Ajax: Ares, Because He’s Always The Center of Attention III
Pax almost screamed a third time when Axel sank to one knee. It was more for dramatics than actual fear.[1]
As soon as Garies vanished, the tip of Axel’s blade sank to the floor.
Alabaster led Pax over. “Your arm is broken,” he said. It wasn’t a question.
“In several places,” Axel panted. Up close, Pax could see how badly her brother shook. “Get my helm off. Ajax, can you take the macuahuitl? Alabaster, put Ares’ sword into my good hand. I don’t want it going anywhere.”
They complied. The demigods’ cheers were their victory soundtrack.
Then, Axel proceed to, heroically, vomit.
She and Alabaster stood between him and his fan club for privacy. Alabaster murmured an incantation that zapped the last of the magic reserves from his little battery weasel. It created a secondary image of Axel, merely relaxing back instead of spewing his guts out. Nietzsche slipped down into one of Alabaster’s pockets, and Pax was jealous that the little mustelid was small enough to sleep in Alabaster’s pocket. She wanted sleep in Alabaster’s clothing.
Pax pat her brother’s back. “Dr. Jack’s orders,” she said, “No more getting eaten by a Nemean Lion and fighting a god on the same day.”
Axel rubbed the back of his good hand against his chin to smear the stray spittle with more dirt. This proved complicated. He barely had the strength to hold up the massive sword at the same time. “Where did the macuahuitl come from?”
“Some hot punk chick,” Pax said. She didn’t see her amongst the crowd anymore. Her hand felt… light. When she glanced down, all she found was a puff of smoke where the macuahuitl had been.
Woops.
Alabaster frowned. Either he saw this as some apocalyptic sign or he was incapable of smiling unless it was at the misery of others.
“Neither of you recognized her?” Axel asked.
They both shrugged. That’s when Pax realized Alabaster must have also been exhausted. Otherwise, he would have plenty of speculation about the hot girl’s origin. Pax could go for a group nap pile herself. Xbalanque already snoozed in Pax’s pocket. Pax wiggled a finger in to pet him. “How’s my little clever coward? Just like your momma.”
They half-carryied Axel as he (half-conscious) directed them homeward. Axel blurrily explained how his true sight let him navigate.[2] Alabaster pretended he understood exactly how Xbalanque and Nietzsche found Axel’s helm and assured that Honey was safely back at camp. Jazmin, Ailiseu, Voutia, Nasir, and the other demigods followed after, dragging their semi-disemboweled demigod along on his sled. Ethan sulked away from their relaxed revelry.
Pax thought the lion pelt was an awesome addition to Axel’s superhero costume. “Do you think we should have tried to calm the Nemean Lion? Gotten another pet? Maybe he just had a sword stuck in its paw.”
“I assure you, he did not,” Alabaster said, “Though, this victory will help our cause nicely.” He gave Axel a side glance. “Leonis Caput?”
Axel grunted.
Pax giggled. She didn’t feel like contemplating treachery, or the other kinds of things Axel and Alabaster did for fun. Besides, they were overlooking an important fact. “Aw, it’s cute! Our helmets named each other!” A sly look at Alabaster. “Cloven Terror?”
Alabaster blushed. “Admittedly, a much better moniker than I could have invented.”
“I can’t wait to get mine,” she sighed dreamily.
“Where did those come from?”
Pax jumped. It yanked her brother’s shoulder in a way that made Axel growl. She didn’t realize how close Ethan had gotten. The demigod glowered at them, eye trailing after the helmets.
“Thrift store,” she said, glaring back.
It didn’t dawn on Pax how much it mattered that Ethan saw them. Later, once Jack was done healing Axel, he and his weasel were reunited, and Jack demanded a party-concert for Orpheus Metal to celebrate, Pax told Mercedes about Ethan’s sulking.
At the time, he didn’t understand why she went so pale.
***
Thank you for reading! We’re onto our next short, involving a very ill-timed trip to a volcano. Stay tuned for things to start to get dark!
PS: Finally saw kpop demon hunter and I can’t get over the idea of Pax and Axel traveling to Korea, bumping into them, and it would be like the first scene meeting the Saja boys, except Axel isn’t an asshole and Pax introduces Zoey to metal.
Footnotes:
[1] And to neatly have the third scream in chapter three.
[2] And Pax prayed this wasn’t just delirious ravings.
The trap was a simple one. There was a chain across the floor at shin level. That, alone, didn’t reveal if the chain triggered a secondary trap, maybe Mathias’ dream: a shower of Happy Meal toys.
However, the scattered skeletal and not-so-skeletal limbs and dismembered bodies decorating the area in a half-circle? That and the massive axe blades poking out of the walls? Axel had a guess it wasn’t McDonald’s related.[1]
Axel caught up with them as Mary and Ethan triggered Part II of the Fancy Death Machine.
He tackled them from behind. Blades swooped above them as they hit the floor. Ethan’s sword and the lighter clattered to the stone ahead.
“Get off of me!” Ethan snapped.
Axel altered his weight to pin Ethan down, praying that Mary didn’t try to fight him too.[2] He knew how strong she was and didn’t want her to lift all three of them into the still-swinging blades.
“‘Swish Swoosh,’ says the pendulum! ‘Did you know that I’m but a clock unwound? Tic-Tok!’” she shrieked in glee. She rested her hands over the back of her head, like this was a game of hide-and-go seek. “‘Slooth, slosh, I’m too tired to go on.’”
Only two swooshes of death above them. Ethan, fortunately, had gotten the message and stopped struggling. Axel hoped the blades didn’t swing in a descending pattern.
Several mechanical clicks later, the axe blades settled back into place.
Axel puffed up his cheeks and popped them. His lighter’s flame hadn’t gone out. The turquoise blaze spiraled lazily ahead of them, lighting up several dismembered limbs. Axel could see one wore a Happy Meal crown like a bracelet. Maybe he shouldn’t tell Matthias about that one.
Carefully, Axel sat up. He glanced to see how close the chain was. Several feet back. He didn’t readily see another trap.
“You could have gotten us killed,” Ethan snarled at Mary.
She didn’t respond. Her gaze had gone unfocused on Axel’s lighter.
Axel picked it up, watching her reaction as he did. She didn’t blink or follow the flame. She stared into the darkness. He didn’t know if that was more or less comforting than her earlier attention.
Ethan snatched up his sword. “We should leave her and get out of here,” he hissed.
Axel hesitated. She seemed completely nonresponsive. “I don’t want her to pick us off, one by one.” Axel could imagine her popping out of various doors in the labyrinth, Scooby Doo style, hoisting off demigods.
“What do you propose, genius?” Ethan Nakamura snapped.
We could unleash her onto Camp Half-Blood, the helm rumbled.
Axel liked that idea even less. She wasn’t a weapon. Unlike most gods, Axel didn’t get the vibe she was intentionally hurting people. He wondered if Prometheus could help her remember herself. He doubted “Mary” was her godly moniker. And, if it was, Catholicism had quite a few delusions that needed untangling.
“She could come with us,” Axel said.
Ethan glared, pointedly, at Axel’s bent shoulder pauldron then at the finger prints she’d left on Ethan’s arm bracer.
Point taken. They couldn’t exactly stroll merrily arm-in-arm.
Axel glanced at the pile of corpses. “If we have her hold a severed limb as we walked, she’d crush that instead of our hands.”
Ethan’s glare deepened. “I don’t like being mocked, Mayan,” he spat the last word like an insult.
Axel clenched his jaw. Anger boiled in his stomach. It eased when his helm spoke, Sacrifice him to this goddess to assure safe passage.
It was strangely calming. Maybe it shouldn’t have been comforting to be the reasonable one between you and your enchanted armor, but Axel would take the wins he could.
“I wasn’t mocking you or joking about the limb,” Axel said once he could keep his voice even. Alabaster or Pax would have brainstormed with him. He desperately wanted that right now. Maybe Ethan hadn’t carried enough limbless Titans around to know about the mythological options. “I was trying to figure out how to bring a lost minor goddess back to camp.”
Ethan lowered his gaze. He adjusted his shoulder straps.
At least he wasn’t arguing.
Axel crouched down near Mary, but not within touching distance. “Mary, what do you want to do?”
She blinked, still staring absently into the dark. “I don’t want to do anything.” Her voice was a soft drone compared to the previous fluttery tone.
Axel hesitated again. “Are you dangerous?”
Tears streamed down her cheeks. She dug her nails deeper into her scabs. “No.”
If she hadn’t proved how easily she could snap his arm, he might have touched her shoulder.
“You heard her. She wants to be left here,” Ethan said, “We need to get back to the others.”
The sacrifice is correct. We must rally your troops for battle.
Axel swallowed and rose. He would be sure to tell the other minor gods and titans about her. She shouldn’t be left to wander like this in the labyrinth. “I’ll make sure others know you’re here.”
She continued to silently weep as Axel and Ethan cautiously retreated. When they stepped over the trip chain, Axel lost sight of her amidst the dismembered corpses.
“This feels wrong,” he murmured. Which titans would be able to help her—? “Oh—this way.”
Ethan had turned down an unlit corridor. He paused and glared back. “How can you tell?”
Axel gestured towards the dim glow of the corridor beyond his turquoise firelight. “Can you not see it?”
“I can still see,” Ethan snapped, a little too quickly.
Axel paused, considering Camp Othrys’ newest recruit, examining his weathered eye patch in the flickering light. Ethan was very quick to assume others intended insult. “Where were you? Before here.”
Ethan looked away. He fidgeted with his shoulder straps again. “Cabin Eleven.”
“The children of Hermes weren’t particularly kind about your eye?”
He sneered. “Children of the trickster god. What do you think?”
Axel nodded in understanding. Maybe Ethan wouldn’t be shedding any tears for the missing Chris Rodriguez. “I didn’t mean anything about your vision. The floor has a glow to it in the direction we need to travel.” He would need to ask Alabaster why no one else could see it. Navigating the labyrinth didn’t seem that daunting. Axel took a step forward, then paused one more time. “Which side do you prefer I walk on?”
If Ethan had previous cabin mates that teased him about his vision, Axel imagined he would have a preference that was frequently denied.
Ethan gave him a suspicious look. He pointed to his blindside. “Make sure nothing attacks us from your direction.”
Strategic, Axel mused, trusting Ethan to guard their other side.
They began walking.
The corridor seemed to have elongated. Axel hoped the other demigods were still there. He hoped Mary hadn’t sprinted them away in a sack like a evil Santa Claus, handing demigods out to hungry mythological creatures like presents.
“I’m sorry about the Mayan thing,” Ethan said.
Axel grunted.
“I thought only mortals could have clear sight that strong,” Ethan said, “Why didn’t you tell Lord Kronos that sooner? You could have saved us a lot of trouble navigating the labyrinth.” It sounded accusatory.
In answer to both, Axel asked, “What is clear sight?” He thought about it. “You mean that I can see through the Mist? I don’t hide that. I didn’t know that would affect how we travel the labyrinth.”
Ethan snorted. Axel was getting the vibe this kid didn’t like him. “That seems convenient. Alongside the fact that you haven’t pledged your soul to Lord Kronos.”
Axel stopped walking and pivoted to face Ethan, only to realize Ethan couldn’t see the movement. Convenient? The lion’s helm felt heavy on his back. Did—did Ethan somehow know about—there was no way he could know about Alabaster’s meeting. That happened in Hecate’s realm—probably somewhere in Erebos. “I can’t. I’m not a half-blood.” He gritted his teeth. “And who told you that?”
Not many people knew. Except Pax, Alabaster, and—
“Lord Kronos.”
He couldn’t help it. “You mean Luke?” Axel resumed walking.
“Show him respect,” Ethan snapped.
Axel didn’t know how to break it to Ethan: he’d seen Luke so drunk he could barely sit on his barstool as he babbled about how beautiful Thalia was. There would be no “lord” when talking about his friend.
Ethan seemed to straighten his posture. “Lord Kronos will be sending me on a secret mission.”
Maybe Axel should point out the definition of “secret” in a dictionary to Ethan. Instead, Axel grunted, “Good for you.”
“And I plan to assure no one gets in the way of it.” Ethan turned his head sharply, so he could see Axel. This time, his expression was one of wary curiosity. “You’re really not the spy, are you? You’re not going to ask me any question about it?”
“What are you talking about?” Axel made sure not to make eye contact. He missed the standard issue helmet that covered his ears. They could be a dead giveaway when he was uncomfortable. He wasn’t a spy though. He was just making back-up plans to kill Luke if his friend totally lost his mind. Axel refrained from rolling his eyes, wondering which “Lord Kronos” would find more treacherous.
“The Romans knew about the Hecate child’s lab,” Ethan pushed, like Axel hadn’t been there, “I’ve heard what some of the monsters are saying. There have been other times the Romans knew too much.”
“I almost died in that raid,” Axel growled. He’d just been happy that he and Alabaster managed to keep Pax somewhat safe.
“And you got elevated to a hero with your brother and friend. I think you three have been very… lucky,” Ethan said the word like it was vulgar.
Lucky?! Axel barely refrained from pivoting to hit Ethan.
No one will find his body in the labyrinth.
This helm kept making excellent points.
Clutching the helm’s cold metal over his shoulder, Axel managed to control his temper. “What does that have to do with me not being or being a spy?”
“Sometimes you need to take things into your own hands. Make your own destiny.” Ethan tapped his eye patch. “Before someone steals it away. I’m going to find this spy, and I’m going to kill them.”
Axel didn’t like that Ethan was investigating this behind Mercedes’ back. He knew Mercedes had been working tirelessly. He wondered if he could—no, if Pax could—ask her about her best guesses. Axel and Alabaster still wanted Camp Jupiter to fall, but maybe this Roman spy would be useful to their cause. Maybe they could work together.
In the meantime, Axel didn’t like that Ethan’s investigation had come near him or his friends. “Nakamura, don’t go around accusing others without evidence.”
That’s what he meant to say. But lion’s helm chose then to speak, “Child of Nemesis, if you hurt anyone under my protection, I will break every bone in your body, starting with your left hand. And when I’m done with you, you will have neither an eye with which to see nor a tongue with which to slander.”
Axel was beginning to really enjoy this helm’s input.
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Thank you for reading! And thank you for your patience! Life should be hopefully settling down in the next month or so. (I feel like I’ve been saying this for awhile, but let me live in my delusions, damn it! XD)
I hope you enjoyed! This chapter felt janky to edit since it has been awhile. Hoping, as always, to get back onto a regular writing/upload schedule, but we might have another skip while life gets settled.
Thank all of you for your continued support! You guys rock and all your asks, comments, and likes have been very encouraging! (Which, I promise, I will one day get to! XD)
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Footnotes:
[1] Pax wanted to point out that it is: just Ronald McDonald FNAF edition.
[2] I don’t think you’d be in my fan base, but for those of you who were looking for Axamura—
Pax, singing from somewhere, “When the cat hits your back in a Paxboy attack, Axamura!“ (Name that song--!)
“You left the sword, Axel? The one weapon that won’t break on you with Ares’—”
“Garies—”
“Not now, Ajax—with Aries’ curse?” Alabaster said once the Pax brothers finished debriefing him, “And you didn’t kill the Roman?”
Alabaster lay in their “infirmary.” Since Jack would kill any other children of Apollo that might come into camp (intentionally or otherwise) it was staffed by a daughter of Ascelpius, the God of Medicine, a son of Hygeia, Goddess of Hygiene, and a daughter of Panacea, Goddess of Universal Remedies. These three were, in fact, all half siblings with the same mother. Axel chose not to listen to Alabaster when he pointed out, according to Epione, that also made one of them a half-sibling to the others’ parents.[1]
Aoi, the son of Hygeia, and Himari, the daughter of Panacea, grumbled about the number of wounded in their infirmary. Their older half-sister, Mei, shook her head and shoed them to tend to the others injured from the Sabotage Unit. None of them could instantly heal the way Jack could, but Aoi could disinfect any wound, Himari could cure any illness over time, and Mei could mend wounds overtime. They were perfect for keeping demigods stable until Jack could help.
For such a vicious fight, they had few causalities. It was an overwhelming success.
But Axel couldn’t stop replaying that final fight in his head.
Alabaster seethed at being ignored. “Axel. The sword? The Roman? Are you concussed—?” He cut off with a gasp. Mei had set his broken wrist, but couldn’t do much for the three broken ribs.[2]
Pax sat in a chair beside his infirmary bed. He fidgeted with one of his spy photo albums in one hand while his other squeezed Alabaster’s good hand. His grin was goofy. “We did have a handsome, unconscious witchboy on one hand and were retreating from the Second Cohort with the other. We would have needed more hands.”
“There are four between the two of you,” Alabaster said, but Pax’s tactic worked: their embarrassed friend’s scowl had weakened. His pale cheeks brightened with rouge.
Not for the first time, Axel wondered what was going on between the two of them. Now, however, wasn’t the time to remind Alabaster how fragile the rest of his ribs were.
“It can’t be that hard to find another weapon outside of Ares’ curse,” Axel said.
Alabaster glared.
“You are the grumpiest victor ever,” Pax teased.
They did kill Praetor Ari. Her medallion hung on his lion skin, threaded beside Julian’s. Two lovers together again at last.
Axel felt sick. Just as the sensation threatened to make him shut down, it seeped away into the Leonis Caput helm.
Leaving him replaying that battle. [3] He rubbed the contusion on his thigh. It was tender. As were the bruises along his bracers. Even through the Nemean Lion fur and his bracers, the centurion’s sword blows still left him bruised. “We’re lucky we didn’t lose more. That Centurion recovered the troops much faster than we predicted, even calculating in her training from Circe. She was good. A better fighter than me.”
“But, you can kick Luke’s ass. And Garies’,” Pax said.
Axel glanced at his little brother in confusion. He hadn’t been seeking a confidence boost; he was stating a fact they would need to keep in mind. “I’ll bet,” he said, “she could too.”
Before she kicked him, he saw something he wasn’t used to seeing: it wasn’t that she didn’t fear the monster attacking her. She did. She didn’t care about fear. Her courage, the kind she was sharing with her troops somehow, was choosing duty over terror.
Something Axel did often.
Something Axel did when he realized she could have killed Alabaster and Pax in under ten seconds.
“I think her shampoo was honey-scented,” he muttered absently. It had been bothering him—that sweetness barely perceptible intermixed with the armor and sweat. Had he really made a joke about being Canadian? He definitely wasn’t going to share that (or how she chased him around the clearing like a scared, hopping chicken) with his friends.
Pax almost choked, “Wow—that is the creepiest thing you’ve ever said. Stop everything. We need to call 1-800-APOLLO-STALKING for advice.”[4]
Axel fumbled. “Excuse me?”
“Ajax, that’s too many numbers for a—” Alabaster tried to sit up, grunted, and sank back into his bed. Pax, subtly, propped him up. “Axel, is there any chance she bewitched you when the two of you were alone?” Alabaster sounded genuinely alarmed. “If she had tutelage under Circe, she might be able.”
“What? No—”
“Ta—da!” Pax interrupted. He plucked a photo from his album, triumphantly presenting it between the three of them. “Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, Axel’s new crush.”
Axel’s cheeks felt hot. “She is not—” His fingers froze while reaching to snatch the photo.
Pax’s grin was one of sinister delight. “You think she’s cute, don’tcha?”
Centurion Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano: the name sang and rolled like sunrise on the Gulf of Honduras.
His little brother had trapped him. If he said, “no,” he would sound unconvincing and like an asshole. But, could Axel say, “yes” in a way that showed factual indifference?
“Fuck, she is cute,” was not the right way to put it, and that is exactly what came out.
Axel could feel his ears sink into his hairline.
“OooooOOOooo!” Pax called, gleeful, “But where would you raise your children—?”
“Shut. Up.” Axel hissed.
The members of the Sabotage Unit were desperately pretending not to hear this. They were scattered around the infirmary, but they weren’t that far away.
As Mei walked by to bring more bandages to Nasir’s bedside, she took a quick glance at the photo, nodded, and continued forward. “She looks like someone who stretches before battles. Someone could learn a thing or two from her,” she said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jazmin, who had torn a muscle, grumbled from her bed. This proved, in fact, everyone could hear them.
“Do you think they’ll have cat ears?” Pax went on, grinning evilly. He tucked the photo back into his album. His expression widened to earnest excitement. “Titans, Axel, I could knit them little hats with cat ears built in! Why have I never done that for you? The Cat Cap. The CatKNIT—hee hee hee—”
“Ajax, stop. This is serious.” Alabaster glared.
“So is the CatKnit—”
Alabaster ignored him. “I’ll have Lou Ellen help me make a potion to counteract this. She knows more about Medea-like magic.”[5]
“No, you will not,” Axel snapped.
“He’s right. You can’t,” Pax said, “Lelly will be too heartbroken to hear Axel is in love.”
“I’m not—” Axel clenched his jaw. Each time he denied it, he sounded less convincing.
Besides, what if…
Wouldn't she be perfect?
He would never need to worry about liking her. It’s not like they would ever meet outside of battle.[6] He didn’t need to worry about it preventing him from fighting, because she was already a better fighter than he. Santiago Pax would never know about her.
She was safe. She was safe to idolize from a distance.
But, that didn’t help shut Pax up. Or stop Axel’s face from burning.
“Do you think you breed in litters--?”
“My boys!” The infirmary door slammed open and Jack’s voice boomed into the room.
Axel mouthed, “I’ll rip your fucking ear off,” in Mayan. Jack was not to hear about this.
“But you need a best man with ears. Two ears. To model your future children’s cat knits—oh, but what if one of the demi-kittens only has one ear—aye!”
Axel snatched at Pax’s ear.[7]
Pax ducked out of Axel’s reach, behind Alabaster.
Alabaster hissed in pain. “Broken. Ribs.”
Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the boys' last chance at being goofy (in-a-less-traumatized-way)
I've been contemplating doing an AU (yes, an AU of an AU) with Reyna and Axel. I keep going back and forth. Let me know if it is anything you'd be interested in reading!
Footnotes:
[1] Don’t overthink it. It isn’t worth it. I just like to think the Camp Othrys kids don’t pretend they’re not all distant cousins.
You also know Pax will IMMEDIATELY point out that, in most telling, he and Alabaster are not related on the godly side.
[2] I made a whole character for Mei that can’t be jammed in here. She’s in her thirties, is a pediatrician, and is horrified these kids are fighting an adult war. And she’s one of the only people Alabaster won’t give lip to because he respects her and fears her temper. She also keeps her hair in a tight, braided bun.
[3] Leonis Caput, “You could think about that. Or you could think about the hot girl that made us look like a fool.”
[4] Axel, “You literally stalk Reyna.” “Yeah, but that’s my job.” Alabaster, “That’s also too many numbers for a phone number.” (Yes, I made this joke as a footnote, decided to put it in the text, and kept both.)
[5] Pax, “Now, Lou Ellen. It would be immoral to bewitch my brother.” Lou Ellen, staring dreamily after Axel with Medea’s playbook in her hands, “I knoooowwww.”
[6] Lol. I don’t even know if Traitors of Olympus counts as “outside of battle.”
[7] So Pax can model for the one-eared demikitten.
(Or, Reprised: We’re only Sworn Enemies. What’s the Worst that Could Happen?)
This was meant to be a suicide mission. Axel knew it. Those loyal to him in the Sabotage Unit knew it. The drunk centaurs probably knew it: they offered to bash heads with everyone before they left to start Stage One of the Operation Ice and Run.
Why else would Luke send him after a praetor with a whole cohort of legionnaires? A praetor that, Pax would add, probably daydreamed about filing her nails with Axel’s femur.[1]
But, Axel was prepared.
As prepared as you could be to get a battering ram to the face.
“You know you have to actually kill her right? Like, you can’t prostrate with a sign that says, ‘Stab Here To Avenge Missed Smoochies,’” Pax’s voice was a dark hiss through the Silver-Tongued Serpent helm. He wore face paint that glittered through the eye sockets, giving his skin a scaly appearance.
He crouched beside Axel in a ditch, in the middle of the Sabotage Unit.
“That won’t be a problem,” the Leonis Caput and Axel growled in harmony. He cracked his neck to the side.
He ran his fingers over Julian’s praetorian badges. Pax had threaded them into the lion pelt’s fur. “To make him look more like Conan the Barbarian. Whoever the fuck that is.” The rosettes painted onto Axel’s exposed forearms and calves glimmered.
All around them, the Sabotage Unit looked similar: painted and masked monsters. Not all of them were Greek. Ailiseu’s mask had the blank features of a dalgyal guishin or egg ghost.[2] Nasir’s shambling ghoul-form was properly disturbing. Twilight rays filtered through the twigs and leaves that hid their (hastily constructed) ditch. The rays muted and dispersed in the thickening fog. The effect was terrifying.
Perfect.
They were almost ready.
Centurion Ari had been promoted to Praetorian Ari in her boyfriend’s absence. The Second Cohort had a new Centurion: a girl, according to Pax’s intelligence, that might know some magic from the great sorceress, Circe. If she could see through the Mist, it would be a problem.
But Luke—Kronos. Not Luke. That monster isn’t my friend. My friend wouldn’t protect Mercedes’ murderer—told the Pax brothers not to come back unless it was with news of Praetor Ari’s death. Just a great big, “I like the Nemisis boy more than you. Also, you’re not even Greek.”
They lost a close friend, the best Spy Master for Camp Jupiter, and had gained Kronos’s ire. Just a regular Tuesday.
“Do you think Luke told Jack we went to the store to get cigarettes and milk?” Pax asked.
Axel snorted. He had no idea what Luke planned to tell Jack and Flynn if they really didn’t come back. [3]
Different words came out than Axel intended, “Is the other unit in place?”
Axel could feel Pax roll his eyes. “Voutia’s Team is a go.”
That unit was in real danger. That’s why Axel only allowed volunteers, and only ones that had a short time to regenerate time in Tartarus.[4] They knew the risk; they were the most likely to be slain.
Pax continued to update him on troop deployment, “The centaurs don’t need orders to party in the woods; they’re already loudly dancing. The Bestest Lil Weasel of All Time is—oh shit.”
Axel looked over.
Baller had silently skittered up Pax’s scaled armor. The tiny head bobbed against the Silver-Tongued Snake helm.
That was their signal.
The Romans were coming.
Others around noticed. A hush descended over the Sabotage Unit, until all they could hear was the murmur of a soft, Latin incantation. Lou Ellen and Alabaster had been prepping the fog and an extra layer of Mist for the false roof that covered their ditch.
The chanting, also, silenced.
Axel felt, more than heard, the approach of the Roman cohort: the rhythmic march thudded into the walls of their ditch. The rustle of armor. Surprisingly, a laugh, cut off by a sharp command.
Axel raised a fist into the air. A sign to hold position.
The Sabotage Unit tensed. The children of Hecate’s fog muffled sound, but Axel could see indications of its absence: hands gripping weapons, boots shuffling to face the approaching troops, one demigod squeezed the arm of another.
Axel had already given a speech before they were close to Camp Jupiter. He wished he could say more now.
All they could do was watch and listen. Footsteps rumbled alongside their ditch as the Romans encroached. All they could do was wait for Voutia’s tiny cry, “Now!”
Some of his troops flinched. But they didn’t move yet. Axel’s raised hand was their signal.
Axel locked his jaw and clenched his fist. He rubbed the lighter in his other hand.
Violence erupted.
Swords, spears, and armor clashed.
The Leonis Caput helm kept Axel calm, Steady. Do not let them fall in vain.
Axel could feel Pax and Alabaster’s eyes on him. Some of the screams would be Alabaster’s family, dying, being cast into Tartarus.
“Iacite pila!” Ari Praetor called. Finally.
Axel snapped the lighter open. He dropped his fist.
The Sabotage Unit exploded out behind the Roman lines.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading! I'm excited to finally get to one of my favorite canon characters! :D
If you're celebrating, have a lovely celebration! Either way, have a wonderful weekend!
Footnotes:
[1] Axel blamed this idea on Jack. Jack couldn’t find a nail file and had attempted to use one of the hellhounds’ former-demigod-chew-toys. As it turns out, bones do not make good nail files.
[2] Pax, “Omfgs—a—eggs have--?” Ailisue, “I will shoot you in the foot.”
[3] Though, Jack would just be pissed if he heard Axel went to get cigarettes.
[4] Pax, “I promised a kissing booth set up in Tartarus to all the monsters that volunteered.” Axel, glaring, “You’re too young for a kissing booth.” Pax, smirking knowingly, “Oh, I’m not the one manning it.” Axel, rolling up his sleeves, “You know your ear will be vulnerable once that helm is off.” Pax, already running away, “Why do you think Lelly volunteered?"
Axel stalked twenty feet behind Ethan Nakamura before the screaming started.
Something felt wrong. Nakamura seemed too intent on Axel’s training regimen for the Sabotage Unit, like he wanted to know where Axel would be for the next thirty minutes. Nakamura had pretended to walk off to talk to Luke before doubling back. Each step up the volcano took too much concentration; he didn’t want Mercedes or Pax to see him.
But Axel didn’t expect Nakamura to push them.
Details became too sharp as he watched: his little brother’s look of shock, Mercedes stiffening before tumbling, the way Nakamura’s shoulders shook, from fear-or-pleasure-induced adrenaline, Axel couldn’t tell.
He didn’t care.
Save your brethren.
Axel didn’t need the helm’s encouragement.
If something happened to Pax, Axel assumed he would remember his mother and Uncle Frasco. He thought he would remember that terrifying helplessness of watching them die.
But the helm forsook such weakness. The fear eased away into the metal dangling on his back, alongside the lion pelt.
Axel tasted blood in his mouth. The click of his lighter blurred with his murmurs in Mayan, “Xma’su’tal Xib, Liik’il Xtaabay!” The flame flicked turquoise. He had covered half the ground; the power thrummed through his limbs. He secured the helm over his head, narrowing his vision to his prey.
Nakamura crouched over the edge of the volcano, bringing a rock down.
He didn’t get to do it again.
Axel grabbed the back of his neck and threw him bodily down the outside of the volcano. He didn’t see how far the demigod fell—no time.
Axel dropped to the ground—the lion pelt saving him from a jagged rock edge. His nails dug into Pax’s wrist before his brother could drop into the lava.
Despite Pax’s squeal of pain—the way his skin split and bled—Axel exhaled in relief. He didn’t focus on what was missing. The person who would never be there again.
From what Axel could see, he didn’t even know where she landed. It couldn’t have been on one of the telekhines’ blacksmithing catwalks or platforms. Then her body would be visible. She must have fallen straight into…
Axel reached his other hand down, taking hold of Pax’s. As gently as he could, he pulled Pax over the lip and onto solid ground.
Pax sobbed. He cradled his left hand against his chest as Axel righted them. He kept saying her name over and over. “He—he killed Mercedes! He fucking killed Mercedes! Axel—Axel—”
Tears streamed down Pax’s cheeks. His lips were chapped. He held his fist to his chest. The fingers bent at odd angels. They were blue and indigo with busted blood vessels.
The child of Hermes is gone. Your enemy is not.
Axel rounded on Ethan Nakamura.
Had Ethan been as smart as Luke thought he was, he would have run. He would have left Camp Othrys with no trace Axel could trail.
But he stumbled to his feet, dazed, staring at the Pax brothers. The mountain tumble barely left him scraped and bruised.
Not enough.
At the volcano base, the Sabotage Unit—Axel’s unit—stopped training. They froze in uncertainty and confusion.
“Sh—she was a spy!” Ethan said.
“No SHIT!” Pax screamed back.
“No! She was snooping through Luke’s files before his trip to Tartarus. She—she’s the reason Alabaster’s lab—”
Maybe Nakamura had just realized it: he was between Axel’s unit and the Pax brothers. The volcano was loud. There were no titans here to save him.
Pax’s expression contorted into something Axel had never seen on him. “He killed Mercedes,” he said, quieter, through gritted teeth. “Make him do his best impression of a car sale balloon.”
The only order Axel needed.
Ethan couldn’t have heard Pax. Maybe he just felt the hatred. He drew his sword.
Axel tilted his head back. He roared.
He tore down the side of the volcano.
Ethan flinched. He staggered back. “She was a traitor, Axel! Can’t you see! She was the spy! She’s why—”
Axel wrapped his hand in the Nemean Lion pelt. He grabbed Ethan’s blade, wrenched it from his grasp, and smacked him with the hilt like he was going for a homerun, releasing the blade right after contact, letting it spin off into oblivion.
The demigod’s jaw snapped.
Blood sprayed as he twisted to the side. It strangled his scream. He fell backwards.
Axel lunged. He snatched Ethan’s arm before he could hit the ground. Just like Santiago taught him, he pulled it taught.
Before slamming his palm into the hyperextended elbow.
The bone gave.
More squeals, like a cacophonous symphony.
“I will teach you what happens to those who harm the chimera and those under its protection,” they snarled as one.
But, Axel wanted this traitor to pass out as badly as he wanted to attend one of the monster strip clubs. He grabbed the traitor by the forehead and jammed an ambrosia cube into his mouth.
The demigod squealed as the healing square pressed past the shattered bone.
“I will show you what happens to those who cross the Triple A Chimera,” they assured him as he lifted the demigod by his uninjured arm. Lacing their fingers like he was going to dance.
Axel pressed his thumb to the forefinger.
And pushed until it dislodged.
The demigod reduced to whimpers and shakes.
Next would be the ribs.
“Axel! Axel, my boy—stop! Stop! Axel, please!” someone desperately shrieked.
It didn’t matter. All he could see was the fleshy canvas of pain ready to be made an example. All he could see was someone who almost took away the one thing he still loved.[2] Our brethren. Our allies.
Music faintly filtered through his helm.
His limbs weakened. Sweat broke out on his brow. The hand holding the demigod’s shook violently. Wooziness blurred the training grounds, including the approaching figure of a redhead.
Jack’s song trembled. “Axel….” He whispered, awed.
One last shot. An easy one. Axel tried to snap a rib—just one—
His eyelids felt heavy. He couldn’t raise a hand. The traitor fumbled from his grip, sagging to the ground. As he blinked, Jack’s concerned eyes leveled with him. “Axel, please—Luke is going to be so mad—Axel—”
Luke? So mad?
Fuck Luke. He is not to be trusted.
Axel tried to respond. His throat felt raw. Coughs erupted. The fever brought him to his knees. He scowled from Jack to where Jack pulled Ethan into his lap. Singing to the demigod. Healing him. So much more than he deserved.
Jack’s fragile look returned to Axel’s. “You’re acting like him. You’re acting like your dad.”[3]
That should have hurt. Somehow, Axel knew it would hurt later. For now, it didn’t matter. Axel felt numb. All he could taste was his own blood.
Axel clenched his jaw. The energy sapped completely from him. He swayed, threatening to sink to his side. “Jack… Mercedes is gone,” he rasped, “This fucker tried to kill Pax.”
Jack flinched. It was then that Axel noticed the bruises on his face. Like he’d seen Luke recently. One day, Axel hoped, Flynn would notice.
Axel felt Pax before he saw him. Pax stepped beside Axel, crouching down. He huddled against Axel, like it was for comfort and not to spare Axel the humiliation of collapsing. His little brother shook with fury. He toyed with a dart, scowling at Ethan Nakamura. The demigod had lost consciousness.
Pax puffed up his cheeks and popped them. “I think… I think she knew he was after her.” His voice was raw from the screaming and crying. “I think she was trying to escape. I think she was going to take me with her.”
The numbness chilled Axel’s insides. He was certain: everything was about to change here. And he, Alabaster, and Pax had to be ready.
“Luke will fix this. He’ll fix this. He always fixes things,” Jack babbled. His voice rose, singing louder, like his angelic tenor could repaint the violence and loss with the caresses of melody.
Axel slid off his helm at the familiar song. It shattered his calm. These were the words Jack first sang when he found out Mercedes’ name, “L’oiseau que Tu Croyais Surprendre Battit de L’aile et S’envola…”
Author's Note: Thank you for reading! And thank all of you for the support!
[1] “The bird you surprised.”
[2] Lapis, “Well fuck you too, Axel!”
[3] Pax, “Don’t you and Flynn go on torture dates for funsies?” Jack, “That’s different. That’s parent business. Now go back to making deadly traps with Matthias.”
