As promised, here's the quick update! It's pretty lengthy by my standard. Enjoy the chapter!

CHAPTER 14
Thunder and Lightning; Fata Morgana

Camp Half-Blood, Arena;

Aeolus took a step on to the arena. He took a deep breath. "I challenge… Zeus!" Aeolus pointed to Zeus.

The campers began to talk and wondering if this guy was making a fool of himself.

"You dare to challenge me? Insolent fool!" Zeus stood up. "This is atrocious!"

"Need I remind you that this challenge is binding, Zeus?" Khaos said.

Zeus clenched his fist. "Fine!" he said it through gritted teeth.

Zeus walked toward the center of the arena. He felt everyone's eyes studying him like he was under a microscope.

"What a complete idiot. He thinks he can even fight against Zeus. The whole concept of working under Khaos must have made this guy mental." Eric thought as he looked at Khaos.

Eric was rather surprised to look at Khaos who seemed to be looking straight at him. It was hard to tell with Khaos innocent looking face, but the stare pretty much shut Eric up.

"The first match! Aeolus against Zeus … shall begin!" Khaos voice echoed.

The battle began and the entire sky turned dark as thunderclouds rolled in. Campers and soldiers alike murmured at the sight of the gloomy weather. In the middle of the arena, Zeus was staring Aeolus down with dagger eyes. He was insulted that someone was insolent enough to challenge him, Zeus, the King of the Gods and the Lord of the Sky. He could hardly control his breathing.

"How dare someone who can't even reveal himself challenge me!" Zeus heaved out a heavy sigh. "This is absurd. I'll end this quickly and show them that I'm the King of the Gods for a reason."

The sky was rumbling with whip-like lightning flashed around. Everyone was on the edge of their seats. Zeus' fellow God were aware of his plan. He would summon the most dangerously high voltage bolt of lightning and use it to smite his opponent to end the match. Zeus waited a few moments to build suspense and allowed the audience to lean even more off the edges of their seats causing a few to fall out…then he pointed his finger toward the sky and summoned a monster lightning bolt. He pointed at Aeolus causing the bolt to race towards him. A booming sound came after as dust covered the area where Aeolus stood. A deathly hush hung over the arena.

"Hmph… I guess that does it." Hera smiled as the rest of the gods nodded in agreement.

Zeus waved his hand clearing the dark clouds in the sky. A gentle breeze was produced as the sky returned to its normal, clear state. Zeus turned around as he mumbled an ancient Greek prayer.

"I'll give it to you for being brave enough to challenge me… but it's unfortunate of you to do so." Zeus said.

As Zeus was about to step out of the arena, a voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Always the impatient one, aren't you?" Aeolus said unnecessarily loud so everyone could hear.

As the breezes cleared the dust away, Aeolus stood in the exact spot, nonchalantly, with his shield raised above his head. A gigantic gasp from the crowd echoed throughout the arena.

"A little harsh of you to do that. I would have been toasted if it weren't for this shield." Aeolus commented as he walked towards the center of the arena.

"Ah! There he goes telling the secrets of his shield." Kyros smacked his forehead lightly.

"It doesn't matter…" Ulixes was staring intently at the opposite side where the gods and a small group of campers were seated.

The rest of the Voids nodded in agreement to Ulixes' comment. Khaos turned to look at Ulixes. She was worried about him.

"Impossible! How are you even alive?" Zeus bellowed.

Aeolus patted his shield. "This one here absorbs electricity… or lightning for that matter."

Not believing any of it, Zeus used his Master bolt and threw a lightning strike towards Aeolus. Aeolus just stood on the same spot and raised his hand as the lightning went in the shield which crackled with blue spark.

"Lightning doesn't work against me, old man." Aeolus said laughing.

In rage, Zeus summoned a lightning bolt in his hands, wielding it as it was a sword, and glided across the arena ready to strike. When Zeus was close enough, he swiped his lightning bolt at Aeolus. Aeolus raised his left hand and blocked the attack with his shield. There was another loud crack as the electricity damage was absorbed.

"It may not work on your shield…..but perhaps on you!" Zeus said arrogantly.

Zeus brought a lightning strike down upon Aeolus so fast that every God and camper thought that he was doomed for sure this time.

'Tsk. Tsk.' Aeolus sighed.

The lightning strike was harmlessly absorbed by Aeolus's shield which was suddenly now on his right hand.

"How in the…" Zeus was shocked. He looked at Aeolus' left hand. Instead of a shield, Aeolus was using a sword to hold Zeus' Master bolt. "Impossible…" Zeus said loud enough that everyone heard him.

Zeus, feeling angry, gripped his Master bolt tightly and unintentionally released a small amount of electricity which ran through the sword and into Aeolus' hand. Although not in an obvious way, Aeolus' left hand seized causing him to staggered a little. Zeus saw this and smiled.

"The sword doesn't absorb electricity, eh?" With that said, Zeus quickly withdrew his Master bolt and struck again. As the bolt crackled loudly against the sword, Zeus knew that he could win if he continued to aim for it.

"CLANG!"

Instead of a what was supposed to be a sword, Zeus' Master bolt made contact with Aeolus' shield again. Zeus was caught off guard momentarily but backed away to safety soon after.

"There's no way you can switch hands in that short period! You didn't even move a muscle!" Zeus was astounded.

"I see… so that's how it is…" Athena didn't realize that she was thinking loudly.

"Tell me what you know, Athena!" Hera demanded.

"Well, it seems like the sword and shield share a bond or some link with Aeolus." Athena explained.

"What does that even mean?" Apollo was confused as were the others.

"Which means, with just his thought, he could simply switch the place of his sword and shield." Athena explained further.

"Nice!" Ares was awed with Aeolus' weapons. Everyone ignored him.

"You have to figure something out, Athena. You have a part in this battle too." Hera said, almost like she's pleading.

"Since when did Hera care so much for Zeus?" Grover asked in a low voice to no one in particular.

Nico shrugged as Thalia shook her head.

"I'm guessing that she's more worried about the Olympians' reputation." Annabeth said straight out. The other three agreed in unison. "True."

In the arena, both Zeus and Aeolus were moving along it's perimeter as the sky turned dark again. While Zeus was on the offensive with his strikes and lightning, Aeolus was on defensive, blocking every attack that Zeus came up with.

"Father! Try attacking him with a lightning bolt and your Master bolt at the same time." Athena suggested.

Zeus followed Athena's advice. Zeus summoned a lightning bolt at Aeolus as he struck Aeolus with his Master bolt, which crackled loudly. Aeolus blocked the lightning and at the last moment, switched his shield to his other hand and blocked Zeus' Master bolt. Zeus was surprised at Aeolus' switching technique. Without hesitation, Aeolus swung his sword at Zeus, who could barely dodge the sudden attack. The tip of Aeolus sword was able to scratch Zeus' shoulder. As Zeus stepped further away from Aeolus, he looked at his wound, where golden ichor trickled down his arm.

"It didn't work, Athena!" Hera was furious at the scene.

"I should have known!" Athena grumbled at herself for making a small mistake.

"What went wrong?" Thalia asked Annabeth

"Without luck, you won't be able strike at the same time as the lightning no matter how fast you are. Although Zeus is the one summoning the lightning, he can only depend on his instinct and reflexes to anticipate his own lightning attack. There's no exact timing for the lightning… it's different overtime." Annabeth explained.

An idea worked out in her head suddenly. She got up and move towards Athena quickly.

"Mother!" Annabeth called out.

"Not now, Annabeth… I'm thinking of a plan."

"I might have an idea." Annabeth said with persistence.

Athena turns to look at Annabeth. Annabeth's eyes were filled with determination. "What is it?" Athena asked.

Annabeth went nearer to Athena and whispered to her.

Athena thought for a while. "That might work… Well done, Annabeth" Athena smiled.

"Father! I have an idea..." Athena spoke.

Camp Half Blood, Arena;

Aeolus had the upper hand, defending against every strike Zeus threw at him. As the match went on, Aeolus noticed a slight change in Zeus' movement. While it seemed like a success for Aeolus to defend against Zeus, Zeus didn't seem too bothered by the fact that his attacks failed. Knowing that something strange was going on, Aeolus stepped back three times. By the third time, Aeolus got shocked by a small amount of electricity. Although the damage wasn't strong, the initial shocks brought Aeolus down on his knees. Everyone gasped, excluding Zeus who was smiling.

"What did you do, old man?" Aeolus asked through his gritted teeth as he looked around to see what had caused the attack. Nothing.

"Now why would I tell you?" Zeus was highly amused at the sight.

Aeolus got up and charged Zeus. As Aeolus slashed his sword, which was on his right hand, downward at Zeus, Zeus slashed his Master Bolt upward. Knowing the shocks he could receive, Aeolus' sword switched with the shield. The impact with Zeus' Master Bolt was absorbed by the shield. Within seconds, a lightning rained down on Aeolus slightly to his left. Aeolus knew that the lightning would not hit him but the after effect burst of it could within that short distance. Knowing this, Aeolus dodged to his right. Upon doing so, Aeolus was hit yet again with the same electrical damage as the earlier one, except that this damage had more amounts of electricity. Aeolus dropped both his sword and shield as he staggered back and fell.

"Argh!" Aeolus thought to himself as he punched the ground.

Zeus look at him even more amused than before and laughed so loud that everyone heard him.

"I can't really say this with your face covered but I'm guessing you have an annoyed expression stuck on your face." Zeus said as he continued laughing.

Aeolus got up and shifted his weapons to his hands. "It's not over…"

"Very well!" Zeus said as he started to hover.

Zeus went higher and higher until he was about twenty feet in the air. From that point, Zeus used his Master Bolt to strike Aeolus with lightning. As Zeus continuously to throw lightning towards Aeolus, Aeolus kept dodging them, moving around the arena. Zeus fired a shot again, this time slightly behind Aeolus. Aeolus dived and rolled forward. As Aeolus got up, Zeus fired again slightly to Aeolus left. Without thinking, Aeolus dodged to the opposite side. Wrong move. Aeolus was hit by the same electrical damage which was much higher than the previous two. This time, the shock threw Aeolus out of the arena. Zeus laughed even louder. All the gods were smiling, and campers were cheering. The soldiers and the Voids looked on with their breathes held and jaw set in determination.

Aeolus got up. His clothes were partly torn.

"Damn it!" He cursed to himself.

"You can stop if you want to…" Ulixes voice was heard in Aeolus head.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Aeolus." Elysia pleaded.

"No… I'll find a way. It's not over!" Aeolus said.

"Then do it…" Ulixes looked at Aeolus.

Aeolus climbed up the arena.

"Not enough?" Zeus remarked.

"Tsk tsk." Aeolus stood at the side and looked around the arena. As he focused his sight, there were a few spots that shimmered barely visible. He pondered for a while. Clouds! A very thin layer of clouds formed around the shimmered area. So thin that it looks like air, which caused the shimmering. What about the electricity? Aeolus looked around again. The clouds weren't small or large, there were many of them and they moved around. Statics! They flowed from one cloud to another and the reason they hurt more is because Zeus kept adding the static which resulted in more damages. Aeolus looked at Zeus.

"I have to be very careful around the arena." Aeolus thought to himself.

"What's the matter, kid. Too shocked to make a move?" Zeus snickered.

Aeolus began to hover as everyone, excluding the soldiers and the Voids, gasped.

"By the river of Styx! How could you do that?" Zeus stopped smiling and stared hard at Aeolus.

"One of my many tricks." Aeolus laughed to himself.

Aeolus flew up to Zeus' height and shifted his weapons. "Let's do this."

Aeolus charged with his sword and slashed upwards from the side. Zeus dodged and stepped back. Using his Master Bolt, he attempt to stab Aeolus, but the shield got in the way. The impact caused both of them to back up. Zeus used a lightning bolt to control Aeolus' movement again. Aeolus kept dodging until he almost dodged toward the shimmer. At the last moment, Aeolus created a wind which blew the shimmer away from him. Zeus was surprised that he could summon a wind, too. Zeus wondered why Aeolus can pretty much do what he could.

"Winds?" Zeus was dumbfounded.

To prove to Zeus again and show it to everyone else, Aeolus shifted out his weapon and kept his arm wide opened. Few seconds later, winds blew in, stopped and started again. After a while, Aeolus stopped altogether and the shimmering clouds were gone.

"Yes, I can summon wind. It's not just you…" Aeolus said.

Enraged at his snide comments, Zeus charged toward Aeolus. Aeolus shifted his shield and blocked Zeus' attack. This continued on with both of them exchanging blows - Zeus dodging every attack while Aeolus defending with his shield. Everyone below looked at them with awe as they fought. It was like watching two eagles fighting for domination in the sky. After a while, both of them were panting.

"We could end this you know." Aeolus said.

"We could…" Zeus replied.

With that said, Zeus flew up even higher. Aeolus however went back to the ground. When Zeus was high enough, he flew down at a high speed with tip of his Master Bolt directed at Aeolus. Aeolus, on the other hand, flew up quickly with only his shield. As he flew nearer to Zeus, he steadied his shield. A second before they collided, Zeus dodged to the side revealing a shimmering cloud behind him. Aeolus realized too late. The shock was so great that Aeolus' clothes completely tore off and half his mask broke as he fell downward, smashing to the ground causing an explosion of dust. Everyone was quiet.

"Aeolus!" Kyros shouted as he got up. Ulixes, however, stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Kyros…" Aeolus mumbled as his vision began to blur.

"Get up, Aeolus!" Kyros shouted again.

Aeolus tried but his body wasn't listening to him. He looked at Zeus floating in the sky above him, smiling triumphantly. The place was too quiet. Aeolus looked at Kyros again before his mind went somewhere else.

"Kyros..."

Flashback

Somewhere in a town on a different planet…

The Voids were on the rooftop of the highest building after finishing their mission. Luna had just ended her debrief for the completion of the Voids' mission.

"That is all." Luna finished her sentence.

"Gather at the plaza tomorrow morning. We'll be leaving at 9. Till then, admin time is yours. Dismiss! " Ulixes instructed.

Everyone went off, doing their own stuff. Only Aeolus and Kyros were left on the rooftop.

"What's your plan, Kyros?" Aeolus asked.

Kyros shrugged. Aeolus invited Kyros to go to the clock tower with him for a chat. As they reached the clock tower, both of them took a seat at the edge of the tower, facing the sea. They were close. Not just close being a friend or a comrade but rather almost like a father and son. They chatted about everything. Between the two of them, they never lacked conversation. There's always something to be talked about. Aeolus was laughing every time Kyros made a kid's remark. Aeolus didn't mind. Kyros was forever fifteen. As the sun was setting, both of them were quiet.

"You're thinking about the trial when we first met Khaos." Kyros said.

"No I'm not." Aeolus denied.

"I'm not asking… I'm telling you." Kyros smiled.

"Maybe…" Aeolus thought for a while. "I'm the only one who failed, Kyros."

"You're strong, Aeolus! You still killed the octopus!" Kyros said.

Aeolus laughed at the mentioned of 'octopus'. "But I didn't prove to Khaos that I can do more than just with my strength…" Aeolus sighed.

Kyros didn't know what else to say. He tried to say something, but ended up holding back his words. Aeolus saw this and smiled.

"That thing you do… during the mission. How?" Aeolus changed the subject.

"You mean the mirage? Well, it's possible for me since I can pretty much control photon or light, for that matter." Kyros smiled widely at Aeolus. "Awesome, right?"

"Yeah. That is like your secret ability! I'm quite surprised too." Aeolus smiled back.

Although Aeolus was smiling, Kyros sensed that Aeolus felt bad because he can't do anything special in a much different scale.

"Ever heard of Fata Morgana?" Kyros asked.

"No. Not sure of it." Aeolus said.

Kyros began to explain the story. It was a story about a sorceress, fairy, a magical island appearing in the sky and how everything disappeared. After finishing telling his story, he looked at Aeolus, who was giving him a blank stare. Kyros smiled.

"Why are you telling me a story about a fairy?" Aeolus asked quizzically.

"Not telling! Maybe you will understand one day." Kyros laughed.

"Ah! Come on, buddy!" Aeolus playfully pleaded.

Kyros got up. "Let's go!" Kyros said as he jumped down.

Aeolus looked at the sunset one last time. 'Fata Morgana… huh!' Aeolus still couldn't figure it out. He jumped.

Camp Half Blood, Arena;

Aeolus still lay on the ground, his vision coming back. "Fata Morgana… mirage…" Aeolus mumbled to himself.

"Bargaining with Death, I assume?" Zeus scoffed.

Aeolus brought himself to his knees and slowly raised himself from the small crater he made in the ground from where he impacted. Aeolus stood in the middle of the arena only with torn pants and half broken mask which revealed the bottom part of his face and left eye and his amazingly chiseled body. The Aphrodite girls and Aphrodite herself were swooning. A bunch of them were commenting on Aeolus' body. All of a sudden, the atmosphere began to rapidly change. Hot to cold and vice versa. For a quick, short moment, Aeolus seemed to be distorted. Everyone saw this and gasped.

"He's doing it!" Kyros said, almost surprised himself.

"Doing what, Kyros?" Elysia asked, confused.

"Watch. His special ability." Kyros explained bluntly.

Sensing something strange was happening, Zeus decided it was time to finish the match once and for all. He didn't want to take any more chances. He raised his Master Bolt. After gathering enough energy, Zeus pointed it towards Aeolus, who was still standing on the ground. This time, Aeolus began to distort so much, that most of the camper started rubbing their eyes. Even some of the gods were rubbing their eyes. "Not a chance!" Zeus shouted as a quick and bright lightning bolt shot out towards Aeolus. The lightning, however, passed through Aeolus as it burst to the ground while Aeolus disappeared altogether. Everyone was confused. Zeus started looking around for Aeolus.

"He's up there!" Someone shouted.

Everyone look up and began murmuring. Zeus looked straight ahead. Aeolus was in the sky. No. Not just Aeolus. A bunch of Aeoluses though some of them were upside down. Zeus threw a lightning bolt at one of them using his Master Bolt but they simply disappeared. Zeus threw one after another until there were only three left. As Zeus began to wonder on how to defeat Aeolus' tricks, All the Aeoluses did the same thing. Aeolus shifted his weapons. Instead of assuming his normal defensive stance, Aeolus raised his sword. Slowly, the sword began to glow blue. A few seconds later, everyone was shocked at the sight of Aeolus' sword which becaming identical to Zeus' Master Bolt.

"How did you do that?" Zeus was enraged.

Aeolus didn't say anything. Zeus was done playing games, so he struck the remaining Aeoluses. Nothing happened. All of them disappeared. Confused, Zeus looked around, than looked down. Aeolus was pointing his bolt at Zeus. Aeolus released the lightning. Zeus was too surprised to move. The lightning passed by Zeus, scarring only his cheek, where golden ichor started to trickle. Even with that, Zeus didn't move. Aeolus dropped both of his weapons.

"This match is over!" Khaos' voice echoed.

Everyone started whispering to each other and giving each other quizzical looks. Everyone had the same question in their mind, who won? Kyros and Elysia ran up to the arena to catch Aeolus before he fell.

"I did it, Kyros…" Aeolus smiled. Kyros smiled back.

"Chiron. Have everyone to take their lunch. The next match will start later." Khaos instructed.

"Very well!" Chiron bowed. "Every one! Please proceed with your lunch now!"

No promise that the next update will be soon or lengthy for that matter. I'll be busy with work and I still have a lot of TV shows and anime to catch on. Give me some time, aye? I'll be free during Sunday so that's when I start finishing the next chapter and have it sent to my beta reader. Lastly, review!

Peace&Love,
DifferentKindOfAsian.