"Why?" Henry asked. "She's fast, isn't she?"

  "What did you just say?" Arnold snarled.

  "I heard she puts out really nice if you know how to handle her," Henry smirked.

  "Take that back, now!" Arnold said, his eyes flaring.

  "Ooh, is little Arnold Regan going to fight me?" Henry chuckled. "I'm quaking in my boots."

  "Hey, let's take a breather," said Pat, coming in between them.

  "Come on, Pat," Henry grinned. "We're just having fun."

  "I don't see it that way," said Pat calmly. "You've had too much to drink, Hank. So, go cool off with Alaric. While, I make sure that my baby brother's best friend doesn't get the shit knocked out of him, okay?"

  "Whatever you say." Henry threw his hands up in the air and strutted back over to Alaric.

  Pat grabbed Arnold's shoulder and steered him into Walmart. As soon as they were a good way inside, the younger teen broke free and glared at him.

  "You didn't have to do that."

  "What?" Pat rolled his eyes. "Save your life?"

  "Try to help me because I'm friends with Hector," Arnold sighed.

  "Is that why you think I did it?"

  "What else could it be?"

  "Maybe it's that your mom helped raise me and my brothers," said Pat. "And I don't want her actual son getting killed while she's..."

  "Yeah, uh-huh," Arnold said half-heartedly. "Thanks, by the way, but you didn't..."

  Arnold turned away from Pat and started to walk away. "Didn't what?" He heard Pat say.

  "...save my life."

  ARNOLD GAVE A GREAT sigh of relief once the prescription was in his hands. He’d made it to the pharmacy on time and was about ready to leave when...

  "Arnold?" Emma was walking nearby, carrying a similar pharmacy bag. She looked pleasantly surprised. “I didn't think I would see you here this late. What's up?"

  "I had to get Mom's prescription before they closed," Arnold smiled.

  "You were out late at the dump again, weren't you?" Emma grinned.

  "Yeah."

  "Find any good tech this time?"

  "Nope," said Arnold. "It was almost like ancient times back there."

  "Y’know, I could always give you one of my old tablets or laptops?" Emma said kindly. "Y'know, ... if you wanted me to."

  "Nah," said Arnold plainly. "I need to get that kind of stuff my own way. I mean, it's wonderful of you to offer, but..."

  "You don't want a handout or any type of charity?" Emma asked, her eyebrows arched.

  "Well, ... kind of... but... yeah," Arnold sighed.

  "I can respect that," Emma shrugged. "But it's not a weakness to accept help when you need it, Arnold; just remember that, alright?"

  "Sure," Arnold blushed despite himself. "Y'know... that jock Henry Wheeler's into you. He kept pestering me for your number or for me to introduce you."

  "Oh?" Emma eyed Arnold cautiously.

  "Uh, yeah," said Arnold. "He said there's this rumor going around that... that... that you’re..."

  "That I've slept with every guy at school?" Emma sighed. "Yeah. I'd heard about that too. Found out about it after I got sixteen text messages asking which I preferred: bathrooms or hotel rooms."

  "Oh, god," Arnold said in disgust. "That's awful!"

  "Oh, wait until you hear this," said Emma. "This one guy told me I should join the Vatican to repent for my sins. And then I got twelve new texts asking me if that's why my parents took me to Greece and Rome for the summer."

  "That sucks!"

  "Well, apparently I do, if the rumors have anything to say about it," Emma sighed. "You know who started all of this, right?"

  "Helena?"

  "Got it in one,” said Emma. "Which, in a way, I should take it as a compliment."

  "How so?" Arnold asked.

  "I must have really caused a lot of expensive damage to her million-dollar nose job," Emma laughed. "If she's spread so many rumors in such little time."

  "Probably," Arnold chuckled. "You can throw one hell of a punch."

  "Good," Emma beamed. "Spread the word."

  Emma and Arnold had just walked out of the Walmart exit as they heard Henry Wheeler come running towards them.

  "Hank — please don't do this!" Pat shouted. But it came too late as a drunk Henry pushed Emma against the wall of the store and started groping her breast.

  "Just give me a taste. I'll get down on my knees if you like."

  Emma readied her fist: "GET OFF —!"

  "— HER!" Arnold tackled Henry to the ground and slugged him repeatedly until he grabbed his wrists and threw the former backwards into the air. Arnold did a perfect flip and landed on his feet. Emma and Pat both stared at him in shock. Henry stood up and glared at Arnold. "What's this?" Henry picked up the prescription Arnold had gotten for his mom. Damn't! Why did I drop those? Arnold thought as he groaned in frustration.

  Henry ripped the bag open and eyed the bottle of pills. "Take three pills twice a day to relieve pain? Well, that's going to be a little difficult..."

  Henry opened the bottle of pills and started emptying them all into a nearby gutter.

  "NO!" Arnold screamed. "YOU SORRY SON OF A BITCH!"

  Arnold charged at Henry, giving him a series of nerve punches that would temporarily paralyze his arms. How Arnold knew to do this, he wasn’t sure. He had never studied or practiced anything like this before. He had never even been in a fight until now. Arnold punched Henry’s ribs and his eyes. Henry tried to kick Arnold off him, but Arnold caught his leg and tossed the jock five feet away. Arnold looked as if he was ready to kill someone as he started hyperventilating. He looked down at his mom's empty pill bottle. What was he going to tell her? She needed those desperately! He then looked at Emma, who was approaching him gently.

  "Arnold... it's okay," she said quietly. "Everything's going to be fine."

  Arnold's heart felt as if it was being torn in two. One part felt like it wanted to keep beating faster, accelerating with every breath, while the other wanted to calm down, so he wouldn’t scare Emma.

  "OH, GOD!" Arnold punched Henry's yellow Camaro with such brute force that the driver's door now had a dent in the shape of his fist. Arnold's heart started to go back to normal as he looked at a clearly freaked Emma.

  "I — I'm sorry!" Arnold took off at a run, ripping his bike right off the chains, pedaling away as fast as he could.

  He could hear Emma yelling: "ARNOLD — WAIT!" And Pat saying to Henry: "Still having fun, dumbass?"

  WHEN ARNOLD WALKED up to his mom's bedroom that night, he did so with great trepidation.

  "Arnold! It is so good to finally see you," his mom beamed when he entered.

  "I'm happy to see you too, Mom," Arnold tried his best at a smile.

  "Did you get my rheumatoid prescription?" she asked kindly.

  "Uh... they were out of them today," Arnold lied. "But they should have more in soon, though. That's why I was there so long; I had them check in the back to see if there were any extras in stock they might have overlooked."

  "That's my sweet boy," his mother replied. "Now, why don't you sit down with me a while, and we can watch a new Revelation of Warlocks."

  "I will in a moment, Mom," said Arnold. “I have to go heat us up some leftovers first.”

  "Alright, just be careful."

  "I will," said Arnold. "I promise."

  "...Arnold?"

  "Yes, Mom?"

  "Is everything okay? You seem a little down."

  "Everything is... fine."

  After they ate and watched her favorite show, Arnold said goodnight to his mom. He then went down to the basement, or, as he called it, his workshop. He did his homework but fell asleep before he could advance anymore on his gaming software.

  ARNOLD DREAMED HE WAS inside a giant throne room where the beautiful blonde with Emma's eyes paced in circles.

  "We should have vouched for him, Ares! He was our best friend!"

  "It's too late for that now, beloved," Arnold replied, deep in thought. "Hephaestus has sown his destiny and ours with it. You heard Athena at the trial. The world is changing far too fast. Twilight is coming."

  "And what of our children?" said the blonde. "What if he comes for them too?"

  "If he comes for our blood," said Arnold, "then I will slaughter him and his followers."

  "And if you can't," said the blonde.

  "Then, I will gladly lay down my immortal life for our children... and you... my sweet Aphrodite."

  AS ARNOLD WALKED OUT of his house, trying to shake the feeling of dread his nightmares had left him, and locked his front door, he saw Amelia standing on his front porch.

  "Hello, Father."

  "Please, don't call me that," Arnold sighed.

  "I'm sorry," she said sheepishly. "I just wanted to give you this." She took the 2012 Mac desktop interface out of her backpack and handed it to Arnold. "Uh, thanks," Arnold shrugged and sat the interface on his porch swing.

  "I just wanted to let you know, I understand how hard it is to believe that any of this can be real," said Amelia. "For years, you and Mom hid me in different time periods, so your enemies couldn't find me. At times, I'd either forget who I was or think that I was going crazy. But then my powers would activate, and I would lose control and hurt people... people I had grown to care about. Until Tristan found me. Just know if you ever need anyone to talk to, whether you believe me or not, I'm here for you."

  She turned to walk away as Arnold thought hard for a moment and then said: "I've been telling myself that everything has been fine for as long as I can remember... and for the past few months, that's been the biggest lie of my life. My mom has crippling rheumatoid arthritis, so I've been having to juggle taking care of her with everything else. And we're only barely surviving through her disability check. I've also been having nightmares of Ancient Greece, Mount Olympus, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, and who, I think, is Hades killing me. I thought at first it was because I was obsessing over my game design, but... I don't know whether you're telling me the truth... either way, though; I need answers. So, meet me after school at CK, and I'll hear you out, okay?"

  "Thank you."

  "For what?"

  "Trusting me enough to give me a fair chance," Amelia smiled. "I'll see you soon, Fa — Arnold."

  Arnold stared quizzically at Amelia as he watched her walk away gracefully. He then saw Hector run over to him from next door.

  "Hey, man!" Hector said anxiously. "I just heard about what happened last night. ...Who's that?"

  "Someone I haven't figured out yet," said Arnold casually. "But I'm going to..."

  Chapter Three

  Emma

  To Love Is Pain

  "Emma! It's time for school! I'm not going to be late... again!"

  Emma groaned as she kept practicing her pull-ups. Allison was always annoying, but now she was absolutely driving Emma crazy.

  "One-hundred and twenty-eight..."

  Emma counted off with each successful pull. She usually wouldn't care if she was late for school. It had been a living hell recently (thanks a lot, Helena!), but she wanted to get there at a decent time. If for anything, to check on Arnold. He acted really strange the previous night. Arnold had always been so sweet and kind, but he fought like an angry pro during that fight. Usually, it was Emma who displayed that type of rage. He seemed so freaked out about all of it and some moves he used against Henry... well, even Emma didn't know how to do them, and she had been training as a fighter for six years now. Her father was the heavyweight kickboxing champ, after all. She had a lot to live up to, and she was never one to give up on a challenge. She loved to fight. There weren't really words on how to describe it better.

  But Arnold? He always acted like a meek, little kitten. And she could have sworn she saw his eyes glow dark red for a second. Did it scare her? Not really. Emma had bipolar disorder, so she could understand having anger issues. Though she still couldn't understand how he could leave a dent in Henry's Camaro without breaking his hand...

  "Emma?"

  Ellie, Emma's little sister, had entered her room. "Allison says to tell you she's about to have a stroke if you don't come down in a few minutes."

  "I should be so lucky," Emma muttered as Ellie giggled. "Mom really picked a perfect day to go awol. It's both of their faults. I have to take those damn meds again. They knock me out senseless, no matter what time I take them at night, which makes it a pain in the ass to wake up on Allison's perfect schedule."

  "I think that it's the school's schedule, actually," said Ellie thoughtfully, pushing her horned-rim glasses back up her nose.

  "...One-hundred and thirty," Emma sighed as she dropped herself down from the bar-mounted to her bedroom wall. "Regal High's a joke, sis." Emma grabbed a towel laying on her dresser and wiped the sweat from her brow. "Just a bunch of rich losers pretending to be something they're not."

  "Even Arnie and Hec?" Ellie asked quietly.

  "No, not them," Emma gave a small grin. "They're about the only people who really are comfortable in their own skin... most of the time."

  "You know Mom and Allison just want you to take those pills because they're worried about you, right?"

  Emma looked at Ellie sweetly. Her younger sister was thirteen and had the same red hair as Emma; only styled in tight braids. Freckles lined her naïve face. She needed to grow up... but Emma refused to be the one who made her do so.

  "Sure, sis. I know."

  Emma threw on her favorite faded t-shirt over her sports bra, along with a white-jean jacket. She was still wearing her yoga pants and sneakers, too. She grabbed her backpack, pausing to stare at the clearly ripped apart chains inside. Likewise, she shook off an eerie feeling and grabbed her iPhone. When she passed Ellie, she ruffled her hair as the latter cringed and scrunched her nose. "Don't you want to take a shower before you go? You're kind of stinking up the house."

  "Then, you should be happy that I'm going to be spreading my stink all over Regal High and not here," Emma laughed. "Don't worry, it should all be gone by the time I get back."

  "Really...?" Ellie raised her eyebrow.

  "Maybe... or maybe not," Emma smirked. "We'll both find out tonight, though."

  EMMA HAD TO LISTEN to Allison lecture her repeatedly about the positives and negatives of punctuality for the entire ride over to Regal High. She seriously needed to get her own car. During the lecture marathon, Emma drifted off into a deep sleep...

  EMMA DREAMED SHE WAS walking inside a large, dark tunnel. It had many spiraling staircases leading in various directions. She held her white dress up with her hand, so her sandal-covered feet wouldn't trip on the hem, while her other hand carried a brightly lit torch. Soon, she finally reached her destination.

  She knocked on a large, brass, mechanical door as it swung open automatically. She hesitated, but then entered cautiously. When her eyes met the sight of her beloved suspended in bronze shackles, her heart sank.

  "Ares! What did he do to you?" She went to rush to the God of War's aid, but an invisible barrier stopped her. "...Grecian Powder."

  "An excellent deduction, my love." Came a raspy voice from the shadows. It was Hephaestus. The battle-scarred and disfigured God of Forges and Fire. He was wearing brass armor that matched his door and various other inventions while carrying a large hammer he called Oxen. "Tell me, did you ever shed a tear when it was I who was imprisoned? Or did you not feel any guilt at all?"

  "Hephaestus," Emma said as calmly as she could. "It doesn't have to be this way. What Ares and I did was wrong; we should have trusted your word instead of Hades."

  "But you didn't," said Hephaestus, smacking his lips as he spoke. "Neither of you did! My best friend and brother! And the only goddess I ever loved! You let me suffer in Tartarus — FOR A CENTURY!"

  Emma gave another heartbreaking look at Ares, who was barely fading in and out of consciousness. His beaten and stabbed body had golden ichor pouring from every wound. He was dying.

  "You found the Deicide?"

  "Aye," Hephaestus chuckled. "That I did. The one substance that can kill a god or immortal. What do you think dear old Oxen is made from? Certainly not brass. If you don't get Ares back to Olympus for Apollo to heal, there'll be one more vacancy to fill on the Mountain."

  "What do you want?" Emma asked him.

  "Your hand in marriage," Hephaestus licked his lips.

  "If I do so," said Emma as tears ran down her face, "will you call Hermès and allow him to bring Ares to Apollo?"

  "Aye, I will," Hephaestus chuckled maliciously. "Do we have a bargain?"

  "Yes," said Emma tearfully, "we do."

  "Aphrodite... no... don't do this... please..." Ares begged. "Let me die... instead of living a life... without you..."

  "I'm sorry, my beloved," Emma said in agony. "But love is pain... and I love you too much to lose you to death. This is the only way..."

  "EMMA, WE'RE HERE."

  Emma forced herself to open her eyes and tried to force the tiredness in her body away. Allison was looking at her worriedly. Emma rolled her eyes and stepped out of the Mustang. She eyed the school parking lot, looking for her target of choice, ignoring Allison's concerned questions until she found him.

  Henry Wheeler was walking into the empty metal shop classroom. Emma snuck in and locked the door behind them. Henry snapped around quickly as Emma snickered at his appearance. His swollen eyes black, and his leg had a visible bandage wrapped around it, right underneath the end of his shorts.

  "What do you want?" He glared at her.

  "I want you to leave Arnold and me alone," said Emma, firmly.

  "You think I want any more of that asshole's crazy?" Henry asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

  "Look, Arnold doesn't live in a world with rich daddies and their holier than thou lawyers. But I do. So, can you honestly tell me that there's not a hefty lawsuit in his future?"

  Henry smirked. "There might be; Dad was pretty pissed about my baby."

  "Your car?" Emma asked in disgust.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7