Thaddeus Korvo's Story

Thaddeus was running down the hallways after the alarm rang, guards hot on his tail. Children of Ares to make it even worse. When he busted through the exit by slamming his shoulders into it he slowed down a bit to catch his breath. As he breathed heavily the guards came out too but while most had spears and swords as weapons, a few carried javelins. Even with his powers, if they hit him with those then he would be a dead man. It would take a lot out of him to pull out a large amount of shroud in such a short amount of time though he did not have much of a choice. He quickly summoned a twelve foot tall shroud in front of him while he sprinted to the forest. Some tried to follow but the shroud expanded one hundred yards in length. The javelins soared through the air, one cutting the side of his arm, though he was trying to just keep conscious.

After running for five minutes he eventually got to the forest where he collapsed against a tree. The shroud faded three minutes after he ran so it gave him plenty of a head start. An image of Erin in a cave popped in his head. Was she in on this too? He thought to himself. Even if she was an enemy he was sure he could kill her though that was not what he wanted. It took him some time but he eventually sneaked to the cave that she was in. Exhausted he slumped against the cave wall and looked at her with sad eyes. "What happened?" He asked her, knowing she would have the same answer he had.

Five minutes passed until Alec finally came across the hill in his vision. Walking up closer to it, he noticed the small opening in the side. Before walking in, he reached into the his back pocket and was pleased to find a small hair clip there. Taking it out and tightening his grip on it, the clip began to expand into his familiar javelin. Calixtus felt right in his hand, a sort of reassurance that he wasn't completely helpless.

Alec crept closer to the cave, seeing Erin and... Thaddeus? That was unexpected. Suspicion began to cloud Alec's mind. What if they were in on this? What if this was some bizarre, elaborate plan to get the escaped prisoners (Of course there were more than just me, look how many guards were out there searching!) back in custody.

Stepping out from behind the edge, Alec held his javelin at the ready. He sent a trade mark Ares glare at the two, tightening his grip on his weapon

"Please tell me you're not one of them," he said, jerking his head back to the woods, "I've beat up far too many demigods for one night."

When Erin did not answer Thaddeus knew that she had as much of a clue as he did. How could this have happened? He could understand why he would be imprisoned, there were a lot of reasons, but why her? She was popular and nice enough do there was no reason. He wondered who else may have got out alive, if there were anybody else. Reguardless of the idea he began to take out his dagger to outline the shape of the United States on the wall to find possible safe havens in the east.

After a few minutes of Thaddeus' drawing Alec, an Ares kid, came into the cave holding his javelin and taking up threats. That was a stupid move especially since he was threatening demigods who's powers were especially dangerous. Though that javelin would kill Thaddeus well he would still have enough time to kill Alec so it was counterproductive to threat, especially since Erin was there. Thaddeus knew little of what her limit was in terms of magical prowess but he was sure that she was still very powerful.

"Put down your weapon Alec, your acting like a damn fool. If either one of us were your enemy, you would know by now. Besides, you know that I refuse to take prisoners." Thaddeus told him half smiling.

Alec glared at Thaddeus in annoyance. Well, he hadn't changed one bit.

"Nice to know you're still a smart ass," he growled, putting down his weapon. As much as he hated to admit it, Death Boy here was right. Alec knew that, if they wanted, Thaddeus and Erin could have him dead in moments if he didn't move fast. Damned magic users, he thought angrily. But, if they weren't with the Olympian guard... were they in the same position as he was? There didn't seem to be an alternative. Going to lean against the wall of the cave opposite the other two, Alec sat down.

"Please tell me one of you understands what the Hades just went on back there," he said, resting his javelin against the wall. The adrenaline had finally left him, and Alec felt more exhausted than he'd ever been since the war ended.

Thaddeus was glad that Alec had chosen the smart move but he was drained from using the shroud in such a large amount so quickly. Usually it was not as hard but he had not used it much prior to this day. Erin was most likely focusing her magic on that mental image or holding the illusion, after all their powers were quite strenuous. He got up from where he was to begin stretching in various movements. When he was finished he practiced his dagger slashing and stabbing for a moment. He looked to Alec and then to Erin. "I'm going outside to keep watch."Then he moved out waiting to be the first to catch sight of Phoenix.

Scott finally arrived to the hill that Erin projected to him, he had no way of knowing if everyone was still there. After all, his progress had been slow after his escape, he had to make sure that he wasn't followed and was more than a little beat up.

" Yo guys, guess who," he called out before stepping into the fake hill he hadn't been entirely sure of how many people to expect inside. But he really wasn't expecting the group that was already inside. He nearly walked right into one of them, good thing he'd made the side step, his ribs would have screamed at the impact. He already knew his damage showed on his face, well at least the pain would.

"Well, well pretty unusual group we have here isn't it? I don't suppose anyone would be willing to patch up a broken rib or two will they, I ran into a cyclops on the way out and we had something of an argument." After that he blacked out a bit and just barely managed to get hold of his consciousness before falling. He wouldn't have been able to stand at all if it weren't for the wall he was lucky enough to have fall against.

Phoenix Estrielle

Two of her skeletal warriors were down, only four left - traces of their existence disintegrated into smoky piles of grey ash. Phoenix had spent the past five minutes defending the entrance of the room, cutting down both demigods and creatures left and right. They all screamed bloody murder as they threw themselves relentlessly against the daughter of Hades; her unwavering determination fought back time and again. Her movements were swift, precise and accurate, conserving her energy for when it would be needed the most. Though of course, sheer willpower would soon be futile against hordes of enemies who were more than willing to capture and annihilate them. Taking a risk, Phoenix quickly glanced over her shoulder to check up on the boys. They darn well better not expect that her stamina was going to last forever.

"Earth to Alex and Theodore, are you guys done? I can't hold them back for the whole day you know," Phoenix said as she narrowly dodged a spear which embedded itself in the wall behind her, then deflected a sword with a flick of her wrist. Two more came down on her and she dodged them again, yet the third time wasn't as fortunate. A son of Ares had sliced her left arm, leaving a deep, bloody gash running all the way down to her wrist. With a cry, Phoenix staggered backwards, fury and pain blazing in her eyes as the blood dripped continuously on the cold marble floor. It was a burning pain that stunned her momentarily, weaving its way into her stomach as she tried to regain her balance. Uh oh. Not good.

"Defend," she ordered her underlings as she retreated back into the room, still clutching her wounded arm. The pain had slightly subsided now, leaving a lingering throbbing - but painful, nonetheless. Now the question was, to shadow-travel - or not? In her current state, the possibility of passing out for a few days after the usage of that particular ability of hers was ridiculously high. Not to mention, it would have to include Theodore and Alex as well, which only added to the strain. Yet, the hideout in which Erin had shown her was not very far. Not very far at all...

"How annoying," Phoenix muttered, narrowing her eyes in frustration. Her indecisiveness was driving her nuts, and she always had the same problem as to deciding whether to shadow-travel or not. That ability was useful, though its repercussions were not exactly desirable, to say the least. Unconsciousness, nausea, splitting headaches - what's there not to love?

"To hell with it," Phoenix marched straight up to Theodore, grabbed his wrist, then proceeded to do the same to Alex. "First-class ticket out of this shit hole, hold on to your faces, and you're welcome."

Phoenix tightened her grip around the two and closed her eyes, trying to breathe evenly. She imagined slipping into the shadows around them, feeling its embrace, engulfing them in a void of darkness. Then, she projected images of the hideout Erin had shown her, leaving not a single detail out, lest they should appear in an entirely different location than the desired one. The few seconds seemed to stretch into an eternity, then all of a sudden, the impression of being on a bullet train travelling at the speed of light could be felt - though much, much faster. They were going at such an impossible speed, that none could hardly keep their wits about. Instead, they let their bodies go limp to simply move forward with the flow. However, in the next instant, blinding light flashed in their eyes as they met with the sudden warmth and glare of the afternoon sun, the darkness slowly dissipating around them.

Upon arriving, Phoenix stumbled forward, gasping and spluttering. Her vision was hazy and blurred, and she could hardly see a few paces before her. Not to mention, her head was pounding with pain, which was only increased by the damage done to her arm. She could feel the strength slowly ebbing away from her limbs - and her entire body in general. It was not much of a surprise, really; Phoenix had braced herself for the impacts of shadow-travelling before actually executing it. Yet, feeling the actual thing was a different matter entirely.

Although in her weakened and utterly disorientated state, Phoenix could somehow make out the outline of a figure standing in front of the designated area for rendezvousing. He - she presumed, was... a few steps away? She could not tell. Putting one foot in front of the other, Phoenix stumbled her way forwards, squinting hard at the uncanny, familiar face of the person before her. A few seconds later, her mouth twitched into a weak grin.

"Thaddeus..." She breathed. "H-how about waking me up an hour or so?" With that, Phoenix collapsed right into the son of Thanatos.

Thaddeus certainly found Phoenix, as well as Scot, both in bad shape. She fell unconscious but he caught her before she could hit the floor. Before tending to Scott's wounds he carried her inside and laid her down, bundling up his jacket for her to use as a pillow. Without that jacket he was wearing an orange T-shirt, pants long socks, and sandals. He folded up his left jeans to reach inside a special pocket that he kept eight ounces of Ambrosia and a small pint of water. He gave two ounces of it to the boy, it would heal the ribs which would provide a serious problem if left unchecked. "We do what we have to Scott." He told him.

The child of death walked to the opposite side where he placed Phoenix and sat next to her. She had obviously over extended herself though he had done the same. The only difference was that his powers were stealthier, more morbid power. He killed when he could have chosen not to, without mercy, without wavering, it was a blessing but yet a curse. He took a small bit of Ambrosia to eat to gain some strength back. Putting the Ambrosia away he took out his daggers in exchange to sharpen them against each other. If any of their former misguided friends attempted to come near or even dare to harm them again he would use all his might to do what he was best at doing. What was born to do.