[quo fata ferunt]

Once upon a time ago, the Garden of the Hesperides must have been a very enchanting place. Polished Greek columns and small statues filled the lavender-scented meadow, with glowing plants dotting the brush like fallen stars in the encroaching night. An untouched paradise for millennia, resting atop a mountain, overlooking western civilization.

Now, the pristine Garden had become a bloody battlefield. Smoke from explosives clouded the sweet air, turning everything black. Statues and columns turned to rubble, singed by flame or acid or whatever else the warriors were using. Bodies began to pile up in the swaying grass. The place had become a graveyard.

Reese, perched on his stone wall, fired another cure-filled arrow at an incoming Mask. It landed true, and the Mask went down, black cloak fluttering. That made the fifth Mask he'd managed to subdue, but the battle wasn't looking any clearer. Just when he thought that the legion had the upper hand, an explosive would rattle the mountainside, and the Masks would strike again.

Only now, the Masks were hardly fighting back. Some were still ducking around the Garden, fighting the demigods on their trail, but there were more storm spirits now than there were Masks. Which could only mean that somewhere inside the mansion, something was going their way.

Reese hopped down from his perch, tense from head to toe. Battle always gave him an adrenaline rush, wiping away every thought that wasn't about staying alive, but something felt different. He just felt...blank. The only thing he could process entirely was stringing an arrow, shooting it, rinse and repeat.

Nearby, Mark slashed at a storm spirit, evading its winds. The son of Iris spun around his target, evading an attack, and if Reese looked close enough, he could see the edges of Mark's frame beginning to blur—Mark's limited ability of super speed.

"Reese!" Mark cried as he vaulted around the storm spirit. "Now!"

Reese didn't have to be told twice. He grabbed an arrow from his quiver and strung his bow, firing the golden shaft towards Mark's storm spirit. With a glorious flash of light and an angered hiss, the storm spirit dissolved into golden dust.

"Thanks," Mark exhaled, bumping his free fist with Reese's.

"Don't mention it," Reese muttered, surveying the battlefield. It felt like every time he looked up, the battle kept getting bleaker. "Think everything's all right in there?"

As if on cue, a rumble shook the earth. The battle stopped momentarily as the earth continued to quake, members of both sides looking at the ground in bewilderment and terror. The sound of shattering glass erupted in the direction of the mansion, and when Reese turned his head, he saw a great light coming from the disheveled atrium, followed by what looked like an enormous storm-cloud.

"Holy Hera..." Reese breathed, his sapphire eyes wide. "Typhon."

Thunder shook the earth—or maybe it was another earthquake, Reese wasn't sure. All that he did know was that Typhon was waking, and if he got to full strength, they wouldn't stand a chance.

"Oh, man, this is bad," Mark inhaled, dragging a hand through his hair. "This is really bad."

"No kidding—" Reese began, but a crippling wave of pain shot up his spinal cord. He staggered to his knees, collapsing at the foot of the wall.

"Reese!" Mark exclaimed, but his voice sounded far away.

Flashes of blood-red light tore up Reese's mind, each one bringing a new wave of pain. He grit his teeth, managing to open his eyes. Mark's frame was blurred, but from his speed or Reese's disorientation, he wasn't sure.

"Get—Flynn—" Reese said between heavy breaths.

Mark nodded, and zoomed off. The battlefield faded around him, the sounds of swords clashing and arrows firing muffling in Reese's ears. All Reese knew was this pain, and the madness it inspired in his head.

"Hello, Reese," A voice tore through Reese's madness, and the son of Apollo looked up to a see what looked like three identical figures walking towards him. He blinked, and the three figures turned into one with tousled hair, hands in the pockets of his khakis, and malicious blue eyes.

"Vinny," Reese muttered, fury like Novocain, numbing his words. "What do you want?"

The Roman traitor drew a hand from his pocket, putting it to his heart in mock offense. "Can't say hi to an old comrade?"

Reese took a shaky breath, using the wall for support as he got to his feet. "Then you should have visited Orion."

Vinny huffed a little breath, smirking. "Feeling all right, Reese? You don't look too hot."

"I'm always hot," Reese managed. "Try again."

Vinny took a step closer, watching Reese's sluggish movements. "I bet you and your friends have been driving yourselves crazy trying to understand our operation. Literally."

Reese felt another pang of pain, and he clenched his hand on the top of the wall, his nails sliding on the rock. "What do you want, Vinny?"

"What do you think?" Vinny rolled his eyes. "I want you and every other demigod to burn."

"Then get to it," A gruff voice said. "Or are you going to continue gracing us with your presence?"

Vinny's eyes widened in alarm, and Reese watched with destroyed delight as the son of Victoria whirled around to face Alex Deven, flanked by Kaya and Imogen. All three of them looked like the wolves that had once taught them: bloodthirsty and cold.

"Alex," Vinny said, falter evident in his voice. "You look...not dead."

"Clever," Imogen said flatly, drawing an arrow. "Those your last words?"

Vinny slid his gaze over to Imogen, a serpentine smile lacing his lips. "No, but will yours be 'I do'? I must say I was pretty upset at not getting an invite to the wedding."

"Can't relate," Imogen drawled, bringing Romeo's bowstring back to her cheek. "Say your prayers, Maxwell."

Vinny only exhaled shortly, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Please, do go on."

Imogen didn't need to be told twice. Her arrow sailed towards the son of Victoria, and it would have been a messy impact at such close range too. But then, Vinny did something Reese didn't expect. He held up a finger and swiped it through the air, and Imogen's arrow sailed into the opposite direction—right towards a legionnaire.

Imogen released a guttural sort of scream, bringing her hand up to her mouth as the legionnaire fell to the ground. Blood leaked from her wound, and Reese could see the light immediately leave her eyes. She had to be, what, fourteen? Fifteen?

"Murder's not a good look on you, Imogen," Vinny cocked his head.

Kaya started forward, magic flickering around her tanned hands. "It's more my color, anyways." Her dark eyes radiated the same sort of color sparking around her frame.

Vinny only held Kaya's gaze. "Can't touch me, Kaya."

Kaya didn't listen; she just vaulted a ball of magic right towards the traitor. Vinny merely sighed and repeated his wiping gesture; Kaya's attack went straight into a nearby statue, sending it up in multi-colored flames.

Reese tried to speak, but suddenly felt his mind clear. He felt like he was watching this whole scenario play out from above, like he was having an out of body experience. Something had control of him now. Something dark.

"There he is!" Mark's voice caught Reese's attention. He turned his head, straightening his posture to almost military standards, and found Mark racing forward, Flynn at his side. Both Mark and Flynn slowed their tracks upon seeing Vinny, loathing filling their gazes.

Vinny averted his attention over to Reese. "Feeling better, Reese?"

No. "Y-yes." He turned his attention to Flynn and Mark, feeling as if a target had locked into place.

"What are you doing to him?" Imogen demanded, stalking towards Vinny.

"I'm not doing anything," Vinny retorted. "This is all Reese's work."

"What?" Mark croaked. "That doesn't make any sense!"

Reese felt like waves of fire and ice were colliding inside his heart, his soul, his mind. Thunder echoed in his ears, and lightning split the darkening sky in two. He needed something. Anything. He needed water. Water, like blood. Blood. He needed to kill.

Flashes of his alternate body dead on the ground ripped through his mind. Images of his friends' faces shimmered at the forefront of his memory. This was their fault.

Tessa. Her fault. She brought him on that quest, she made him take the Achilles curse. Her fault, her fault, her fault. Things would end if she was dead.

Reese looked up with red vision, scouring the battlefield. His attention flicked to a point in the distance, and he saw Tessa, Kaden, Dale, and Adhara fighting their way through the battlefield to get to them. Good. He would kill her, then kill the rest.

No. What's going on? Reese felt like he was banging his fists against a locked door. This isn't you! Let me out! They're your friends!

"Seems like Camp Half-Blood's golden boy has finally snapped," Vinny said happily. "This will be fun to watch, but something bitchy this way comes."

"What's going on?" Tessa knit her eyebrows together as she approached, her vision landing on Reese. "Reese, are you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine," Reese felt himself smile the way a serial killer would just before they made the final blow. Then he lunged for Tessa, dragging an arrow from his quiver and swiping it towards her.

Tessa, alarmed yet trained, leapt out of the way. She backed away, a hand on Tempest's hilt. "Reese, what the hell?"

"What the hell?" Reese echoed. "What the hell did you to me? To Mark? To Flynn? All of this is your fault, Tessa!"

"Woah!" Kaden intervened, a hand towards Reese. "Reese, I don't know what your problem is but you need to calm down."

"Do me a favor, Kaden, and shut the hell up. That's all you're good for anyway. Go back to being your attractive, useless self." Reese rebuffed. "And let me finish off that monster."

"Ooh, trouble in paradise," Reese heard Vinny say. "This would be fun to watch and all, but I've got plans for April, so." He clapped his hands. "Ladon, awaken."

Ladon? Reese whirled around and found that the wall he'd been guarding was before a large clearing, in which a tree with golden apples rested about fifteen yards away. Hidden by the tall grass, a large dragon slumbered. Only now, it was getting up.

"See you guys later," Vinny grinned, and before anyone could stop him, disappeared into the battlefield.

Ladon. Hera's tree. The cure. Reese, focus on the cure. Reese could feel his morality warring with him but he felt like if he didn't kill, if he didn't hurt, then everything would be for naught. He'd get hurt next, and he'd had enough of pain and torture for a lifetime.

A blur of blond hair swept through the grass, out of sight. Ladon roared and began to lumber towards Reese and the others, but Reese felt his nerves go tense once again, and he whirled back to face Tessa.

The daughter of Poseidon had Tempest drawn, its bronze glow illuminating her face in the darkness of the setting sun. "You wanna dance, Reese? Fine, let's dance."

Reese strapped his bow over his torso, unsheathing a knife from his belt. He lunged for Tessa, who parried Reese's strike with her sword. Tessa twirled, bringing Tempest down towards Reese as she gained on him, but Reese pivoted, slamming into her with full force. Tessa stumbled, but with a defiant battle cry, continued to strike.

"What's wrong with you?" Tessa shouted over the sounds of battle, Ladon's roars, and Typhon's thunder.

"You've caused enough pain," Reese said, breathing heavily. He swiped at Tessa, but she leaped out of the way. "It's time you feel some too."

"Newsflash, bozo, I've felt pain too!" Tessa said, swinging Tempest at him. "I don't want to hurt you!"

"Can't relate, because all I want to do it—" Reese faltered, feeling like someone had hit his brain. He staggered, and Tessa took that opportunity to slam Reese over with the flat of Tempest's blade. Reese fell to the ground, staring up at the sky.

"Flynn," Reese gasped. "He needs the cure. I need the cure."

Tessa, looming over him in utter confusion, nodded. She looked up. "Flynn! Hustle!"

Flynn yelled something along the lines of "I'M BUSY" before Ladon roared and the sky illuminated with fire. Flynn cursed and yelped, running away.

"I'm cursed," Reese choked. "Flynn knows the cure."

"Can you stand?" Tessa asked, wariness in her eyes. Reese hesitated, but nodded.

"It's madness," Reese took a ragged breath, leaning on Tessa. "I'll tell you everything later." He arched his back as pain struck him once again.

"You need to fight it, Reese," Tessa assured him. "You're stronger than this. Come on."

Reese winced, wishing he could run Tessa through with his blade for a split second. But he forced the mad urge down. He took a deep breath, and forced himself to focus. He surveyed the battlefield: Flynn, Mark, and Kaden were taking on Ladon; Kaya and Alex had run off in search of Vinny; Dale and Adhara were shooting blasts of their own power at Typhon, thunder rattling the sky when they succeeded; Imogen was nowhere in sight.

"Tessa!" Kaden shouted. "Heads up!"

Tessa and Reese looked up, and saw a vial sailing through the air. Tessa caught it in mid-air, and fumbled with the cork end. "What, does Flynn just carry these around with him?"

"He's got weird hobbies," Reese reasoned. "Hurry up."

"I'm trying," Tessa yanked the cork off. "Any murderous tendencies?"

"Don't give me that cure and you'll have your answer." Reese managed, gritting his teeth.

Tessa took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing." She poured the contents of the vial into Reese's mouth, and the son of Apollo almost spat it out. It tasted like moldy apples and everything rotten in the earth, but had an odd aftertaste to it, like citrus.

It burned going down his throat, and Reese cried out as it took effect. Every muscle in his body tensed, and then relaxed. He sighed, breathing heavily. "Thank the Gods."

"How do you feel?" Tessa asked, watching his face with suspicion.

"Like I need a vacation," Reese rested his head atop the grass.

The sound of running footsteps brought Reese up to a sitting position. Tessa helped him up, and Kaden, Mark, and Flynn sprinted over to them.

"So I'm good now?" Reese asked.

Flynn bit his lip. "It's a temporary cure. Adhara's working her weird voodoo magic to lull Ladon back to sleep so I can get the rest of the ingredients. It should work for about thirty minutes."

Reese felt his stomach sink. "Thirty minutes? That's no time."

"Better than nothing," Mark clapped Reese on the shoulder. "Now come on, we've got real problems. Like, Typhon threatening to destroy the world."

As if in response, another quake shook the mountainside. Reese looked out over the rest of the battlefield, and watched as in unison, the remaining Masks stopped and removed their Masks. They looked dazed, like they'd just woken up. Some of them spotted friends and rushed over. Others looked at the bodies at their feet and stepped away in horror.

"Well, one horror's ended," Kaden remarked with a sigh. "This almost seems ironic."

"Come on," Tessa decided, trudging towards the upheaval of land where Typhon was growing. "We've got a storm spirit to subdue."

~~

As the legion retreated with the long-lost Masks, Reese managed to get the short version of what had happened in the mansion. Apparently, Luke had been a pawn in some greater plot of Kane's—who was actually Menoetious, the Titan of violence—to raise Typhon and unleash Project Maelstrom. Also, Menoetious had apparently been the cause for everything tragic in their lives, starting with the quest all those years ago.

Reese wasn't sure what to make of all of it, but he supposed that was a problem for a later date. Because right now, the most feared enemy of the Olympians was rising before his very eyes.

Reese found himself remembering mythology class, when they'd been introduced to everything they would possibly encounter one day. One such lesson was Typhon, which Reese had understood to be a really big, really angry thunderstorm. Now, he saw that he wasn't too far off.

Typhon was, in this awakening state of his, a tornado on the verge of forming. Spirals and funnels of clouds and wind made up his body, and lightning became his eyes, his veins. The father of monsters had yet to assume a full shape, but if Reese and his friends could stop it, they'd never have to witness what Typhon really looked like.

The wind surrounding Typhon had reached hurricane-force like gales. Their group was forced to hunker down behind a destroyed wall of the Garden, their hair and the meadow grass whipping around them.

"How do we stop him?" Reese roared over the thunderous wind.

Dale shook her head. "No idea. Luke mentioned something about files on Project Maelstrom but who has the time to go hunting Vinny down?"

"Kaya and Alex, apparently," Mark muttered. "But we'll tell them later."

Tessa cursed, peaking over the wall for a split second. "We need to distract him. Disrupt his focus, his sphere of power, anything."

"How do you plan to do that?" Kaden asked, emerald eyes luminous in the darkness. "He's not even a god, he's that ancient, that powerful. We won't stand a chance."

Tessa got a look on her face, the one that Reese liked to dub as the selfless hero look. It annoyed him most of the time, but that face also was the birthplace of stupid, yet effective ideas.

"Typhon is the father of storms and monsters. He creates and causes natural disasters. If we can maybe counteract his power..." Tessa figured.

"Maybe we can subdue him." Reese finished, nodding. "Worth a shot."

They drafted their plan as quickly as possible. Kaden would work with Reese, fending off the storm spirits surrounding their master. Mark, with his limited super speed, would do his best to counteract the tornado surrounding Typhon, running in circles around his feet. Tessa and Dale, having earthly powers, would launch a form of convergence to subdue Typhon ultimately.

And before Reese knew it, the plan was a go. He and Kaden vaulted over the wall they were hiding behind, offering cover for Mark, Dale, and Tessa. Storm spirits surged at them, but with Reese's Celestial Bronze arrows and Kaden's Imperial Gold sword, they hardly stood a chance. Typhon's spawn dissolved into golden dust, and Reese and Kaden spun through the valley effortlessly.

A rumble of thunder shook the air as Typhon moved, looking down at Reese and his friends as he rose. "Humans." His voice was like a storm meeting a warm front.

Reese fought the chill spider-walking down his spine. "Hate to break it to you, but we're not just humans. We're halfbloods."

Reese got the feeling that Typhon was thinking 'Ugh, even worse' but before the spirit could get a chance, Reese whipped around. "Girls, now!"

The world seemed to halt in its rotation. Dale and Tessa crested the hill, both elementals surrounded by an aura of their power. Dale's golden irises glowed with power as vines and plants wrapped around her arms, her legs, like some sort of armor; the earth trembled in her wake. Tessa walked around, spirals of water cresting into a wave with each step in her wake; her turquoise eyes ignited like lightning cleaving the sea.

"Holy shit," Kaden mumbled from Reese's side.

Dale and Tessa, with a joined look, raised a hand, and with explosion-like force, their combined power shot towards Typhon. The earth shook as Typhon roared. Lightning struck the ground thousands of times from his thundercloud of a body, igniting the sky.

"Think its gonna work?" Reese watched as Mark whirled around Typhon's cloudy base, zipping towards them.

"It better," The son of Iris huffed a breath in response. "Because that's more running than I like to do."

The light from Tessa and Dale's energy was so bright, Reese could have passed it off as another light. However, what was most awe-inspiring was the legion surrounding them. Those demigods with elemental power began to step forward, flanking beside Tessa and Dale. Jesse Argent, the son of Hephaestus, launched a stream of fireballs at Typhon; Luci Glaw, the daughter of Jupiter and augur, electrified the sky with her own lightning bolts. Soon enough, a few dozen demigods stood behind Tessa and Dale, their own elemental power strengthening the ray of magic.

Typhon unleashed one last guttural roar before dissolving. The storm died down, and the monster disappeared. And just like that, the entire legion erupted into a victory cry.

Kaden, Reese, and Mark embraced one another, leaping up and down in celebration. Reese, feeling exhausted, turned towards the hill, and the crowd had strengthened to more than just the elemental demigods. Everyone was congregating, celebrating. Night had fallen, but light had won out in the end.

However, their happy ending was yet to come. Adhara came running towards Reese, Mark, and Kaden, a grave look on her face.

"You guys got Typhon?" The daughter of Nemesis asked, looking breathless. "Good, because we've got another problem."

"What is it?" Mark asked, and Reese was surprised he was even eloquent before his crush.

Adhara bit her lip. "It's...it's Vinny and Matthew. They've taken hostages."

~~

Kaden, Reese, and Mark ran after Adhara, sprinting towards the back of Aether's now decrepit mansion. They eventually reached the garden, with its mazelike hedges and rose bushes and fountain. However, seated around the fountain were a dozen young demigods, all looking equal levels of fury and fright. Circling them like two bloodthirsty lions were Vinny Maxwell and Matthew Baines, traitors extraordinaire.

"What does he want with them?" Mark hissed to Adhara.

Adhara shook her head. "Vinny threatened to kill them off if I didn't bring you three."

No one spoke. Instead, the three boys and Adhara entered the garden, snagging the attention of Vinny and Matthew's attention.

"Well, well, well," Matthew Baines drawled, hopping down from the garden bench he stood on. "If it isn't my good old friends. How have you all been?"

"Go to hell, Baines," Kaden snapped.

"I've been," Matthew flashed a grin. "Thanks to you."

"Matthew was just telling me all about the conflicts you would get into at Camp Half-Blood, Kade," Vinny announced. "All over Tessa. Not a very compelling force to start beef, huh?"

"Vinny," Reese interrupted, his voice sharp enough to shatter steel. "Let the hostages go."

"Now, why would I do that?" Vinny stepped over to one of the hostages, who Reese identified as Mallory Burke, a former Mask. "I wanted to catch up with one of my good old friends."

"Get your hands off of me before I cut them off," Mallory said, a wild look in her eyes.

"Ooh, feisty, Mal." Vinny grinned. Mallory bared her teeth. "But no, I've got a pretty compelling reason for you three to comply with me."

Reese knit his eyebrows, but the sound of footsteps snagged his attention. He turned, and saw Matthew emerge from Aether's foyer with—

"Let her go!" Reese growled upon seeing Imogen, bound and gagged. There was a scar across her cheek, and Reese felt a similar tear begin to form in his heart of hearts.

"We will," Vinny conceded. "If you surrender your camps."

"Like hell we will," Kaden countered, fury in his stance.

Matthew shoved Imogen to her feet. Her movements were sluggish—she'd been drugged somehow. If she was to her senses, there was no way Imogen would let herself be captured.

"You asked for it then," Matthew said, drawing his sword.

"No!" Reese yelled, reaching for an arrow. But he was out of arrows. He cursed and sprinted towards Imogen, but his movements were too slow. He could practically see the Fates moving their scissors towards Imogen's lifeline, because each move he took towards her was too slow.

But just as Matthew's blade was nearing Imogen's neck, he was tackled to the ground by a figure in black and purple. Mallory Burke had pounced on him, and was landing punch after punch.

The hostages got up and ran, too young to know what to do in this situation. Mark ensured their safety, ushering them away from the garden. Kaden and Reese sprinted towards Matthew and Vinny, weapons drawn.

Vinny reached Mallory first though, yanking her off Matthew like she weighed nothing. "You made me do this, Mal."

Mallory spit in his face, and Vinny growled, fumbling for his sword.

Kaden's eyes widened. "Vinny, no--!"

But Vinny didn't care. He never cared. Because despite Mallory being one of his childhood best friends, that didn't stop him from stabbing her through the heart. It didn't stop him from letting her body fall to the stones of Aether's mansion, like she was nothing but dead weight.

Kaden cried out, releasing a guttural roar. However, before he could reach Vinny, a silver arrow got to the son of Victoria first. Vinny cried out, clutching his shoulder in agony.

Reese looked wildly in the direction the arrow came from, and saw Sera Brennan stalk out of the shadows. Her hands were covered with blood, her face covered with grime and tears. But the silver bow in her hands, the mark of a Hunter, was resolute and shining like the crescent moon in the sky.

Vinny, stumbling and bleeding, hobbled away towards Matthew, and with some odd sort of magic, disappeared. Reese cursed, sprinting over to where Kaden was kneeling at Mallory's side. She was gone, Reese knew that much, but Kaden looked absolutely destroyed.

They'd gotten their victory. But at what cost?