Helen Brave and The Sun Titan
Chapter 18: Cousins

I could almost taste the nervous energy that followed after they left and took to pacing around the large open area around us as we waited for the brothers to finish. Elei was seated on the ground, a look of concentration on her face as three children sat to her left, one trying to braid her hair. Her eyes were shut and red energy pulsed around her like a heart beat. Pink energy slowly began to bleed into the edges of the mass and I turned away, watching as Zoey and Ginger spoke lowly. They were playing some kind of game with one another, tossing a moss-covered ball back and forth as they spoke in low tones. Amanda was playing with her cape and looked up at me, giving me a small grin when our eyes met. She slowly got up and walked over, placing a hand on my shoulder before sitting. “So we’re going to pick a fight with a jerky titan. Not how I thought our time was going to go when we got accepted to Elysian,” she joked. I gave her a tired smile before rubbing my head and shrugging.

“Hey, I didn’t know I was a demi god,” I mumbled before looking up when I heard a throat clear. Arges stood before me with a group of weapons within his arms and gave me a small smile.

“The time as come Helen,” he said lowly before turning. I felt bad. I didn’t want to lock the brothers away, but if they thought it was going to be the only way for them to be safe then... I shook the thought off before watching as the brothers passed the others two weapons each then approached me. The three kneeled in front of me and I opened the box, flinching slightly as the box jerked forward and a dark blue vortex opened up. I slid towards the brothers, who were thrown towards me. I winced as Arges disappeared first into the depths of the box, Brontes following and a scared looking Steropes tumbling inside. I slammed it shut and locked it, sighing in relief when I felt the tension drain from my body.

I placed the box within the inside of my armor and looked up, frowning at the others before summoning my war hammer. “We should head out,” I said.

The trip to the Seattle Space Needle was done in silence, all of us more concerned with our own thoughts. I forced myself to calm as we arrived, looking up into the towering building before looking to the banner than hung over the doorway. It seemed to be broadcasting some kind of costume party and I was glad that us in our armor wasn’t going to be a problem. We got inside without a hassle and I looked around before following the others to an elevator. We barely managed to squeeze in and shifted about as the doors closed and we began the trip up. “What the game plan Helen?” Elei asked lowly as the other guests spoke in quiet voices around us.

“We try to stay near one another and fight him, hopefully we either kill him or hurt him to a point where he retreats until we can get the hell out of Seattle. We can’t stay here and protect the brothers. Our only hope is heading back to Elysian,” I said before shaking my head. They nodded and the elevator doors opened suddenly, the others spilling out to the restaurant area. I hit the button for the observation deck and watched as the doors closed and we moved out a bit. Amanda began to grip her sword hilt tightly while Zoey and Ginger spoke lowly to one another. I rubbed my sweaty palms together and gave Elei a weak smile, which she returned before glancing at the others.

“I feel like this is the deciding fight between our two groups,” she said lowly before shifting so I was mostly behind her. She leaned down and I felt my face burn and my heart begin to beat faster. “Please promise me that if things turn south you run for it,” she said urgently. I frowned deeply and gently grabbed her hand before giving her a soft smile.

“Not a chance. We go in this together and we’re going to leave together,” I said in finality. She frowned before sighing softly then giving me a warm, pretty smile.

“Fine, but try to stay behind me when we get up there,” she said softly before leaning down and kissing me softly. I blinked in shock before hesitantly leaning into her, kissing back before slowly pulling away and giving her a wide smile. She beamed down at me and I felt a giddy laugh beginning to bubble up. I heard the doors to the elevator slide open and looked passed her, freezing when I saw Helios aiming at the opening. I quickly grabbed Elei by her shoulders and shoved her into Amanda before moving forward and out of the elevator.

“Helios!” I roared in anger, my hands tightening into fists. He began to laugh before firing a blast of orangey-red energy at me, which I dispelled, with a wave of my hand. I continued striding forward and summoned my hammer. “This ends now!” I snarled, watching as he grinned before summoning a decorative bow and arrow.

“I agree. I’ve tried to be reasonable Helen. I really have. You could have been something cousin,” he said before aiming and firing. I batted the arrow out of the air and continued forward, summoning my shield and defending when a Hopite warrior, covered in a black energy, tried to run his sword through me. A shiver of pain went up my spine, but I worked through the pain and shoved the warrior back. A golden arrow suddenly went through the side of the warrior’s neck and I flinched, looking over to Zoey, who was loading up another arrow. Elei and Amanda shot out of the elevator and passed me, instantly heading for two warriors Helios summoned from the ground. Spinning, Helios suddenly slid into a kneel and fired into the air, the arrow leaving a streak of red mist as it sailed up. It hit the roof and fire began to pour from the ceiling, almost dousing the others. They all took cover while I grimaced and walked through it, grinning at the surprised look that crossed his face.

His eyes narrowed before he fired out two more arrows, snapping and making them multiply. I quickly lifted my shield, sliding back as the arrows crashed into it then swung my arm out, watching as the arrows were thrown to the side. Scowling, I continued to move forward and watched as he blinked before frowning deeply. “You’ve changed cousin. In only a day no less,” he said before charging towards me. I felt a smirk begin to form and moved around him as he got in close, slamming my hammer into his chest. He flipped slightly, landing hard on his back and wheezing while I spun my hammer and tried to cave in his skull. At the last moment, he rolled out of the way and our eyes met before he backpedalled away from me. “You can’t handle the godly power at your disposal,” he hissed while I used my energy to block his exit. He looked back in alarm before turning towards me and glaring, aiming for my chest and firing.

I let the arrow bounce off my armor and advanced, grinning slightly when he flinched back. “The brothers were always master creators. Tell me, demi god...do you know what should have happened when your father took your power?” He said, firing three arrows at me in quick succession. I narrowed my eyes in irritation and continued to move towards him, watching as sweat began to pour from his temple when the arrows bounced off my chest plate. “He was trying to kill you,” he hissed before moving back into the fire I had summoned. I ground my teeth in rage and watched as he hissed in pain before looking around frantically. “Why are you quiet?! Speak!” He ordered, lifting his bow. I smirked coldly before kicking it out of his hands and lifting my hammer, yelling out in anger when I was tackled to the ground. I looked to Helios, who turned and dispelled my barrier, trying to run for one of the large windows to freedom.

“No!” I yelled, turning back to the black energy warrior on me and shoving his head up. I twisted to look back to Helios and watched as Amanda tackled him to the ground and they began wrestling, Zoey running over to help. I shoved the warrior off of me and rushed over, grabbing the back to Helios’s armor and dragging him over to Elei and Ginger. I shoved him to the ground and he grinned up at me darkly before wincing when Elei placed her axe on his cheek. “Your finished Helios. Return to Tartarus peacefully,” I ordered, watching as he laughed before his eyes began to glow.

“You have grown in power so quickly demi god, your will is astounding,” he said lowly before he threw the others off of him and blasted me back. I yelped and hit the ground hard, wheezing and rolling to my feet, hissing in pain when he grabbed me by my hair and harshly tugged my head back. “Die,” he hissed as he created a red tipped arrow and swung it towards my throat. I caught his wrist and winced as he pushed the tip closer to my neck, looking passed him and watching in shock as Amanda pulled a silver colored whip from her hip and flicked it. It sung through the air and wrapped around his neck, tightening around his throat when Amanda pulled. He stumbled towards her and away from me, clawing at the silver rope around his neck while I moved to the side and watched. Her eyes flashed purple and the dark energy began to travel down the line, slowly as she laughed.

“I’m going to-,” she began, growling when a black energy warrior attempted to stop her. The purple energy stopped moving and she turned, pulling out a sword and engaging the warrior. Helios yanked the rope from his neck and growled before turning to advance, but Elei grabbed him and tightened her arms around his torso.

“Enough!” He snarled, tearing her off before throwing her at me. I wheezed when she landed on me and she rolled off, looking at him with a scowl. Fire lapped at his whole body and he slowly began lifting into the air, his eyes narrowing. “I’m done playing your silly games! Where are the brothers?!” He yelled, fire shooting out and throwing Zoey and Ginger towards the elevator and Amanda into a metal railing. Elei and I rolled towards a large window and I looked to her before scowling. He was slowing himself, his chest armor was leaking blood and I frowned deeply. How? He wasn’t mortal was he?

“The brothers are safe from you and the others,” I said, slowly standing. “Slowing Helios? You keep talking about how being mortal is some kind of weakness, but your bleeding,” I pointed out, watching as he paled before narrowing his eyes at me. “What’s wrong? Did I just spill some kind of secret?” I taunted, more curious that actually malicious.

“I don’t have to answer the questions of a half breed,” he snarled, beginning to advance. I snorted before looking to the window behind me then looking back at him.

“You’re mortal aren’t you?” I questioned, moving back as he grew closer. He looked livid, fire sprouting out of his mouth when it opened.

“Atlas will return my full powers when I prove I am not afraid to kill you!” He snarled. I narrowed my eyes and pressed against the window, pushing back and listening to it groan.

“First you wanted me to join you now you don’t! Pick a side! I can see why he doesn’t trust you,” I said, ducking when Helios threw himself at me. The window shattered and I pushed myself toward Elei. He tumbled out of the opening and I rushed to her side, tugging her up and turning and waiting for a moment. The room was quiet for a moment and I jogged over to Amanda, pulling her up and giving her a weak smile. She gave me one back and hugged me before helping me tug the twins to their feet. They gave me identical smiles and Elei walked over, looking to the broken window before focusing on me.

“We need to get out of here,” she said urgently. I nodded and we ran for the elevator, pressing ground floor button before looking to one another. Zoey had a gash on her forehead and Ginger seemed to have the same injury, but was cradling her left hand to her chest. Elei had a bad nose-bleed and Amanda was rapidly blinking as the elevator moved. She leaned against the wall and gave me a grin before sighing softly.

“How long are we going to need to do this?” She groaned before rubbing her head.

“I don’t know. We need to do something drastic,” I mumbled before reaching into my armor and pulling out the box, blinking slightly before looking to Ginger. “Ginger? The brothers are the children of the original titans right?” I asked, watching as she nodded then shrugged slightly.

“From what they say yes, why?” She asked before looking to the box and gasping. “We can capture him,” she said lowly before grinning slightly. I grinned back at her before tucking the box back into my armor.

“If this box can hold the brothers then we can capture him within it. We just need to get him to a wide area.... like a park or something. Away from people,” I said as the doors opened to the restaurant area and a group of people headed into the elevator. An enthusiastic man complimented our armor and we gave him a weak smile before almost falling out of the elevator when we got to ground floor. We quickly headed out and to our car, Zoey taking the wheel and setting off for the closest park. “We’ll release the brothers and when he comes looking we capture him,” I said, reaching back into my armor for the box.

“He won’t stand still and get sucked in,” Elei pointed out from my right as she wiped the blood from her nose. She was sandwiched between Amanda and me in the back seat and I frowned, thinking back to the oracles words and looking out of the window to my side. Sacrifice...I felt my eyes widen and frowned slightly before nodding to myself as I realized what I had to.

“We can work out the rest of the stuff later. Just get us to a park Zoey,” I said softly.