From the Ashes: Prelude to Victory

Lucas
5:00 AM

Lucas found himself alone tonight. He was standing in the middle of the forest on a moonless night without his battle armor. Suddenly a twig snapped behind him. Spinning he tried to pull together enough light to do something with. His heart sank as he saw his opponent. It was two stories tall and its scaly green exterior almost made it invisible in the night. He could hear multiple mouths opening and somehow could see the green smog roll across the ground. Once inhaled the smog was deadly and killed quickly. Looking down at his hands he realized he was weaponless. This would be it, his final battle and he couldn’t do anything to his enemy. Suddenly a snake head appeared and screamed at him. “Lucas!”

He instantly snapped open his eyes to see who was disturbing him, saving him from the nightmare Hypnos had sent him. Angelena was standing over his bunk. She was a recent addition to the legion.  Born with the mark of Hermes she was only 17 when she joined the legion. She was short with wavy black hair and dark brown eyes. She had been assigned to the second Cohort which specialized in being message runners. The only reason she had a messenger position instead of a combat position was her father, Alexander Bennet.

“New orders sir.  Straight from General Bennet,” Angelena said quietly as to not disturb the other sleeping legionnaires.

“I’m awake,” Lucas whispered.

“The Lansing convoy is late. Third squad is ordered to investigate the lateness and help them if necessary,” Angelena said.

“I understand,” Lucas said as he rubbed the sleep out of his blue eyes. Then he thought, Even when I was part of squad 7 only squad 3 got convoy missions. First squad never leaves the city anymore and the last time second squad was outside the city was when the defended against the last big attack six months ago. Fourth squad is busy in the north so they are out. Fifth squad is actually out on a scouting mission for a change. Sixth squad is busy in the west. Seventh squad is sleeping in the barracks along with eighth squad.  It isn’t fair that every convoy mission falls to third squad. I just got fire-team bravo back from a scouting trip and now they want us out again. Not fair! Why does my first mission as commander have to be something I don’t know how to do!?  “Go wake Sophia Vakros and tell her to meet me in the mess hall in full battle gear ASAP. Afterwards find Brenden Norwall, Adelphos, Julianne Aster and Marek Callis and tell them to meet in the mess hall in full battle gear. The rest of third squad needs the rest.”

“Yes sir. But is it a good idea to have a mercenary join you on this mission? Plus Sophia is 5 minutes away but the rest of your squad is mostly here. Can’t I get the guys first and then get the girls?” Angelena asked. She always had an annoying habit of questioning orders given to her because of her last name. Somehow she always thought she knew what was best for the legion even though she had never seen combat.

“You have my orders now carry them out Angelena,” Lucas said sternly. He waited for her to leave before he got out of his bunk and changed into a fresh t-shirt and jeans. Stretching to his full height of six feet he shook the short brown hair out of his eyes. The weather had been good for the first week of June and he was hoping the trend would continue. The last time he was out on a scouting mission it rained the whole time. As he rubbed his hand over his pocket, to make sure his pen was there, he turned to his footlocker. I never have to worry about my watch or ring since I never take them off but this pen thing drives me nuts some times. Why does it only materialize after I am wearing pants? That seems pretty stupid to me. What if I get attacked at night? I wouldn’t have my awesome spear then… he thought as he pulled on his greaves and armor. He absentmindedly rubbed his fingers though his hair trying to flatten it and be slightly more presentable. Then he smiled as he pulled his helm out of his footlocker. No need to worry about my unruly hair this time.

Quietly walking down the stairs he exited the two story house that the Legion used for barracks. It was in the old heritage hill section of the city and the house itself was quite old. The bedrooms were upstairs while the living room, dining room, and kitchen were downstairs. The basement held the laundry room as well as more bed rooms. It had a nice front porch where the squad would hang out during down time. As he stepped out on the front porch he could see the dark blue-grey sky. He still felt powerless since there wasn’t a lot of light for manipulation. The house was located a few minutes’ walk away from the Legion’s headquarters.

He quickly made his way down the hill to the former Grand Rapids Community College campus. The whole campus had been built on a hill leading down to the Grand River. Because of its central location, between the Grand Rapids Library and Butterworth hospital, the college campus had been converted to the Legion headquarters. The old Applied Technology Center got taken over by Cohort 3 for the purposes of rebuilding the city and researching weapons. The library/learning center was still a library and it had a common area for legionnaires to hang out. The old Music center was turned into offices and barracks for Cohort 5 which was in charge of civil defense and was basically a police force for Grand Rapids. The old Gerald R. Ford Fieldhouse was now used for training of all types and it still has its weight room. The old Calkins Science building was converted into offices and barracks for Cohort 6 which was the medical cohort. The Cook/North building had been converted into offices for the commanders of the legion and sleeping quarters for Cohort 2. Cook/North building was attached to Main building which was converted into more offices and quarters for Cohort 3. Across the old commons area was the old student center and parking lot. Walkways connected all the buildings to each other so that no one had to walk on the street. The student center held the cafeteria and coffee shop along with a few offices. The cafeteria was converted into the mess hall.  

The mess hall now open 24 hours a day for any legionnaire. The large cafeteria room was empty except for the cooks who were on duty. The room itself was like most cafeterias, it was a long rectangle filled with tables and chairs. One wall was windows with two doors that led out to the two story balcony. The rest of the cement walls were painted blue and had little in the way of decoration. Lucas walked into the buffet portion and informed the on duty cooks that he needed breakfast for his squad fast. As he grabbed a cup of coffee he could hear the grill get fired up. He walked back out into the dining area and sat down at a round table big enough for fire-team alpha.

Sophia
5:05 AM

Sophia’s eyes popped open without any prompting from an alarm clock or even the sun, which had yet to rise. She had gotten so used to waking up early over the past several years that it was as natural to her as breathing.

She rolled over in her narrow bed and surveyed the small, dark room that she called home. She lived in here by herself due to the legion’s policy of keeping the two sexes in separate rooms. Few enough women were part of Cohort 3, and of those Sophia got a polite reception at the best of times due to her tendency of keeping to herself. So she was all too glad to move into this small single room when word came that it was available.

A quick rapping knock sounded at the door, bringing Sophia to full wakefulness. She quickly rose and crossed the room, running her fingers through her hair to get out the worst of the tangles before opening it to reveal Angelena, a recent addition to the legion and a mark of Hermes.

“Yes, Angelena?” Sophia asked neutrally. She didn’t know the other girl well yet and didn’t want to sound bothered or annoyed.

“I have orders for you from Lucas. He says to meet him in the mess hall in full battle gear ASAP.”

Sophia quirked an eyebrow in honest confusion. “For what purpose? We haven’t had new orders to engage in battle.”

Angelena looked annoyed at having her message questioned. “New orders just came in this morning. Lucas will explain at the mess hall, but he asked for you specifically.”

Satisfied that the message wasn’t a joke, Sophia nodded in agreement. “Very well, I’ll be there in ten.” Angelena left without another word, and Sophia closed the door with a weary sigh. “Well, I think I blew that one,” she muttered to the air. She clicked on the light so she could see better and heard an annoyed ruffle of feathers and a soft hoot. Sophia chuckled softly. “Sorry, Glaukos, but we’ve got more work to do today.”

The little brown screech owl turned his head to regard Sophia from his wooden perch in the corner and blinked sleepily, letting his big eyes adjust to the sudden change in light. He preferred to sleep during the day and fly around at night when they weren’t on active duty, so he often slept perched on Sophia’s shoulder during the day. Sophia rubbed the feathers right behind his little ear tufts affectionately before going to her dresser.

If she had to wear full battle gear all day, then she was going to dress comfortably underneath. She pulled on a loose-fitting pair of black cargo pants, a dark green t-shirt, and her black combat boots. She summoned her metal breastplate, greaves, and gauntlets from the string of pearls around her neck and worked out the tangles in her hair before pulling on her plumed helm and letting the black locks dangle down the back of her neck. She checked to make sure the rings disguising her spear and sword were still on her fingers and buckled on her belt with the gold buckle disguising the Aegis of Athena.

Satisfied that she had all her gear, she held out her arm for Glaukos. “Come on, little guy. Time for breakfast. Maybe the cooks have a mouse that you need to catch.” The little owl gave her a long-suffering look but flapped over to land on her arm. She lifted him up to her right shoulder and waited for him to settle comfortably on the leather pad that was his usual perch.

The sky was just starting to turn from black to the blue-gray of predawn when she left her room in the two-story house that many of the members of Cohort 3, including Lucas, called home. She heard a few other people stirring in the house, but most of the legionnaires were getting some much-needed rest. She quickly made her way through the quiet streets to the mess hall in the middle of the community college campus. She spotted Lucas easily enough, seeing as he was the only occupant in the hall. She bypassed the cooks for now in the interest of checking in with her commanding officer first. Lucas’ blue eyes met hers as she approached the table and gave him a quick salute. “Sir, Angelena says you sent for me. I came as quickly as possible.”

5:15 AM

"Yep," Lucas said and he took a sip of coffee, "We are to investigate the lateness of the most recent convoy from Lansing. I need your little pal there to scout it out before we head out. As far as I know they were taking the normal route along Highway 96. You think he can handle it?"

“Of course, just give me a moment to ask him.” Sophia scratched Glaukos behind the ear tufts and let her vision glaze over as she placed images in his head of flying over Highway 96 and looking for danger. Communicating with owls involved more mental pictures and basal emotions rather than words, but Glaukos was a particularly clever owl, gifted by Athena herself. After a few seconds, he gave a quiet hoot and ruffled his feathers before blinking at her. Sophia turned back to Lucas and said, “Glaukos would be more than happy to scout for us.”

"No time like the present," Lucas said as he walked over to the side door and held it open. It led to a small stairway which led to the old parking structure. All the vehicles that still worked were stored there for the legions use. "Tell him we will be heading out as soon as the sun is visible."

Sophia touched Glaukos’s head and sent another image of the sun rising followed by him flying. When she sensed his understanding, she said, “It’s done.” She followed Lucas over to the open door and watched her owl fly off into the dark sky. “Sir…are we waiting on anyone else for this mission?”

"Na I figured the two of us plus my messenger girl could take it. In fact let’s head out now before the sun rises for a better shot," Lucas joked with a smile, "We got fire-team alpha for this one. You, Brenden Norwall, Adelphos, Marek Callis and messenger girl for quick communications back to GR. Breakfast should be ready soon so be sure to eat up. So how is that nice new very large single room that I almost fought you for treating you?"

At first Sophia’s eyes widened with surprise at the thought that Lucas was serious about leaving immediately. However, she quickly relaxed upon realizing the joke. After constantly dealing with men who shied away from her and kept their distance due to the mark of Athena on her forehead, she appreciated Lucas’s easygoing manner. She laughed softly at his question and joked back, “You make that room sound like a mansion. I’m enjoying it.” She added as an afterthought, “It’s…nice and quiet. Glaukos likes it much better than the female barracks.” Just then, she remembered Lucas’ mention of food, and her stomach growled. Loudly. Sophia immediately blushed and stammered, “Uh…sorry about that…”

“Care to join me in finding out exactly what mess this hall serves?” Lucas said with a smile. He led the way back into the cooking area of the old cafeteria. There was an assortment of bacon, sausage, eggs and toast available for breakfast. Usually the food wasn’t too bad in the legion mess hall. Elsewhere in the city was a different story. Lucas filled a plate with eggs over easy, toast and bacon. Leading the way back to the table with his coffee he started eating. “The rest of alpha should be joining us soon. So you really like it when it’s quiet? That's just too weird for me."

Lucas’ smile was positively infectious, and Sophia couldn’t help a small one as well as she followed him back to the cooking area. As she filled her plate with scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast and grabbed a glass of orange juice, she silently marveled at how…natural…talking with him felt. It was so unlike the reception she normally got from her fellow legionnaires. She was slightly surprised at his question but nevertheless answered. “I do like the quiet. It’s a nice change of pace from all the noise of battle.” She wondered if her next statement would be too personal for a casual conversation. In the end she decided to go ahead; the worst that could happen would be for him to treat her like everyone else did. “I’m actually rather used to the quiet. Most people…men in particular…tend to keep their distance because of this,” she added softly, indicating the mark of Athena on her forehead.

“Soundlessness sucks. I grew up in a large family and if it was quite it meant that someone was about to make a lot of noise,” Lucas said and after finishing a piece of bacon he added, “You think your mark is bad? All my brothers knew exactly when to pick fights with me. You know how unfair it is to have a power that works great but gets taken away at night? I’ve been in more brawls than anyone alive just because everyone knows I am almost powerless at night. Any way you want to trade awkward conversation for practical powerlessness at night?”

Sophia was pleasantly surprised by Lucas’ response. Instead of shunning her for her mark, he actually turned it into a point of conversation. Feeling more relaxed, she laughed softly and replied, “If it were possible, I might take you up on a temporary trade just so you can enjoy some peace and quiet. Oh, and one more thing…” Now her eyes took on a positively devious glint as she smirked. “If you ever decide to fight me for my room, having daylight on your side won’t help you win.”

“Hence the almost fight over it,” Lucas said with a smile.

5:30 AM
Lucas could hear the door to the cafeteria open cutting off the personal conversation between him and Sophia. I should remember to talk to her a little more often even if it is weird that I am commanding someone older than me. Plus if Aphrodite helped me out I would definitely want to get involved with her, he thought as he turned to see who had entered the mess hall.

A flicker of light played around Brenden's eyes, the color of the sky, illuminating them like a glorious summer day. The young adult, having just reached the threshold of manhood, held a delighted smile on his young features, not unlike that of a child. The light coalesced in his hands, forming a small bauble. It was the most light that he could manage to manipulate at night, without the sun to aid him. But even this small sphere of light was a delight to him, warming his spirits and causing him to forget the horrors that war had taught to him, if only for a little while. Allowing the light to surround him, to soothe his body and soul, was more refreshing to him than the deepest sleep. He glanced up, startled at a soft, somewhat diffident tap at his door.

Pulling himself out of bed and alighting on the floor, he strode to the door with soft footfalls. Carefully opening it, he saw that it was Angelena, daughter of the General. She was...a messenger, right? Had something happened? He was an open book, and the slightly younger girl saw the question in his eyes.

"Nothing's wrong, Brenden," she assured him, seeming to suppress a sigh, "But Lucas has given orders that you are to meet him in the mess hall in full battle gear."

Brenden nodded his acknowledgement of the orders and smiled, "Thank you, Angelena. I'll be there shortly."

Satisfied that her message had been delivered successfully, Angelena left as Brenden closed the door. He quickly dressed himself in a clean blue short-sleeved shirt and khaki pants. He checked his pockets to ensure that his precious penlight and coin were in each one. Nodding to himself when he found they had not disappeared, he donned the his lightweight armor and exited the building. As he walked, he found his mind wondering. Though very much present during the moments of battle, outside of combat he tended to be a bit spacey and somewhat out of touch with reality. Enclosed in his home for so many years by overprotective parents, there had been little to do but to use his overactive imagination. Even now, with adventure at his doorstep, he couldn't shake his old habits.

When he finally reached the mess hall, he snapped back to reality and pushed open the door. As he entered, he saw two pairs of eyes turn towards him. He smiled gently as he recognized his commander, Lucas, and a cohort, Sophia.

"Good morning, sir...Sophia," he said in his soft voice, that often sounded as if it were little used, "I understand we have orders?"

When Julianne woke, the first thing she noticed was the fact that she was entangled in her blanket. She closed her eyes once more and sighed as she settled her hand against her forehead for a moment. Sleeping was almost impossible for her lately, she couldn’t help but toss and turn. It was difficult for the young girl to find any comfort until she knew she could be of at least some help to her allies while in battle. To put it simply, she was useless when it came to handling her weapon as of yet. She’d been practicing. She’d been practicing a lot. But alas, she knew very well that she had a long way to go if she ever wanted to be on the level of her comrades.

Deciding against starting her day with negative thoughts, Julianne brought herself up into a sitting position and freed herself from the blanket that was spun around her slender figure like a cocoon. The young blonde stretched her arms up high over her head and expressed a soft yawn. She swung her legs over the side of her bed, letting her bare feet hit the floor. Just as she was about to stand, she heard three gentle taps at the door.

Julianne felt that her heartbeat sounded louder than her footsteps as she neared the door. She braced herself mentally for whatever news she was about to hear. Twisting the knob and pulling the door open, she almost immediately recognized Angelena. Although she was two years older than the brunette, Julianne felt just a little bit of admiration for the girl.

“Yes?” Julianne inquired. She tipped her head to the side curiously, blonde curls following the gesture.

“Lucas wants you to meet him in the mess hall in full battle gear.” Angelena explained simply, crossing her arms over her chest.

At hearing this request, Julianne felt a bit eager. However, she knew better than to bombard the other girl with questions that she may or may not have known the answers to.

“Thank you, Angelena. I’ll hurry there as soon as I’m ready.” Julianne offered the brunette a small smile. Angelena returned the gesture with an impartial nod before heading off.

Julianne watched her go before pushing the door closed. She whirled around and began to dress herself. She pulled on a simple pair of navy colored jeans and a purple and blue striped shirt. The adolescent grabbed her necklace and fastened it around her neck rather quickly with nimble fingers. Just to be sure that her pendant hadn’t fallen onto the floor in the act of putting the necklace on, she traced the chain with her forefinger before finding the familiar circular shape of the pendent. She grasped it and slid it downwards until she could feel it’s bumpy backside against her collarbone. She then grabbed her camera and secured it so that it was hanging around her neck as well. She sighed tiredly at the familiar weight of the device before binding her kneepads and elbow pads over their designated areas. She still had yet to retrieve proper armor. The kneepads and elbow pads she’d brought with her were the best she could do at the moment. Lastly, she pulled her messy blonde ringlets into a bun. She found that she’d only waste time if she tried to tame it with a brush—she could do that later if she absolutely needed to. Confident that she had everything she’d need, she headed out.

Luckily, it was only a short walk from the North building to the mess hall. She had her hands in her pockets and her gaze trained on her feet as she went. Her head was swarming with so many questions regarding what she’d been called to the mess hall for. It was only a matter of time before she arrived there. As she entered, she could notice that Brenden had probably only arrived a few moments quicker than she had. She clenched and unclenched her hands nervously, inwardly glad that they were hidden in her pockets.

“Morning.” Julianne regarded all three of the room’s occupants before sinking her teeth into her lower lip.

"Good morning, sir...Sophia," Brenden said in his soft voice, that often sounded as if it were little used, "I understand we have orders?"

Lucas smiled and waved him in. The door opened behind him revealing Julianne. “Morning.”

“Ah, good timing. Breakfast is ready so why don’t you both grab a plate before we head out. We’ve got time since we are waiting on one more to arrive.” Lucas said. Hearing the side door open he turned hope to see the last member of the fire-team. He was not expecting who was standing there. His eyes were baggy and it looked like he hadn’t slept in days. His cloths were wrinkled as if he had been sleeping in them. Lucas’ automatic response kicked in as he shouted “Cohort commander on deck!”

“At ease, as you were,” Eric Montgomery quickly responded, “Lucas I need to talk to you alone.”

“Yes sir!” Lucas said as he grabbed his breakfast and joined Commander Montgomery at a table out of the earshot of his fire-team. It was normal to get orders from Commander Montgomery but usually there was more notice.

“I told Angelena to let me know where you were rallying,” Eric said in a low voice, “This mission is urgent and you must leave ASAP.”

“My full fire-team hasn’t arrived yet when…” Lucas started. Something isn’t quite right…

“No, you must leave right now,” Eric said sternly, “The package that you are recovering is classified. It was in the third vehicle in the convoy. Your orders are to retrieve it and rush back to Grand Rapids as quietly as possible. Do you understand?”

“Must we leave now? The sun isn’t even visible yet and two of my fire-team including myself…” Lucas started.

“No. You must leave now.” Eric cut him off again. How could he ask me to go out before I even can fight!? What is going on!? Lucas nodded as he quickly finished the remaining food on his plate. Slurping down the rest of the coffee he stood and saluted Eric. As he turned around to give orders to his squad he saw that Adelphos had entered the mess hall.

“Listen up! We leave after the end of the briefing so eat quickly,” Lucas yelled. He waited for Adelphos to join the rest of the fire-team at the table before beginning the mission briefing.

“I know that this is my first mission as commander of this squad. I know I haven’t personally worked with each of you yet but the reputation is that squad three is full of the toughest legionnaires that Grand Rapids has ever produced. I intend on keeping that reputation intact. Our mission is to recover a certain package from a missing convoy. The item in question was in the third vehicle and Cohort Commander Montgomery insists that we will know it by sight. Apparently we don’t have time for the last of our fire-team to arrive so we don’t have time for questions. Let’s move out!” Lucas yelled as he issued orders. He did notice that Eric didn’t leave the room. Something isn’t right here. Cohort Commander Montgomery never stays for mission briefings. Nor does he send out squads before they are ready for a routine mission.

Leaving the food trays for the cooks Lucas led the legion to the parking lot. He led the way over to a street entrance where he had the on duty gate master call for a car. Looking over his shoulder he could see that Cohort Commander Montgomery was still watching as they piled into a purple van that had GRL spray-painted on its sides. Once inside Lucas told the driver to drop them off at the checkpoint on I96 at the east checkpoint.

Adelphos was running late and that was not a good sign. He didn’t need his mark of Apollo, which was small and near his left eye, to tell him that. Nor did he need the mark of Artemis, which was on the back of his right hand, to tell him that his trusted seeing-eye dog was restless. Sellie was practically pulling him down the barracks. There were a few downsides to being born blind; one of them was that no matter how late you were running was not an option.

Adelphos didn’t look like he belonged in the military though he didn’t know this nor what he did look like. He was too young, too scrawny and too soft to be a good solider under normal circumstances, but, of course, these weren’t normal times when you had Titans roaming around like Gods. He was rather tall too and light-skinned with thick blond hair that was full of natural mousy lowlights. His face was long and thin, yet it still held a boyish glow that was set to disappear in a year or so and his eyes were a mossy green that were cloudy and unfocused only responding to changes in light.

As he rounded the corner, the man calculated in his head that he had left nothing important to a mission behind. The messenger girl who had been a mark of Hermes had not specified exactly what they were doing and he needed to be prepared for anything. He had his cane which was really the bow blessed by Sun and Moon he had been gifted for having the marks of the twins, the coat with fur lining over his combat clothes that was really the legendary Golden Fleece, his handheld radio which doubled as Pan’s Flutes, the Eye of the Graeae Sisters which could only be used for a short time was a lens in his glasses and, most importantly, the hound given to him by the moon goddess, Selene; that was his most trusted gift of all, his sight, Sellie.

It wasn't long before Adelphos was in transport with the rest of cohort one's third squad. He's apologized thoroughly for his lateness. As the team headed out, he could only hope that it was not a sign of things to come.

Brenden nodded at Lucas' words. Breakfast seemed like a good idea to him as his stomach had begun to growl. He hesitated and turned sharply when Commander Montgomery himself entered the room. He saluted the Commander, body rigid until given the command to relax. The youth glanced at the two curiously as they walked to another side of the room. Why was the Commander here? Had something gone wrong? Well, whatever it was, Lucas would inform them. For the moment, it seemed like there wasn't anything to do but grab his breakfast.

Before he had taken more than a few bites, however, Lucas returned with a rather hurried mission briefing. They were leaving right now? He hadn't even had time to finish his breakfast! But the Commander was still there, watching them. This really must be an important mission; he needed to put his own personal comfort aside. He would make his father proud! He nodded quickly and got up, fingering his pen light in his pocket. His most important weapon, he'd feel completely lost without it. He had so many questions, but wisely kept them to himself. Now wasn't the time for idle chit-chat it seemed. They had an important mission and the thrill of it coursed through his young body! At last he could prove himself to be a capable warrior like his father!

As he got on the van, he noticed Adelphos coming up behind them. He smiled as the man a few years his senior mounted the van with Selene. She was a beautiful dog, and Brenden had a soft spot for animals.

"Good morning, Adelphos! It sounds like we have a pretty important mission! Isn't it exciting?" he asked with a twinkle in his young eyes.

Sophia had been so caught up in her conversation with Lucas that she actually lost track of time and gave a small start when the door opened again to reveal Brenden. She knew most of the legionnaires in Squad 3 loosely from training and remembered the blonde as a kind young man who could also manipulate light. Julianne appeared moments later, a blonde girl more experienced with spying and sneaking than fighting. She returned quietly to finishing her breakfast while the others filled their plates, but they barely had time to exchange pleasantries when Lucas shouted, “Cohort commander on deck!”

Sophia jumped to her feet automatically and saluted the Commander until allowed to relax, but she still couldn’t shake the sense that something was wrong as he pulled Lucas aside. She barely managed to choke down the last few bites of egg and toast before Lucas returned with a mission briefing and the order to leave immediately. Lucas did a good job of keeping a poker face with the Commander still present, but she could still see a hint of apprehension in his eyes. Apparently he also sensed that something was wrong.

A jolt of panic ran through Sophia’s gut as she remembered that Glaukos was still out scouting the road. He didn’t know about the sudden change in plans! All he knew was that they wouldn’t leave until the sun rose, but it was still dark outside. What if he tried to find Sophia again and missed them? What if he started searching for her and got lost…or worse? She tried to remind herself that he was blessed by Athena and was more than clever enough to stay out of trouble, but she couldn’t stifle the panic completely.

The last members of the team, the blind Adelphos and his seeing-eye dog Selene, arrived as Lucas led them to the parking lot. Before she knew it, they were all crowded into a van heading for the checkpoint in I-96. Sophia kept glancing out the window to see if she could spot Glaukos, but it was a futile effort in the dim lighting. To distract herself, she turned to Lucas, who happened to be seated next to her. She spoke in a hushed undertone so the others wouldn’t hear, “Sir…the sun’s not risen yet. Are you and Brenden…?” She let the question trail off, knowing he would get her meaning. They were going into a potentially life-threatening situation, and half of their seasoned fighters were light manipulators unable to use their powers.

‘I sure hope the Commander knows what he’s doing…’ Sophia thought grimly.

As Julianne’s stomach was already tying itself in knots, she was quite sure anything she would manage to swallow would come right back up. Even so, she knew it would be best to try and eat something. She needed her strength if she was going to contribute anything to the group. She licked her lips and studied the food presented. Hesitantly, she grabbed an apple from a bowl of fruit. She’d barely taken a bite out of the red fruit before the Commander had entered the mess hall.

She cursed herself inwardly when she felt her hands grow moist with sweat. She was an absolute mess. She had no idea what this mission was going to require and she still had hardly any experience when it came to defending herself. She was practicing night and day, but sheer determination wouldn’t assist her in winning a physical fight. Luckily, she was skillful when it came to hiding her fear. She bit her tongue and followed the others out into the parking lot and eventually into the van without complaint.

Julianne wrapped her arms around herself as though for comfort as she took a deep breath and counted to ten in her head. Even while the others seemed to be confident in comparison to her self, something seemed a bit off regarding the way they were rushed out of the mess hall so suddenly. If she failed to ask for proper assistance and ended up messing things up for everyone, she’d never forgive her self.

Having not noticed that Sophia was trying to engage Lucas in a conversation, she turned to him inquiringly. “I… I hope it’s not too much trouble, but I’m not the greatest when it comes to physical combat. I’m not trying to question your motives…” Her voice trailed off as heat prickled her cheeks. Stuttering like this made her seem like a little kid. A useless kid who couldn’t do anything for her self. And she hated it. Even so, she forced herself not to look down in embarrassment. “I don’t want to slow everyone down.”

Lucas was about to respond to Sophia but seeing that Julianne was insecure about her combat ability he figured out that this was her first mission away from the city. He knew she was trying to put on a brave face like he did on his first mission. "I didn't bring you along for your large reputation of fierce combat," Lucas said jokingly, "Don't worry about slowing us down since in a straight up race you would win every day of the week. Your orders are to stay close to me. In case something happens you are to run as fast and as quietly as you can to GR and bring reinforcements. Any other questions?"

Julianne relaxed just a little when she grasped the fact that Lucas’s tone was rather light-hearted. “Oh… Of course.” She blinked a few times and looked away sheepishly for a moment. She was silly to assume that he’d selected her for this mission out of random. He had everything figured out and he knew what he was doing. “Bring reinforcements if things begin to get out of hand. I can do that.” She confirmed the fact with herself.

The blonde adolescent glanced back over at Lucas. “I won’t let you down.” Knowing that she wouldn’t have to humiliate herself in front of everyone else in physical combat seemed to ease most of her worries. Even so, this was still her first mission and she wanted to do as much as she could to aid her allies. “I don’t have anymore questions… thanks.” She chewed at her lip and nodded once, as though to validate what she’d said.

Seeing that she was still nervous he wondered if the rest of the squad felt the same way. Sophia had voiced the same concerns that he felt for the mission. What could be so important that Eric had to risk a squad like this? He thought as he turned back to Sophia. Then he remembered something that he forgot to do at the briefing.

“Oh yes I have one other housekeeping issue to take care of,” Lucas said loudly bringing everyone’s attention to him, “My second in command will be Sophia. If anything happens to incapacitate me or we get separated follow her orders as if they were my own.”

Once everyone went back to what they were doing before Lucas focused on the small amount of light available and began drawing it towards his body. It wouldn’t be much but if he slowly stored some light he would be able to work with it later. It wouldn’t be like in daylight bit it would be better than nothing.

Speaking quietly so the rest of the squad wouldn’t be able to hear he turned to Sophia, “You are right. Brenden and I won’t be up to stuff. He has a few more tricks than I do so it shouldn’t slow him down. I’ll make due somehow, I always do.”

As the trip progressed Lucas was able to store more light around his body. He didn’t yet have the defining golden glow of light around his body but he wasn’t powerless either. The sun kept slowly rising and he felt his power increase with each passing minute. It didn’t take too long before they were at the checkpoint. It was the last defended point on I-96 before you left the city and were surrounded by the forests of Michigan. The van stopped and everyone got out. Lucas walked around to the trunk and grabbed the large backpack containing the food supplies for the day mission as well as water and purification tablets. Lucas ordered the van driver to wait for their return and then led the squad down the highway.

In the early morning light it was still hard to see. Yet there was light enough that Lucas didn’t have the golden glow from the small amount of light he stored around his body. If people were paying attention he would appear slightly brighter than the person standing next to him. His manipulation ability was growing stronger and he was able to store more light but still not enough to make a formidable attack. They walked along the highway for a few miles, and soon the checkpoint was out of sight. The highway was cut through a large forest and trees on both sides of the highway made it hard to see anything. Suddenly a thundering sound erupted from the woods. Lucas summoned his shield out of battle instinct. He reached for his pen to summon his spear. A few hundred feet to the right of Lucas a gryphon burst out of the trees, flapping madly, trying to gain altitude in the cold morning air.

“Shoot it down!” Lucas yelled. Concentrating on the light available Lucas pulled all the light around the gryphon towards its eyes. The sudden bright ball of light flashed for an instant temporarily blinding the creature.

Sophia’s heart softened upon hearing Julianne’s voice waver from nerves. She remembered all too clearly her first missions as a legionnaire fresh out of training and the need to do well. After all, one mistake could cost either her life or the lives of her comrades. Luckily, Lucas knew what to say to reassure her, further confirming his capabilities as a leader.

“Oh yes I have one other housekeeping issue to take care of,” Lucas declared after his conversation with Julianne. “My second in command will be Sophia. If anything happens to incapacitate me or we get separated follow her orders as if they were my own.”

‘Say what?!’ Sophia thought in shock. True, commanding officers had often consulted her for her gift with tactics, but she had never actually received a promotion to a higher rank. Being second in command, even if possibly for just one mission, and to a captain that she had just met, weighed heavily on her mind. Looking at the others, however, Sophia could see why Lucas would have given the position to her. Julianne and Brenden had very little experience, and Adelphos could only alleviate his blindness for a short time each day. That just left Sophia. She gave Lucas an affirmative nod in acknowledgement of her new position.

Lucas answered her previous question in a hushed tone. “You are right. Brenden and I won’t be up to stuff. He has a few more tricks than I do so it shouldn’t slow him down. I’ll make due somehow, I always do.” Despite his assurance, Sophia wasn’t completely convinced, but she trusted that Lucas would handle the situation as best he could. In the meantime, she would have his back.

The rest of the drive passed quietly. Sophia continued to reach for Glaukos with her mind without success. It was quite possible that they had overtaken him during the drive. As Lucas led the squad down the highway, Sophia followed just behind and to his left in a flanking position. If trouble started, she was in a position to jump forward and back him up, or fall back and protect any of her other comrades. As if on cue, a thundering sound echoed through the forest. Sophia summoned her spear and titanium shield instinctively; she needed to save the Aegis for an emergency.

Sophia’s mind snapped into battle mode as the gryphon burst from the trees and Lucas gave the order to shoot it down. She took half a second to analyze the situation and realized that their best bet would be if they could ground the creature and take away his aerial advantage. Lucas’ light abilities only managed to blind the creature for a second, but it was enough. Sophia charged forward, hefting her spear with one hand, and threw it with the precision of an arrow loosed from a bow. Somehow the gryphon twisted in the air at the last second to protect his vitals, but the spear embedded itself in the beast’s left shoulder. The gryphon’s wing folded, and he dropped like a stone to crash into a clearing in front of the squad.

However, the gryphon still had plenty of fight left. He scrambled to his feet, spread his good wing in a threat display, and screeched his rage even as blood poured from the wound. The display was clearly intended to frighten his foes, but Sophia didn’t feel it thanks to effects of her mark. The fear simply rolled off of her like water from a stone. The gryphon screeched again and charged forward, rearing up to strike with his lethal front claws. Summoning her sword in her free hand, Sophia placed herself between the gryphon and her comrades and held up her shield. The gryphon’s claws collided with the metal with a resounding clash.

Despite her enhanced strength from her mark, Sophia’s knees started to buckle from the full weight of the gryphon, who was at least a head taller than her and was bearing down on her shield with both forefeet. She gritted her teeth and shouted desperately, “Brenden! Adelphos! Shoot him now!”

Brenden had listened quietly to Sophia's conversation with Lucas. He felt empathy for her, as he had been just as nervous on his first mission, and still felt somewhat disconcerted now, as this was only his fourth. Besides, this mission held greater importance than any of the other light reconnaissance expeditions he had been accustomed to participating in. He smiled at Lucas' words, and though the Commander had not been speaking to him, he felt a sense of ease warm his heart as well. They had been chosen for their own special abilities, and together they could take on problems much larger than themselves. He glanced up when Lucas announced that Sophia would be their second in command and he nodded his understanding. Sophia was a strong person and she would be a good leader, though Brenden hoped that none of their squad would be lost in this mission. With his healing abilities, he would personally see to that if at all possible.

As the van continued to move forward, Brenden looked outside and made a slight face at the still shadowy sky. He looked back at Lucas, noticing their leader beginning to store as much light energy as he could. He realized that this was probably a good idea. He hadn't been assigned to any night missions, or early morning missions for that matter, so the idea of storing light was somewhat new to him. Because he started to gather energy late, his body was barely even glowing by the time they reached the checkpoint and filed out of the car. They had scarcely traveled a few miles before the gryphon soared into the sky. Sophia was the first to react, wounding the creature and bringing it down from its lofty height. Brenden quickly pulled out his pen light, causing it to morph into his quiver and precious bow, glowing with its own inner light. Before he could get a shot off, the creature was lumbering towards them. Sophia was able to hold it off with her shield, but it was obvious she would not be able to do so for long against such a formidable creature.

Brenden noted that the creature was not of the darkness, therefore a light arrow would do no more damage than a regular one. But a poisoned projectile...that was a different matter entirely. He quickly strung an arrow on his bow, coated with a liquid that would send spasms through the creature's nervous system if it connected. Closing one eye, he concentrated and in a matter of moments the arrow flew straight and true into the gryphon's other wing. The poison's effect would be instantaneous, and Brenden hoped it would buy them enough time to finish it off.

Julianne spent the rest of the ride in the van quietly. Being as nervous as she was, she wasn’t in the particular mood to start a conversation with anyone. The soft sounds of Sophia and Lucas’s hushed voices were somewhat comforting, though, as she knew silence would make her uneasy. When the van eventually came to a stop, she did as she was told and shadowed Lucas, making sure to keep at least a yard or two away from him as the group ventured down the highway.

The young messenger held her breath as the gryphon made its appearance in the forest. Her heart was beating so fast and powerfully that she was afraid Lucas would hear it. ‘Stay towards the back, protect yourself when you need to…’ She thought. ‘They don’t need you to fight. And if you try to fight, it’ll only slow them down.’ She calmed herself a little with a few deep breaths, deciding that she’d be no use to them if she were to get herself hurt. She hated that she was unable to help the others during the battle; she didn't want to feel useless. She gave her head a quick shake. This was no time for self-pity. Deciding to take this time to her advantage, she narrowed her eyes just slightly and studied the fight instead in effort to hone her skills a little. She could tell that Sophia had made a good effort to keep the gryphon on the ground, which was definitely smart. Brenden shot the other wing, making it even more vulnerable. She watched it expectantly for it's reaction to these blows.

It seemed like their encounter with the gryphon wasn’t going too inadequately—Sophia and Brenden had both managed to strike it. Even though things seemed okay for the time being, Julianne prepared herself to run as fast as she could if the battle where to get out of hand. Being the only one who couldn’t aid the team at the moment, she knew very well that she’d have to do her part correctly if she needed to. The messenger managed a discreet glance in Lucas’s direction, wondering what course of action they’d have to take next.

Adelphos wasn't alone in his uncertainty about the mission, but the man didn't know that. While he tried to sooth his fears by saying to himself that Lucas must have included him because his abilities would be of some help, he knew better. A blind man was not meant for the battlefield. Granted, he could summon the Eye of the Grey Sisters, but the mythical item could only be used for a short time; could they really risk it running out so early in the day? His abilities were at their best on the sidelines. Apollo's future sight made him great for planning and Artemis's beast tongue aided in reconnaissance, but his abilities were few and far between when considering the front lines. True, he did possess a few key items that kept him from being a liability and, in fact, did help in many cases, but he was hardly first string when it came to picking troops for the battlefield.

The first thing that alerted Adelphos to the presence of the flying beast was Sellie; he could feel her tense as he held her leash. The second was the sound; the roaring screech of the gryphon was loud in his perfect hearing. The third was the sharp change in the light; Lucas must have gotten to the beast first with a bolt of light.

The canine wasted no time in reacting to the danger. She freed herself from her harness with ease and a faint glow - much like moonlight - encased her frame. A growing sound that escaped her bared teeth changed from a defensive growl to a thunderous howl as she changed into a pure white, glowing hound as tall as a person. This was the true form of the seeing-eye dog: a hound of the moon goddess, Selene.

Adelphos heard her baying and activated the Eye. Like an invisible lens opening, the man could suddenly see the world that had been dark and lost to him but a moment before. He could see Sophia as she called for his and his fellow archer's aid.

The cane he once used to aid him in his blindness, unneeded now in its present form, warped into his weapon with a crack and a ping. The Bow of the Sun and Moon, engraved with the solar and lunar symbols, was accompanied by a long arrow that appeared in his hand strung and ready to fly.

Using his new sight and the skill the bow gave one who carried the marks of the twins, he let an arrow fly and aimed for the creature's right wing as he watched his hound rush to the downed bird with fangs bared.

Lucas watched the attacks made by his squad as he quickly thought of his next move. He was glad at the way Sophia, Brenden and Adelphos worked together and dealt significant damage to the beast. With the Pelican Spear ready he waited for an opening and charged in. I have to take the pressure off Sophia or the gryphon will have position on her. He could see gryphon digging its claws into her shield and knew that its next move would take away her shield. Damn it! I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do this! Lucas thought as he charged in. Expertly aiming his spear he thrust it deep into the side of the gryphon.

The gryphon whipped its head around as Lucas defended himself with his shield. Letting go of the Pelican Spear he gripped his shield. Bracing his shield he charged forward slamming into the beast’s side. He caught it off balance but he was unable to throw it off its feet. Then he accessed the one ability that separated the Helios marks from the Apollo marks. A Helios demigod had the unique ability to metabolize the light stored around their body. This would make them super strong in broad daylight but the downside was while using this power they couldn’t use any other form of light manipulation. Lucas metabolized the remaining light he had gathered hoping he would be strong enough.

With his newly acquired strength he pushed forward again. He felt the gryphon give ground. He felt it fall over. He grabbed his Wakizashi and pulled out the blade hoping for a deathblow. The next sensation he felt was that of weightlessness and intense pain in his left shoulder. He slammed back onto the ground which knocked the wind out of him. His vision faded for a moment while he tried to collect his senses. The gryphon had used its damaged wing to fling him off his feet. The force of the blow was absorbed by his shield but it still threw him a few yards from the gryphon.

Even with her enhanced strength gifted by her mark, Sophia struggled to hold up under the gryphon’s full weight. Before she could sink to her knees completely, the weight on her shield suddenly lessened as Brenden and Adelphos’ arrows struck home in the beast’s right wing. A much larger Selene charged the gryphon next, and Sophia managed to break away and gain distance to regroup. The poison from Brenden’s arrow was already taking effect, making the gryphon’s attempts to fend off the hound jerky and uncoordinated.

Sophia took the opportunity to rush the gryphon and yank her spear out of the beast’s left shoulder. However, he managed to take a swipe at her and nearly knocked the shield from her grip. Luckily, Lucas came to her aid before the gryphon could disarm her and buried his spear into the beast’s side. Sophia readjusted her grip on her shield as Lucas used his light manipulation to augment his strength and knock the gryphon to the ground. Just as it looked like he had the beast on the ropes, the gryphon used his damaged left wing to send Lucas flying.

“Lucas!” His name left Sophia’s mouth involuntarily as he hit the ground roughly, even though his shield had taken the worst of the blow. Sensing easy prey, the gryphon started to charge for the prone captain, albeit awkwardly thanks to the poison. Holding her spear in her right hand, Sophia instinctively placed herself between the gryphon and Lucas and brought up her shield to deflect a swipe of his mighty talons. She feinted a strike at the gryphon’s face to force it to retreat a pace, and then she spotted an opening. Belting a war cry, she thrust her spear under the gryphon’s armpit, angling her weapon upwards to bypass the sternum and ribs and bury the deadly tip in the beast’s heart. The gryphon screeched its death throes and fell to the ground with a resounding thud. The body gave a few involuntary twitches as Sophia yanked her spear out of its chest and swiped the tip against the grass to clean off the blood. ‘Thank goodness that’s over…’

However, they weren’t out of the woods yet. “Lucas, are you all right?” she asked worriedly as she knelt next to him, still keeping a respectable distance from her commanding officer. She noticed he was favoring his left shoulder and turned to Brenden, remembering that he possessed healing abilities. “Brenden, can you please check his shoulder?” She felt a twinge of guilt, wondering if she were overstepping her bounds as second in command, but they needed Lucas at full strength if they were to pull off this mission successfully.

Sophia moved to stand guard while the rest of the squad regrouped. It was about that time that she sensed a familiar presence in the back of her mind that drew closer by the second. “Glaukos!” she exclaimed as the little brown screech owl dived down from the forest canopy and practically flung himself into her arms, hooting and trembling in distress. “Shhh…easy…it’s okay, little guy. You’re safe now,” she crooned to the tiny bird, stroking his feathers to calm him. “I’m sorry, but we had to leave early. I know that must have confused you.” She caught snatches of thought and mental images from his mind that she tried to piece together: confusion at seeing their van before sunrise, instinctive terror upon detecting the predatory gryphon, and…smoke…and wreckage…

Sophia jumped on that last bit. Could Glaukos have found the missing convoy? “Calm down. Show me what you saw. Was it the convoy? Was anyone with them?” Apparently sensing the urgency of his mission, Glaukos fluttered back to his perch on Sophia’s shoulder, and her expression went blank as she processed the images that he showed her. Satisfied, she nodded once and scratched him under his beak. “I see. Thank you, my friend.” Glaukos ruffled his feathers, pleased that he had performed his task successfully, and began contentedly preening his feathers, his terror over the gryphon long forgotten.

Sophia turned back to the rest of the squad, her expression gravely serious. “Lucas, sir, Glaukos found the missing convoy approximately four miles up the road. The three trucks are wrecked off the side of the road, and one is still on fire. He didn’t spot any legionnaires in the vicinity.” She turned and scanned the tops of the trees. “There!” She pointed towards a column of smoke still rising in the distance. “That’s the location.” She turned back to her captain. “What are your orders?”

Not long after Brenden loosed his own arrow, a strike was delivered by Adelphos as well. Brenden hoped that this would be enough to weaken the creature and to keep it from crushing Sophia. If the arrows proved to be ineffective, he was planning on trying a light based attack. Before he could react, however, Selene barreled into the gryphon, giving Sophia a slight breather. A moment later Lucas delivered what Brenden believed should have been a fatal wound to their attacker, but surprisingly it still had enough strength to knock their Commander back with a sickening thud. His eyes widened as the beast began to stalk towards their fallen leader. Ignoring the danger, Brenden ran forward to put himself between the beast and his injured comrade. Fortunately, Sophia had already done so, and with a ferocious war cry was able to finish off the hobbled creature.

Even with their enemy defeated, however, Brenden knew he could not rest. He did not like seeing people in pain, especially his friends. Moments before Sophia was asking him to check Lucas' shoulder, he was kneeling beside the commander, nodding when she made her request.

"With your permission, sir," he said in a soft gentle voice, a voice that sounded accustomed to dealing with the wounded.

He carefully placed his hand on the wound, light enough that it would cause little, if any, discomfort. He closed his eyes, a bond forming between the two for just a moment, allowing him to feel the other's pain and to better inspect its source. He gasped, taking a deep breath, before opening his eyes and turning to look from Sophia to Lucas.

"The shoulder's dislocated, but I should be able to heal it fairly easily. Just give me a moment, " he said before closing his eyes once again.

A soft light began to stream from his fingertips to center around the wound. The light dulled and deadened the pain as Brenden held Lucas' arm in a firm yet gentle grip, slowly easing it back into place. When he heard a pop, Brenden released the pressure, but allowed the healing to continue, speeding up Lucas' natural healing processes until the threat of bruising and stiffness was past. At last, Brenden sat back, the light fading from his hand.

"Your arm should be fine now, sir. You should feel very little pain, if any, sir."

He took a few deep breaths, steadying himself. His healing abilities relied on the health of his body, draining just a bit of his own energy to speed up the healing process of another. Small wounds such as Lucas' were manageable, but they still caused Brenden a bit of fatigue. Larger wounds left him physically weak, and there had been one wound he had tried to treat unsuccessfully that had left him bedridden for days.

He looked up when Sophia reported Glaukos' news...If the convoys had been destroyed, what had become of the occupants? He waited patiently for Lucas' orders.

The image of the downed gryphon was a welcome sight to Aldelphos.

Sophia had been true to form and the team had taken the beast with only minor injury to their commander, Lucas. It was a relief. He could now preserve his Eye for a later time and, with a clouded mist settling on his vision, the man lost his sight once more. Perhaps, the day would not be so ill-fated as the morning had looked.

It was a few minutes later, after Sellie had finished playing with the dead bird and returned to her harness, the owl had returned and their new destination set that a familiar and much unwanted sensation filled Adelphos's being.

It was an unmistakable feeling - a prophecy was coming and it was coming whether the marked of Apollo wanted it to at that present moment or not.

The reception of a prophecy was never straight-forward and certainly never coming the same way twice. It was a chaotic blend of colors, sounds, melody, pulse, still images, vocalizations and emotion. In this particular instance, it came verbally and symbolically. In his mind's eye, he could see two soldiers. Each solider was ill-defined and either could have been mistaken for the other. They were generic, featureless forms, but each held a different sword. The two figures clashed in a grand and slow sword dance until one was struck down by the other. The sight faded out before Adelphos could see what the victor did after the death of his fellow man.

Then words rang like a bell in his ears: "A solider will die by a fellow soldier's sword; at your new destination, heed this word."

Adelphos shook his head as if trying to shake the vision from his mind. He had a skewed expression on his face for a minute as he tried to make sense of the message. He would need to alert Lucas; no one else needed to know.

"Lucas," Adelphos whispered rather gravely as he approached the commander with his now normal-sized dog guiding him. "Sir, I need to have a word with you." He nodded to the air around him, unsure of who was really there or not. "In private, sir."

There were times in watching such a fight where Julianne wanted to rush in to the aid of her allies. Seeing the gryphon press it’s weight against Sophia’s shield ruthlessly and also witnessing Lucas’s awful fall made her realize this. She wanted to assist rather than merely standing nearby to watch in vain. She needed to get stronger sometime soon. With her lack of skill, she was more likely to burden her teammates rather than help them.

Meekly, the younger girl approached the others, standing nearby while also keeping her distance. She scraped her teeth gently over her lower lip as she watched, somewhat awestruck, as Brenden healed their leader’s wounds. It was quite a remarkable ability in her opinion, to be able to heal someone like that. Remembering everything and being able to outwit someone in a market had its’ perks, but those skills would have no purpose in such a situation like this. So she took a moment to appreciate Brenden’s ability. Physical abilities were important in a fight, but being able to heal someone was probably just as important-- if not more so.

When she observed that Brenden appeared just a little drowsy, she opened her mouth to intone her concern. Without making a sound, she pressed her lips into a thin line when Sophia's news reached her ears... This wasn’t a time to be making conversation, she supposed. The messenger kept her worried gaze on Brenden for just a moment longer before turning to look at Sophia, and then over at Lucas. She had no place to say anything until they were given orders. The news was unexpected and she wondered if Lucas could bring himself to give the group direct orders on such short notice. She was sure he could-- he'd seemed so calm and collected when she inquired her use to the group earlier on. He seemed responsible and she was willing to trust him.

Like the others, Julianne kept her gaze locked on Lucas, bracing herself for the orders he would give. She was ready to do just anything at his request. After standing away from the gryphon while everyone else fought, she was very willing to make herself useful if she was needed in any way possible. She turned just slightly, taking notice of Adelphos’s form as he approached their leader.

“Lucas!” Sophia exclaimed. He wasn’t even sure of what had happened or why he was suddenly lying on the ground and his shoulder hurt. His senses started to return to him but his vision as still blurry for a moment. He felt very uncomfortable lying on his back since the large backpack was very lumpy. As his vision cleared he could make out shapes moving around him but still felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. Then he heard the most terrifying shriek that was inhuman. He knew it to be the death throes of a gryphon.

“Lucas, are you all right?” Sophia asked with great concern in her voice. She had kept a bit of a distance between the two of them but for some reason he felt the concern went a little beyond the commander/commanded relationship. Maybe I am imagining things… Must have gotten hit harder than I thought. The air was finally returning to his lungs and he would be able to speak soon. “Brenden, can you please check his shoulder?” Sophia gave the order like a good legionnaire. She was stepping up when there was a chance the commander was taken out of the game. Lucas respected her for taking charge just in case. Suddenly Brenden appeared out of nowhere.

"With your permission, sir," he said in a soft gentle voice. Lucas nodded and hoped that Brenden knew his stuff when it came to healing. Brenden put his hands on the shoulder and Lucas felt a little tingling sensation as the healing powers kicked in. "The shoulder's dislocated, but I should be able to heal it fairly easily. Just give me a moment, “he said before closing his eyes once again. Suddenly the pain in his shoulder lessened and quickly disappeared.

"Your arm should be fine now, sir. You should feel very little pain, if any, sir." Lucas slowly raised to his feet making sure nothing else was injured. He was a little sore but nothing that needed attention. He returned his shield to a watch before rotating in around testing Brenden’s healing powers. He did a fine job, it’s just like new.

“Great job, it’s like it…” Lucas started.

“Lucas, sir, Glaukos found the missing convoy approximately four miles up the road. The three trucks are wrecked off the side of the road, and one is still on fire. He didn’t spot any legionnaires in the vicinity.” Sophia cut him off. He turned and looked at her to see that Glaukos had indeed returned. “There!” She pointed towards a column of smoke still rising in the distance. “That’s the location.” She turned back to him. “What are your orders?” Lucas looked over at Brenden who was looking at him, waiting for orders. How did things get this bad this quickly? The beasts know we are coming because they left a gryphon to slow us down. Not to mention that when the thing died it alerted the rest of the beasts around here to our presence.

"Lucas," Adelphos whispered in a serious tone. "Sir, I need to have a word with you." He nodded to the air around him, unsure of who was really there or not. "In private, sir."

Lucas didn’t know what to make of this but it sounded important. As if I didn’t have enough to worry about. “Well, you heard the man. Give us some privacy for a minute. Wait for us up ahead a little ways.” Lucas waited until everyone had walked out of earshot before starting the conversation. “What is it Adelphos? Good news perchance?”

"Doubtful." Adelphos relied, still a bit visibly shaken from the shock of receiving a vision from his mark.

Taking a breath to calm himself as he brought back the vision, he began to explain everything he saw and heard. The two soldiers, the death, the whole of the strange symbolism. Concluding, Adelphos nodded and said, "Apollo ended the prophecy with a rhyme: 'A solider will die by a fellow soldier's sword; at your new destination, heed this word.' Then the vision ended." The young man seemed more relaxed and like his usual self now that he was free of the burden of keeping the vision in his own mind alone.

"I am unsure what it means exactly." He did have a few ideas; none of them were good for the team. Turning back to his usual pensive demeanor, he added. "Apollo can be vague sometimes. I am sorry the vision couldn't have been clearer."

“Although he may be vague he is also very busy. Grand Rapids isn’t the only city under his protection. Thanks for giving me the heads up on this.” Lucas said as he started walking towards the rest of the fire team, “Let’s head back to the group but don’t tell anyone else about this.” Usually the only reason for a soldier’s death by another legionnaire is insubordination in the field. I don’t feel the underlining resentment usually associated with insubordination though. What the Tartarus did I get myself into? They had both arrived back with the rest of the group and everyone was looking to Lucas for orders, for a clear goal on what to do next. If he faulted now his credibility with the squad would be completely destroyed. Apollo only tells those that need to hear the prophecy so I must be involved somehow. If I die this day I hope my accomplishments were enough to get me into Elysium.

“We need to hurry. Once near the site we will break for lunch while Brenden scouts the crash site. Be ready for anything and let’s move out!” Lucas said in as commanding a voice he could muster after hearing the terrible prophecy. Without waiting for a response he took off at a run towards the pillar of smoke.

With the quickened pace they saw the pillar of smoke grow closer until it looked right around the next bend in the road. Lucas thought it was odd that they were not attacked again but hoped that maybe Tyche had finally seen fit to give him a little good luck for a change. Now that the sun had firmly risen above the horizon Lucas felt much stronger. During the trip he had stored a lot of light around his body and was now a glowing golden color. Moving to the center of the road he let the rest of the squad catch up. It would be safer eating out in the middle of the road as they would see any threats coming.

“Here is good,” Lucas said as he pulled the backpack off his back. Digging around he pulled out MRE (Meal, Ready-to-Eat) packages and bottles of water that he divided amongst the fire team. Lucas broke open his and started using the Flameless Ration Heater (FRH) to heat up his entrée. MREs were not the tastiest things to eat but it was much better than nothing. It would help the group rest and regain some energy before heading to the actual crash site, which according to Apollo someone was going to die at. “Brenden, I’ll give you 15 before you have to scout out the crash site. I want you to use your light manipulation to not been seen. You are not to engage anything, just take a look and report back what you see. Got it?”

Before Lucas could give orders related to the wrecked convoy, Adelphos approached the commander and whispered a need to speak to him in private. The request struck Sophia as slightly odd, but she could not deny the worried expression on the blind legionnaire’s face. “Well, you heard the man. Give us some privacy for a minute. Wait for us up ahead a little ways,” Lucas ordered.

Sophia moved out of earshot with Brenden and Julianne and stood guard while Lucas conferred with Adelphos. At first, first a tense silence reigned over the trio. She noted the anxious expressions on the younger legionnaires’ faces and felt compelled to do…something, to put them at ease, even though she had precious little experience in the social graces. Lucas had made her second in command, so she felt somewhat responsible for them. Then she had a thought. Those in command encouraged those under them to boost morale, right? Sophia glanced over at Julianne and remembered her questions as to why she, a noncombatant, had been brought along for this mission. Catching the younger girl’s gaze, Sophia put on a friendly smile and said, “You did well back there. I’ve seen plenty of messengers on other missions turn tail and run upon seeing the first big monster of the day, but you held your ground.” Sophia hoped Julianne wouldn’t take the compliment as an attempt to be condescending. She was genuinely pleased that the girl hadn’t panicked or tried to flee. And once she got handier with her sword, she could be a genuine terror with hit and run tactics, considering her ability to turn invisible.

Lucas and Adelphos returned shortly thereafter. If their conversation had disturbed the commander in any way, he hid it well as he gave their next orders. “We need to hurry. Once near the site we will break for lunch while Brenden scouts the crash site. Be ready for anything and let’s move out!” Sophia dismissed her weapons and shield and fell in behind Lucas at ground-eating lope that she could easily maintain. Glaukos dug his talons into the leather pad on Sophia’s shoulder and hunkered against her neck so he could rest in the meantime. Thanks to the increased athleticism granted from her mark, she was barely winded by the time Lucas called a break for lunch. She managed to keep the grimace off her face as she accepted the pre-packaged meal and bottle of water. Glaukos, however, had no qualms voicing his displeasure with a disgruntled hoot as he took the piece of dried meat Sophia offered him from the entrée before she heated the rest for herself.

As the group ate, Sophia couldn’t shake her intuition that something was wrong. She wanted to ask Lucas about what Adelphos needed to tell him but promptly chided herself for such a thought. It was not her place to ask such things of her commanding officer, regardless of what kindness he had shown her. She was already kicking herself for her outburst earlier at seeing him wounded. Just like with every other mission, the only relationships that existed were of the commander to those he commanded, nothing more. The mere suggestion that he favored her over the others in the team would be a massive breach of protocol.

Instead of dwelling on things that did not concern her, Sophia finished her meal quickly, occasionally reaching up to stroke Glaukos with her finger and smiling slightly when he would puff up his feathers happily from the attention. After disposing of her trash, she got to her feet again and moved to the side of the road, closer to the forest but still within sight of the others. She had one more detail to take care of before Brenden left to scout the area. Closing her eyes, she reached out with her mind into the dense stands of trees, searching, probing. ‘Ah, there you are,’ she thought as she found what she was seeking. Another screech owl huddled in hole in an oak, a great horned owl resting near the canopy, and a handful of other owls near where the convoy had wrecked. Wild owls made the perfect scouts for reconnaissance in forested areas due to their keen eyesight and intelligence. Also, enemies would never suspect a native animal, so they worked great when it was necessary to keep a low profile. She extended her consciousness to them, gently prodding their sleeping minds to wakefulness. Their thoughts were hazier and harder to read than Glaukos’, but they still acknowledged the mark of Athena and could follow simple orders.

Glaukos sensed Sophia communicating with the owls and gave her a jealous peck on the cheek. While Sophia was secretly reluctant to send him into danger again, she justified it with the thought that she may need him for more important tasks before the mission’s end and that he still needed to rest after scouting for so long.

Having relayed her thoughts to the wild owls, Sophia returned to the others and nodded to Brenden. “I have eyes and ears in the woods surrounding where you’ll be scouting,” she explained. “These forests are full of owls that obey those who serve Athena. If anything goes wrong while you’re out there, we’ll know about it.”

Brenden smiled in relief when Lucas was fully able to rotate his arm and seemed to have no lingering pain. He was always worried that someday his healing powers wouldn't be up to the task. The ghosts of the past haunted him like a grisly specter, and though the wound had not been serious, he couldn't shake that former feeling of despair anytime he saw someone injured. He looked up when Adelphos asked to have a word with the commander, noting the young man's solemn expression. What was wrong?

In compliance with his commander's orders, he drew back with Sophia and Julianne. He smiled at Sophia's encouraging words. She and Lucas were true leaders, and he would be honored to follow them wherever they led, even to the most dangerous of situations. Not long after, Lucas returned and gave some quick orders.

"Yes, sir," he nodded at Lucas' command to scout the area, "I will do my best."

It didn't take long for them to reach a relatively safe area to eat their lunch. He listened quietly to Lucas' words as the meal rations were passed around.

“Brenden, I’ll give you 15 before you have to scout out the crash site. I want you to use your light manipulation to not been seen. You are not to engage anything, just take a look and report back what you see. Got it?”

"I understand, sir. I will have a report as soon as possible," he replied, eyes focused with determination.

This was only his third undertaking involving scouting, but his unique powers had been of aid in missions past. It was just that most missions had involved him tending to the wounded or shooting from afar. This would be a satisfying test of a skills and a way to make his father proud. Not long after Lucas spoke to him, Sophia was able to summon a host of owls with her communicative abilities. Brenden glanced in awe at the multitude of animals peeking through the trees. It gave him comfort to know that should anything go wrong, the owls would be watching his back.

"Thank you, ma'am," he said warmly, "I am grateful to have their support."

As he began to eat quickly, he glanced quietly around at the somber faces. He continued to muse as to what Adelphos and Lucas had discussed. Though their Commander did not look visibly shaken, there was something different, something Brenden could not quite place his finger on.

Trying to lighten the mood somewhat, Brenden began to speak quietly, "I think everyone did a great job back there. That gryphon was really tough, but we were able to work together to bring it down."

After moving aside to give Lucas and Adelphos the space they needed to discuss, Julianne found herself taken aback when Sophia had turned to acknowledge her. Standing aside and watching the others rush into combat wasn’t something Julianne felt should be praised, but she appreciated Sophia’s compliment nonetheless. She’d heard stories before of other messengers who would turn and run… Perhaps standing her ground there was something to be a little proud of. She hadn’t even considered that until Sophia brought it up. The young girl truly admired Sophia’s firm display of courage in battle with the gryphon as well as the way she seemed to keep calm under these circumstances. As much as Julianne wished to return Sophia’s kind words with a compliment of her own, she only managed to utter an embarrassed, “Thank you.” Truly, it was Lucas, Sophia, Brenden, and Adelphos who deserved praise for what had occurred before.

Not much too long after, Lucas gave his orders. Julianne gave a brief nod in response and willingly followed the group. It was rather simple for her to keep up and it didn’t seem to take a very long time before they all had stopped for lunch.

She silently ate with the others, listening to Sophia and Brenden’s short exchange thoughtfully. She found it compelling that Sophia could call on the assistance of owls to scout the area—it seemed like a rather handy ability to have. She hoped that everything would go well and that they wouldn’t run into too much trouble. However, the confidential conversation that Lucas and Adelphos had was still hanging over her and she couldn’t help but feel a little bothered by it. Julianne knew better than to ask about it, though. If the words exchanged between the two of them weren’t meant for her ears, then she wouldn’t pry. Lucas was their leader and he knew best. She would just try and do everything she could under his command.

Deciding to silence her thoughts, she turned her head in interest as Brenden praised the group for their assistance in defeating the gryphon. The blonde sheepishly nodded her head in agreement with his words. “Yes, you all did very well in combat.” She spoke up, as it was quite true. “It was quite admirable.” Witnessing their fight with the gryphon had only increased her desire to become handier with her sword and to participate in such missions. Perhaps one day she’d be able to assist in battle. If she trained hard enough, then it was certainly a possibility.

Lucas sat quietly and ate fast. He didn’t know if he was required to give a speech or something in a situation like this. He decided against it since the rest of the squad didn’t know about the prophecy. He was afraid he would let something slip and have them find out about it. He watched Sophia feed her pet owl and thought of at least letting her know as she was second in command. Then again he did give orders that if he fell she was to retreat to Grand Rapids. He felt confident in her ability to lead the fire team in his absence.

“I have eyes and ears in the woods surrounding where you’ll be scouting,” Sophia explained. “These forests are full of owls that obey those who serve Athena. If anything goes wrong while you’re out there, we’ll know about it.”

"Thank you, ma'am," he said warmly, "I am grateful to have their support."

"I think everyone did a great job back there. That gryphon was really tough, but we were able to work together to bring it down."

“Yes, you all did very well in combat.” Julianne spoke up, “It was quite admirable.”

“Yeah it was good teamwork back there. We keep that up we’ll be unbeatable.”

No, everything is in place. Don’t second guess yourself and have faith in your squad-mates. Maybe this prophecy thing isn’t going to happen on this trip out. Apollo is notorious for being vague and giving prophecies well in advance. He thought as he finished his meal. Glancing at his watch he saw that it was time to send out Brenden.

“Brenden, it’s time to head out. Remember you have about 15 minutes to scout the area and report back. Don’t let yourself be seen or drawn into combat. Be careful out there and good luck.” Lucas said.

"Yes, sir, I'll do my best!" Brenden replied with a nod as he got to his feet, "I'll be as quick as possible."

As he stood, he gathered light around his body, manipulating the color flow to allow him to blend into his surroundings. Only when he moved abruptly could there be seen a faint glimmer or a soft glow.

Lucas looked at Brenden’s ability to make himself invisible. Brenden was not a master yet but his skills were on par with Lucas’ light manipulation. Lucas felt confident that Brenden could pull it off. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

Brenden nodded at Lucas' vote of confidence, heading off as quickly as he could. He allowed his footfalls to barely touch the earth, and only those with the most sensitive of ears could have heard his passing. The light shimmered and bent around his body, providing little opportunity for enemy eyes to track his position. After a short period of time, he began to slow as the billowing smoke became heavier in the air, stinging his eyes and constricting his throat. He doggedly pushed on, his rapid pace slowing until it came to a halt. Eagle eyes began to survey the area and it was not long before he spotted several interesting details.

Three trucks were in a dilapidated state, all of them twisted into strange positions and still burning with billowing flames. Flora and fauna was slowly beginning to burn as well, creating a twisted and nightmarish picture. In the midst of the crash site stood three humans, that Brenden immediately recognized as legionnaires. In addition, they weren't just any legionnaires. They were part of the General's personal bodyguard.

"We failed...our push was unsuccessful.." growled one of the soldiers.

"We can't focus on that now. We need to rally at this site. It is here we will make our stand!" replied another.

"We'll make them pay dearly," the other spoke up.

A loud screech was heard, hauntingly familiar to Brenden's ears. A gryphon's cry! He knew the legionnaires were in trouble and turning around he sped back the way he had come. It seemed as if the trees themselves had come to life and were hindering his efforts to return. Branches clawed at his legs and arms. Tree limbs rose from seemingly nowhere. The forest wasn't haunted, of course, but Brenden was careless this time and moving at a rapid pace. He nearly fell at once point, but continued on persistently until he returned to his squad members. The illusion fell from his body, much like a shell, before he bent down, hands on his knees.

"Legionnaires...they're in trouble...we gotta help them," he cried, gasping for breath.

It only took a moment before Lucas lost sight of Brenden. Lucas looked over at Sophia. “I didn’t know that your owl-speech worked with all owls. Must be pretty handy.”

Despite Sophia’s earlier resolve to maintain a strictly professional relationship with Lucas, she couldn’t keep a small smile off her face at his interest in her ability to commune with the owls. “It is extremely handy,” she agreed with an affirmative nod. “I don’t really speak with them so much as simply communicate through mental images, suggestions, and emotions. That’s about all the wild owls can comprehend, but they’re good if I need multiple sets of eyes and ears.” Glaukos gave a little hoot and puffed up his feathers, as if from jealousy. Sophia rubbed the top of his head with her finger to placate his temper, laughing softly at his antics. “Of course, my mind-speech works best with Glaukos because he was blessed by Athena. I like to think that he understands at least some of what I say.”

“I am sure he does. Nothing blessed by a goddess is common in any way.” Lucas said.

“So what do you think is at the crash site that is so important?” Julianne timidly asked. At this remark Adelphos’ face turned quite serious.

“We will know what is there once we arrive there. We will know what this is all about in good time.” Lucas responded.

The group fell silent at Lucas’ declaration. Everyone wanted to know what was at the crash site, but all they could do was wait. Everyone, that is, except Sophia. Her eyes glazed over as she extended her consciousness to touch the minds of the owls currently serving as her scouts. She checked in with each one and gleaned a few fuzzy mental images through their eyes: trees, the inside of one’s tree hollow, the forest floor, it was all quite boring, actually. One image was particularly dim because the owl’s eyes were drooping drowsily. Sophia sent a scolding thought to keep him awake. Another was thinking solely about the mouse he had caught last night. She pulled away from that one before she got the sudden urge to hunt rodents.

In other words, none of them were actually following her orders to keep watch over Brenden, which concerned Sophia more than it should. Either they were unusually dimwitted, or something at the crash site was repelling them and overriding Sophia’s orders to follow Brenden.

Sophia shook her head to clear her vision and sighed ruefully. “I’m not picking up anything from the owls. I don’t think they can see through Brenden’s light manipulation.” At the mention of the other owls, Glaukos suddenly pecked Sophia’s cheek, hooted in displeasure, and took off from her shoulder…

…only to land on Lucas’.

Sophia’s face turned bright red from embarrassment. “I-I’m so sorry, sir!” she stammered as she ran up to claim her unruly little owl. She reached out a hand to him, but he simply puffed up and looked the other way. “I promise he’s always been on his best behavior! I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”

Lucas turned and looked at the little owl that now perched on his shoulder. He had never been this close to a bird before. Well, at least one that wasn’t trying to kill him. Looking into its giant eyes he could almost feel the intelligence the owl contained. He smiled and looked back at Sophia. “He’s not hurting anything. I guess he gets a little jealous sometimes huh?”

“W-well…I guess not,” Sophia stammered. She had expected a rebuke of some sort. Captains from previous missions would not have been so lenient if Glaukos had acted like this. “I know he doesn’t like when I communicate with other owls, but normally he tolerates them without too much fuss.” Glaukos side-stepped a little closer to Lucas’ face and rubbed his feathery head against his cheek. Sophia laughed despite herself. “He’s never done that to anyone but me. Either he really likes you, or he’s trying to turn the tables and make me jealous now.” All she could feel from Glaukos was pure smugness at the moment.

Before Lucas could respond to the comical situation, Sophia gasped as her head throbbed from mental pictures coming in all at once from her owl scouts. She gripped her head in her hands and scrunched her eyes closed as she tried to separate all the images and emotions she was receiving at once. Fear, so much fear. An overpowering instinct to flee. The sounds of someone crashing through the undergrowth. Branches reaching, gripping, and tearing. The terrifying shriek of…a gryphon? “Something’s…not…right…” Sophia ground out between her teeth.

Just then, Brenden came tearing out of the forest like a bat out of Hades, effectively snuffing out the sensory overload Sophia was receiving. His camouflaging illusion shattered, revealing his exhausted, pale complexion as he caught his breath. “Legionnaires…they’re in trouble…we gotta help them,” he cried between breaths.

Sophia instinctively sank into a battle crouch as she called her spear to her hand while Glaukos hooted in alarm and returned to his spot on her shoulder. “Sir, what are your orders?” she asked, her expression turning deathly serious as she regarded her captain.

“We’re going. Now, Lucas said leading the charge.

It only took them a short time to arrive at the crash site. All three trucks were on the side of the road. One was on its side, another had its front end wrapped around a tree and the third was on fire. Like Brenden had said there were three Legionaries that were fighting their way back towards the wrecked trucks. Evidently they had tried to make a run for the city and failed. They were being chased by a gryphon.

What they didn’t see was the Nemean Lion moving to ambush them from behind. This beast was particularly hard to kill as no weapon could pierce its fur. It was blocked from the legionnaire’s view by a wrecked truck. Lucas seeing the danger pulled together a large amount of light into his hand. Stretching it forward he condensed all the light energy into a palm sized beam that was expertly aimed at the gryphon. It was blindsided by the attack and was thrown into a tree. One of the legionnaires with a bloodied face and Japanese body armor stepped forward. Wasting no time he struck a deathblow to the creature with his katana. Lucas would recognize that armor anywhere, he knew it was Alexander Bennet, the General of his legion.

Theia, titaness married to Hyperion the titan of daylight, emerged from the shadows. Carrying a simple gladius she stood about five and a half feet tall. Her hair and eyes were pitch black and with the darkness clinging around her it was hard to make out her features. She was the original ruler of the night before Selene took over for her. A fellow legionnaire fell while retreating to the wrecked trucks. She would be on him in a moment.

“Sophia, Adelphos the Nemean Lion is yours. Brenden and Julianne get the general and the wounded together so you can protect them. That titan is mine!” Lucas yelled his orders as he prepared his move. For a split second the world was plunged into darkness as Lucas pulled every available photon of light to his body. He could only hold onto this much power for a short amount of time but he knew he could fight like a god during it. His body glowed golden as he leaped forward. He metabolized half the energy right away and with his added strength closed the distance to the titan almost instantly.

Theia was about to land a deathblow on the downed legionnaire when Lucas blocked her sword with his shield. Out of the corner of his eye he saw darkness form from his shadow. It leapt towards the downed legionnaire. Summoning his spear he swung it backwards with all his considerable might. The spear shattered upon impact breaking up the darkness and showering the downed legionnaire with splinters. Lucas used the butt-spike to hook the legionnaire’s armor and lob him a safe distance away.

Theia struck his shield again with all her might trying to push him off balance. His footing remained sound as he turned his spear around and buried it butt-spike first through her leg, pinning it to the ground. Golden ichor flowed quite freely from the devastating wound. The blow left Theia open as she howled in pain. Lucas thrust his shield forward catching the titaness in the torso. The attack threw her backwards almost destroying her leg. Lucas quickly gathered more light from around him to replenish his supply.

The counterattack was almost instantaneous, as Lucas knew it would be. He quickly switched his powers from metabolizing light energy to manipulating it and created a strong light barrier. From the shadows of the trees darkness sprang and leapt towards him. His barrier was pounded on all sides but it didn’t break. He quickly created a miniature sun above his head the size of a quarter. It instantly dispelled all the darkness around him. The sudden bright light had taken Theia by surprise and blinded her. Lucas formed light energy into his hand and thrust it forward. A beam of light streaked through the air and struck the titaness. The attack threw her sword somewhere in the woods and pushed her further away from Lucas.

“Yield! Or I will call down your son to finish you off!” Lucas yelled, demanding her surrender. Helios I do not intend for you to fight your mother but if the threat of your appearance fails to sway her I would greatly appreciate it if you grace me with your presence. Lucas prayed.

“You caught me off guard. I was in 15 other places but now you have my full attention,” She said as she propped herself up with darkness. Fearing the worst Lucas quickly created a light shield. Theia bent down and grabbed the remains of his spear. In the blink of an eye it was imbedded in Lucas’ left shoulder. Not only had it shattered his light shield it also pierced his Spartan shield and body armor. More surprised than in pain Lucas gripped the shaft of the spear. Coughing blood he concentrated on his last hope.

Putting all his light energy into one power he created a small sun directly above Theia. It instantly illuminated her physical features. She had the beauty befitting a goddess and the rage at being treated like a mere mortal was clearly visible on her face. With no shadows to pull darkness from she was momentarily powerless as she crumpled to the ground, unable to prop herself up anymore. Coughing blood, Lucas fell to his knees and held himself up with his shield. It was at this moment he was glad he had the Pelican spear. It was a legendary weapon that was the only thing that healed the wounds it created. He concentrated on the spear that had impaled him. Heal. He began slowly pulling the spear out. As he did the wound healed itself. Now he was no longer in danger of dying from his own spear.

“Now we can have a proper discussion of your terms of surrender,” Lucas said smugly. He couldn’t believe he had actually defeated a titaness in combat. It had been years since someone had accomplished that feat.

“I should have known you were a demigod of Apollo. That damned healing ability has saved many of your demigod brothers and sisters. It makes you annoyingly hard to kill,” Theia complained. She propped herself up with her hands and glared at Lucas with her soulless black eyes.

“This can end one of two ways. I can heal you for safe passage of all Legionnaires back to Grand Rapids or I can leave you bloodied and lying disgraced in the dirt for your titan friends to find.” Lucas said confidently.

“I had no quarrel with you, just the General of Grand Rapids Legion. He must die for you to pass. If one of you kills him and you heal me then I swear on the river Styx that I will allow the rest of you safe passage back to Grand Rapids.” Theia said angrily. She didn’t like admitting defeat nor did she like the fact that she had been disgraced but Lucas knew she would be forced to keep her word is she swore on the river Styx. I can’t allow the General to be killed I would rather die in his place but I am sure that she won’t allow it. Lucas looked down at the ground thinking about a way out of this, a way for him to get a complete win, when he glanced at his broken and bloodied spear.

“I know how you legionnaires love to sacrifice yourselves for you generals but now you have a choice. The forest is filled with beasts, more than enough to kill you all once they arrive. You can chose to save yourselves at the cost of your precious general or, and I hope this is your choice, you can all die. It would be worth the disgrace to see you all dead.” Theia taunted from the ground.

“I’ll do it,” Lucas said still looking at his spear.

“What?” Theia asked.

“I’ll kill my general for the safe passage of my fellow legionnaires and heal your wound,” Lucas said, “Swear on the river Styx that if I kill the general with my spear and heal your wound that you will grant us safe passage and protect us all the way to Grand Rapids.”

“I swear on the river Styx that if you kill the general and heal me I will protect you all the way to your precious city of Grand Rapids,” Theia said with a sneer.

“Then we have an accord.”

Brenden followed as best as he could, though he was still a bit winded from the run back to his squad. When they reached the crash site, he could already see the other legionnaires were in a bit of trouble. Lucas was swift enough to save one, and Brenden's eyes widened when he saw the General. This must have been a mission of great import for the General himself to be here. His heart beat with trepidation upon seeing the Titaness. She was a tall, imposing figure and her darkness seemed to be a direct counter to his light. He shook himself into attention when Lucas gave the orders.

He hesitated for just a split second, disliking the idea of allowing his commanding officer to face the Titaness alone, but he had no choice. He could never abandoned the wounded. As a human chosen by Apollo, he felt that he could never refuse to help someone in need.

"Let's go, Julianne," he said quietly.

Trying to put the battle from his mind, he began to quickly bring the wounded legionnaires to a small grove at the edge of the crash site. It was there that they could at least have some protection if the battle turned against them any further. The ones that were too wounded to move, he gave a small jolt of his healing power, enough to move them to safety, but not enough that he would be incapacitated should he be forced to fight. His eyes would move every so often to the fight between Lucas and the Titaness, but it seemed that the Commander was holding his own. Brenden wasn't surprised. Lucas was a fine leader, and he was quite strong and able to fight much more effectively with the light than Brenden could.

The last wounded person he was able to reach was the General, who was dangerously close to the battle raging between Theia and Lucas. The man was bloodied and bruised, seeming to have taken quite a beating. And yet he also seemed battle-ready as well, and eager to put his skills to use.

"General Bennet, sir, it is my duty to get you to safety," began Brenden, allowing his healing light to touch the General's broken body just as Theia embedded the spear in Lucas' shoulder.

"Lucas!" cried Brenden, ready to come to his Commander's aide.

But in just a few moments the tide had turned, and Lucas was the one towering over the Titan. Brenden's eyes widened in surprise. Lucas had actually managed to subdue the Titan completely. Amazing...He held his breath as the two conversed the terms of Theia's surrender. At the Titanness' words, he looked appalled. He was certain that Lucas would never agree to such a thing. Surely he would not smite his own General and yet...a moment later that was exactly what the Commander agreed to. Brenden looked from his General to his Commander in shock. He...couldn't allow this! Brenden could not see one of his own harmed. He had a duty to heal and protect...Would Lucas make him go back on his oath?

Lucas didn’t waste any time with pleasantries. “We’re going. Now.” The group took off running and arrived at the crash site in record time. Sophia’s tactical mind kicked into overdrive as she tried to process the situation as quickly as possible. She noted the position of the downed trucks, the three Legionnaires – especially General Bennet –, the gryphon hot on their trail, and…

“By the gods,” Sophia cursed, tightening her grip on her spear as she spotted the Nemean Lion. She had grown up reading about Heracles, particularly the tales where Athena aided him, so she knew full well the dangers of facing a creature whose fur repelled any weapon. Lucas held off the cat’s ambush by striking the gryphon with a beam of light, giving General Bennet the chance to finish it off.

The situation grew even more serious as the Titaness Theia emerged from the shadows. The mark of Athena on her forehead burned with battle lust as she regarded one from the generation that had warred against the Olympian gods and goddesses. Lucas obviously felt the same way. “Sophia, Adelphos, the Nemean Lion is yours. Brenden and Julianne, get the general and the wounded together so you can protect them. That Titan is mine!” He charged forward, plunging them into darkness momentarily as he absorbed the light around him, while Brenden and Julianne took off to aid the wounded.

Sophia’s mind snapped from the Titaness to the Nemean Lion. Glaukos took off from her shoulder and perched in a branch well out of the way so he could see the whole clearing. In addition to scouting, he also served as Sophia’s second set of eyes in battle, occasionally transmitting mental images and emotions to warn her of attacks that she may not see. “Adelphos, watch my back,” Sophia said as she banged the butt of her spear against her shield to draw the beast’s attention. She needed to get it away from the wounded legionnaires so the scene of blood would not trigger its hunting instinct. “You want a good hunt? Then fight me!” she challenged, locking eyes with the lion while it growled menacingly and sank into a battle crouch. The creature really was beautiful, with fur the color of golden silk and a thick mane that declared it a male.

Sophia had never fought a Nemean Lion, so she could not have predicted the speed of his initial strike. He closed the distance between them in a split second, and she barely had time to bring up her shield before the lion’s claws and body rammed into it. She grunted from the effort of holding back the great cat’s weight, but he quickly started to overpower her. To her horror, the sound of rending metal filled her ears as the cat’s claws actually started to penetrate her shield. ‘Impossible!’ she thought with horror.

Before her strength failed completely, a series of rapidly fired arrows flew past the lion’s face and bounced harmlessly off his mane. Even so, they distracted and infuriated the lion long enough for Sophia to regain her footing and distance. She glanced back at Adelphos, who had activated the Eye of the Graeae and had his bow in hand. Sellie had once again slipped her harness and transformed into the fierce white hunting hound of the Moon Goddess. As Sellie charged to confront the lion, Sophia called, “Tell Sellie to keep her distance. That lion’s fur can repel any attack!”

Luckily, the hound was quick and wily, and she kept just out of the Nemean Lion’s grasp while keeping the beast distracted. ‘What can I do? How can I fight something I can’t wound?’ At that moment, the lion broke away from Sellie and charged Sophia again, roaring furiously. This time, her shield split in two at the first impact, and she cried out in pain as a blow from a single paw sent her flying back to land roughly on the ground, barely keeping a hold of her spear. Spots danced before her eyes as the lion stalked forward, intent on finishing the hunt. Sophia felt where the lion had struck her on the side, and her fingertips came away covered in blood. To her horror, his claws had shredded through the armor on her left side and left her with a series of painful, shallow gashes that had missed any organs but bled profusely. Before the lion could get within range for the killing blow, a blinding light shone from behind Sophia and filled the area where they were fighting. The lion roared in confusion and staggered as if blinded, giving Sophia a chance to scramble back to her feet and regroup next to Adelphos.

“What was that?!” she asked.

Adelphos simply smiled. “The Golden Fleece.” He gestured to his wool jacket, which was now a golden color.

‘Light…’ Images of Lucas blinding the gryphon they had fought and of the lion staggering from the Golden Fleece’s light, flashed through her mind. ‘That’s it!’ she thought. “Can you make it do that again?” Adelphos nodded affirmatively. Sophia blocked the pain of her wounds from her mind temporarily as she tossed aside the remnants of her shield. “Then keep back and wait for my signal,” she commanded, holding out her free arm. By this time, a sense of alarm came from Glaukos as the Nemean Lion recovered from its daze and began stalking towards them again. “Goddess Athena, hear the prayer of your servant and grant me your strength,” she prayed as she willed the Aegis of Athena into existence from the realm of the gods. The golden tasseled shield, wielded by Zeus and Athena, materialized on her arm in a shower of sparks. A hundred priceless gold tassels hung from the aegis, and images of the Gorgon and serpents were engraved upon its surface. No weapon, not even the lion’s claws, could break this sacred shield.

Sophia shook the aegis, and immediately the skies grew cloudy, thunder rolled across the heavens, and the Nemean Lion shook with fear at the gods’ power that manifested in the weather. However, the effect would not last long. Sophia charged the lion head-on, holding out the aegis with her left arm and her spear in her right. “Adelphos, NOW!” she called when she was a spear’s length from the Nemean Lion. She closed her eyes as the light flashed and faded, leaving the lion blinded once again and still staggering from fear. Using the momentum of her charge, Sophia whirled and plunged the tip of her spear into the ground at an angle on the lion’s right side. Completing her spin, she threw her body weight shield-first onto the lion’s left side. The lion’s feet gave out from under him, and she pinned him in such a way that his windpipe was pressed against the shaft of her spear while she held down his head with the aegis. She did not have the strength of Heracles to strangle the beast with her bare hands, but she could use her weapons and body weight to accomplish the same feat.

The Nemean Lion roared furiously and struggled beneath her, his deadly claws flailing in every possible direction. However, Sophia had the advantage of leverage, and she reached across the lion’s neck and held onto the shaft of her spear with her free hand, pulling against it so her weight and the aegis pressed down fully against the beast. Sophia cried out as the lion bucked upward, nearly dislocating her shoulder. If she did not have enhanced strength granted from her Mark, she would have been thrown back completely. His claws managed to score her legs lightly, but he quickly began to weaken from lack of oxygen. Trapped between the vice created by the aegis and spear, the lion’s struggles slowed until only his tail twitched. Within a couple of minutes, he had stopped completely.

Exhausted, Sophia slumped to the ground, drenched in a cold sweat and shaking. However, just to ensure that the lion was dead, she grabbed his paw, pressed on it to make the claw come out, and slit the beast’s throat. The lion’s claws were the only weapons that could penetrate the golden fur.

With the lifeblood of the Nemean Lion pouring out onto the ground, Sophia attempted to stand, only to stagger and nearly lose her footing again. A hand reached out to steady her, and she turned to meet Adelphos’ eyes. Sellie remained in her hound form but stood quietly beside her master. “Thanks…” She dismissed her weapons, and Adelphos helped support her weight as they staggered over to where Brenden and Julianne had gathered the General and the other legionnaires. Sophia kept an arm pressed against her wounds to try and staunch the bleeding, but it did little good.

Brenden and Julianne looked up in alarm as they approached, and Adelphos gently lowered Sophia to the ground next to the Mark of Apollo. She groaned in pain as the adrenaline left and her body caught up with the fact that it was wounded. Glaukos landed on her shoulder and hooted in distress, rubbing his head against her cheek. She couldn’t hear any noises of battle from where Lucas had engaged Theia, and her vision started to blur from the blood loss.

“Lesson learned… Don’t…wrestle…with Nemean Lions…” she groaned, fighting to remain conscious.

Lucas regretted making the deal the instant he had agreed but he knew it was the only way any of them would make it out alive. He looked at the sun he had created above Theia’s head. He could already see it weakening and knew it would only last a few more minutes. Looking at his team he could only wonder what they would think of him after this moment. The look on Brenden’s face was easy enough to read, he completely disagreed with Lucas’ decision. Julianne was watching intently, little did she know she was the key to this plan working. Sophia and Adelphos had just finished their fight with the Nemean Lion. Sophia looked dangerously wounded and Adelphos had looked like he had seen better days. Now was not the time to turn back on his decision, as breaking any oath on the river Styx had dire consequences.

“Brenden, heal the wounded. Start with the critically injured first and work your way through to make everyone mobile. Sophia and Adelphos have Benden look you over. Julianne, your with me. General we need to have a few words in private.” Lucas gave his orders in his stern commander voice. Brenden looked like he was hesitating, wanting to stop Lucas somehow. “What are you waiting for? Zeus’ birthday? Get a move on or Sophia’s going to bleed out!”

Lucas, Julianne and General Bennett walked over to an area out of earshot from the group. It was in a location that Theia could see what was going on. Julianne was so nervous she was literally shaking. “It’s ok Julianne. All you have to do is watch and relay this meeting perfectly to Commander Montgomery when we are done.”

“What’s this about Lucas?” General Bennett asked. Lucas looked back at Theia and saw that the sun that was pinning her down was almost out of energy.

“We don’t have much time. I’ll give you the short version sir. You have to die so we can get back to GR. I’ll use my spear to give you a proper funeral.” Lucas said.

“That’s a dangerous plan.” General Bennett started.

“I have already sworn on the river Styx sir. This is happening. It’s the only way.” Lucas said urgently.

“All right make sure to get my body back to GR for the proper funeral rights.” General Bennett said as he kneeled down. He leaned his head to the right revealing a undefended spot in the armor at the base of the neck. Lucas wasted no time in gripping what remained of his spear as a samurai sword. He expertly plunged it deep into the General butt-spike first. It took only a few seconds for the damage to kill the General. While the spear was still inside the General Lucas dismissed it, returning it to pen form. He grabbed the body as it fell and eased it to the ground.

“Julianne, run as fast as you can to Commander Montgomery and tell him exactly what happened here. Don’t worry about being attacked because my oath on the river Styx will keep you from harm on the way back to GR. Once there don’t leave the city until we return.” Lucas ordered. She stood there, frozen with fear and confusion at what just happened. “GO!” Julianne turned and ran disappearing quickly into the trees. He looked over at Theia in time to see his sun disappear. No longer being pinned she propped herself up with darkness.

“You are forgetting to heal me. Do it now so I can be gone from this site.” Theia demanded. Signing, Lucas resummoned his spear and walked over to Theia. The spear was still damaged from the fight. He pointed it at her leg and commanded the spear to heal. In seconds the titans’ leg was fixed.

“This is not over. You will see me again legionnaire.” Theia said before she disappeared into darkness.

Brenden was still in a state of shock when Lucas addressed him, or else he would have been immediately tending to Sophia's wound. In his present state, however, it took Lucas' stern words reminding him that Sophia could bleed to death if he didn't act quickly. Even as he stumbled to obey the orders, his body felt numb and he could barely keep his focus on the current situation. He had witnessed the deaths of comrades before, of course, but never at the hands of one of their own. To do such a thing was unthinkable. It went against all he stood for, and all his father had worked for. He stole a glance over at Lucas, Julianne, and the General as he knelt beside the wounded Sophia. When he saw her critical condition, however, the dazed expression disappeared from his eyes and he became completely focused. She was scored with wounds from the claws of lion both at her side and across her leg. The claws of a Nemean lion must have been extremely potent indeed if they had been able to penetrate Sophia's armor. Though the strike had missed any organs, the girl was bleeding profusely. The blood flow would have to be stopped quickly.

"This won't hurt for long," he said, speaking in an even, level tone, "Just close your eyes and think of something warm...something that will give you strength. It will accelerate the healing process."

Brenden closed his eyes, light brighter than before settling softly over the leg wound. This was not as deep and in a few moments the blood flow had stopped. He then moved to Sophia's side and carefully touched the gash with his fingertips. Again the light appeared, the brightest yet, coursing through the injury and accelerating the healing process. Blood clotted, flesh melded against flesh, and at last the blood flow stop. This process took almost a full minute and when the boy was finished, he sat back, his eyes still closed. His head was light, and he felt as if his body was going to float away. That had been a rather arduous endeavor and he was already fatigued from his scouting mission and transporting the legionnaires to safety. At last he was able to open his eyes and tried to smile comfortingly.

"Just rest a bit, ma'am," he whispered, voice weak and strained, "You might feel just a little stiffness from being healed so quickly. It will go away in a few minutes."

After one more check to make sure there were no other injuries, Brenden moved to Adelphos, swaying slightly. The young man did not seem to be injured, but he was completely exhausted. Brenden placed a hand on his shoulder, and the light surrounded Adelphos' body. It was a burst of refreshing energy, meant to mimic the results of a good night's sleep and relaxation. It took more out of Brenden than normal, however, and the effects were beginning to manifest themselves. His own eyes held a distant, lethargic look and his steps became weary and haggard. Still, he pressed on to the other Legionnaires and tended to their wounds. Fortunately, the remaining soldiers only had minor cuts or flesh wounds and were quickly healed. The healed would find, however, that Brenden's work did leave scars and was not as complete, as he had been forced to work at a rapid pace to ensure that everyone was cared for.

When he was finished, he requested that one of the healthy legionnaires bring the others some nourishment and water before he slumped against a tree trunk. Looking over, he saw a lifeless body lying on the ground near Julianne and Lucas. His head dropped in despair. The Commander had really gone through with it....He had hoped it had been a trick...that somehow Lucas would have been able to get out of the bargain. But a promise made on the River Styx was unbreakable. Brenden hadn't been able to save the General despite his best efforts...He had lost the General to the cruel pact of a dangerous Titan...His expression was one of defeat even though he had helped to save a handful of lives. Coupled with his already haggard expression, Brenden looked quite pitiful, even forlorn. He closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths to calm himself. This was a part of war, wasn't it? And yet...it still didn't feel right...Brenden was not one to question orders or to confront of the Commander, but the incident had dampened his normally bright spirit. Even the soft glow around his body had faded completely...