybe. You ready?"
"Yeah. Okay. Three...two...run!"
I sprint out of the trees, and Alec easily goes ahead of me, running full speed into the trees.
I hear a leaf crunch, and freeze.
Alec looks at me wide eyed, then something behind me.
Oh no.
"Why don't you look at that?"
I feel myself getting picked up, staring in fear at a blonde man with a scary ass grin.
"A mortal. It's a shame you guys die so easily..."
I'm stuck between two of his fingers.
Yes.
He's that big. Literally a giant. I think I'm at least 70 feet off the ground.
"Please don't hurt me!"
He laughs, and my ears start ringing from how loud it is.
"You're so squeaky! Like a mouse! I could just swallow you!"
"I did nothing wrong. No one did anything. Get back underground with the dinosaur fossils!"
Hyperion cocks his head to the side, squeezing me a little tighter.
"Now, mortal, we wouldn't want to get all mouthy on me. I can easily end your existence if I squeeze you too hard. You're an interesting one..."
Just as he's about to do something he lets out a yell, looking down to see a giant arrow sticking out of his leg.
"The Calyx—"
I let out a scream when the ground comes at me full force, landing along with Hyperion on the ground with a splat.
I roll out of his hand, coughing from the dirt that flies up from the ground.
I hear voices, and two people run over.
Alec and—
"Oakley?!"
********
(RYAN'S POV)
Me, Mal, and Davina venture through the woods when we hear a female shriek.
"What the?!"
I look at Mal and Davinablankly, before speaking.
"That sounded a lot like—"
"Carden."
Mal finishes, and I nod.
"Yeah. Carden."
We run in the direction of the scream, coming across an opening where a man and two women stand, staring up at an extremely tall woman.
Oh crap.
Is that—
"Rhea?!"
Davina says, and the three people turn around.
My eyes widen significantly, and I let out a gasp.
"Holy shit."
Mal says, and I blink a few times.
"Carden?"
********
(MYRA'S POV)
"Let me go you crazy man!"
"That's the only name you have to call me, Myra? I'm almost dying of laughter."
I try to pry his hand off my waist, growling.
"I'll turn into a wolf and bite you!"
"Continue with these empty threats and I'll cut off your tail, woman. Shut up!"
"Not until you tell me what the hell is going on!"
I get teleported to a sort of temple, and Thanatos drops me on my feet.
"You wanna help them or not?!"
My jaw drops.
"Wait a minute—did you just say help them?! You aren't—"
Thanatos rolls his eyes.
"Be quiet."
"But—"
"I said be quiet, Myra!"
"Got it."
I watch wide eyed as he ties something together, sharpening and coating an arrow in who knows what.
I stare at him and he obviously senses it, snapping his head around.
"Sit down or something! Don't just stare at me, Myra."
I blink, sitting on the ground.
"Sorry. But what are you doing?"
"Making a weapon. Don't you want to help them?"
I nod.
"Well, yeah, but what does the arrow have to do with it? And why aren't you evil anymore?"
Thanatos rolls his eyes.
"I'm still evil. I just don't want my son to die."
"See? That's not evil. Evil people would want their son to die."
"I'm not a fucking monster, Myra. You seemed like the strongest out of the three of you. So I chose you to help me. I'm supplying you with three arrows, Myra. These arrows can kill any one of the Titans in one shot, if you hit them in their left eye. You understand?"
I nod slowly, and he smiles.
"Great. Glad you could understand. Don't be dumb, and use these wisely, Myra. I'm trusting you. I have other things to do, but I'll teleport you back into the forest. Do your job, and help fix this. If you ever need me, call me."
He hands me the bow, and a small sack with three arrows in it.
"Have fun."
"Wait, what?!"
I get teleported into the woods, holding the bow and arrow tightly.
Shit.
I don't even think I know how to use a bow and arrow.