Rise of the Titans

[HotCider]

Jessup's attention had been concentrated on the door. With his hood veiling his eyes from intense lamp light, he hadn't noticed the shadow swelling next to him into the form of a colossol man.

I don't know how you keep finding us, but if you wish to cause trouble at my home, I can assure you that you will not like where you will end up.

The voice had made the hairs on the back of Jessup's neck stand on end and a shiver to fire down his spine. He had come out of nowhere. Again, fucking teleport. The mercenary turned his head to see the godling's chest before he craned his head to look him right in the eyes.

Jessup's lips twisted into an arrogant smirk. "Buddy, if ah wanted t'cause trouble, ah wouldn't had gone an knocked on the damn door. Now, if yer plannin' t'ah stand in the way of me seein' the librarian, then ah'll chop yer Paul Bunyin-ass down."

From behind his back, Jessup drew a six-inch knife that he waved only once in show before the giant before a stinging pain radiated from the holes in his arm. Jessup dropped the knife and grasped his sleeve where his arm was bandaged beneath. His teeth clenched in pain that forced him to his knees. All of his wounds began to sting simultaneously.

He crossed his arms, embracing himself and tensing to the point of trembling. It felt like the dog's claws were digging into him again, torturing his nerves. The paroxysm subsided and Jessup gasped a breath of relief as sweat moistened his brow.

Weakness...to have been reduced to such a pathetic state before his former enemy. To kill the godlings within 48 hours was an impossible task in his current state. He was going to kill that woman and her dog. He swore it. She was officially his and he would take her with him in a kamikaze ambush if he had to.

Jessup remained on his knees with his fingers curled into his sleeves. The drugs weren't keeping up with the infection. 48 hours...shit. Panting softly, he gathered his breath and struggled to topple over his pride. It was sickening what he was about to see himself do.

"Ah made a mistake..." he confessed; his eyes still downcast and irritable at the step. "The bitch summoned a dog from Hell to attack me (he didn't need to explain magic to these freaks). 'Was because ah had said ah was done workin' for her. Ah'm gonna die now from infection."

Jessup cracked an amused smile.

"Lemme know if you'kin help me. If you can't, ah'm gonna pay the missy a visit an show'er my fancy belt."

 

[DeathsKnight]

Hayden Condan

As the nercenary threatened him and drew a blade, Hayden felt how the shadows of his clothing started to form a type of armor, but then the man crumpled to the ground ad started to explain. Hayden laid a hand on the door, it clicked and swung open,

"Hellhound venom, if Lydia says that we can't help you here, I know of a place where we can get you fixed up. But as these things go, it will cost you.

He placed a helping hand under Jessup's arm, careful not to touch the arm itself,

"Lydia, a visitor for you."

 

[HotCider]

Hellhound venom…

Jessup’s brows pinched together as he took in the words: “hellhound” and “venom.” He had been correct, but what the fuck? Supermen and now demons? The hand that gently grasped beneath his arm was dismissively shrugged aside as Jessup growled like a wild dog, “You wanna keep jackin’ with that hand, ya best keep it to yerself.”

Confessing that he had been wrong had been a big enough feat, accepting a hand as though he were weak and feeble was too much. He was still strong—so he liked to believe. He still had some fight and determination in him. His hunger for revenge was so sharp he could have salivated.

Gingerly releasing his grip on his arms, Jessup rested his shaky hands flat upon the stone step and slowly rose to his feet with his shoulders and arms hanging as though they weighed a ton. With teeth clenched in pain, he straightened his back and groaned softly from the effort. Bowing his head so the hood could guard his eyes from the interior lighting, Jessup cautiously eyed the doorframe and then the foyer where the familiar librarian stood. They had just let him in. It was…not what he had expected.

The mercenary cautiously stepped over the threshold as though expecting a trip wire or ambush. Once inside, he turned a little to regard the giant behind him, expecting him to shout some sort of cue or even make an odd, signal motion. Jessup was bewildered. Why did the giant want to help the man that had tried to kill his two friends? He could understand that he might have felt an advantage because he was hours from his death bed, but it was the fact that he had agreed to help him as though he had forgotten the past and had moved on that blew his mind.

Jessup wasn’t about to put it past him. No one was that saintly.

“Hmph,” Jessup grunted. He set his eyes on Lydia. The whites of them had become pink with irritation and dark circles were lightly setting in about his eyes. The mercenary was pallor from when she last saw him. His skin was no longer tanned and healthy, but sickly with purple and blue, hair-like veins branching out from beneath the patches that covered the holes in his neck and face like white stickers.

“Ah found yer dog,” was all he said with a stern expression. “You ain’t say it was a devil.”

 

[heartofcourage]

“A visitor?” Lydia asked as Hayden brought the mercenary into the mansion. She paused on the stairs, looking down at the man that had been there to kill them just a few hours before. “Well, that’s a visitor that I don’t want to see.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, staring down at the man that was in obvious pain. Something pulled deep within her to help him, but she honestly didn’t know how. She sighed deeply as she made her way down the rest of the stairs and stopped just in front of him.

“Yeah, I see you found the dog. I thought I made it quite clear that the person you were working for wasn‘t to be trusted.” She said absently as she started trying to pull off his clothing until he whipped away from her with a growl. “If you’re going to piss and moan like a little baby, then there’s nothing I can help you!” She insisted, glaring back at him as he grunted.

“Into the living room and off with your shirt.” She insisted, pointing through the doorway that would lead to Hayden’s large living room. As the man shuffled along, she glanced towards Hayden. “I’ll need some plastic gloves and some warm water. Maybe even a book on myths if you have one.” She said absently as she followed behind the mercenary.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Hayden Condan

"Leave you alone?"

He arched an eyebrow, but left anyway, if there was one ounce of honor in the killer who had come to ask for help, he knew that Lydia would have to handle him herself as she did in her apartment. He gathered all he asked, picking up the biggest and most expansive book he had on Myths all over the world, he was not sure why his father had given it to him, but he knew that now it might help and he would not need to take the killer to the underworld to get healed...if Lydia could help the man. Stepping into the living room he placed the items on one of the dark wooden tables. He stayed in position, ready to act the moment that something seemed to be off.

 

[HotCider]

Piss and moan? The bitch was cocky. Jessup grudgingly did what he was told to do. He entered the living room and walked over to a coffee table that he decided would be where he would ground his gear. He started with his hoodie, drawing it up and over his head. The stench of his lucky shirt became prevalent, gleefully escaping its confines to affront the nose of anyone three-feet of him. The mercenary briefly regarded his shirt like a boy did a bear he didn’t want to put down. The shirt was his only defense if they tried to stab him in the back. It may have also been the only thing keeping him alive.

Jessup set the task of removing it aside, and instead, began unbuckling his leather shoulder holsters that held his pistols. He set it on the table and then lowered his hands to the grenade belt that he added to the table of piling weaponry. His magazine pouches were next, following the knives he had hidden on his person. From his back, he removed the knife that he swore he had dropped earlier. Holding up the blade, he stared at it strangely, trying to remember if he had grabbed it or not…Whatever. Tossing the knife onto the table, Jessup plopped back upon the couch with his legs spread comfortably and arms stretched out across the back.

The foul shirt had stayed on. Jessup was in no mood to remove it. The shirt had saved his life numerous times in the past and if he removed it, he may succumb to the infection—again, so he believed. When Lydia eventually followed him into the living room, the mercenary didn’t look her way once. He knew he didn’t follow her instructions, but if she wanted to experiment with cures and remedies, she could do it with his arms rather than the rest of him. If it backfired, well, an arm was better than his life.

The bandages that wrapped his biceps had a brown tinge from the iodine, which outlined the black spot of the uncanny infection that was necrotizing not just his flesh, but his muscles and bone. The spot was the size of a golf ball, and was growing in circumference by the hour.

 

[heartofcourage]

Lydia entered into the room behind the mercenary, the very smell that wafted off him making her back up towards the door. She coughed and gagged at the smell, her hand going to hold her nose.

“The shirt goes or I can’t help you.” She said, her eyes watering at the stink as she tried to stay as far away from the horrid smell as she could.

Even from where she stood, she could see the bandages on his arm that was tinged brown with iodine and the widening circle of black that was taking his skin away from the muscle and bone. It was large, about the size of a silver dollar and getting bigger. She knew about all manner of illnesses and even the most virile strains of flesh eating bacteria didn’t work that fast.

She ignored the smell as she walked forward and took his arm, looking over it with a curious look on her face. She poked and prodded it, pulling the bandages off as he growled and menaced her. She ignored him as she flipped through everything in her mind, trying to find a way to fix this.

Her lips moved as she talked to herself, her brain kicking into overdrive as she simply stared at the wounds. She shook her head as she disagreed with herself, a wrinkle appearing between her brows as she grew stumped for an answer. Letting go of his arm, she sat back on her heels and glanced towards his face.

“I don’t know how to stop this, but I have an idea that might work.” She said slowly, measuring out her words. “We need water from the underworld.”

 

[HotCider]

Jessup heard the affronted coughs and turned a narrowed, brown eye over his shoulder to regard Lydia. Turning his cheek dismissively, Jessup grumbled, “You better make it work out. Ah ain’t taken this shirt off. It’s the only thing keepin’ me alive.”

He knew she would give into her maternal instinct. She had seemed like that kind of a woman, and if he had truly been her enemy, he would have taken advantage of it. Despite his stench, she had approached him and inspected his arm. It was when she grabbed a hold of it that every pain receptor from his bicep to his shoulder screamed. Jessup practically jumped out of his seat. He turned on the couch, grasping his shoulder as she started to poke and prod the bandage.

“YOU FUCKIN’ BITCH!” he screamed, his voice ringing throughout the mansion. His arm jerked in her grip as he resisted the urge to recoil it. If she was going to help him, she needed to see it; but she was hardly kind about it. She examined his arm like a fucking science project, removing the dressing to gaze upon the rotting flesh. The blood that oozed from it was dark, thick, and creamy with puss.

When she released his arm, Jessup yanked it back and hugged it against his chest. He bowed his head and closed his eyes as the excruciating paroxysm that had racked his body earlier returned. Groaning in his pain, he slid off the couch to his knees and curled over in the only position that helped him resist the attack. He rested his forehead against the cool floor. It offered some relief and made his head ache less if only a little.

I don’t know how to stop this, but I have an idea that might work…We need water from the underworld.

Water from The Underworld…Jessup’s painful frown arched into a large grin. The Underworld…Why did it sound so crazy? The Underworld. He wanted to laugh, but for once, he didn’t. It was very insane, but it was all true. The dog from Hell, the super humans whose house he was in, and Lyra. The pain subsided and Jessup sat upwards with an exasperated sigh. His face glistened with sweat and without opening his eyes—again, resting them from the lighting—he said, “All right; we need t’ah take a step back. Ah need’a understand somethin’ here about all these demons and super freaks.”

Opening his eyes, a stern frown sank on his face as he asked, “What the hell is goin’ on? How the fuck did ah get involved in all this, and how the hell do I get out?”

 

[DeathsKnight]

Hayden Condan

"Shortly the Titans, the forces of nature which ruled before the gods, are breaking out of the Underworld. Hell basically is coming to Earth. Now the gods have lost their powers as people don't believe and worship them anymore. The people you have been targetted to kill are scions, children of gods. We are the ones who may stop the Titans. You have probably been targetted because you carry godly power, you may not know it, but I can sense it. The ones who have contracted you are most likely ones who will benefit in their eyes from the release of the Titans, but as my father have told me, it doesn't matter if you help them or not, they will destroy everything."

He sighed and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose,

"We can help him Lydia, I can easily take him to the waters, let him bathe and bring him back here, but what if he decides to honor his contract and kill you and Steve? I know he came here because you can help him and answer all his questions, what if he finds out all he needs to know and decide the job is better than the consequences?"

He opened his eyes and looked down at Jessup,

"I know it sounds strange having doubts after allowing you into my home, but I know that here I am safe from you or any other attack. But I will not stay here forever, especially since we have our own problems to deal with."

 

[HotCider]

Jessup’s honey eyes rolled over to the towering Hayden as he listened to his explanation. Gods…he glanced from Hayden to Lydia, and then back to Hayden. That also must have meant pretty boy was a god too. When the giant pointed out that he too possessed godly power, several memories of uncanny instances that had happened to him flashed within his mind in less than a second before Jessup’s lip quirked into a smirk.

“All ah carry is skill, weapons, and this here lucky shirt. There ain’t nothin’ special ‘bout me,” he replied.

The mercenary slowly sank onto his side before he turned onto his back and laid flat upon the floor. Every paroxysm made his condition worse. The holes in his neck and face were a hair from expanding past the bandages he had covering them. He frowned when Hayden began talking to Lydia as though he wasn’t there listening.

“Didn’t ah say that that bitch and her fuckin’ dog are mine? So why woulda’ ah wanna go continuin’ workin’ for her? She tried to fuck me over!” Jessup growled. “Help me, if you can help me, otherwise, ah’m gonna go take her to Hell with me. All ah ask is that you don’t waste my fuckin’ time. If ah really wanted to dust some kids, you, the librarian, and fly boy woulda’ been gone a long time ago. Ah have no interest in killin’ you punks anymore, ah swear it.”

 

[heartofcourage]

Lydia had enough of his foul mouth and she reached down, pinching his injured arm as he writhed in pain. “Watch your mouth and talk to us with respect.” She said with a stern look on her face before she straightened up and glanced at Hayden.

“If he learns to mind his manners, bring me some water from the underworld. I don’t think that it’s particularly safe to let him go traipsing around there by himself.” She looked down at the mercenary at her feet. “If he wants to continue being a pain in our ass I say let him suffer. We don’t have time for his attitude. We have Titans to prepare for.”

 

[DeathsKnight]

Hayden Condan

Hayden nodded at Lydia, he stepped to Jessup and knelt down,

"You can deny all you want about who and what you are. I come from a lineage who knows power, you are no mere mortal so stop wasting your breath denying it."

He smirked slightly,

"You are a killer, how can I ever trust your word mercenary."

He reached under the couch, luckily his ancestory had made him rather resistent to pungent odors, the dead did have a rather rotten smell about them. His hand sunk into the shadow, seemingly into the solid floor. Hayden took his time, allowing Jessup to see this happen, his eyes blackened as the shadow magic was worked, then he withdrew his hand, in it he held a pewter goblet, clearly old and in it swirled water, clearly not any kind found on earth. His eyes cleared up, but already he sported a five +' clock shadow. He handed the goblet to Lydia.

"If you need more I can get more."

 

[HotCider]

Jessup’s eyes snapped open when Lydia tagged his arm. The mere, childish pinch she gave to it made the mercenary squirm and groan, “Aaagh! Ah’m gonna—ERR!” He bit back the insult.

“If you keep touchin’ me, ah may just take back my word!” he growled.

Jessup rolled onto his side with his back facing her. He hugged his arms against his chest as though to hide them. It must have been payback. Miss Weakling was getting her licks in while he was down. It was pathetic that a pinch could have him screaming “Uncle” in his current state. She talked big for being such a vulnerable member of her team.

You can deny all you want about who and what you are. I come from a lineage who knows power, you are no mere mortal so stop wasting your breath denying it.

“Ah ain’t wastin’ mah breath. Ah’ve always been me. Ah aven’t been nobody else. Mah name is Jessup King, mercenary and agent of the ACA. You help me, and ah’ll stay outta yer hair. Ah got my own shit to deal with,” Jessup explained.

That woman had done something to him. There was something inside him craving for her demise, and it wasn’t going to rest until it happened. It made him anxious—anxious to get well for as soon as he was able-bodied, he was going to hunt her down. Jessup was distracted from his vengeful thoughts when he watched Hayden kneel next to the couch and reach beneath it. His brows rose curiously when the godling’s eyes shifted to pitch-black and as he withdrew his hand, within his grasp was an ancient relic. It was an old cup and within its bowl was a swirling substance that gave him chills. Something within him knew it was unnatural, and the idea that they were going to use it on him made him nervous.

“You sure this gonna work? Ah’m just sayin’, you tried this on someone before? You even know what it does besides curin’ me of venom?”

 

[DeathsKnight]

Hayden Condan

"Sure it's tried and tested. When immersed completely in it you will become invulnerable. If you drink it you gain powers of death for a few hours. When used to treat wounds and infection you will survive."

He snorted in disgust,

"If we wanted you dead you would be floating down the river, picked up by Charon and ferried to my father. We intend to help you, unlike you we don't go around killing people, for money."

 

[heartofcourage]

“You’re going to what?” Lydia asked, crossing her arms and looking down at the mercenary that was squirming on the floor. “I don’t think that you’re going to do anything. You know why? Because if you were you would have done it by now. You might have been a badassed mercenary before, but you’ve failed to take down a single one of us so far.”

She glanced over at Hayden as he shared her own feelings. She was getting the strange sensation that he wasn’t just a normal, everyday human either. There was something about her that reminded her of someone who didn’t know the strength that was lurking beneath the surface. Denial was a powerful being and it seemed that he was deeply entrenched in it.

“I trust Hayden when he says that it’s going to work. If it kills you, then you’ll be in the right place.” She said with a shrug, waiting to hear that he was on board with the whole situation before they proceeded.

 

[HotCider]

Jessup glared at the goblet and the wispy waters within its bowl that licked at the rim. He listened to Hayden’s explanation and declaration. The mercenary was finished arguing about what he could have done to the godlings. No matter what he claimed, the truth was as plain as the librarian’s statement. He didn’t kill any of them. Now, if she was implying that he was a lousy mercenary, then she was clearly underestimating him. But what did it matter? He wasn’t trying to impress anyone. They had something he needed and he looked forward to getting it.

Beneath furrowed brows, Jessup closed his eyes and nervously went still, bracing himself for whatever sensation the eldritch water would put him through.

“Let’s get this over with,” Jessup said.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Hayden Condan

"Allow me Lydia."

A flick of his wrist and bands of darkness shot from shadows and grabbed Jessup's arms and legs, pulling him flat on his back.

"This is for your own good, don't want you thrashing around knocking a statue onto yourself."

He knelt down, a dagger appearing in his hand, it's blade as dark as night,with it he cut away the bandages, revealing the points of infection. The dagger disappeared when he was done with it, then he held the cup over Jessup.

"This is going to hurt like a son of a bitch."

He started pouring the water on each of the wounds, as he spoke in a low voice,

"Afí̱ste af̱tó to skáfos na therapef̱teí apó ti̱ mólynsi̱, ekteléste to di̱li̱tí̱rio apó af̱tó, as to skotádi na antikatastatheí me ti̱n fo̱tiá ti̱s zo̱í̱s."

He repeated the incantation as the effects of the icy cold water took hold of the mercenary. He stood up and glanced at Lydia, a small smile on his lips,

"Sorry. I had known all along what to do. Had a little talk with my father before he showed up. Will be interesting to see if this Nemesis would be able to stand up against a group of his own kind under my control."

 

[HotCider]

Allow me Lydia.

Jessup opened his eyes to suspiciously glance up at Hayden when black serpents snaked out from under the couch and tea table to coil about his wrists and ankles. Instinctually, Jessup’s reaction was to resist. He crossed his arms and drew in his legs only to have his limbs wrenched out. He was now flat on his back. Jessup lifted his head and tried with all his strength to resist the bonds. He struggled like a wild animal: twisting, turning, and cursing up a storm.

“What the hell? Ah thought you were gonna help me!”Jessup roared. “That’s all right. Do yer worst, and ya best hope ah don’t break free ‘cuz ah’m gonna kill all of you!”

Jessup immediately went silent when he saw the giant kneel next to him with a wicked-looking knife in his hand. It was unearthly how it appeared intangible yet was tangible in his grip. His chest was rising and falling with the anxiety that was gushing through his system. When Hayden started slashing, Jessup tensed only to feel the bandages falling away from his face and arms. The nightmarish holes were already crawling with Underworld parasites. Black worms were looping in and out of his flesh, feeding off the healthy bone, tissue, marrow and blood cells that remained.

The sight of the creatures made Jessup pale in horror and disgust.

“Wha-wha-what the fuck?” He was freaking out. “When did those get there?”

This is going to hurt like a son of a bitch.

“Wait, what? Hold on. Wait!”

Hayden tipped the dark water onto his wounds against his protests. Upon contact, his wounds hissed and boiled like an acidic reaction and the worms that had been dining on his flesh emitted a shrill scream that mixed with Jessup’s own girlish cry. Cold…Jessup had never felt such a chill in his life. In fact, cold seemed like an understatement. The water had been so cold it burned, and his arms and face instantly went numb. The worst area had to be his face. The wounds were melting from his skin like black paint and the red gashes in his body were weaving healthy bone and flesh back together.

Jessup dropped his head back in exhaustion. His dark hair was matted against his head from the water that nearly made him drown when it washed into his eyes and nostrils. He coughed a few times and panted, “Holy shit…” He thought it was over. He wanted it to be over; but his chest and legs were still victims to the hellhound’s bite. The dark magic hadn’t settled well with the creatures gnawing around inside him.

The mercenary froze and his eyes widened when he felt something squirming around inside him. He winced and flailed against his binds, twisting, turning, and fighting to break free.

“There’s somethin’ inside me!” Jessup exclaimed. “What didya’ do—Aaagh!”

The black, pirate shirt on Jessup’s chest rose and fell until ripping through one of the holes extended a black worm, glistening with red blood. The worm flared its fleshy mane and flaunted its yellow, blood-stained rows of teeth at Hayden. From a hole in his pants leg emerged a second worm, flapping the blood from its mane and snarling at Lydia. Jessup was lost for words. This had to be the most disturbing thing that’s ever happened in his life. The idea that those worms were incubating inside him made it worse. This was Hell. He was living it. Jessup hadn’t been a believer in the godling’s bullshit before, but he was now. How could anyone deny what he was seeing?

The first worm lunged at Hayden, spreading its spiny teeth with the intention to try and burrow into his neck. The second lunged at Lydia, hoping to coil around her legs to make her fall so it could burrow into her chest. Jessup struggled against his binds, trying to yank his arms and legs free. Who knew how many more we’re crawling around inside him waiting to surface? He had to do something. He couldn’t just let them be attacked.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Hayden Condan

He raised a hand and the worms stopped in mid-lunch, squirming in agony.

"Éla sto fo̱s tous mikroús fílous mou. Eláte na vroun moíra sas."

He raised his other hand as he spoke and dark tendrils snaked from his hand to wriggle in the air and then shot into Jessup's body. One into his neck, one into his abdomen and the other into his chest. Hayden believed that the pain had to be excriciating as the three worms got ripped from Jessup's body. The five worms squirmed in the light, hissing their anger and need to feed.

"Stamatáme. Na eíste pia."

Hayden's voice was firm, from inside the worms bursted a hellish green fire, burning their bodies into complete nothingness. Hayden knelt down next to Jessup and the bonds slackened slightly as he pulled Jessup into a seated position, Hayden held the cup to Jessup's lips.

"Drink, you will gain no power, but it will stop the internal bleeding."

Hayden tilted the cup, not giving Jessup much of a choice.

 

[HotCider]

Jessup stopped squirming when he saw the worms stop. He glanced at Hayden who was speaking a dark incantation. From his hand sprouted black tendrils that shot like spears into his body. Jessup’s whole being suffered a throe. His back arched and his breath caught in his throat as his every muscle locked up. His hands were clenched into tight fists that shook violently as the tendrils began to retrieve the worms. The three worms were ripped out like rubber, their bodies stretching completely taut before their ends popped free. On their ends were second heads that twisted and squirmed, hissing their anger. Jessup’s form sank.

The room was a bright blur before his eyes, and every few seconds he would fade in and out of consciousness. Jessup’s wounds were gaping once the worms were yanked out. They seeped with the sanguine ooze of infection that started streaming from the corners of his mouth.

Ah’m gonna die… Jessup thought as the world no longer felt real. The shrieks of the burning worms and Hayden’s ominous speech were an incoherent noise.

The giant’s hands gripped him and Jessup saw himself sitting upwards. The mercenary nearly puked into the cup as blood and vomit dumped into his lap. If he had known the infection would turn out so hellish, he would have went out with a bang. Taking out Lyra and her hound dog with a belt of grenades, would have been painless. But the suffering he endured was like nothing he had ever felt, and it infuriated him to know that Lyra knew it would turn out this way.

Hayden’s lips were moving and yet he heard nothing. As the goblet was being pressed against his mouth, the only voice Jessup heard was laughter. Kill the bitch that did this to you. Kill her slowly and make her suffer the same way you suffered. DO. NOT. DIE! No, he couldn’t die. He had to kill Lyra and the dog. Jessup’s eyes had shifted to a dark- red. Before taking a drink from the cup, the mercenary’s eyes were distant and staring across the room as he spoke, “The woman and the dog that did this to me are mine. Do not get in my way.” He had spoken and his usual Louisiana accent hadn’t been present. His eyes shifted back to normal and his face scrunched up in pain as he resisted puking so that he could drink the chilling waters in the goblet.

When the liquid passed down his throat, it felt like icicles were being constructed along his esophagus. The water had been so dry that he coughed a few times and weakly hung his head. He wanted the treatment to end all ready. Jessup trembled as a cold chill gripped him. This had to be what the 9th circle felt like and he understood why the devil would cry.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Hayden Condan

He glanced up at Lydia,

"Dark-red eyes, dropping of accent, slight European lilt to it. I think whoever is that power inside him just spoke to us."

Strange enough there was still fluid left in the cup, Hayden eyed the cup curiously, it should have been drained by now. After being sure that Jessup have done swallowing, he laid him down and poured the rest of the contents onto the open wounds, a hissing followed along with small tendrils of smoke. The goblet vanished on it's own accord and Hayden knew that it meant the job was done, now all that they could do was wait and see if the mercenary's mind kept sane through all the pain or if it snapped.


Steve Denver

The scream of utter pain jerked his mind away from where it had been wandering about who and what his parents were. He rushed out of his room, there was sounds from the living room and he rushed down the stairs and into the room only to find Hayden and Lydia standing over the convulsing body of the man who had tried to kill him...then the smell assaulted his senses and he dry wretched, coughed and wiped his suddenly watery eyes.

"What...what is he doing here?"

He was caught in another paroxism of coughing,

"And what the hell is that godawful smell?"

 

[HotCider]

No lie. Jessup was on the verge of crying if the treatment sought to continue. No one would know or understand the pain he had just witnessed unless they had suffered the same affliction. Hayden laid him on his back so that he could empty the rest of the goblet’s contents onto his wounds. With his body being chilled and numb from drinking the water, the second time around hadn’t been so bad. Maybe they should have let him drink it first?!

The mercenary stared up at the ceiling as though for a moment his soul had detached. His wounds sewed themselves closed and the pain was gone. Lying there exhausted, Jessup recounted the horrors he’d seen and the agonies he endured…all from a dog bite. The first thought that came to his mind after that whole ordeal: Ah’m gonna kill that bitch…

The corners of Jessup’s mouth curled with amusement. Light laughter left his lips only to rise in volume until it resonated throughout the room. He was delirious. The shock had finally caught up to him.

“HA, HA, HA, ah’m gonna kill her, HA HA!” Jessup roared with tears leaking from his eyes.

The mercenary sat upwards, grasping the bottom of his lucky shirt that he peeled free and tossed in Steve’s direction. He wanted to know what the smell was, and he found it. That shirt was hardly lucky. He almost fucking died! Still immersed in mirth, Jessup staggered to his feet. He had a hand on his stomach, holding his insides that were aching from his merriment.

Jessup walked over to the table where he had dumped his weaponry. He grasped a six-inch knife, holding it up before his eyes as he inspected it amidst crazed chuckles. His eyes rolled across its serrated edge before he lowered the weapon and grasped the grenade belt in his other hand. He didn’t need the other weapons and that wasn’t due to carelessness. The mercenary knew exactly what he’d need to take someone out.

The mercenary’s mood had flipped like a light switch when he started heading for the door. There was a menacing frown contorting his face, and if they thought his presence was deadly before, it followed him like a specter. The ominous aura of a killer engulfed him at that moment as his mind immediately started writing plans on where to find her, how he was going to ambush her, and what he was going to do when her dog would appear. The rest would be impromptu—just his style.

It might have seemed unusual for a man who was nearly eaten alive by demonic worms to be on his feet right after, and wanting to go face the creature that had him go through that treatment in the first place. The godlings were seeing the kind of adversary they were facing, and this time, Jessup wasn’t going to hold back the entity that wanted so eagerly to get his hands wet with blood.

 

[heartofcourage]

Lydia watched the entire scene before her with interest and a schooled coolness. Jessup was tethered to the floor with dark bands of shadow and Hayden made sure to keep him immobile. If he got mad about her slashing his tires, he most certainly wouldn’t like what was about to happen.

“I don’t think it’s the dog that’s the problem, but the woman controlling him. Maybe now that we know Jessup has an in with her, it’ll be easy to get her out in the open.” She said as Jessup looked up at them and threatened to kill them all.

“Idle threat.” She said with a bored tone to her voice, continuing to watch the scene before her with the clinical detatchment of a doctor.

She was surprised to see parasites moving in his skin. They were black, mean looking, and feeding off his bone and flesh like it was their last meal. She frowned slightly as Jessup began to freak out at the sight of the things. She couldn’t help but think she would be in the same position had she let the dog get close to her in the warehouse.

“It’s alright, Jessup. They have to work themselves out.” She said as the worms burst from his skin and launched themselves at her and Hayden. She didn’t move as Hayden put the words out of their misery.

Watching Jessup as he writhed on the ground, the water from the underworld doing its business. She sighed softly, trying to figure out what was up with the man that was lying on the flood, crying like a child. He seemed to have two personalities within him that were warring for dominance.

Cocking her head to the side as Hayden described the same thing that she’d just seen. She kept quiet still as Jessup drew himself from the floor and waltzed around the room, telling all that were listening that he was going to kill the woman that had done this to him.

She was quiet still as he seemed ready to walk out of the room. Steve stood beside them now, surprised, coughing, disgusted and she took a large breath, ready to spout out her diagnosis.

“Ares.” She said in a firm voice, her arms crossed over her chest as she waited to see how Jessup would react.

 

[HotCider]

Jessup had reached the doors of the room they were in and after passing the knife into the hand that held the grenade belt, he grasped the doorknob and rattled it in a fit. It wasn’t opening.

Ares.

“Open the door,” Jessup demanded gravely. He kept his back to the godlings as he waited for them to do what he asked. He didn’t have time for their games. They had told him everything he needed to know. They were gods—whoop-dee-do! There were Titans trying to kill them. He didn’t feel a part of it even if a magic bitch tried to kill him with her demon dog. He just got caught in the middle because he happened to make a deal with the wrong person. That person was going to be dead by tomorrow, he was going to make sure of it. She started a war with the wrong man.

 

[heartofcourage]

He paused, his hand on the locked door knob. He was on a mission, that much was apparent, but there was something in him that responded to the word that she’d said.

“Ares!” She said again in a forceful voice, a deep breath drawn into her chest as she moved away from Steve and Hayden, wanting to test out her newfound theory.

“Look at the little man running away. I don’t think he has it in him to kill anyone. Listen to him. He keeps saying he’s going to kill the woman that screw him over, but look how well that worked out in the past. Her little dog bit him. Wow, I didn’t seem to have any problem with them at all.” She said as she stopped just behind him. “What makes you think you can kill this woman when you couldn’t even kill us?”