The Questers: Unbroken

=Part One: Undisputed=

Missing Piece
Ava woke up and realized she wasn't in her cabin. She shot up and realized she was in the HQ. She sighed with relief and checked to see if anyone else was there. Kyra was lying asleep on the kitchen counter, and there was about forty empty pizza boxes lying in a stack by the table. "That was definitely Zack..." Ava said and shook her head. After a long day of training, he could eat a drakon and not complain. She walked by Kyra and flicked her on the head, causing her to stir, but not wake up.

Ava sighed and just decided to let her wake up on her own. She glanced at the clock and groaned. Five-thirty in the morning. It was then she realized she had no recollection of the previous night. She scanned the building quickly. "Ok, I was on the couch and not in the cabin, Kyra was here, probably not a good sign, and Zack was hungry. Never a good sign." She said to herself and stretched. Well, she thought. Might as well go find him and ask. Zack was normally up around this ungodly hour doing some form of training. She checked the climbing wall, to find no one there. She went and checked the arena, and found nothing had been stirred. It was about then she started to get confused. Only after she went and peeked in the Ares cabin window (something she dearly regretted afterwards), did she start to get worried.

She started to get especially worried when he didn't show up to eat his mini-wheats and mars bar breakfast combination. Immediately after breakfast she went and found Michael. "Have you seen Zack?" She asked him. "Not a clue where he is. You see Kyra lately?" He asked her in return. "Yeah, she's passed out on HQ's countertop." She answered. He looked relieved. "Thanks. Zack wasn't at the climbing wall?"

She shook her head. "The arena?" She shook her head again. "Slipping fire ants into Nico's bed?" He suggested. "That was him?" She asked, surprised. "You didn't hear it from me." Michael immediately responded. "Ask Nat?" He suggested and Ava went to do so. She found Natalie training in archery, who stopped when she saw her approaching. "Hey, Ava. Kyra wake up yet?" She asked. Ava shook her head. "Wait, you were there?"

"Yeah, I left after Zack finished the thirty-fifth pizza, even for him that just isn't right." Natalie said and put an arrow in the target's red ring. "You know where he went?" Ava asked. "Last I saw him he was eating the thirty-sixth while Kyra was throwing up in the sink and you were trying to eat one of the boxes." Ava gave her a look, but Natalie just shrugged and put an arrow in the yellow of the target. "He's probably off terrorizing the daughters of Aphrodite or something." Natalie said, and Ava had to admit, that made sense. They all mainly avoided that particular cabin, unless Zack decided to slip car grease into their hair gel bottles. That day should have been on the camp bead that year, was the belief held by a good chunk of the camp.

On her way to check if Zack was anywhere near the Aphrodite Cabin, Chiron trotted up beside her. "Child, we need to talk." He said gently. He took her near the big house, where they stopped and he turned to her, a somber look on his face. "Zack's on Olympus right now, and he isn't allowed to leave for a while." He said it outright. Ava blinked. "Why?" She asked slowly. "Well, Zeus caught wind of Zack's general opinion of him, so he decided it'd be a good time to punish him." Ava blinked again. Chiron, sensing she wasn't particularly thrilled, elaborated. "He is unharmed, but he is being forced to act as a butler for Aphrodite for the next few weeks."

Ava hung her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. Chiron continued. "This is also meant as a test for the rest of you." Ava looked up. "What?"

"We have a mission for you, one that Zeus himself particularly stated is to be done without Zack." Ava gave him a quizzical look. "There is a gladiator oriented tournament happening up in Manitoba, Canada. A long journey, yes, but its something they want you to do." Chiron said. Ava blinked again and sighed. "Go tell Nat the details, she's better at them than I am." She told him and went to find Michael and Kyra. "Before you go," Chiron called out to her and she turned around. "Zack told me to give you this." He said and tossed her something. She caught it and looked down, it was Zack's keychain. In spite of herself, she smiled as she went to grab Michael and Kyra.

Forty minutes later, Natalie was explaining the details of the quest to them. "Basically, its a bunch of Demigods, both Roman and Greek, who have a big gambling program revolving around fighting to the death up there. No monsters, just demigod versus demigod. Zeus didn't really take notice until Hera began to nag at him when one of her kids got killed there." This got a generally annoyed reaction from the group. "There are two undercover demigods from Camp up there, and they need us to go there, some of us will enter the tournament, bring it down from the inside, we come home and tell Zack our glorious war stories." Natalie finished.

That last detail made the mission a little more charming, so they piled into a car, aside from Ava, who rode on Zack's bike in front of them. "I always knew you were Zack's biker chick." Kyra joked as she got into the shotgun seat. Ava simply shook her head as she pulled into the drive, thanking the gods Zack had taught her how to drive the thing.

As they left, Nico D'Angelo walked over to Chiron. "Didn't you say they would have to be more cautious if they still wanted to be Questers?" He pointed out. "This is different. We actually know where Zack is." Chiron replied. They both nodded, knowing full well where Zack was.

Hell.

Zack's first day in hell was spent largely on driving Aphrodite to a various assortment of malls and clothing stores. The worst part was going in with her and having to give opinions on how she looked in various outfits. It was agony. Agony in the purest form. Eventually, he fell into a robotic state and responded with various different versions of "You look great" again and again and again. He spent about nine hours doing this.

Once they returned to Olympus, he wound up sitting outside Aphrodite's chambers while she slept "Keeping watch" as she called it. How he longed to tell everyone in the wretched city to go screw a cactus while he returned to Camp. He heard footsteps and looked up. His father, Ares, was approaching. Zack shook his head and resumed his reverie, which was broken when Ares sat next to him. "How're you doing son?" Ares asked.

"I'm in hell, what do you think?" Zack said simply. "Come on, she has some fairly positive attributes." Ares said. "Well, I'm not pressed against said attributes on a regular basis, so naturally, I don't care." Zack responded coldly. Ares ignored him and changed the subject. "So, how's life treating you?" Ares asked. "Quite well, despite the circumstances. I can take a Styx bather in a fight, eat forty pizzas in one sitting, am in possibly the best relationship in history, and have a fantastic group of friends with whom I am closer than I am with my half-siblings." Zack responded.

"What was growing up like?" Ares asked. "Awful. Was horrible in school, everyone hated me, step-father made me want to kill myself nightly, mom was dead, and I always had the thought in the back of my head that the last time my father played with me, I was down there." Zack said and made a vague gesture downwards. Ares took the hint and entered Aphrodite's chambers. Zack took that as a cue to make his hearing stop working, so he pulled out his ipod and was blasting the loudest, most scream filled song he had in the thing at top volume.

On The Road
The first thing that struck them about Manitoba was the roads. The second was the cold. They had to pull over and bundle up before continuing. In the span of seven minutes, they had hit about fourteen different potholes. "Who's car is this?" Natalie checked as she bounced through the fifteenth. "The Camp's I think." Michael replied, holding onto the back of Kyra's chair for dear life. "Good, because I am not paying for the repairs." Natalie said.

They nodded in agreement and kept going. After three terrifying hours, they pulled into a Burger King parking lot and went inside. They had never appreciated heat more. They scarfed down food and discussed the mission. "Alright, which of us is going to be entered in the tournament?" Kyra asked. They all instinctively looked at the seat beside Ava, which was empty. "Oh. Right." They all mumbled. While Kyra and Michael thought about it, Ava and Natalie held their hands out on did rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock. Natalie did scissors, Ava did lizard. "Ah, dammit." Ava said.

"Ok, Ava it is." Natalie announced. They all gave a hesitant nod of assent. She'd have to be more careful, and they weren't used to throwing someone who could die into the thick of it. Normally they'd all be a little relaxed, but this was much different. "Ok, you'll have to do some training. And the rest of us are all going to slip in as spectators and gamblers. We really need some nice clothes." Natalie said. They all sighed and finished eating, and then proceeded to the nearest mall to pick out something nice to wear.

Ava found herself having to critique Natalie's choices, something she found painful to do. Michael and Kyra had gone off to a separate store, and she rather pitied him. She looked around the store to scan for threats, and saw a large, burly man in a black leather jacket and sunglasses. He walked over and sat next to her, and she was about ready to stab him until he spoke. "You should have been here yesterday. Zack and Aphrodite were here." She then realized it was Ares and straightened up.

"That's what she's making him do?" She asked. "Yep. Poor bastard." Ares said. Ava nodded. Doing it for a girl her age was bad enough, but for a guy like Zack to do it for Aphrodite, it must have been worse than going to Tartarus and becoming Kronos' lover. She shuddered at that last detail. "Anyway, can I ask you for advice, Ava?" Ares asked, surprising her. "Uh, ok?" She said cautiously. "Its about my son. He is...more resentful of me than most demigods are of their parents."

"And you want advice on how to ease relations with him?" Ava asked, stunned. He nodded. "Well, uh, sir. I think you might be screwed. Get him out of working for Aphrodite and he might be grateful, but he isn't the type to forgive something like that." Ava said. Ares nodded slowly and disappeared just as Natalie came out with another dress.

That night, they checked into a hotel and all slipped into a room. They had only been able to afford one, so they made Michael make a makeshift bed out of a few chairs and stools in the room. They were all reminded a little of how Zack would normally make a nest out of unneeded blankets or towels. Ava took one bed while Kyra and Natalie shared the other as Michael made a makeshift bed. Ava began to listen to her Ipod while Kyra went to shower and Michael and Natalie took to planning.

She couldn't stop thinking about that conversation with Ares earlier that day. Not many gods would do something like that, and Ares was the last one she expected to do so. Still, she had been honest with him, and told him the blunt truth of it. After a few minutes, Kyra got out of the bathroom and Ava went in so Michael or Natalie wouldn't get in first.

The next day, they continued their journey to the secluded warehouse where the arena was housed. Aside from the cold continuing to batter them and the roads continuing to worsen, they powered through and checked into another hotel. This one was far cheaper, so they were able to afford two rooms. Kyra was, miraculously, able to convince Ava and Natalie to allow her to go with Michael. Ava was just a little too distracted by the whole thing to really argue against it, but Natalie took some time to get through.

Ava snatched the map away from Natalie and checked to see how long they would be. "We get there tomorrow?" She asked. "Yeah. I hope you're ready for anything."

"Trust me, if hanging around with you guys has taught me anything, it is that you always have to be." Ava said, and Natalie nodded, agreeing. "So what are you guys betting with?" Ava asked Natalie, cracking open a can of soda she found in the room's little fridge. "The four-thousand drachmas Chiron and Mr. D let us use." Natalie responded. Ava choked on her drink at that. "Zeus almighty, four-thousand?!"

"Yeach, and he said not to bet it all at once." Natalie said. "Damn." Ava said, stunned. "You alright?" Natalie asked her, clearly referring to the next day. "I'm ok, just psyching myself up." Ava replied. She was oddly calm about the whole situation. "Alright. You can have first shower." Natalie said and Ava got up to take that. "What do you think they're up to?" Natalie asked. "I try not to think about it." Ava replied and closed the bathroom door.

Drunken God
The next day, Zack awoke and found a note from Aphrodite. "I am down in New York, getting drunk with your father. Please come get me this evening." He groaned and went for a walk. He found a kitchen and took a bunch of ambrosia. Then, bored out of his mind, he began shaping them into donuts. When he was done, he had made about twenty donuts, put them in a small cardboard box, and left the kitchen. The few people in there nervously watched him leave, and he knew why. He had a rather known reputation for being horrible when it came to cooking. It mostly stemmed from the common knowledge that the last time he had attempted to cook something he had set the Ares cabin on fire, but there were other stories.

He perched himself on a statue of Achilles and began to absentmindedly eat the donuts. Once he had finished, he noticed a couple demigods who lived on Olympus watching him. "Is there an issue?" He called down. "Uhh, you're eating donuts on Achilles' head..." One of them said. Zack looked down at his perch. "And?" He asked. "Isn't that a tad disrespectful?" One asked him. "Maybe. But when Zeus can't kill you, you tend to stop giving a damn." Zack said. "Maybe you should come and train with us for a while." One suggested. Zack looked at the group. There were four of them. He shrugged and jumped down.

He followed them to a training ring and took out his two shorter swords. They attacked from all directions. Zack raised both swords in the air and parried the strikes. He pushed the weapons away and targeted one specifically. He used wide, sweeping motions that went in circles around him, keeping the others at bay while continuing his attack. It wasn't long before he had clubbed the first over the head with the hilt of his sword, and the demigod dropped, unconscious. Getting into the rhythm of fighting again, Zack jumped back and brought his knee into the second's chin.

The other two were down in seconds, and Zack sheathed his weapons before leaving them there. He went for a bored walk of Olympus and was eventually stopped by Zeus. "Was that necessary?" The god asked. "Yes." Zack replied bluntly. Zeus sighed. "Did Chiron tell you where your friends are going?"

"No."

"They're going to bring down a gladiator tournament by entering Ava from the inside." Zack froze up at that. What Zeus said next was muffled by the noise made when Zack picked a rock up and tossed it through a window. He walked away from the god, not caring about the disrespect. He didn't care about any of that anymore. Nor would he. He punched a building wall, breaking his knuckles and putting a hole in the stone. "The gods hate me." He said to himself and broke his other hand on the wall.

He went and got them healed, then went down to New York to pick up Aphrodite. He took her back to Olympus, withstood her aimless flirting the entire way up the elevator, and escorted her to her chambers. She tossed him a drachma as a tip and closed the doors. He found a fountain and said "Just show me Ava, please." and tossed the coin into the water. The iris message worked, to which he thanked Iris.

Ava was sitting outside the gas station, leaning on Zack's bike and waiting for the others to get out of the bathroom or buy food. Suddenly, a voice sounded that made her jump a foot in the air. "Hey." She whirled around and saw Zack in an iris message. "Zeus almighty, Zack! You scared the hell out of me!" She said, but was smiling at him. "Mission accomplished." He said, trying to joke, but she could see he was depressed. "You, ok?" She asked. "No." He replied honestly. "Our lord and savior, the glorious Zeus has made it perfectly clear about what you guys are doing." He finished. She nodded. "And you feel pretty useless up there." She guessed.

He nodded. "I'm guessing he also told you which of us is entered?" She asked, and Zack nodded. "Look, don't worry about me, I can handle myself." She tried to reassure him. "You know what you're fighting?" He asked. "Ok, good point. But do you think Nat, Kyra or Michael would honestly let anything happen to me?" She asked him. He tilted his head to the side, seeing her point. He then nodded. "You guys there yet?" He asked. "No, the others had to stop to use the bathroom and food, I'm just waiting for them." Ava answered. Zack gave a small smile. "How do you like the bike?" He asked. "Its horrifying, but fun to drive." She answered. "Better than sitting in the car?"

"With their driving, hell yes." She joked, getting small laugh out of him. Zack glanced over his shoulder. "I have to go. Go win that tournament for me, ok babe?"

"Yes, hon." She said, caught him by surprise by blowing him a kiss, and the iris message ended. She saw Kyra come out of the gas station, having changed into her fancier attire, as they would be arriving soon. "Ava, did you just blow a kiss?" She asked incredulously. Ava made an obscene hand gesture and Kyra got in the car. Michael was the second out, and when Natalie left the gas station, she gestured at Michael and Kyra and and mouth "the guy thought they were getting married" to Ava. Ava shook her head, laughed, and got on the bike again.

Up on Olympus, Zack sat down on the edge of the fountain and put his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Anyone who walked by, demigod, god or olympian, knew better than to approach him at that time.

Blood and Sand
The group arrived at the arena and pulled into the parking lot. They walked towards the doors and saw a sign saying "FIGHTERS THIS WAY" Ava nodded to them and separated from them. They continued into the lobby and found themselves in a crowd of finely dressed people, most of which seemed to be demigods or demititans. "Split up, but don't leave each other's sight." Natalie said, the other two nodded and they separated into the crowd. Michael got himself some food and sat alone at a table, Natalie found herself chatting aimlessly with a group of women she didn't know, and Kyra wound up talking to some guy who was trying to chat her up.

At Michael's table, someone ran a finger across his back and sat down across from him. It was a rather attractive brunette in a slightly low cut black dress. "Hey, honey. You here alone?" She asked and slipped a piece of paper over to him. He read it quickly. ''One of the camp contacts. Another is hitting on your girl and the other is in the tournament.'' He looked up and she was gone. He looked and saw a guy he didn't recognize, slip a similar piece of paper into Kyra's pocket.

He glanced over at Natalie, who had watched both and understood. A ring filled the air and the glanced over to the staircase into the arena. "Hello, my friends, and welcome to this little gathering. The first fight will be held in twenty-five minutes, if you would please find your seats and place your bets, that would be greatly appreciated." An older man said, holding a spoon and a goblet. The crowd began to shuffle towards the doorway in and Michael quickly reunited himself with Kyra and Natalie. The found themselves in a middle row of a hockey style arena, except there were cages on the sides and tunnels leading out.

After a brief announcement by the host of the tournament, who's voice was modified and he could not be seen anywhere, they were given a moment to place all bets. The three of them started by betting a hundred drachmas on Ava. Immediately afterwards, a centaur and a drakon charged each other, and the drakon promptly ate the centaur in a single gulp. "Oh, boy..." Natalie said. The next few fights were largely demigods or demititans, which split each other open with spears, swords, hammers, daggers, any kind of weapon you could think of.

When Ava entered the arena, they saw she was fighting someone who had the aura of a demititan, and was carrying a hammer the size of Natalie. When the announcer shouted "Begin!" The demititan charged her. She took out a throwing knife and threw it at him. It was a perfectly aimed shot, and it entered his eye. Unfortunately, it didn't go in far enough to do any damage beyond that, so he kept running. She ducked under his hammer and drew two more knives. Similar to a stiletto, she stabbed him four times with each dagger in weak parts of the armor, and he dropped. She took the knife out of his eye and went back to her tunnel.

After that, they watched the fights until there weren't any left, and they were given slips of paper with room numbers on them. Seeing as they couldn't separate, they were all crashing in one room, except for Ava, who was down in the gladiator bunks. They found their room and quickly tried to figure out how to contact the undercover Camp demigods.

Down in the gladiator bunks, Ava put herself in the top bunk of a bunk-bed. The person beneath her was a young red-haired, golden-eyed, and tattooed woman. She was carving something into the boards beneath her, which aroused her suspicion, but she mostly ignored it. She went to climb up top, but the young woman shot up like lightning and was in the top bunk in about two seconds. "No." Was all she said and lay down. Ava thought it best to not react, and went to lie in the bottom bunk. She then saw what she had been carving. It was a message in such small writing Ava had to strain her eyes to read it.

''Hey, I'm a camp undercover agent, person, thing. There are two others with your three friends in the bureaucratic crap going on upstairs. We need to keep each other alive until there is a good moment to break away and go after the one who organized all of this. If you wanted to kill all of the betters, I wouldn't say no. Nor would everyone else around you, they were all brought in here as slaves. Talk to me tomorrow at breakfast. I'll make sure we're together tomorrow. Its a bunch of two person teams fighting.''

Ava nodded slowly and made sure she'd remember it. She slowly nodded off to sleep and had a troubled one at that.

The next morning, she jolted awake and re-read the message. She remembered what to do and went to find her in the breakfast area. She found her sitting alone, eating a bowl of something that looked like a mix of nectar and porridge. She got her own bowl of the mix and found it was neither. It tasted like cardboard, and she suspected it might have been. She sat down in front of the young woman. "So. Now what?" She asked. "Well, I'm gonna start by saying my name is Maya, that way you know what to scream." Ava raised her eyebrows. "In case you're about to die and need help." Maya finished.

"Ah. I'm Ava." Ava replied. "Now I go threaten the guy who sets up the teams and make him put us together." Maya said, stood up, walked over to a rather official looking man, whipped a knife out and put a cut across his cheek. She leaned over and whispered something in his ear before returning to Ava. "Let me guess, Ares?" Ava said. Maya shook her head. "Phrike?" Ava guessed again. "No." Maya said, sounding bitter. "Nemesis?" Ava guessed, now running out of guesses. "No, Aphrodite." Maya relented, surprising Ava. "Don't ask, c'mon, hurry up." Maya said, irritable. Ava finished her food quickly and followed Maya to the tunnel they would use. They equipped themselves quickly and Ava looked through the gate into the arena.

The crowd was shuffling into their seats, and she saw Michael, Natalie, and Kyra sitting with two others. "That's Carly and Sean. They're helping from there while three others are out making sure nothing interrupts the operation." Maya said. Ava nodded slowly and glanced at the other gates. groups of fighters, one of which had a drakon in it, were assembling. The modified announcer voice spoke up. "Now, we shall show how they work together. Six teams enter, two teams leave." The gates opened, and Ava took a throwing knife in one hand and her sword in the other. Maya put her shield in front of her and held her sword ready to stab. "Begin!" the announcer shouted and it all went to hell.

Maya went out first, covering them with her shield while Ava got ready to throw her knife. The drakon went down instantly, every other fighter going for it. Its rider went flying and landed next to Ava and Maya. He got on his knees, and Maya stabbed him in the mouth with her sword. There was a surprising spray of blood and Ava had to wipe it out of her eyes. Ava threw her knife and it hit a fighter in the neck. He was choked on his own blood for a moment before his head was crushed by a mace.

They were attacked by three fighters. Ava was engaged by one while the other two went for Maya. Maya threw her sword at one, hitting him in the chest. She blocked a sword strike from the other and jumped into the air. She wrapped her calves around his head and flipped backwards, sending him flying. She ran over and began beating him in the head with her shield. Ava blocked a strike and ducked down, stabbed her opponent in the foot then slashed up and cut open his face. She and Maya regrouped as the crowd entered a frenzied state of cheering and screaming.

They turned and saw two people, a man and a woman, fighting back to back against one opponent with a sword the length of Zack's bike. Maya stepped in front of Ava, got down on one knee and sheathed her sword. She took her shield with both hands and patted it with one. Ava, getting the idea, backed up and took a running jump onto the shield. Maya launched her into the air and she went flying towards the big man with the big sword. She held her sword in the air and came down on the big man. She slashed downward and it connected with the back of his skull, entering halfway in. The two fighters jumped back in surprise as Maya ran forward to protect the recovering Ava, who ripped the sword (and a few chunks of brain) out of the man.

As the crowd erupted, the surviving teams retreated to their tunnels as satyrs began giving the betters nectar and ambrosia.

Back on Olympus, Zack was being forced to help Aphrodite choose what outfit to wear the next day. It was about eleven at night and he was about ready to attempt suicide. "So, I hear you are in a good relationship." Aphrodite said abruptly. "Yes, and I will not be violating it with you." He said bluntly, predicting she would offer that. Aphrodite laughed. "No, no, no. I'm just wondering, do you think she's the one?" She asked. "Is that your business?" Zack asked her. She laughed again. "That is a yes. Would you do anything to go and help her?"

"I'd probably have a night with Zeus if it meant being able to go and help." Zack replied, blunt as a hammer. Though, she probably doesn't need any help of mine. He said and resisted the urge to grin like an idiot. Aphrodite smiled seductively. "I will give you a choice. Either stay here, all night, or jump out that window and hit the ground, no demon form." She offered. In about two seconds Zack had crashed through the window and was falling to the streets below. He landed with a crash in a small diner, got up, his bones piecing themselves back together, and he started running through the crowds of concerned mortals.

Gods of The Arena
The remaining fighters were given two days to prepare for their next fights. Ava would fight the woman, and Maya would fight the man. During their respite, Ava and Maya got to know one another. Ava found a respect in Maya's rebellion from her half-siblings, and laughed out loud at the story about her letting Zack in to put car grease in the Aphrodite childrens' hair gel. Maya looked at her quizzically. And Ava, partially choking, explained herself. "Zack's my boyfriend, so I know just why he was doing that. Their reactions still kill me every time I think about it." Ava said. Maya chuckled. "I still think that should have been on the camp bead that year." Maya said, and Ava nodded in agreement.

"Listen, Ava, if we fight in the final, don't hold out on me. Kill me if you have to, just make sure you can kill the organizer. He's the one holding it all together. I don't care what happens to me. Just get rid of him." Ava nodded, but didn't think she would actually kill Maya. She wondered what the others were doing at that point.

Up in the betters area, Michael and Kyra were sitting with Sean and Carly, the two undercover demigods. Kyra was telling them about their group. "And then there's Zack, that crazy bastard is always jumping into the thickest crap and fights his way out all of the time. Dating Ava, I have never seen a funnier couple..." Michael glanced at her at the last remark, but chose to ignore it. "Zack who?" Carly asked. "Johnson, craziest child of Ares of all time." Michael answered. "Zack's a child of Ares? Wow, I can pick em." Carly said. "Huh?" Kyra asked. "He's my ex." She replied.

Kyra and Michael looked at each other. "So is Sean, so its not that uncommon." She said and ordered food. "I've always thought war and death work so well together." She mused. Kyra and Michael looked at Sean, who shrugged. "Where'd Natalie go?" He asked them. "Ran off to learn a little more about the place." Michael answered. He was correct, Natalie was currently exploring the building, and came across a small library run by a short old man. He let her in and she found a section about the history of gladiator battles. She flipped to the latter half and discovered something that she found hugely surprising.

Since the fall of the roman empire, a select group of people had kept the gladiator battles going, operating in secret arenas for centuries. This select group had a small army of clearsighted mortals and demigods who protected them. She also learned that this was the last remaining place the group controlled. If they could stop it, the gladiator fights would end forever. She continued reading, and saw a list of champions. A few stood out the most. A demigod from the colonial era, an Iroquois warrior during the Seven Years War, a Russian soldier from the second World War, and, most recently, a name that made her jolt in her seat. Maria Johnson, Zack's mother, a child of Nemesis.

The names were mentioned in a section headed "Gods of The Arena", and were some of the only fighters in history to successfully survive seven years of fights before winning their freedom. She briefly read the relatively short entrance on Zack's mom, then closed the book and went to return to the others.

Zack collapsed against the tree. He had been running for about thirty-six hours and was exhausted. He cracked open a water bottle and drank a little of it before closing it again and reflecting on the day. He had slipped past the border unnoticed, and had been sprinting since. He had needed to rob someone of their parka so he could get there without freezing. He pushed these thoughts aside and remembered that he had left his weaponry on Olympus. He swore, cursing his idiocy. "Oh well, I'll just have to hit them." he grumbled and leaned his head back and fell asleep immediately.

He woke up about four hours later and got up to start running again. After three more hours, he saw a light up ahead. As he was in the middle of nowhere at night, he figured it might be a good idea to head there. As he neared it, he realized that it was his destination. He entered a sprint and prayed nothing had happened to anyone, when, as he was maybe two-hundred meters from the warehouse, and arm stuck out and clothes-lined him. He landed on his back, completed winded. He gasped for air and a pair of arms grabbed him and dragged him into the forest. When he got his breath back, he kicked up and his foot connected with one of their heads.

That one let go and he heard a thud, signaling someone had collapsed. The other flipped around, landed with his knees on Zack's shoulder, and punched him in the face fourteen times. The person and the other continued dragging him, and had to chain him to a tree. That didn't stop him from struggling. Eventually, he felt a sword on his neck and decided against continuing.

"Thank you." A female voice said. A girl about his age stepped out from behind the tree at sat down next to the other two. "Sorry about this, but we can't have you going in there yet." The girl said. "Why?"

"Because we need them there to rally the slaves. This compound is protected by a small army of demigods, demititans, and clear sighted mortals. They would slaughter us. If your friends and ours can rally up the slaves, we'll have our own fighting force to stand against them." The one he had kicked in the head earlier said. The one who had subdued him slowly approached and clasped a few metal bracelets around his arm tightly. "The hell?" Zack asked. "They're supposed to keep your powers from being used. That would give us away." He said. "How many are they?" Zack asked.

"Most of them were kept alive using the labyrinth, so about ten thousand, all in this forests." The one he kicked said, putting ice on his head. "Ok, who are all of you, I can tell you're from camp, you should hide the beads better." Zack said. "I'm Scott, that's Ziva and Caden. We were sent in as external support for Sean, Carly, and Maya." The subduer said.

"Is there anything we can do for them out here?" Zack asked, rather unfazed by the whole situation. Caden chuckled. "No. We sit out here in the cold, kill any of the army that nears us, and wait for them to become Gods of The Arena." Was his only answer.

So Far Away
The two days of respite went by alarmingly fast. It felt like mere hours before the mysterious announcer informed the gamblers to place bets on either Maya or a demigod son of Ares. Ava was forced to sit in the tunnel and watch through the caged door as Maya and her opponent were led into the arena. The crowd erupted at the sight of the two fighters. She glanced in the direction of the others, and saw that they were doing what they could to blend in. The announcer spoke up. "Ladies and gentlemen, for our first quarter final fight, I give you these two warriors, both of which have shown their valor in battle, but only one will survive!"

The crowd cheered excitedly, and then died down again. "Begin!" Roared the augmented voice and the guards backed away from the fighters and down the tunnels. Maya held her shield in front of her and held her sword ready to stab. The son of Ares drew a sword and an axe, one in each hand, and began his advance. Maya was immediately put on the defensive, blocking with her shield and sword. Eventually, she was able to get a stab in, but her opponent ducked to the side and only received a light cut on his face. He swung his axe at the back of her legs, but she jumped over it and spun in the air, slashing at his head. He blocked with his sword, staggering her a little and she messed up the landing. She rolled and avoided taking an axe to the gut.

She rolled to her feet and brought her shield up, only a second too late. The sword strike was parried, but the strength behind it knocked the shield away from her. The crowd cheered. Ava sucked in breath as she watched Maya dance away and draw a dagger. Maya held the sword above her head and her dagger down by her waist as she fell into a stance to counter a strike. Her opponent made a deadly mistake and charged her. She sidestepped and slashed at his legs, only hitting one of them, but it was still a crucial blow. Even from her poor vantage point, Ava could see the bones in his shin exposed. He fell, and Maya tossed her sword aside, jumped down on him and put her dagger through the back of his head.

The crowd erupted as the blood exited his head like a fountain. Onto Maya, himself and the sands. Guards entered the arena and led Maya down her tunnel. "Our next fight commences now!" The announcer said, and the crowd cheered. Guards appeared behind Ava, and her tunnel opened. She had throwing knives ready, just in case, and held her sword in hand. She entered the arena and was nearly deafened by the roar of the crowds. The younger woman, who was revealed to be a daughter of Ares, like the fighter Maya had killed, was entering, clutching a spear and a shield.

The announcer wasted no time, and said "Begin!" Ava's opponent charged and stabbed forward with her spear. Ava knocked it to the side with her sword and spun around, trying to get behind her, but the daughter of Ares put her shield behind her back and caught the sword strike. They danced away from each other and Ava took the offensive. She attacked with her sword in rapid, lighter strikes, so that she could distract her opponent while she went for a knife. She jumped back and threw one of her throwing knives at her opponent, who deflected it with her shield.

The daughter of Ares spun around and hit Ava in the face with her spear shaft. The act clothes-lined Ava and knocked her onto the ground. She rolled over to avoid a spear stab and kicked up at her opponent, hitting her in the head. Her opponent dropped her weapons and grabbed at her head, letting Ava jump up with her sword. Her opponent recovered too soon, and performed the same leg sweep Maya had used to defeat her opponent. Ava quickly rolled over and put her sword up, expecting to be tackled, but instead her blade was kicked away and out of her hand. The daughter of Ares allowed her to get up, and then went to kick her again. Ava remembered a simple move some camper she had once seen use on Zack. She caught the kick with one arm and linked it to her waist, then stepped forward and swept out her other leg. Her opponent snapped the now flying leg forward and it connected with Ava's chin, sending both fighters toppling to the ground.

Ava was then pinned to the ground and received seventeen punches to the face, giving her a black eye and a bloody nose. She threw a punch up and hit her opponent in the ear. The daughter of Ares jumped off, holding the punched ear, and then picked up a spear. Ava jumped up and was charged by her opponent. She dove to the side and regained her lost sword. The daughter of Ares continued the blind charge, then Ava sidestepped and stabbed at her opponent's face, the blade vertically entering her opponent's mouth and being stopped by some teeth and bones. Her opponent still lived, and she tore the blade downward, cutting her opponent's lower jaw and the full length of her neck in half. The two jaw sides dangled off and fell to the sands while blood flowed out of the neck, covering Ava. She closed her eyes to keep from getting blood in them, and pushed the body away.

As the crowd erupted, she was led into a private cell. The cell had a working toilet, sink, and had a pretty big bed. She put her weapons on some racks she found in a corner, and she found a working shower open up from the wall. She thanked whichever god was in charge of showers, and promptly had one, washing the blood off of her. She got out, dried off and got dressed before going and throwing herself on the bed. She heard a knock on the door and sat up. In walked Kyra, to her surprise. "I only have a little time. The others are saying that something is gonna happen tomorrow. Be ready for anything." Kyra began.

"What do you mean?" Ava asked. "I don't know. Just be ready and remember what we were sent here for. We'll apparently have outside help. I don't know who." There was a knock on the door, and Kyra had to leave. She leaned back in the bed, contemplating what she had heard. How she and Maya would be able to do anything, what with the others all a good distance away, was beyond her.

Outside, Zack, Ziva, Caden, and Scott all were sitting around a campfire. The next day, they were to reinforce those inside. Zack, relieved of his duty by Aphrodite, could finally stop being so far away from the others. Caden had told him about what happened inside the warehouse, and the thought of his friends, Ava, being so close to harm like that, it made him angry. And anyone who knew him knew that when he was truly angry, people died, blood was shed, and nothing could bring him down. Nothing would come between him and his goal.

That day, they had intercepted a few patrols, and he had grown to respect his comrades. Scott was the best unarmed combatant he had ever seen, Ziva was better than Natalie at strategy, though he would never tell Natalie that. And Caden just had this natural charisma that made people like him. Zack couldn't help but wonder what the rest of them were like.

He was going to find out soon.

Kill Them All
Ava looked through her tunnel and saw Maya in the other tunnel. Being led through another tunnel was a group of about fifty slaves, who lined up around the circular arena. The announcer spoke, but this time, he walked out into view. He was a middle aged man, stood around five foot nine, and was thin. He was dressed like he was out of a James Bond movie. He also had the type of face you could punch all day and never get bored. Ava looked around and couldn't see Michael, Kyra, Natalie, or those they were with in the crowd. She looked at Maya, who ignored her. Probably smart.

The cages opened and they entered, surrounded by the circle of depressed looking slaves and guards. The Announcer raised a hand, gave a small speech about Maya and Ava, then about how the slaves were to be the next batch of gladiators. In that moment, Ava knew they would have to kill him. Then, he raised his hand and shouted "Begin!" Maya charged at her. Ava blocked more than a few strikes, but wouldn't attack. She didn't want to kill Maya. She locked blades and grabbed Maya's shield. "What the hell are you doing?" She snarled at Maya. "Getting you closer to him, kill me, and you'll meet him in person!" Maya grunted and kicked her back.

Ava stumbled and parried the next strike. Then she counterattacked and tripped Maya, putting her sword at her throat. "Just surrender, and we can get out of here." Ava said, but Maya rolled away, using her shield to move the sword. When she attacked again, Ava knocked the sword from her hands and Maya began using her shield as a weapon. Ava ducked under and put her sword to her throat. "Come on Maya, we can do this, don't resort to killing yourself." Ava said and threw her away. Maya's shield clanged to the sands as she landed just under the announcer's seating area.

Maya got on her knees and Ava saw her sigh. She picked up her shield and, for a moment, Ava thought she would continue fighting. Then, Maya fell into a crouch, her shield held in front of her and she patted it with her hands. Ava remembered when they worked together in the team fights, and started sprinting at her. The crowd's excitement began to increase until Ava jumped onto the shield and Maya launched her up into the stands. Ava stabbed at the announcer, but he threw someone in the way and she stabbed the bystander in the face.

Ava knew it was someone who bet on people dying, so she ignored it and fought through a bunch of advancing guards. Down in the sands, Ava heard Maya yell "Kill them all!" to the slaves, who responded with a roar and they began to climb into the stands. Ava glanced over her shoulder and saw her friends and Maya's friends enter a state of battle as well. Satisfied they could handle the situation, Ava chased after the man. She cornered him in a hall, hiding behind two guards. The guards charged her and she swiftly dispatched each of them. She wasted no time and opened the announcer's throat.

He spun around and slacked onto the wall. He slowly made his way down the hallway before collapsing. His blood trailed down the wall before pooling at his corpse. She stepped over it and walked out into the carnage. Gamblers were dead and dying everywhere, and the guards were faltering quickly. She cut through four or five of them before Michael approached her. "We've mostly won, just a few guards giving us trouble in the arena." He said. Ava nodded and they began running. They slipped and fell in blood more than once on the way there. They arrived and found Natalie, Kyra, and Maya dancing around a particularly large fighter. They jumped down to help and were engaged by the large man's fellow guards.

The large man swung a massive battleaxe around and nearly took off Kyra's head, death missing her by about an inch. Michael charged him, but was sent flying through the air by a powerful kick. Suddenly, a trio of fighters entered the Arena and began helping. As Ava was tackled by a guard, a girl her age came and stabbed him in the back with a dual bladed katana. A young man who fought with no weapon engaged a few other guards while a third, armed with spear and shield. engaged the big man. The big man picked up and threw Natalie, and then Kyra, and then Maya into Ava, making them pile up on top of each other in a bloody and exhausted mess.

The spear wielding fighter was soon knocked down, and the big man raised his axe to finish him, but then another fighter jumped into the arena, wielding a pair of flashing silver swords and had a black hood up, he attacked the big man viciously. After a short conflict, he ducked under a strike and slashed up. The jaws of Ava, Natalie, Michael, Kyra, Maya, and the new fighters dropped. The big man's head was slashed in half, his face fell and hit the sands and they could see his brain fall out as he fell to his knees and then to the ground.

The hooded one and the spear wielder finished off the guards, and they heard the slaves cheer. The hooded one sheathed his blades and pulled his hood down, revealing Zack to their eyes. Ava, without thinking, rushed forward and they engaged in the bloodiest hug and kiss anyone there had ever seen, as they were both covered in it. From the balconies above, the two others Michael, Kyra and Natalie had been with came into view, covered in blood as well. "Zack, is that you?" The girl called down. Zack looked up. "Oh, boy." He muttered. "Ava, hon, this is my ex, Carly." He said, looking strangely awkward.

Ava raised her eyebrows. "He gets around. Just need to get him a Poseidon girl and he'll have a whole set." Carly joked. Ava gave Zack a look. "What are you on about?" Zack asked her. "Uh, yeah, I'm a daughter of Zeus." Carly said, making Zack's eyes widen. "Anyway, guys, we need to escape into the forest before the external army shows up. We can make camp in there." She said and vanished.

They made their way out of the warehouse, the slaves following them into the woods. The small army found a relatively spaced out area with as little snow as possible and began making a collection of tents with shrubbery and tree branches. Zack found a small cave and made his own little hut out of it. As he finished adding some tree branches to the cave entrance to block out any wind, Ava came over. "How sweet, you made me a house. I hope you don't mind sleeping outside." She joked, getting a laugh out of him. "In all seriousness, room for one more?" She asked. "Always." He said with a grin.

"Ok, good, because I really don't want to share lodgings with Nat again." She joked as he held open the makeshift door. They entered together and closed off the entrance as night fell.

Meanwhile, Natalie was on watch. She had created a small nest out of some kind of bush she prayed to Demeter wasn't poison ivy, a few rocks, and what appeared to be a moldy sleeping bag she had found in the middle of the forest. She noticed one other on watch, walking throughout their camp. She turned her gaze to the forest, listening for something beyond the wind and light snoring. After a few minutes, the other watchman approached her. "Hey." He said. She looked up and saw it was one of those Zack had arrived with. "Hey. Didn't catch your name before." She said. "I'm Caden. You're Natalie, right?" He said.

"What gave it away?"

"The fact you're sitting alone while the other four are off sharing sleeping areas." He replied with a smile. She grinned. "Yeah, I guess." was her response. He sat down on the other side of the tree. "I hear you're kinda like the leader." Caden said. "Nah, I just make the plans and boss people around." She said. He chuckled. "Well, you're gonna have some competition, knowing Ziva." She glanced over her shoulder and saw he was pointing to a larva looking thing hanging from a tree. "If she can somehow sleep in that I just might." Natalie said.

"Yeah. Well, no matter what happens, we should keep moving tomorrow. Make out way into Ontario, the woods and rocks there are easier to hide in." Caden said. Natalie nodded, then remembered she was on the opposite side of the tree. "Yeah. Better for ambushes." Natalie said. She then shook her head. "Zack is gonna pissed. He's more of a stand and fight kind of guy."

"Yeah, gave me a black eye when we were trying to subdue him. Not someone I want to fight alone." He said. "Natalie, you should sleep. I'll wake up Scott in a few hours and he'll take over watch."

"Ok." She agreed without hesitation. He got up and walked by, throwing his cloak over her as he went. Fourteen seconds later she was asleep.

Downward Spiral
The next two weeks were awfully hard. A few people froze to death as they made their way into the Ontario. When they arrived at a good place, deep into the Canadian Shield, they made a permanent camp. It was easily defensible and on relatively high ground. Everyone made little tents with rocks or some kind of tarp, if the could find one. A few people inhabited small caves. Food was low, and anyone who could hunt was increasingly busy by the day. A couple days after setting up, Natalie was approached by Caden. "Hey, your friends, Zack and AVa, went out together, told me they're scavenging." He said. Natalie shook her head. "Let's hope they're actually doing that." She said.

In fact that was indeed what they were doing. Ava crouched down and bagged what she hoped were some edible mushrooms when Zack's crossbow made its soft twang. She looked over her shoulder and saw him pick it out of a moose's head. "Help me out with this, babe?" He asked. She shook her head and went to help him drag it. They were able to move it, slowly. After half an hour they stopped and sat on a rock. "Well, I hope they won't miss us for a while longer." He said. Ava gave him a look as she took a sip from her canteen. "I was talking about the moose." He said, and she made a jokingly sad face.

Zack chuckled, then stopped abruptly. He looked around. Having been with him long enough, Ava began scanning the area as well. She saw it. A flash of armor that looked like the type the guards at the arena wore. She nodded at it with her head and Zack looked over. His eyes flashed to the tree near the armor, and then to an open area between trees. She got the message and began to slip over to the open area. Zack moved for the tree. Ava readied a throwing knife as Zack climbed up. He threw a rock from the ground near her and within two seconds a quartet of soldiers arrived, each clutching a sword.

She wasted now time and threw the knife in hand. It entered the throat of one soldier and he crumpled. Before the others could react, Zack jumped down from the tree and landed on the shoulders of two of them, crushing them under his weight. He went to draw one of his silver blades, but as he turned, the other was already down. Ava walked over. "You're getting slow, Zack." She said, pecked him on the mouth and retrieved her knives. Before he could respond, a bow twanged and entered the back of her shoulder. He had both swords out in a second and was turning to face the new threat.

They were surrounded in about half a minute by at least forty soldiers. Thirty charged and specifically attacked Zack. Despite his skill, he was over tasked and was driven away from Ava, who was left to deal with the remaining ten. She pulled the arrow out of her shoulder and rose, pulling her sword out, thankful that the arrow had entered her right shoulder. The soldiers advanced, and she cut down one in an instant. The others, expecting her to be right handed, jumped back in surprise and attacked her two at a time. She was able to cut down four in total before she was clubbed over the back of the head, dazing her. They took the opportunity to tackle her and pin her to the ground. They pulled out zip cuffs and put them on her.

They held her down and made her look up. She could see Zack was fighting desperately, at least thirteen of his attackers killed. Then, a spear entered through the back of his shoulder and out the front. Within seconds, another entered his back and exited through his stomach. To keep her from screaming any matter of curses of calls for help, someone put their hand around her mouth. They pulled her up and tried to lead her away, but she smashed her head into one of their noses, breaking it. Those she hadn't hit turned her and she saw Zack being led, four spears piercing him, being led down the forest. "Speak up again and he gets another one, eh girly?" One of the soldiers said. She nodded and a spear shaft connected with the back of her head, and she dropped, her head hitting a tree root and she passed out.

She woke up and found herself inside of a red tent. She sat up and looked around. She was inside a cage, to her dismay. There were two soldiers in the tent as well. One was watching her intently, and the other was kicking something. She looked over and dread flooded her heart.

The camp was in chaos. Natalie ran through it, trying to rouse the others to flee further into the rocks and woods. The enemy forces had caught up with them and had immediately slaughtered four of their number. Many of them had begun to flee, but a few were caught in moments of indecision, not sure whether to run or fight, and died like that. Natalie drew Scar and cut down an advancing soldier, his armor and weapons falling against the rock, creating several loud crashes and clangs. She looked into the direction he came from and saw a large force advancing in a Roman Phalanx formation.

"People, get out of here!" She shouted as an arrow whizzed past her head and dropped a former slave behind her. She turned to retreat but slipped on his blood and fell. She rolled over and saw the phalanx break and charge unexpectedly. Natalie rose to her feet and readied herself for battle. She blocked a strike and countered, cutting through a soldier's neck, half severing it from the neck. She turned and saw another soldier come upon her in half a second, before she could react. She was slammed down against the rock and her vision blurred. She saw the outline of him rising up, raising his sword to stab, and she instantly felt she was about to die.

Then, he dropped the blade. She blinked quickly and saw a spear had entered his chest. Then, there was a silver flash and his head was missing, replaced by a volcano of scarlet. Two more soldiers advanced into her view and she saw Ziva spin into an attack and open the first's chest. The second dropped after a loud clang. She tilted her head up and she saw Caden pounce on him and smash his shield into the soldier's head again. He got up and helped her to her feet before retrieving his spear. He held it around his shoulders and over his shield, ready to stab, and Ziva and Natalie fell behind him as they began a retreat up the hill.

A few small jars flew over their heads. Recognizing them, they broke and ran. Behind them, explosions of Greek Fire lit up the night, turning more than one soldier into walking, screaming torches. They fled into the forest, hoping desperately to find their comrades.

=Part Two: Undone=

Fight or Flight
Natalie dove over a fallen tree and landed heavily in the dirt. It had been about a day since the attack and they hadn't stopped running. A flaming arrow soared overheard and hit one of their number, lighting her ablaze and she fell into a bush, setting it on fire as well. Natalie ran to a tree and hid behind it, just before another volley of arrows flew by. A solitary arrow was returned and a soldier dropped without a sound. Natalie followed the direction it had come from and saw Kyra in a bush, waving her over. She rushed in and dove into the dirt as another volley was launched over their heads.

"C'mon, Carly and Sean found our way out. Get ready to swim." Kyra told her. Natalie was ready to do anything, so she went along with it and followed her when Kyra got up and dove into another bunch of bushes. They fled until they reached a cliff. At the bottom was a strangely unfrozen lake. Natalie didn't question it and followed Kyra into the jump off. They plunged into the water and were carried away by a current. After a moment, they surfaced, and were plunged under the water again. This repeated for a while before they washed up on shore. Natalie crawled up on the sand and coughed up water. She looked over and saw Kyra roll onto her back, panting.

Natalie pushed herself onto her knees and looked around. A quick head count showed everyone there. Kyra and herself were there. She saw Maya and Ziva sitting on a rock, washing blood out of their clothes. Sean, Scott and Caden were looking around in case of ambush. Carly and Michael were nowhere to be seen. Maya looked over and waved at them to go over to them. They slowly limped over and found Carly kneeling next to Michael, who had an arrow in his back. "This is gonna hurt, kiddo." Carly said and pulled it out. Michael bit down on something in his mouth so he wouldn't scream.

Carly quickly dressed the wound and turned him over to Kyra, who embraced him quickly. Natalie looked around. "Where are Zack and Ava?" She asked, and the reunited couple looked over, realizing the same thing. "Is Ava...?" Kyra asked, unable to finish the sentence. They knew Zack would be alive, but Ava could be killed. "No, heard some of the soldiers talk about having captured them." Sean said, walking over. "Then we have to go back for them." Michael said. "How? There's over a thousand of them and nine of us." Sean shot back. Ziva spoke up. "Guerilla warfare. Set traps, take them out one by one."

"That would take years for all of them." Natalie said sadly. "What about doing that, but moving towards their camp slowly, and from a different direction each time?" Caden suggested, walking over. No one had a better idea, so they went with it. They began making their way through the forest, trying to go around the lake. Natalie and Scott took up the rear while Ziva and Caden took the lead. Natalie saw them bugging each other in an almost playful manner. "They have wheels going?" Natalie asked Scott, who ignored her. "Hey, tall, dark and brooding, you in there?" He ignored her again. "Do you talk at all?"

"I talk when I have something to say. You talk because you have to say something." Scott replied, killing any chance at further conversation. Natalie shook her head and walked in silence.

Thwack

Thwack

Thwack

Punches continued to crash down on Zack's face while Ava was forced to watch, in silence. A dagger pressed against her temple, her eyes widened each time a blow dropped on Zack, who was chained to the ground. The enemy commander rose up and faced her. "You'll break soon." He said and held a hand out. A soldier stepped forward and handed something. He slipped on the brass knuckles and punched Zack in the face. He rained down blows until he began to tire. He took the knuckles off and snapped his fingers. Four soldiers entered, two holding a chair, one holding a glass of nectar, and the last a bunch of chains.

The three set the chair down and handed the commander his drink while the fourth chained Zack's arms and had him hoisted up, so that he was suspended in midair. When the commander finished his drink, he rose up and pulled out a knife. He walked over to Zack and ran the blade across his face lightly, making a light cut that ran from his eyebrow down to his chin. He continued doing so until Zack's face was just a jumbled mess of cuts and blood. Then, he stabbed Zack through the palm of his hand and had the soldier drop him to the ground. He turned and entered Ava's cage. "You will talk, or it gets much worse for him." He said, kissed her on the cheek and left the tent, the guards doing the same.

Ava shifted to the edge of the cage. Her mind a mix of agony, fear, rage, and bloodlust. Zack hauled himself up with his good hand. She couldn't tell for sure, but she thought he was trying to shoot a smile at her. Tears welled in her eyes. "How do I look?" Zack croaked. Through a mix of crying and laughing, Ava said, "Like hell, babe." Zack made a noise she thought was a chuckle. "I'll be ok, it'll just take a while longer." Zack said. "I'm gonna sleep now, ok hon'?" Zack said. "Ok, rest up." She said, trying not to choke up. Zack lay down on his back was asleep almost immediately. Unable to contain it anymore, Ava broke down.

Natalie looked up at Scott, who was sleeping in a tree. "Why doesn't he use a weapon?" She asked Caden, who was repairing his shield. "Doesn't need one. Uses a pistol, but he ran out of ammo already." Caden replied. "He some sort of Martial Arts master?" Natalie asked. "Pretty much. All he does in his spare time. Kinda antisocial, really." Caden answered. "There a story behind his silence?" She checked. "Not that I know of. Maybe he just likes it that way." Caden answered with a shrug. "What about you, what's your story?" Natalie asked.

"I'm kinda the overlooked son of Poseidon. Just living the simple life, sometimes I'll do some mission like this to help out." He replied. He nodded his head at Ziva, who was sleeping under some kind of plant. "Me and her started hanging around each other after Manhattan. Been pretty close ever since." He said. "You two..." She made a hand gesture to emphasize her point. "No..." He said and shook his head a little wistfully, then lay down and went to sleep himself. Natalie looked at Kyra and Michael. She was curled up under his arm, he was leaning against a rock. They looked so peaceful, despite the bloodstains on their clothes and faces. She glanced at Maya, who had made small nest and was hiding under her shield, always ready to defend herself, even in sleep.

Then she looked up at Scott. She didn't know if he was asleep or awake. He sat motionless on the tree branch, looking oddly serene. She watched him for a moment and then realized there was a good chance he thought she was stalking him. Feeling bad immediately, she rolled over and went to sleep herself.

It was going to be another long day when she woke up.

Rebound
When Natalie woke up, she was the last one to do so. She saw Michael, Kyra, Sean and Caden eating some kind of breakfast. She stood up, stretched, and Kyra tossed her a granola bar of some sort. She munched on it for a few moments. Then, seeing who was missing, spoke up. "Where are the others?"

"Ziva, Maya and Carly are over there." Kyra said, pointing to the southeast. "They wanted to see you." She finished. "Where's Scott?" She asked. "God knows." Sean answered. She decided it would be better to not press the matter further and went to find the other girls. When she arrived, she found them sorting through some kind of fabrics. "Hey Natalie. Went out and got some stuff you might like." Carly said, seeing her approach. As she neared, she saw a few changes of clothes. "Went out and...ah...borrowed these last night." Carly said. Normally, Natalie would object, but her desire to wear pants that weren't stained with other peoples' blood outdid that principle.

She picked out her choices and the others left while she changed. When she finished, she was about to go back, when a rustling sounded behind her. She turned and saw Scott approaching, a dead deer slung over his shoulder. "You been watching the whole time?" She asked. He stopped, made a facial expression, and slowly said "Not the whole time." She raised her eyebrows. "Sorry?" She shrugged and kept walking. She could have sworn there was a hint of mischief in his eyes. "You're gonna have to at least let me watch sometime." She joked. He shrugged in an "Accepting his fate" manner.

Upon arriving at their camp, Maya began cooking the deer and the others began passing the time. They didn't want to travel without something more than granola bars in their stomachs. Sean, Caden and Scott set up a target and began throwing knives at it. Sean threw his first, then Caden made it closer to the center. Scott casually threw his and it entered the hilt of Caden's. "How do you do that?" Caden asked. "I aim for the middle." Scott said. "Our Ava could take all of you at that." Natalie said, lining up her own knife to throw. She hit a little closer to the center than Sean did.

Once Maya had finished, she pointed at Michael. "You're cooking next time." She said in a voice so forceful even he didn't argue. Once they had eaten they began moving again. After about an hour, they came across a patrol of soldiers. "Ok, Scott, Natalie, take the first attack, we'll support if things go bad." Ziva said. In no mood to argue, Natalie began moving forward, drawing Scar as Scott slipped into some bushes. Scott took initiative and jumped into the group. He put his feet into a soldier's chest, knocking him to the ground. Scott rolled off of him and jumped into the air, bringing his knee into a second's chin. Natalie rushed in and stabbed at one before slashing through another.

As she cut down a third, a soldier raised a crossbow and shot her in the shoulder. She stumbled, then got up and beheaded him. Scott soared over her head and slammed into the soldiers. Natalie took the arrow out and cut down another. When they had killed them all, Scott made her sit down on a log and he took out a bandage and carefully wrapped her new wound. "Thanks." She said. He looked a little awkward for a moment, then said "You're welcome." and finished tying the bandage. Michael ran down and picked up the crossbow. "Guys, this is Zack's." He said. Natalie looked over and saw it to be true. "What the hell are they doing to him at their camp...?" Kyra asked, joining them. "Someone find a map." Scott said simply, pointing out that one of the bodies must have a map on them. "Be more careful next time, ok?" He said gently to Natalie before going to look through the bodies.

He was joined by Michael, and as they looted the corpses, Kyra took the crossbow and gave it to Natalie. "No idea how to work that thing, so maybe you should hang onto it for him." Kyra said. Natalie nodded and pressed a button. It transformed into its Wii Remote form and she put it in her pack. Michael rose up and announced "Got it." They rushed over and looked at the map. There were five small camps and the main one. Ziva peeked past Scott's shoulder and pointed at the one closest to them. "Alright, we attack that one first. We should try to do so tomorrow." She said, and they all agreed.

The group found a small cave and piled inside of it. After a few hours, the majority of the group was out cold. Natalie chatted with Kyra for about half an hour before Kyra went to sleep. Nat looked around the cave and saw Scott sitting awake, watching the entrance. "On watch again?" She asked. He nodded. "How come?"

"Because no one else is going to." He replied. She raised her eyebrows. "C'mon, get some sleep, I'll take watch." She offered. He looked over. "You sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it."

"Alright. Wake Caden up in about six hours. Thanks." He said and rolled over. He was asleep in a few seconds. She sat and listened to the sounds of the night. A couple of times, a rabbit or a squirrel would rustle a bush or tree branch (which almost gave her heart attacks each time), but for the most part, the night was quiet. After what she figured was six hours, she poked Caden with her foot. He jolted awake and sat upright. "Your turn." She said. He sighed and nodded. "You got him to sleep?" He asked. "Yeah." Natalie said and there was a brief moment of silence. "Why is he so quiet?" Natalie asked. Caden sighed again. "Always kinda been a loner. Struggled with drug addictions for a year, then he got addicted to stealing. He just prefers being alone. I guess he thinks he can cope better that way." He answered with a shrug. "Personally I think that's crap..." Natalie muttered. "Anyway, I'm going to sleep, see you when I wake up." She said, lay down, and was asleep in seconds.

The next morning, she got up and left the cave. She looked around. There was nobody else in sight. She started stretching and heard movement behind her. "Well, that's an interesting first thing to see upon my return." Sean's voice said. She turned and saw him approaching. A bow with an attached quiver in one hand, and a large piece of some form of meat in the other. "Well, the remaining looks aren't for free." She joked. She chuckled, shook his head, and put the meat down. He sat down next to it, made a small fire, and began cooking slices of it. When he finished, he tossed a slice her way and she caught it. She began chewing on it tentatively, not sure of what it was. She was glad to discover it was venison, and ate it wholly. Soon, the others were up, ate, and began moving toward the camp that was their target.

Arrow On The Door
It was a rather quiet day for the soldiers of the small encampment. There were about fifty of them, all slightly fatigued, but well fed and equipped to wipe out the ones who had destroyed the arena. A few of them lit up some cigars and began smoking off to the side. "I'll be right back." One grunted and started walking into the forest to relieve himself. Once he had finished, he lit up another cigar and blew out a long cloud of smoke. He put it back in his mouth when the tip suddenly vanished. He jumped back in surprise and then his vision turned to black.

"Cutting it a tad close, eh?" Natalie asked Ziva, who wiped the blood off one of her blades. "Maybe. You ready?" She asked. Natalie nodded and tightened her grip on Scar.

=Part Three: Unchained=

=Part Four: Unspoken=

=Part Five: Unforgiven=