18 Chapter 18 (Edited.)

Chapter 18: Betrayal on All Sides

General POV

The Council of Man'a meeting had just finished, and all the council members were about to go to their respective cabins. However, Pollux, one of Dionysus' Twins, had a different idea.

Pollux and Castor had been defeated by Marcus' pranks several times, and he had been on a winning streak.

So today, they devised a plan to prank him on his way to his cabin. Castor was assigned to gather the materials for the prank, while Pollux was assigned to tail Marcus.

"Hehe, Marcus, this is the last day you shall have your victorious laugh! Today, your end will come! Prepare for my revenge prank!" Pollux thought deviously. Lost in his thoughts, he lost track of Marcus.

"Shit! Where is he?" He immediately searched for him but lost track. Finally, when he found him, shock was an understatement to describe what he was seeing.

He saw Luke lying on the ground, injured and battered, while Marcus was standing up with a glowing column of lightning that sparked every second.

"What are you doing here?" Marcus shouted at him.

"Pollux! He's a traitor! He is the lightning thief!" Luke shouted desperately.

"No, this isn't what it looks like!" Marcus defended himself, trying to justify his actions.

"It's Luke who stole the bolt! I defeated him and took this from him!"

"Don't believe him, Pollux! He's deceiving you!" Luke shouted back.

Luke was close to everyone in the camp, and they considered him their older brother. He had been kind and made the camp proud during his quest. In contrast, Marcus, though strong, had only been at the camp for a few weeks compared to Luke's years.

In his mind, Pollux believed Luke, and anyone in his situation would. Marcus stood uninjured, holding the master bolt, while Luke was injured on the ground.

Moreover, Marcus was one of the two suspects who stole the bolt. Seeing him with the stolen object now explained it all.

Pollux shookly grabbed the horn his father had gifted him on his birthday and blew it.

"Fuck!" The horn's sound resounded throughout the entire camp, alerting everyone. Soon, campers emerged from their cabins, armed and ready.

"What's happening?" A camper from the Apollo Cabin asked.

"I don't know, a warhorn was sounded. Something dangerous must be happening inside the camp," replied a camper from the Hephaestus Cabin.

Annabeth emerged from her cabin, grabbed her spear, and encountered Percy, who asked the question everyone had.

"What's happening, Annabeth?" Percy asked, sweating as he ran around the camp seeking answers.

"No one knows, Percy, but the camp is in danger if someone inside blows that horn," she replied grimly.

"Where's Chiron?" Percy inquired.

"I'm here, child," suddenly Chiron appeared amidst the crowd.

"Ready your weapons and follow me," he commanded, and all the campers fell in line behind him.

Chiron led the way toward the source of the sound, with campers from all cabins ready for war. When they reached their destination, they were shocked.

"LUKE!" Annabeth shouted.

"The Master Bolt!" Chiron exclaimed.

"Marcus!" Percy shouted.

"Everyone, Marcus is the lightning thief! He stole the lightning and fought me when I found out!" Luke screamed, and shock turned to betrayal in the eyes of those present.

Their feelings shifted as they looked at Marcus, whom they had believed was with them. Just hours ago, he had been laughing and playing, but now he stood revealed as a traitor.

"Child, what is going on?" Chiron asked Marcus, his tone wary.

"It's not me who stole the lightning bolt, Chiron! It's Luke!" Marcus explained, though doubt lingered as he spoke.

"Then would you care to explain why Luke is injured on the ground while you're holding the Master Bolt?" Chiron inquired once more, seeking answers.

"It's because I defeated him. I caught him talking to someone called Kronos," Marcus said. When they heard that, they were all shocked.

Kronos was in the underworld, defeated in the Titanomachy and sealed into the deepest pits of Tartarus by the Gods. So, in their minds, there was no way Kronos could be involved.

"Kronos is sealed in the deepest pits of the underworld. There's no way he could contact anyone, let alone Luke," Chiron interjected. Marcus might be right, but there were too many loopholes in his arguments.

"No, it's the truth! I am speaking the truth!" Marcus shouted with a hint of desperation.

"Are you sure you're telling the truth?" Chiron asked. Marcus shouted, "Of course I am!"

"Then would you swear on the River Styx?" Chiron asked.

Swearing on the River Styx could prove his innocence, as it prevents anyone—even the Gods—from breaking their promises once they've sworn by it. Luke paled, realizing that Marcus could use this to prove himself.

"How would that help?" Marcus wasn't aware of the river's significance. He'd been briefed about some things at camp, but he didn't know everything.

"It would help prove your innocence, my child," Chiron explained.

"Are you certain? Then I can do that." Marcus said confidently. He was willing to do whatever it took to prove his innocence.

"Then do it, child, and prove your innocence in front of everyone."

With a pause, Marcus looked at everyone before speaking with absolute certainty.

"I swear on the River Styx that I am innocent," he said slowly. Suddenly, as if his world warped, he found himself at a huge altar with a gargantuan throne made of primordial materials.

There stood a figure of a giant but beautiful woman, wearing a dress as similar to the cosmos as her dress. When Marcus looked at her, a feeling surged inside him. It was as if this woman was related to him, a feeling of familiarity. He knew she must be his mother.

"Forgive me, my child. As a beholder of the last blood of our Pantheon, you cannot swear on any Holy Grounds. It would shackle you fully into that Pantheon and It would remove your legitimacy to my throne," the figure said with a melodious voice. She shrank to Marcus's size, hugged him, and continued, "Forgive me, my son, for I was not there with you."

"You must prevail in this challenge, and when the time comes, we will meet again." She whispered, kissing his forehead.

Suddenly, Marcus returned, feeling a great pain assaulting him. It was as if his entire body was being pricked with millions of molten hot needles. He fell to the ground in pain, unable to prove his innocence by swearing on the River Styx.

"Marcus... why!?" Annabeth shouted at Marcus, who looked at them with a pained expression.

"Look, Annabeth, it wasn't me who stole the bolt. It was Luke," Marcus answered, but he knew it was over. Luke had the crowd's support, and Marcus had nothing. Even after swearing on the River Styx, he had not proven anything.

"Annabeth, don't listen to him!"

Marcus looked straight into Annabeth's eyes and spoke, his anger evident. "Do you truly believe I would steal this bolt? Just weeks ago, I didn't even know any of this existed. I have no reason to do this. In my eyes, this means nothing. I was living my life without any problems. Do you think I would risk it all for this? Do you think I'm so power-hungry?"

Annabeth hesitated, torn between her feelings. Her crush on Luke had transformed into a sibling-like bond with Marcus. Despite her confusion, hearing Luke's words seemed to sway her.

Annabeth! Would you really listen to him! I was with you when no one was there! Me and Thalia was there, would you rather believe him than me who was with you when no one was there for you," Luke countered using the moral high ground to win.

"Child surrender now, you have been proven to be the traitor." Chiron commanded and readied his bow.

"I'm a afraid I can't do that Chiron, it's really true that I am innocent. I don't want to pay for the crimes I didn't commit so if you want to apprehend me then you will have to walk over my dead body." Marcus said with dangerous glint, there is no backing now. He was now officially a traitor and for the gods, traitors are treated worse than Murderers and Ra*ist.

"Attack! Fire arrows at will!" Chiron's command rang out, and campers with bows released a volley of arrows towards Marcus.

"Damn it!" Marcus cursed as he ran toward where Luke had dropped his shield, grabbing it for protection.

Arrows rained down, but his shield deflected them. He peeked out from behind it, noticing the archers reloading.

"Fucking hell!" He sprinted toward a tree to seek cover. Arrows continued to fly, but the tree's trunk shielded him, while the shield he held blocked the strays.

Seeing the bows were ineffective, Chiron gave the order, "Campers, attack!"

"RAAHHH!" The Ares cabin charged forward, their warcry filling the air as they brandished swords and shields.

"Attack!" The Apollo cabin knocked their arrows.

"Protect Luke!" The Hermes cabin rallied.

Meanwhile, Luke was grinning beneath it all. His misfortune had turned in his favor, and now Marcus was on the defensive.

*****

Author's Note:

Marcus wasn't able to prove his innocent even after sweating in the name of River Styx because the River Styx and his mother's lineage rejected him from doing so.