"The son of darkness shall bring the light
While delivering us from the war gods might
It shall be a brazly fight
With the war gods kin to pierce his skin
And a bold friend up till the end"
Those words echoed in my brain as I snapped awake, still in the infirmary. I slowly managed to open my eyes, i looked around but all i could see was Emma sleeping next to me. Her head on my mattress, that managed to bring a smile to my face. I poked her in the back of her head, "Hey sleepy head, wake up." I said good naturedly. She snapped awake, drool on her face, her hair in a mess, to me that made her ten times more beautiful. But i'd never tell her, i looked into her eyes and saw a look of panic and fear. I took a step back, "Woah woah its me its just me!" I said. She looked at me with tears in her eyes, "You fucking idiot!!! You nearly died, for what? ME!!" She began yelling. I tried to get a word in but I couldn't, so she began to rant. "I'm not that important! But you'd risk your life for a useless daughter of Athena!" My head began to pound louder and louder, "Yeah I did because i care about you!" I regretted those words as soon as I said them. "What do you mean?" She asked now quiet. I began stumbling for words, "Stupid me!" I screamed to myself. I looked her in her eyes, they were full of hope, "Maybe I should tell her?" I thought to myself. Then Borus bust into the room, "Hes awake?" He asked, I responded, "Yes I am." He walked over, "Oh my Boy!" He gave me a big hug. I looked at him and said, "Did I miss anything important?" The hope dimmed from his eyes, "Well if you really want to know, there was a loud rumbling while you were in surgery," I cut him off, "It was my father," I waited a few seconds, "Can I get out of here now please?" I said. Borus didn't even say a word, he just helped me get up and into my clothes. The three of us walked out to the main lobby, where I saw Thesus and Argus waiting. They came up to me with smiles on their faces, but before we could exchange a word a loud rumbling came from deep in the nearby woods. A flash of anger sent into my soul, I knew that wasn't my dad this time. I had a overwhelming sense of bloodlust, and the urge to kill. I fumbled for my blades, "Yo, you looking for these?" Emma asked. I looked over, she tossed me my two blades, I snatched them out of the air and raced outside. As soon as I burst through the outside doors i looked up the sky was blood red, there was a huge man on a large war chariot charging right at me. I couldn't control the urges anymore, I had to attack. Borus charged after me, "Josh DONT, THAT'S ARES!!" He screamed. I froze, and the chariot skidded to a halt, Ares jumped out. He walked over and got in my face, "You ever try to attack me like that again, boy, and i might just get excited." He said with a smirk. I couldn't move, couldn't speak, I just stood there. "Don't think we gods dont know of your existence, but we let you live because you have proven yourself in favor of us, I have a favor to ask. You will help find Poseidon's trident, some servant of hades stole it. And we want it back, and I'll help you with your little quest. I'll lend you my helmet, so that puppy can sniff out a M9 in a store full of teddy bears." He said with a laugh, He took off his helmet and placed it on my head, only then did i get a good look at the god of war, He had blood red eyes, pitch black hair and a scar running across his face. I could feel the rage boiling inside me, this guy treated me like a child. "I have no doubt you'll accept this quest, so chop chop." He said before he vanished in a blur of violent noise and blood. I took off the helmet and slammed it on the ground, and got the sudden whiff of the ocean, figuring it was the nearby lake, I pushed that out of my mind. "Bastard didn't even tell us where to look!" I screamed. Borus put his hand on my shoulder, "I don't know where to look,but I do know who's always trying to get back at his brothers for his place in the world that was divided eons ago, and maybe he has decided to make his move finally?" Borus said. "And even if my father did steal the trident, why would he steal it?" Thesus said from behind Borus. Borus turned, "I don't know son, to bribe Poseidon, force him to help him?" Borus said. "That makes sense, but how are we gonna get it back?" Emma input. "Simple, you have to go and take the trident back." Borus said, with a hint of finality I've never heard in his voice before. And with that we began packing, and planning for our trip to hell and back.
That next morning
Once I woke up that morning I raced to the stables, grabbed a horse and went to meet the rest of the gang at the front entrance of the camp. The three of us looked at each other and took off, I rode in the lead with Emma to my left and Thesis to my right. "So did you find a definite location to get in from wise girl?" I screamed over the wind. Emma's voice sounded flustered, "Yeah, were going to LA." She screamed back. I sank back so i was in line with the other two, "What's the actual plan IF we can even get into the underworld, i mean it's not like we can die?" I tried to lighten the mood, it didn't work. Thesus had his head down, a dull gloomy look on his face, while Emma had a serious thinker look, I rode in silence few minutes. I kept glancing back at Emma, still with that thinking look, but riding in the clouds on a magical pegasus must really bring out the good in her. Her black hair was flowing so well in the wind, almost like in a slow mo action scene where the main character looks away from a explosion. But I never told her how good she looked, "I've faced monsters and gods but I couldn't tell her how I felt . That was pretty pathetic." I thought to myself. I prayed my gaze away from her and looked at theseus, "What's on your mind bud?" I asked. "I'm just trying to wrap my head around why my father would steal poseidon's trident, he would have nothing to gain from it." He said, as if still questioning his own words as he said them. "I don't know, but we're bound to find something once we get down there aren't we?" I said. Thesus just looked at me with a concerned look on his face. The look in his eyes rattled something deep inside me, it wasn't just a look of concern, it was a look of pure fear.
Under the HollyWood sign, LA
I was the last one to land near the sign, as I got off i made sure to grab Ares helmet and latch it onto my waist. I jogged over to Emma and Thesus, they were waiting under the D in wood. I looked at the both of them, seeing if they were ready, and replied with looks of anger and sturdiness. "They're ready." I thought to myself. "How do we get-" Before I could finish my sentence Thesis slammed his hands on the ground and the cliff side crumbled before him. He gave us a look like he had no idea what he was doing, and walked forward. "Follow," Thesus said, but it didn't sound like him. "Stay focused," I thought. We followed behind single file, we kept walking until our tunnel opened up into a massive cavern, with a river and a gloomy castle in the distance. "I thought this place would be harder to get into. '' Before I could finish again, an army of skeleton warriors erupted from the shadows. They poured out from every direction, skeletal soldiers dressed in ancient roman war armor, armed with shields and spears they closed in on us. I had to do something, I raced forward, blades out. I began dicing through the bone soldiers like a hot knife through butter. They disintegrate into dust, one by one. I looked behind, seeing Theseus beating the warriors with his blade, and Emma slicing and dicing, hardly looking at her targets. "Lets have some fun eh wise girl?" I scream, joy flooding into my voice. I saw her get flustered, her cheeks flush red. I began laughing, cutting soldiers and laughing, like a phyco. "WHO DARES ATTACK THE ARMY OF THE LORD OF THE DEAD!!!" A voice boomed, "Well we've got someone's attention." I thought to myself. A few seconds later, in the middle of the battlefield a huge shadowy figure appeared. "JOSHUA!" The voice boomed. The skeletons backed off, clearing a path from me to the shadowy figure. "What do you seek?" Hades asked, his voice now quiet. I walked forward, steeling my nerves to face the god of death. "Posiden's trident, we have good intel that says you have it." I said sternly. Hades let out something that sounded like a laugh, "I like your guts, you have my respect for that. But that fool Ares isn't exactly reliable, and in case you didn't know gods cannot take each other's symbols of power." He finished. I was speechless, I had been lied to too. "You have Ares helm yes?" Hades asked. I unlocked it, hand handed it to the lord of the dead. He held it in one hand and snapped his fingers on his other hand. The scent of the ocean washed over me, the helmet morphed into a trident, long bronze and fork shaped. "That bastard Ares!" I screamed. ``Relax child, I will return this to its rightful owner, and I'll give you a few gifts for your gutsy appearance." He said with a smirk. He snapped his fingers and the trident vanished, "I'll give you your chance to face Ares, and I'll give you something only my sons can do. Shadow Traveling." He said, He snapped his fingers twice and the three of us began to vanish. Hades cast a glance at his son, who met his gaze with a stern face. And I could have sworn I saw the lord of the dead smile. And with that we were off like the wind, to travel from LA to New York in the form of shadows, which I believe is not pleasant. I appeared at the front gate of camp demigod, no one in the area, "ARES!!!" I screamed. "You know the last person who called out to fight me, died." A voice said behind me. I didn't even speak, I swung my dagger, going straight for the throat. He dogged easily, "Hey, Easy there!" He yelped. "YOU BASTARD!! You tricked us!!" I screamed. A sick smile grew on his face, "so you did find out, eh?" He said with a smirk. I grabbed my other blade, trying to think of what could bring down the god of war, but I couldn't think. He was just so smug, it pissed me off. I just kept swinging my baldes, at his head, his legs, I even tried to stab him. Nothing worked, he had a smug face on as he doged all my strikes easily. I calmed down, trying to think, I could use my darkness, no he'd expect that, I remembered I still had his helmet. I stuck my blades in the ground and put it on, I could see the rage grow inside him as I slipped on it, "You smug runt." He spat, he charged me, bare handed. I could see his moves, what he was gonna do. He swung his right hand, i side stepped, and sliced the back of his arm with my blade. He let out a yelp of pain, like he'd just been punched. He stood up, still smirking, "That almost tickled," He laughed. He stuck out both hands and two twin blades appeared, "See these runt, these are panic and fear," He said, sticking up his left and right hands. "Anyone who has ever seen them has died, and you'll be joining them" He said, he charged with a laugh.
Hours later
We were both drenched in sweat and each other's blood, my leg was gushing blood. I could barely move it without channeling my darkness through my veins, I could feel the blood pouring down my pants. I had hardly made a dent in the god of war, just small cuts and knicks. It was the best I could do, I could out speed him but I could barely touch him. I tried to come up with a plan, I could use my darkness if I could land a straight forward stab. That was the best I could come up with. If I died, my destiny would be over, and the world would end. I didn't care, I had to win. I raced forth, completely forgetting what I had planned, tossed my dagger aside, and instantly formed my ball of darkness. I did the strangest thing, I threw it at him. It exploded in his face, "GAHHHHHH!!" He screamed. He flew back, blood everywhere. I raced after him to finish him off. Once I reached him he let out a hearty laugh, "Well done child," He said. "Why?" I spat, my blades at his neck. "WHY?" He boomed. "The gods needed to be brought down soon, they needed to be changed. They needed to see that they aren't the almighty powers they think." "He's using them, A LOT" I thought to myself. Ares has been possessed! I knew something was wrong. "What have you done with ARES!!" I interrupted him. "Looks like you arent as dumb as you look," Ares's body said. "You're not worth my time!" I screamed. I got up and turned to leave, that's when he took his moment to attack, I wasn't going to turn around in time to block it. "Oh crap!" At the last possible second Argos jumped in front of the blade and took it for me. He collapsed nearby, "NOOOOOOOO!" I screamed. "Too bad, Ares' wayward son, tried to attack me…"He waited a few moments catching his breath. "Beware child, Porphyrion, king of the giants." He spat, coughing up blood, with that he vanished in a flash of blood red smoke. I let him get away, I didn't care, my best friend was dying. "The son of darkness shall bring the light While delivering us from the war gods might,It shall be a brazly fight ,With the war gods kin to pierce his skin,And a bold friend up till the end" Those words began echoing in my head again. They started to make sense, the last night brought me to tears, "A Bold Friend Up Till the End", I didn't want it to be his end. I began crying, "Help, SOMEONE, HELP!!" I screamed in tears. Emma raced out from the front entrance, she took one look at him and said, "Josh.. there's nothing to be done," I was in a fit of sadness and rage, "Theseus!!" I screamed. "Help HIM!!" He raced out, standing next to Emma, "There's nothing I-" He tried to speak, "Bring him back, you son of a BITCH, bring him back!!" I screamed. I cried over the loss of my beloved Argos, I buried my face in his blood soaked coat. I kept crying, "Fret not old friend, for i'm not gone yet" A voice in my head said. I looked up, tears pouring down my face. I couldn't believe my eyes, Argos was standing in front of me, but it wasn't him, it was his skeleton. And I could understand him, "I can put my fur back on if you'd like, just to make it a little more comfortable" He said. I didn't care what he looked like. I was just happy to have my friend back. I grabbed him by the neck and hugged him. Thesus and Emma stood back in shock, they couldn't comprehend what had happened, but I knew. Hades had given me one final gift. The resurrection of a friend, we had a new threat to face, and we'd need all the help we could get. I needed to get even stronger, to protect my friends, and defend my home. I needed to find a training partner, someone who could drive me to my limit and back. I had to face this new threat with the people i loved and those i valued, i had to protect them. At all costs, no matter what, I WILL protect them. "Im going to leave this recording here, maybe ill pick it back up again one day, but until then, cya! And if you hear from me again ill be a whole new level of badass." The End.