Post #2226781 in The Rise of the Titans: Crimson Age, a roleplay on RPG

Ares, Zeus, Hades & Hephaestus

Outside Zeus's Mansion

Ares.

The motorcycle hummed as the god sped through the city. The speedometer was between 65-100mph as the orange light of the streetlamps passed over his helmet and exposed arms. He had put his hoodie away, preferring the wind darting coolly through his sleeveless, black-T. His shirt rippled like a flag; parked cars and pedestrians were but smears to his left and right. As he weaved between moving vehicles, drivers glanced out their windows at the motorcyclist breaking the law and the beauty clinging to his waist. To gawking men, her hair was a banner of champagne locks, waving extravagantly in the wind. With how reckless Caeleb drove, she might have thought that he had forgotten all about her. He was prone to get lost in the adrenaline. The slightest error could have him in a car crash and that was the challenge he always fancied.

As the bike neared an intersection, the traffic light flashed red, but the signal wasn't about to stop the war god. None of the lights had stopped him previously and the one before him wasn't getting any special treatment. A bus tore through the intersection and the passengers gazed in fright out their windows as a motorcycle made a relentless approach. Caeleb reached back with his right arm to hold Aphrodite against his back protectively before he slammed his left foot upon the asphalt. The strength behind the kick caused the bike to leap into the air and soar in an arch over the bus. The roof of the lengthy vehicle hissed beneath them before the motorcycle cleared it and landed hard on the other side. With a few recovering bobs, it continued on its path towards Zeus's mansion and Caeleb couldn't resist an arrogant grin. Releasing Aphrodite, he was curious if she would ever ride with him again. Of course, he would probably have a different ride. His occupation often required him to hijack numerous vehicles.

The ride was near conclusion when they left the city into a forested area. They rode down a gravel path and up a hill that was nowhere near as steep as Mt. Olympus, but Zeus's love of elevation and being close to the sky was seen. The gravel became solid as a black paved road appeared beneath them. In the circular driveway were vehicles from several gods Caeleb immediately recognized; and for the first time since he left the apartment, he slowed down.

The mercenary glided up to the walkway before he lowered his booted feet and glanced out of the corners of his eyes at the black Ford with thuggish gentlemen standing around it. Removing the bike helmet in one motion, Caeleb leaned back as Aphrodite dismounted with a dangerously-excited grin.

"Hades is here. It seems we're just in time. I hope I didn't miss too much. You survive all right, Princess?" he questioned, not too concerned for her health. He was certain she handled the ride just fine.

Setting his helmet on the seat, the war god set the stand, removed his keys, and dismounted next as his vixen started for the doors. "Hold on a second, let me put on a better shirt."

Caeleb crouched next to one of the bike compartments and opened it to start rummaging through several shirts. Some could use a wash, having been used for countless covers in the past. Drawing his shirt up and over his head, he set it on the seat as he continued his search for a descent shirt to wear for the occasion. Pulling out a plain-old, solid-black button up, he stood and turned to follow after Aphrodite as he slipped his arms through the sleeves. He walked until he was next to her, his fingers busy buttoning the shirt from his navel to his sternum, when a sudden aura caused the hairs on the back of his neck to rise.

Caeleb froze and stared at the door. He then followed with his eyes along the wall to the god signature he was sensing. The aura was unbelievably hot like a forge, like Hephaestus. As Aphrodite reached out to take a hold of his wrist, Caeleb lowered his hands and snorted like an affronted bull.

"Your husband is here," he informed with a scowl. The fuck, he doin' here? Shit...

Cael yanked his wrist from her clutches as he turned from the mansion in a low simmer. He didn't want to be seen with Aphrodite when the smith was around, it was a good way to get on his bad side. He didn't give too shits about his brother in all honesty. It was the weapons he cared about. Grasping his jaw in thought, he stared absently at the Underworld thugs as they smoked and conversed amongst themselves. The day just fucking sucked. He had planned to have Aphrodite all to himself and nothing so far had gone as planned. He would have her by the end of the night, and he would make sure of it.

Lowering his head, Cael dropped his hand and closed his eyes. He was in no mood for drama--at least not the non-violent kind. "You go in first. He probably doesn't even know we're here."

I think Ares is here guys.

Anton's focus broke from the TV as he abruptly rose from the couch. He walked over to the nearest window and twisted the blinds until he could see Caeleb standing outside with his wife. The smith lightly frowned. The sight of his brother made him sick.

Cael sighed in defeat. There was no use fuming about it. It was only for an hour. The dinner wouldn't take any longer with how dysfunctional his family was. He faced Aphrodite again and walked over to take her delicate hands within his rough ones. He rubbed his thumbs against the back of her knuckles and looked into her eyes.

"Just give me another kiss. Just one more before I'm forced to hear my retarded sister preach to me about how weak and dumb she is. I don't think I could survive this dinner without it, but you better bet your ass I'm gonna have you tonight. I hope you've been practicin' your yoga 'cause I'm gonna have you sore in the morning."

It bothered him how the moment felt like he was saying goodbye to her. She wasn't going anywhere and neither was he, but they were going to be rather distant the whole night and it was probably wise. They were interrupted, and if he found the love goddess sashaying anywhere near a closet, he would snatch her into any room he could find.

The war god grasped her hips and tugged her close until there weren't even inches between them. He gazed into her sea foam eyes. He smiled softly at her as he teased her lips with the brush of his own before spreading them apart to envelope them. His fingers gripped and stroked her hips as he sank into the oozing vat that was his lust.

Anton's lips rolled back to bear his teeth in anger as his uncle's words passed through his mind again:

Those two would fuck on your damn desk if you gave them the chance and they wouldn’t give two shits if you were watching, you know why? It’s because they both know that you’re not going to do shit about it.

Oh, he was going to do something about it this time. Anxiety nested in his chest just thinking about it, but he had to do something. This had to stop. Slamming his fist against the wall, Anton turned from the window and started for the foyer.

Cael suspiciously broke the kiss when he heard a dull thud and watched as pieces of paint crumbled from the wall where the imprint of a fist protruded.

Zeus and Hades.

Brandon stepped from the kitchen to watch Anton leave the living room to cross the foyer swifter than he would expect a gimp to move. Following that spectacle, his brother Hades returned to Persephone, and his daughter was looking like a boxer fresh from a match. He saw her hiding her wrists that were pink and covered with welts and the red, irritated mark of what could only be a slap against her cheek. Did she really think she could hide such marks from his brother? The dinner hadn't even begun and the reunion was becoming a time bomb that would go off in seconds if he didn't find the right wire.

Seeing as his brother's situation was the most dangerous, Brandon approached the four of them, and stood next to Demeter in case he needed to protect her. He gently took her by the arm and attempted to lead her to the living room until he could rally his family about the banquet table.

"You really did it this time. You know she's not a child anymore and that Hades is absolutely nuts about her. Did you have to be so rough?" Brandon grumbled. "If we're both lucky, he might overlook it. If not, then this one will be on me."

Brandon had a solemn expression on his face unlike his usual merry one. All he could imagine was Hera saying, "I told you so," and he was in no mood to hear it. He was not expecting the Persephone situation to be this bad. It was only one night damn it!

Bernard was wearing a poker face when Dmitri came before him and Persephone. Deep down, he was extremely apprehensive to the point that he didn't know what to say. He had kept the young goddess company and yet her mother managed to lay one on her face in his presence. He was just a minion and crossing Demeter was suicide. Already he was contemplating on whether or not he should have died trying to protect Persephone from her mother's strikes for here now his lord stood before him, and there was no use hoping that he wouldn't find out. Hades ALWAYS found out.

Dmitri smiled when he saw Persephone do what he thought was shy away. Her hands went behind her back, and he didn't think too much of it until when he neared her the faint scent of copper touched his nostrils. The dark god stopped. He knew that smell almost better than Ares. His caramel eyes peered at Persephone from over the rims of his glasses. No words were necessary for the look he had given her spoke clearly.

Bernard's jaw tightened as he found it difficult to retain his stoicism. Just as he had predicted, from his look alone, Hades knew something was up.

Dmitri reached out to snatch Persephone's wrists from behind her back. With firm and controlling strength, he held her arms out and stared at her one wrist that portrayed her marred flesh. The mafia boss's eyes widened before they darted to the young goddess's face. He tilted his head to see her red cheek and the fury that surged through him could have been seen and felt from his tightening grip on her and his shaking hands.

"Who did this to you?" he demanded on a quivering voice. He was trying to keep his cool for he had let his temper already slip once in the evening. But wait, he already had an idea who. Dmitri turned a feral eye over his shoulder to see Zeus walking away with his sister.

Brandon stopped when he felt the icy eye of the god of the dead on his back. Dmitri hadn't been as angry as he could have been until that moment. The last time he had seen that look in his eye was in the Titanomachy, and it was reserved for his enemies. The lamps around Dmitri were already beginning to flicker the deeper he sank into that mood and the marble floor was softening into powder beneath his feet as his body began absorbing the nutrients, life, and energy from the objects around him. His skin became as pale as a sheet as Dis Pater near spawned from his mortal shell.

Standing before Demeter protectively, Brandon growled, "Look the other way, Hades. Just let it go. Whatever happened happened. If you harm our sister, I won't be able to forgive you; and I don't think Persephone will be able to either. Just take my daughter and enjoy the dinner. I promise Demeter won't bother the two of you until it's over."

"If she bothers us again or even harms Persephone again, I will kill her and drag her soul to the deepest depths of the Styx. I swear it!" Hades hissed. He pointed a long and hooked condemning finger in Demeter's direction. His whole form had turned as black as a shadow. His eyes were white, his irises outlined in black and his blazer rippled as ominous beings shifted beneath his clothing, whispering devious plots amongst themselves. The dark face of an infant peeked from his coat. It's blood-red eyes gazed at Persephone and Bernard, its tiny horns protruding from its forehead. Winding along Hades's arm was a black serpent. When it reached his hand, it hung its bulbous head. The numerous spikes upon its skull formed a crown and from its mouth extended a hint of a sickle-like weapon. The blade was a brilliant silver that reflected the god's grinning face and Brandon's fearless scowl. It was a fragment of the scythe of Thanatos.

"Don't play with me, Demeter. Persephone is no longer yours. She is mine, and as soon as you acknowledge that the longer you have to live. Please, try to keep her longer than six months. Try please. I need to practice my swing."

Dropping his arm, the shadows melted as the lamp light caused the nightmares to disintegrate around the mafia boss. He regarded Demeter and Brandon for a few seconds longer, smiling at his brother and how suddenly protective he was over her. He should have known that if he didn't have control over his visitations with Persephone that he wouldn't be able to stop him from killing her mother. Persephone would get over it. Her mother was second to him after all--so he believed. Dmitri gazed sternly at his wife.

"No one will lay a hand on you again. God or mortal; family or stranger; I will kill them. No one has the right to mar your beauty," Dmitri declared.

Brandon breathed a large and deep sigh. He was afraid that he would have had to fight his own brother. He hated altercations and tried to use reasoning to ease them. He turned to Demeter and smiled reassuringly at her.

"He's just mad, but you must leave them alone for the rest of the dinner. You will have Persephone back soon enough," said Brandon. He rested a warm hand against her back and rubbed it soothingly. Like his relationship with Hera, he sometimes wondered how he had loved this woman once. Demeter was indeed beautiful, but she was a rose with thorns that gave birth to a lily. Maybe one day, Persephone will learn how to defend herself and not have to rely on Hades too much.

That altercation had been the first he managed to stop. Unfortunately, he had forgotten the issue in the driveway.

Ares and Hephaestus.

The mansion doors abruptly opened and Anton emerged behind Aphrodite. He saw Cael's hands at her hips and he thrust his palm against the war god's chest to separate them.

"Get your hands off my wife!" Anton growled.

Caeleb staggered back and spread his arms to catch his balance. "Who the fu..."

The mercenary stared at the giant standing before his girlfriend. There was something familiar about him, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He looked the giant up and down until he noticed the iron cast about his leg. His brows rose with recognition immediately. The god signature had been radiating from the mysterious gentleman before him.

Grinning, Cael laughed, "You almost fooled me. You must have worked pretty hard on that body. Touch me like that again, and I'll fuck it up!"

Anton frowned, but didn't once doubt Cael's threat. However, he wasn't there to deal with him. Now that he and Aphrodite were somewhat alone, he had to talk to her.

"Aphrodite; we must talk. I know that you've been seeing Ares behind my back. Why? I have given you everything. There isn't a jewel on this earth that he could give you that would ever be as immaculate as the ones that come from my forge," Anton explained.

Caeleb grinned impishly and grasped his crotch. "That's because I give her a different kind of jewel."

Anton growled and held his hands out to her. "There is nothing beautiful about him. While I create, he destroys. He takes women, children, fathers, and heroes without discrimination..."

Caeleb shook his head. The conversation no longer amused him. "Tell her somethin' that she doesn't know about me. Hey," he called to Aphrodite. He pointed with his thumb over to Hades's Ford that had the minions around it. "I'm goin' over there for awhile. I'll see you later."

"You will not!"

"Huh; stop me mother fucker."

Anton felt powerless, and it was mostly Caeleb making him feel that way. Aphrodite was in love with the killer and as much as he wanted to be and act like a husband, his role depended entirely on her. Would he have to fight him? As the war god sauntered over to the Ford, Anton sized him up and silently weighed his chances. He had heard stories of Ares's ferocity. Even Athena spoke about him, but in their rivalry it was never too highly. If Ares was as savage as the legends told, to challenge him at that moment would not be wise, but he was certain that he could craft a device that would rival even his might.

Anton scowled at the floor in defeat. He had every desire to call out Ares and challenge him as he imagined himself being stronger than his handicap permitted, but it was a dream. He would have to change his tact.

Cael had asked one of the minions for a cigarette. He wasn't a habitual smoker, but tonight, he was going to need something.

Snippet #2226781

located in New York City, a part of The Rise of the Titans: Crimson Age, one of the many universes on RPG.

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