AN:

Hey, so when I said I would update soon, apparently I lied. But oh well, things happen.

So this chapter took quite a long time to write. This was because I couldn't decide how I wanted ot to go. Hopefully this works out to be satisfactory for you all.

The song recommendation for this chapter is Purple Rain - Prince. Specifically the version he did for the Superbowl 41 halftime show, because that performance alone made me actually try American Football.

/An

When the sun rose two days thereafter, Perseus awoke.

This would later strike him as a tactical error.

His mouth tasted horrible. Like a hellhound had come along and pissed in it. His head rang a bit too, but a snap of his fingers erased all evidence of the later. A cursory glance of his room found his coin purse to be bulging less than he remembered. Also, next to it, was an someone's bird, which appeared to have, at some point in the night, caught fire.

Perseus blinked. Must have been an interesting game.

Downstairs Neophytos was happily buzzing around the bar. Treating the early morning patrons to a healthy dose of wit and mannerisms, toned down a bit to give the men and women a chance to wake.

His eyes lit up when he saw him. "Aha. Good morning my good gracious god! Hell of a game last night. Trust your head isn't ringing too much."

The young deity yawned as he leaned over the bar and snatched the man's shirt in his hand. Slowly he pulled the face of unconcerned amiability towards him and growled into his hear. "Your head will be ringing a right job if you don't keep it down with these 'god' comments, you hear?"

It was agonizing to watch the sly wink the other man gave him. "Of course, my good man. You are, of course, my best and favorite customer. Here's your early mornin' dew!"

A cupper in his right hand and some grapes in his left, Perseus strode out of the bar, taking in the gorgeous sunlight of the mid-morning of Greece. Soft beams of illumination vibrating in the air was enough to make any being who was magical beyond just the sixth hypothetical dimension quite happy indeed.

The trip from Neophytos pub and inn to Chrysanthos workshop and general store was not a long one. If the god were to sit on the roof or even look out a window on the top level of the building he would have seen the squared single floor establishment that house Chrysanthos' wares.

Within the general store were a number of customers. A couple of men stood by the cartography equipment, a practice booming in popularity and raking in quite a lot of money thanks to Perseus' lessons given to the shop owner. A woman with a young boy stood just inside the door. A wooden sword was grasped tightly, but inexpertly, in the juvenile hand.

Chrysanthos smiled warmly when he saw the young god. He was sitting on a chair behind the wooded sale counter the two of them had spent painstaking hours carving one fall afternoon. One young brunette man leaned against it from the other side. A bow was slung over his back.

"Hello Chrysanthos, and good day to you Kannus."

The shopkeeper gave a little wave while Kannus grasped his hand in a firm handshake. "Good to see you again Perseus." He said.

"It has been some time," Perseus mused. "You only just got back a few days ago, correct?"

The hunter nodded. "We ran into town with a pack of wolves on our heels four days back. Thanks to the town guard we weren't eaten alive and then digested dead."

Perseus' grin went glassy.

Chrysanthos cleared his throat. "Erm. Perseus? Are you alright? You've gone a bit pale."

White would be more appropriate, friend Chrysanthos. Meeting the shopkeeper's worried grin he nodded quickly before reverting his attention to the hunter.

His words were modulated in an overly cautious manner. "These...wolves. They were wolves, weren't they. You're sure"

Now it was time for Kannus' expression to turn strange. "Yeah. Course I am." The buffered huntsman stood silent for a moment and then continued. "Well I was up until you mentioned it, anyway."

Some would have continued their questioning. Others would have opted for additional 'on foot' investigating. For Perseus, that sentence was all the evidence he needed.

"Well. It sounded like quite a time." He mused. "Are we still up for the hunt later today?"

The expression Kannus gave Perseus was one that was not at all reassuring to the god's concerned soul. "Yeah. The lads are all up for it. Look, Perseus-"

"Ah, grand. My brother and I will be outside the gate shortly past midday." He grinned a madcap grin. "Until then, Kannus. Chrysanthos I'll just see to the order myself, shall I?" He walked away so that the two men wouldn't see his face.

He heard Chrysanthos speak as he rounded the corner outside the shop. "Haven't seen him like that in awhile. Should we be worried?" The young god resisted the urge to laugh grimly.

He levered open the cellar door to the basement angrily, venting the voltage of his nerves on the steps down the the lower levels.

Shit, shit, shit, shit. He clenched his teeth and then shook his head. Blind panicking wasn't going to get them anywhere. As he was gathering his wares from their table using the light from a glowing furnace in the corner of the room, he subconsciously glanced upwards. Towards the land of the sky in which his father dwelled.

Perhaps it's a good idea for Zeus and I to take a well earned vacation.

The young god cursed. The stunt with the fire was a stupid idea.

"Do you really have to go?"

Zeus almost melted where he stood at the doe eyed look the girl across from him gave. Her big brown eyes glistened with sadness, and to be honest, she was using her figure to her advantage.

He met her for another kiss. "I'm sorry. But I won't be gone for long."

She smiled lightly. "But I want you to stay. With me." Another kiss.

Such is the appeal of a young woman to a young man in ancient Greece. At least, such is the appeal of most young women to most young men, let us not get carried away with the absolutes here. Zeus, the still quite young son of Kronos had the slightly older girl, Antonia of Alenae, pressed up against the side of an alleyway, out of the way of passers by. The girl however was not protesting to this position and, in fact, seemed to be quite fond of it. If her increased activity had anything to say about it.

"I cannot."

"Please, Zeus."

If it was possible for the activity to increase in metaphysical temperature than it would have at that precise moment. The two careened oddly, as they were pressed against each other and their eyes were quite closed, but they swung back inside to the young girl's house and fell down upon the bed.

Gazes met and hands wandered. There was another kiss and Zeus reached down to pull up her dress in order to lead to one last round of pleasure before he had to bid farewell.

Then he was roughly yanked off of the girl. The two both shrieked and Antonia rushed to cover her half naked body. Zeus swung wildly with his fist but only connected with a wall. This meant one thing.

"Perseus! What the fu-." Zeus stopped, because his brother, who was glaring at him panting, bore quite an expression upon his face.

"No, Zeus. You fuck after you play." He growled. "And before you play, you work. Get your mind off of your sword and where you intend to sheath it."

The faces of the two teens went bright red and sputtering protests met his ears. The echoes of the gangly uncoordinated protest assaulted the god's ears until her ground his teeth and let out a scream.

The two went silent and backed away in fear. Zeus subconsciously wrapped Antonia in his arms and held her safely out of the direct aim of Perseus' gaunt and haunted gaze.

"We're going now."

Zeus straightened, standing at his impressive height of 6', a giant for his time. Physically younger, he towered over his 5'7'' brother who stood much closer to the average for the time. His face was set in an angry snarl. The righteous fury of the son of the king thundered from his lungs and out into the world through the power of his commanding voice.

He got about as far as 'you d-' before a rush of unbridled energy slammed into him. Antonia yelped as he was shoved back against the wall.

Zeus looked down. Then looked down again as his feet were no longer on the ground. Looking down the arm that held the hand that was wrapped around his throat, he met the gaze of his elder brother. Long black hair had tumbled in front of his eyes which blazed a fiery purple, as in actual fire. The owner of said features seemed to be regarding this as a minor detail.

"We're. Going. Now." Perseus snarled. Black robes billowing, he whirled on the ball of his foot and stormed out of the building.

Antonia steadied her lover as he carefully managed to lever himself up using her bed. He stared out the door glassily, but there was a spark of terror in there.

The girl wet her lips before yanking the god down into a kiss. It lasted for ten seconds. Ten, glorious, passion filled, seconds. Then she released.

"I think you'd better go with him." She murmured dazedly.

Zeus caught up with his brother a block from the outer gate. Not a word was spoken about the confrontation only moments ago. Zeus took the sack shoved into his arms, flung it around his back, and followed Perseus as the two bolted out of the city.

The gate guards waved as they approached and tossed confused exclamations after them as they barreled past. Perseus ignored them and Zeus thought it best to follow his lead.

They were running now. It is a characteristic of the increased physiological aspects of gods that they should attain higher speeds in a sprint and greater distances in an endurance run. They passed into the woods and kept on rushing. Any tree that so happened to find itself in their path was used as a sort of springboard when they grasped the trunk and threw themselves past it.

The opposing side of the wood came quick and the open plains became their highway. Alenae had long since vanished under the horizon.

Zeus was panting, all powerful godly sweat coated his body. Judging by the sun they had

been running for nearly a tenth of the day and Perseus seemed negatively inclined towards the idea of slowing down.

He called out to him, but the harsh wind that blew fervently towards them combined with the speed at which they barreled into it made words somewhat of a rarity between the two and Perseus showed no sign of having heard it. He tried again.

"Perseus!" He screamed this time, forcing the remaining load of breath he had out through his throat. To his relief his brother slowed down. He stopped and leaned over, using his knees as support as he gathered his breath.

"Why are we running!" Zeus cried, tired, angry, and frightened.

All at once Perseus stopped panting. Slowly he drew himself up and wound his hands together and brought him down his front, bringing them apart with an exhalation.

Rotating smoothly he turned back to Zeus, red faced and still resting on his knees.

"What are we running from?" Zeus tried again.

"Nothing," said Perseus, who sat down. He leaned back against a stone that jutted from the earth and closed his eyes. The god shifted several times over the following moments before deciding on a position he liked and settling back.

Zeus sat down more hesitantly. Glances were tossed back behind him. His body ached, but it was mostly his arms that caused him discomfort as the bag on his back had frequently jumped up and fallen back into his shoulders and elbows throughout the endeavor.

Glancing one more time at his brother he lay back on the grass. The clouds billowed lazily in the sky overhead. It was unfortunate that none of them seemed inclined to block out the sun.

He frowned, still irritated that his brother had stolen him away from the young women of Alenae but sure that Perseus must have had a good reason to do so.

It was just irritating he couldn't figure out what it could possibly be.

"Perseus."

The god in question swatted blindly in front of his closed eyes and returned to the art of sleeping.

"Perseus!"

"Wsfgl," said Perseus, who turned away.

"Perseus!" Someone slapped him.

He jumped up and fell back down. His belt of weaponry came dangerously close to permanently severing the upper left of his thigh. "What the hell, man?" he hissed.

But Zeus had looked terrified since he first opened his eyes. "Perseus!" He was whispering. A hand rose up and pointed uneasily across him.

Perseus turned to look and went silent. It was dark now, but that meant nothing to a god, at least not realistically. Not far from where they had taken a break, perhaps twenty human lengths, lay a collection of large rocks, most likely originating from some collision of celestial bodies, or the hundred handed ones having too much fun. Despite his exceptionally acute nocturnal vision, he was unable to discern the seemingly motive shape that slipped around the rocks.

"What is it?" Zeus looked and sounded terrified, and Perseus couldn't blame him.

"Get up. Get up now." The two stood, Perseus put a gloved hand on the younger's shoulders and carefully steered him around the rock which they had been against.

On the other side, the stone sloped gently into a hill, giving them an easy couple of hops to get to the top. They lay down, trying to keep as much of themselves out of possible sight as they could while still retaining a vantage point on the creature. Perseus scanned the landscape. The nearest woods war a long ways off, and on the other side of the stone circle. There was no chance of getting there without getting attacked.

"We shouldn't have stopped moving." Perseus cursed. He glanced worriedly behind them. Nothing was approaching. Side to side gazes returned the same result.

Perseus sighed in relief. Whatever his father had sent to cover the surrounding area did not appear to have friends. It took a few painstakingly silent moments for Perseus to realize why.

Zeus whimpered and slid down the rock as a howling scream of a roar cracked the very air around them. Perseus winced as wind whipped through his hair and the shattering pitch of the howl nearly shattered his eardrums.

The shape rose up from the stones and Perseus could vaguely hear Zeus nearly sobbing with terror in the background. The elder god's mouth was open in awe as the massive creature rose up, towering over the stones in which it had hid. The cobraic shape of its head fanned outwards and blotted the moon out from view.

Its eyes found the young god. Perseus' eyes stared back.

Drakon. Oh hell.

"Run!" He screamed to Zeus and vaulted off of the stone, just as the massive weight of an entire city wall collapsed down behind him. Scrambling to his feet, he kept just in time for the tail of the creature to whip at a blinding speed and catch him across the chest.

He was hurtled through the air, beyond Zeus who exclaimed and dove out of the way into the shadow of another stone. Harsh, blinding pain coated his back as he crashed at velocity into yet another outcropping of rock. He hit the ground hard.

Slowly he stood up, bracing himself for another hit, but it didn't come. He opened his eyes. The drakon was slithering towards him, making no issue of hurrying. It's forked tongue darted at him teasingly, daring him to make the first move.

So he did.

His sword slid from its scabbard with a ringing of steel and a shining of bronze. He brandished it at the monster which backed away.

He just hoped and prayed to whatever deities he felt would help him that the Drakon wouldn't realize the sword was not celestial bronze.

Zeus peeked out from behind his stone, watching as the two massively powerful deities squared off. His eyes met Perseus', who immediately panicked.

"Stay there!" He shouted. "Stay right fucking there. That's an order!"

Zeus' reply got lost in his throat as he watched the drakon turn his attention onto him. In the distance, Perseus cursed. Then he made his move.

He sprinted at the drakon, easily overtaking its frantic attempts to back through a collection of rocks that had managed to trap it slightly in its maneuvering. It pulled free right as Perseus reached it. He slashed wildly at it's eyes and missed. The ground came soon after and he rolled to the right, feeling the wind rush by him as the drakon dove past.

Both had attacked and both had missed because they were trying to kill and dodge at the same time. They squared up a second time. There was no need for concealment or stealth in such a fight because both were incapable from hiding from the other. They attacked again.

Perseus' heart was hammering in his chest. The fight had gone on longer than he had both expected and hoped. The drakon was smart, if not knowledgeable. It stayed clear of it's sward as if it actually was celestial bronze, meaning Perseus could not get a hit. Perseus' challenge was much more formidable. Since the blade being of an earthly metal he could only do so much damage with each hit, and that meant he could only hit a certain few places.

This was because the minute he landed a blow, his bluff would be broken and the drakon would come at him will at the power it had and the god was doubtful that he could hold up after that.

As they squared up again, Perseus slowed down. Time moved at a lazy pace around him and he let his eyes slip shut, the image in front of him ingrained into his vision.

The eyes were always the key to defeating a drakon. They were large, purposefully so as it allowed the Drakon a greater range of vision which came necessary in figuring out both where everything else was, and where the rest of it's own body lay. This naturally grown precaution was the key to their downfall. They weren't armored, the eyes being too large for any effective plating to exist without severely decreasing its visual acuity, this defeating the point of the eyes all together.

The real challenge came at the second fact about a drakon's eyes. There were two of them. Any bloody fool couldn't hit one, landing on the ground and feeling a brief sensation of satisfaction before the massive creature used its remaining eye to freeze the poor devil in place, and then snap him up. As an immortal, Perseus had no fear of its eyes freezing him to the spot. He stared into those eyes and stared them down. But his fear was palpable in the one remaining area. There were two eyes. And he only had one good hit to do any real damage.

Perseus tightened his grip on the sword. He had seen those massive orbs glaring at him when his eyes closed. They were in front of him now. Yes… he just had to raise his sword like this, and shape his stance like this, and open his eyes like so…

...and then time resumed.

But it didn't feel like such. Everything seemed to be moving slowly for Perseus. Every individual movement of his muscles. The ground seemed to throw him into the air as he jumped, the drakon twisted violently trying to adjust for the sudden movement. Its mouth opened wide to snap at him. He grabbed a fore-fang and flung himself down as the mouth snapped shut behind him. He saw the terror and then the whites of it's eyes before him, and so he struck.

It screamed, and Perseus was thrown.

He landed hard on his back and felt the spine of his body, which had done incredible work for some time, give out suddenly and his body fell limp on the ground.

He tried to scream but no noise came out. His rise from the ground was slow and shaky, leaving him vulnerable for a repercussion. Hesitantly he looked to the drakon, glaring into it's eyes…

And then he laughed.

The creature writhed on the ground, both eyes cut straight through the middle. It let out intermittent bursts of pained whining as it flailed frantically around itself. Perseus would be unable to finish it off, but that seemed be without consequence at present.

And then his mind turned to horror. Leaping over the back of it's tail, Zeus sprinted towards the creature's head. An expression of determination marked his face and a bronze sword hung in his hand, ready to go to work.

Perseus tried to call out but couldn't and could do little more but watch as the events unfolded before him.

First, the drakon, sensing the movement, jolted and sprung away from the god, hissing as its head zeroed in on Zeus using the sense of smell. Second, Zeus leapt after it, drawing his sword in the process and swinging it through the air. He was too busy to notice the third, the tail rising up behind him, and then laughing forward.

Perseus' eyes clenched as the tail cracked across Zeus' legs and brought him to the ground. The young god looked up at the drakon in fear as its head rose high above him. A mouth large enough to swallow a cow whole widened and glared down at him, a tremendous roar shook the landscape.

Then Perseus was lurching towards the creature, making the best use of his half useless limbs to try and get himself closer. He felt his body pulsing with energy. His eyes glowed, and the sword dropped by his size. He screamed at the creature, which returned its attention to him, and then stopped to kneel as he, for the first time since youth under the careful gaze of his mother, released his godly form.

Then the arrow hit him.

He collapsed on the ground, gasping in pain. The impact dulled and he could feel his body start to shut down. He lost control of his muscles, then lost all feeling in his body.

The last thing he saw before his eyes slipped shut was over a score of arrows burrow their way into the scaly hide of the drakon, but even after his eyes refused to open, he could still hear the massive crash of the immense creature falling dead to the ground.

Zeus skidded on his knees to a halt beside his brother's body. He called his name frantically, but received no response. Footsteps were approaching from behind him and he turned, looking fearfully into the eyes of the ten or so figures who had arrived at the scene.

A woman stood in front of the rest of the group. Unlike the rest, who were mostly dressed in workmanlike armor, hers was smooth and black, immediately marking her, at least according to Perseus' rules, as the leader of the pack.

She reached up and flipped her hood down. If it weren't for the sheer mind bending terror that Zeus was experiencing at the present time, he would have been lift dumbstruck by the sheer beauty of the figure before him. A thin face marred by only a single scar that slipped from her cheekbone down onto her neck. Raven locks tumbled down and spilled past her shoulders, and her eyes stared down at the young god, freezing him as even the drakon could not, with their iridescent red.

The beautifully deadly woman crouched down next to Perseus' prone from on the ground. She turned him on his side and leaned down, whispering in his ear.

"I know you can still hear me, titan," she said, smiling, though whether triumphantly, or simply smugly it was kind of hard to tell. Then she laughed and bit him playfully on the ear. "My name is Raven, and you're coming with me."

AN:

Say hello to Raven, ladies and gentleman. She's smart, deadly, and a playful smartass. You will either love or hate her.

Hope you all enjoyed the action, because I realize there hasn't been that much before. This will either be a welcome change of pace, or it will not. I realize that was an obvious statement, yet I still fail to care.

Next chapter may take a bit longer than normal, as there are many characters I have to create and I want them to be at least somewhat unique. Who knows, maybe I'll ask people for characters, and then the chapter might come sooner. But I refuse to hold myself to deadlines because I think it can be proven that I'm not very good at them

Please read, rate, review, favorite, and follow if you enjoyed it. If not, then at least go listen to Prince. It's a shame it takes an artist dying for many people to truly appreciate them.

Until next time, this is Hemlock Stones signing off.

/AN