A new age of Divinity: Theomachy

That Escalated Quickly

It had been a little while since Nate had woken up and Beth recently discovered just how much better a fighter he had gotten. Even when he wasn't using his powers, much like their first fight, she could barely ever even touch him. After his apparent hibernation, he seemed even faster than she remembered. Every now and then she would lose track of where he was and he would knock her down. The two were sparring now and even hand to hand, he was even faster than she could've expected. She swung a hook punch at his jaw, but he easily ducked underneath the attack. While he was down, Beth heel kicked at his chest, but he jumped to the side, and rolled over his shoulder. As he got up, Beth spun around, and hook kicked at his neck. He blocked the attack, then when she tried an iron broom sweep, he did an aerial directly over her and landed behind her. She got up and swung a hook punch at his jaw, but he calmly blocked the attack without any problem.
"How did you get so fast?" Beth asked as he pushed her back.
"I'm not much faster," Nate responded while cracking his neck "It's been about a year." He leaned away from another hook punch, then headbutted her in the forehead "I get that you're still recovering, but there's clearly something up here holding you back." He poked her forehead, then palm struck her in the shoulder, which made her stumble back again "You should probably take a bit of time to figure out what it is that's getting to your head."
"Fine, what should I do if you are so knowledgeable about it?"
"How am I supposed to know? It's your trauma, your mental block. You're the only one who can figure this out." He turned around and walked off to go to geography and cartography class.
Beth sighed and decided to attend her class now, which was Greek history. Being born from a Greek God, she was expected to be able to speak the language as it was the main one that was spoken on Olympus and know the . In the past, there would be field trips to the lands of the Gods, however at one point, someone stole Mjolnir. It was found out that a Demigod had taken it and they had seemingly wanted a civil war between the Gods. After that, only after you left the camp were you ever allowed to go there. The fewer people in a group would make it harder for anyone to mess with anything that could cause a catastrophic event.
"Now, can anyone tell me what God turned Daphne into a Laurel Tree?" The teacher asked.
Beth raised her hand and said "Her father, Hyginus."
"Very good, Beth... now, let's move onto one of Helios' adventures." Beth groaned and just put her head down on the desk, having memorized all of Helios's stories.
After class, she went with Kenneth to the Mess Hall for dinner as she had grown fond of the place. They each ordered their food, Kenneth deciding to order a medium skirt cut steak and Beth took a large cheeseburger. The two talked about Beth's mental block along with just what they had been doing that day. Kenneth came up with an interesting idea that maybe what she needed was a real life or death fight. Of course, he didn't want this to happen to his friend, but if it was needed, then that would be possible. They both knew that Estevan was still after her more than anyone else, but they really didn't understand why. After talking about it with their group of friends, they had come to the strange conclusion that Estevan was just enraged by the fact that he was beaten by someone who had only been there for less than an hour. Beth had always wondered what kind of problem he could have for something so small to have sparked such hatred toward her.
"So, you think that if I get into a fight again, my instincts will come back?" Beth asked.
"Well, you did beat Dreama one on one after she had been training while your body was put through hell. Sure, it had something to do with the adrenaline, but you are the daughter of a War God. Fighting, making your instincts sharpen over time would make quite a bit of sense. Also, getting into a fight with someone like me or Nate would not give you that rush of adrenaline because you know we would never try to hurt you badly... Perhaps getting into a fight with Estevan and his gang may be a good place to start... best place, not good."
"So when should I try and get into a fight with him?"
"He is a dangerous sociopath who would kill you the moment he got the chance, I do not think any time would be a good time."
"But you came up with this idea!"
"I never said it was a good one!"
"Well, it is an idea, so I will try it. I need to get back into my old self." As the two were talking, neither noticed that Estevan was a few tables away and in very clear earshot.
After the two ate, they went to their last classes of the day, and then finally went to bed. Estevan decided to stay up and sneak out past sun down... despite no one having a real curfew. He watched as she walked out of her cabin and toward the Mess Hall. There had been some strange magic spell placed on the building which kept food constantly supplied. It was a strange but very useful spell in case anyone ever got hungry during the night. Beth was clearly not expecting any trouble as she didn't have a weapon on her, even her usual leg mounted dagger. In fact, all she had on was a sports bra, a pair of shorts, and her usual combat boots.
"Huh, this is going to be easier than I thought," Estevan snickered, "Alright, time to end her." He crept out from behind his house and walked behind her.
As Beth grabbed another burger, Estevan ran toward her with a loud, building yell. She looked to where the sound was coming from and didn't have enough time to get out of the way. He tackled her and pushed her back, launching them both through a wall into the Mess Hall's bathroom. They both fell to the ground covered in dust, wood, and in Beth's case, water from the toilet that her hand fell into. They both grunted as they got up and Beth swung a roundhouse kick at Estevan's chest. He turned to the side and used his arm to trap her leg against his torso. He lifted her up and threw her out of the bathroom into the main Mess Hall again. She fell over a table and rolled down onto the ground with a thud.
Back at the cabins, Kenneth kicked Nate's door down and yelled "Estevan is fighting Elizabeth!"
"Wow, really? Huh. Alright, I'll meet you there." He rather nonchalantly got out of bed and put his usual shirt and jacket on as the others ran to the Mess Hall "So, when did this start?"
"He just attacked her! She was getting something to eat and-"
"Kenneth." They all stopped and turned to Nate "This wasn't anything you had something to do with, was it?"
"What!? No, and why is this important?"
"Well, Beth talked to me before she went to bed and she said something about an idea about her fighting Estevan to the death that came from you."
"I told her it was stupid!"
"And I agree, which is why I'm not accusing you, only asking."
"It feels like you're accusing."
"Boys, can we have this later? In her state, Estevan will kill Beth! Get a move on!" Eden yelled as they ran toward the Mess Hall with Nate simply walking behind them somewhat quickly.
Back in the Mess Hall, Beth ducked under a punch to her nose and ran behind Estevan. He looked back and ripped his fist out of the wall, then she uppercut him in the kidney. He grunted when she hit him, then he swung another heavy punch at her nose. Beth used the back of her hand to block and push the fist down, but Estevan used this to his advantage. With the other hand he grabbed her by the throat and pushed her up against one of the dozens of support pillars. He pulled his other hand back and swung at her head, but she jumped away, and watched his fist break through the thick wood.
Estevan walked around the pillar and glared at her as she pulled herself up using a table, then he said "Just like old times, huh?"
They both pulled back their fists and swung at each other, their fists colliding, and pushing each other backwards. They each fell against a table and glowered as each other. They ran at each other and Beth swung a hook punch at his jaw. He stopped and grabbed her wrist, then got down on one knee, and pulled her up onto his shoulders. He stood up and swung her down onto the hard stone ground, directly onto one of her shoulders. She groaned in pain as she struggled to relocate it and he stood over her.
"I am much stronger now," He told Beth as she rolled over onto her back, gasping for breath "Get up." He kicked her in the ribs and she rolled over on her side "Go on, get up!" She pushed herself back up to her feet and shook the dust from her hair, then got into a fighting stance "Yeah... yeah, there is a good girl. Now die."
He stepped forward and hook punched at her neck, but Beth simply grabbed his wrist. She pulled him in and trapped his arm against her ribs, then when he punched again she wrapped his other arm. She swung her forehead into his nose, nearly breaking it, then released his arms, and hook punched him across the jaw. Estevan staggered backwards and she swung a roundhouse kick at his side, but he just pushed her leg down. She put her foot back down on the ground and used a feint punch to try and confuse him. He brought his arm up to block the attack, then when she threw the real punch, he just blocked it with his palm. She grabbed his wrist and threw his arm down, then punched him in the chest, and finally in the face. Unlike their last fight, these punches barely did any damage at all, in fact, he barely even reacted to the body blows. Estevan pulled his fist back, then slammed it against Beth's jaw. She stumbled back and he grabbed her by the neck again. He lifted her up and slammed her against another of the support poles. The group got to the fight as they saw Beth get slammed against the pole once more. Eden tried to run to them as Estevan punched Beth in the jaw, but Nate held his arm out to stop her.
"What are you doing?" She exclaimed as Estevan passed Beth through a vertical table.
"She needs to do this on her own."
Estevan stood over Beth and told her "These two years have made you weak!" He kicked her in the side of the head and watched as she crawled over the broken remains of the table "Stand up and fight!" He yelled as he kicked her in the stomach "The last time we fought, you barely made it out. This time will be much worse for you." She rolled over onto her stomach and pushed herself up to her knees "Look at you, is this how you choose to die? Lying on your stomach like an animal in our woods?" She groaned as she got up to her feet and panted while glaring at Estevan "Good, at the very least die on your feet like the rest of your friends would." Beth swung another roundhouse kick at him, but he just grabbed her ankle, and looked into her eyes "Hm... this is truly disappointing." He dropped her leg, spun around, and elbowed her in the chest, sending her through another beam, and crashing against the wall "I had hoped you would put up as much of a fight as you used to." He walked up to her and glared down at her "You have clearly lost something, Beth..." She growled as she looked up at him, "You are not who you used to be."
"I know... and I do not think I will ever be that person again..." Nate smiled as he heard the subtle hint of acceptance, but also readiness in her voice "But I am ready to be better than she ever was."
She jumped up to her feet and used the nearest support beam as she jumped off of it. She pushed herself toward Estevan and swung a flying roundhouse kick into the side of his neck. For the first time in the fight, she knocked him down, but Beth also fell to the floor as well. This didn't bother her however as she knew she could actually win this fight now. They both got back up to their feet and Beth blocked a punch, then redirected Estevan's arm. She ran behind him and when he turned to face her, she spun around, and hook kicked him across the jaw. He stumbled backwards and landed against another pillar. He wiped the blood from his nose and looked down at it, then back to her, and they rushed one another again. The group sat down at the bar and grabbed food and drinks and watched as Beth became the fighter they had known her to be. She hook punched at his temple, but he blocked with his forearm. He punched her bicep to knock her arm down, then pushed her back against another pillar.
She fell down onto her knees again so he grabbed her by the throat, held her up, and told her "I will not give you the chance to become whoever you think you will." He let go and punched her twice in the chest "And you know that." He ducked underneath a wild punch, then got up, hook punched her in the back, and jab punched her in the nose "So I think it would do you a lot of good to just lay down and die." He kneed her in the stomach, which knocked her down to her knees again, so he picked her back up by the collar of her shirt.
She took a deep breath in, then let it out, and yelled "Enough!" She grabbed his collar and pulled him into three elbows to the nose "You will not tell me..." She pushed herself off the wall and they both fell to the ground "What I can..." She got up, spun him around, and threw him down onto his back "Or can not do!" She picked up a piece of one of the pillars and stabbed it into Estevan's shoulder, which caused him to yell out in pain and the others to exclaim in shock.
Estevan groaned and yelled in pain as he rolled over on his back, then he got up, and ripped it out of his shoulder while yelling "See, this is your problem! It has always been your problem!" A door opened and the group looked up as Orpheus and Freya rushed down to the Mess Hall "If you want to end this war between us, then it can! You just have to kill me."
Beth sighed and nodded, then walked toward him, ready to end this once and for all. She swung a punch at chest, but he grabbed her fist, and threw her arm away. Beth pulled her arm back, then punched him several times in the chest. The punches pushed Estevan back a little bit and she punched him in the jaw. He shook this punch off, then trapped her arms against his body. He headbutted her twice in the nose, then let her go, and punched her in the chest. She stumbled backwards and fell against the closest wall to them. Beth grunted as her shoulder slammed against the wall and before she could attack again, he grabbed her head. He slammed her head against the wall and continued pushing her, trying to crush her head entirely. She backfisted him in the chest twice, but that didn't seem to do much damage as he kept pushing her. Beth could feel her skull beginning to fracture and the group could hear her skull begin to crack. Everyone winced, even Nate, who had simply been eating four orders of calamari as well as fish and chips. Beth began to scream out in pain when suddenly Estevan stopped.
"Both of you, stop!" Orpheus yelled as he threw them both away from each other "All of you! To your cabins, now!" They nodded and walked off "You two, you are both under cabin arrest. For the next two weeks, you are not to leave your homes. Not for any reason, not for combat practice, your homework will be delivered by your teachers, and all of your belongings will be taken away. After that, you will both be tasked with rebuilding everything you two have destroyed. I don't even care who started this fight, but I do care what this silly rivalry between you two has caused. This has been going on for years and I have had enough! Now back to your cabins!" Orpheus yelled, uncharacteristically enraged.
Esteven grunted and turned away only to grab a piece of the fallen pillar and stabbed Beth in the stomach and through her back. Eden screamed and Beth could only cough up blood as she grabbed her gut as she fell to the floor. Nate and Kenneth turned around when they heard Eden scream and Kennth watched in horror as Beth collapsed. Nate ran over and didn't even bother attacking Estevan, he just used a burst of Bifrost from his palm to hop over the son of Ares. He landed and knelt down to Beth as Mikayla and Eden did whatever they could to save her.
Estevan glared down at Beth as she fell to his knees and snarled "There. Our silly rivalry is over. Nobody has to deal with this weakling anymore."
He walked out of the dinning hall, Hayden just missing him as he walked into the dinning hall, wondering what the commotion was as this was one of his nights that his insomnia kept him up... and then he saw Beth, "Beth?" He ran over and looked at Nate, "What did you do?!"
"Oh, you think I've got something to do with this shit? Honestly, I've got less to do with this than Kenneth does!"
"Oh, so now you are going to bring me into this?"
"You put this idea into her head!"
"You did not offer anything better!"
"How the fuck would I!? I'm a fucking mind reader, not a therapist, you damn-"
"Guys!!" Eden screamed, "Stop fucking arguing with each other! Beth is dying! We need to get her to the hospital before she goes into-" That's when Beth started shaking, indicating that she was going into shock.
"God damn it, just get her to Eir," Nate told her, unusually serious at this moment as his eyes glowed a slightly darker shade than they usually did. "The three of us need to discuss this now. Because I'm not getting blamed for her getting hurt again when this time, Kenneth's dumbass decided to say, hey, go fight that bloodthirsty sociopath who's always wanted you dead while you're not even at your peak!"
"Nate, that is always your answer to things. Fight your way out of problems. Why are you blaming me for this one?"
"I'm not telling my best friend to get into a life or death fight with her worst enemy, yeah! He's her worst fucking enemy! Fuck Dreama, that pansy bitch couldn't even survive one fight with her! We'll deal with Athena at some point, honestly she can just go die. Estevan is the biggest threat to her, and now she's going under house arrest after being stabbed, but then again he got stabbed too, and now you're gonna try and blame me!"
"Wait, guys. I just realized," Hayden pointed out "If she could go toe to toe with him for like five minutes like that and not at full strength, then she's clearly the strongest out of all of-"
"Bitch, shut up!" Nate and Kenneth yelled at him in unison.
"Stop kissing her ass! God, it's like now that you're her boyfriend you're also her hype man. She's literally never beaten me! And I've never fought her all out!"
"Oh, so now this is a dick measuring contest, kid? Remember, I'm nineteen, and your impulsiveness clearly rubbed off on her!"
"Oh, how am I impulsive? I'm the one who tends to think things through!"
"Kid, you nearly fucking killed yourself looking for her, and now you're arguing-" Nate suddenly shot a Bifrost sphere into his chest and sent him flying out into the night, crashing down onto his back "Arugh... what the hell?"
"If you ever blame me for my best friend, someone who I've sacrificed everything for, being hurt by something out of any of our control again, then god damn it, maybe for the first time in my life, I've been wrong about someone."
"Oh, and what's that supposed to mean?" Hayden asked as he got up.
"I'm saying that all you care about is making sure nothing bad ever happens to her, but that's clearly not been working. What about when she was put through that initiation? Huh, where the Hel were you? Or how about when she was captured? You didn't even notice for half a fucking year! You never even bothered coming with us when we went to go get her. You just can't stand to see anything bad happen to her, so much to the point that you refuse to help her when it's actually happening!"
"Oh, you're saying I don't care about her?"
"No, what I'm saying is that the way you try to protect her, and what she actually needs is much different!"
"Oh, and you know what she needs, how? Because you've been in her head? Not everything that happens is a part of the brain, you idiot." Hayden held his hand over his head and called his scythe to him, spinning it in his grip as he glared at Nate, the entire mood of the confrontation having changed.
Nate glared at him for a few seconds before telling him "Don't do this, John."
"I'm not taking your orders."
Mikayla ran over, "Guys, stop!" She panted out of breath, "Beth does not need you all to fight! She needs her best friend and her boyfriend at her side!"
It was clear neither of them were listening as Nate just took a deep breath in. He calmly looked at Hayden with his hands at his sides. Hayden took this as a sign of disrespect and he charged at Nate, who still stayed rooted to his spot. All of a sudden, without any movement, time slowed down for everyone but Nate. Hayden didn't seem to realize that he was moving at less than a tenth of the speed he had been moving originally. He swung the scythe at Nate, but he calmly walked around the blade. Nate walked behind him, jumped, and roundhouse kicked Hayden in the back of the head. He began to fall forwards in slow motion and Nate heard someone speaking behind him.
Mikayla slowly but eventually got over and in the middle of the fight, she yelled out some words and both of the boys went flying back onto their backs, time coming back to its original speed, she glared at them, "You both are acting like children! What the fuck do you idiots think Beth needs right now?!"
"Mikayla, if you don't get it, then you haven't been paying attention," Nate said as he got up "Firstly, nice move. Secondly, this hasn't been about Beth in a while... not fully."
"I don't give a fucking rats ass about what its about. And thank you." She glared at them both, "Both of you get your asses to Beth's side or so help me I will kill you both myself. She needs you both. So this little boy fight you two are acting out needs to fucking stop! If she's dies you know damn fucking well she will never forgive you for fighting!"
"You can't beat me. Too soft, big heart. Mama raised you right, oh so very right. So right, you won't be able to stop me from killing her," Nate told her in a tone that none of them had heard before... it was sinister, bordering on evil.
"Woah," Hayden said.
"What in the mother fucking hell was that?" Mikayla asked, actually terrified at this point.
That's when Orpheus ran over "Boys. It's Beth. you need to come with me right now."
"Oh, what the Hel could be up now, old man?"
"Okay... we're gonna have to look into that development," Orpheus muttered to himself "Beth's she's alive, but-"
"Outta my way!" Nate roared as he ran through Orpheus, knocking him to the ground.
"I thought he hated running," The old man muttered.