The sight of his brother beaten and battered from his own fight created quite the internal conflict in Artemis. On one hand, he wanted to tell his brother to stand down, not to fight to let Artemis protect him, but on the other hand, he knew that would go down like a lead balloon. His brother wanted to fight, to show his worth, Arty knew this because he would be the exact same. In fact, he
had been the same, over more than a decade ago, during his magicless years. He held back, not saying anything. He stood by as Percy took on the scarecrow, waiting ready just in case. He created several more demonic orbs, not just in case his brother needed them, but if there was another monster waiting for them. His ruby eyes searched the plains, it was getting harder to see. The fog was growing thicker, more dense. His instincts were telling him there was more to come. The scarecrow was more nimble than the bird beast, quicker. Its attacks more precise and less animalistic, making it a greater threat. Artemis clenched his fists as it slashed at his brother.
I never understand you pitiful humans, you could kill this creature easily, especially if you used my power. Yet you hold yourself back, and for what? For the sake of this boys pride and your own pathetic shame. Morte's malicious voice hissed in his mind, Artemis shut his eyes, gritting his teeth.
I don't recall asking your opinion, in fact, I never want your opinion.Well, you shall hear it anyway. Like now for instance, It is my opinion that you open your eyes, lest you want your brother to die. Art's eyes shot open just in time to see the blade of the scythe carve into his brother's shoulder. Art roared in protest, running forward, his immediate protective rage taking over. Making room for more of Morte's magic, allowing it to seep into him. The orbs flew forward at immense speed, slamming into the scarecrow. Giant black feathery wings would tear through the clothes on his back, stretching outward behind him. He pushed down hard, dashing forward faster than could be followed with human eyes. He ripped the scythe from the scarecrows grasp, swinging it through the air. He brought it down on the creature with all the strength of his enhanced muscles, tearing the beast in two. He hovered above where the creature lay, his breathing ragged. This wasn't good, he could feel Morte's presence, itching to take over completely. He reached up, smacking himself in the head a few times, eyes squeezed shut as he tried to maintain control.
Come on Artemis, give in. Show your brother the real you, you know you want to... He purred, Artemis growled, gritting his teeth.
"No... I can't...I don't want him to..." He replied out loud, his body trembling. A cold chuckle caused him to stiffen, he turned his head to look, his once red eyes now entirely black including the whites of his eyes. The newest monster to approach, a monster dressed in a black cloak with a rotten pumpkin for a head. The energy around the creature was thick with evil, and yet it was nothing compared to Morte, who surged forward. Artemis was dragged deep into his own mind as Morte shifted over completely. His demeanor would change completely, becoming quite relaxed. He grinned at the monster, his teeth now as long as a serpent, rows, and rows of them protruding from his gums. He would no longer resemble Artemis whatsoever, his nostrils now slit, his face more angular, the only remaining part of him was his red hair.
"I commend your attempts, you season bound beasts really don't have a lot of time to hunt. You might have been successful had it just been the boy, but alas, you had the misfortune of running into me." His voice was different now, smoother, silkier and quite sinister in nature. He flew towards the creature, who launched its chains towards him. The chains were met with more demonic orbs, knocking them away from their summoner as he soared towards his target. Morte stopped in front of the beast, throwing his powerful arms forth, his speared his claws into the pumpkins head, holding him still. The moment his claws touched the pumpkin, it would set alight. It's entire body covered in black flames, eating away at its body. Morte chuckled sadistically, opening his jaw, he spread his mouth wide. He released a monstrous roar into the creature's face, hitting the pumpkin king head-on. He struggled in the demon's grip, desperately trying to distance itself from him. Chains would wrap around Morte's body, attempting to drag him over. Morte just continued to laugh, before squeezing with his hands, crushing the creature's head with all his strength. After a matter of second, the pumpkin head would explode, it's orange flesh flying everywhere. Its body fell limp and Morte would drop him to the ground, like a discarded toy.
He turned to look at Percy, his toothy grin spreading wider, he flew over to the boy. Hovering close, he brought his face close to the younger Dagger boy.
"Do you like secrets boy?" He whispered playfully, before moving closer, his tone teasing.
"Ask your brother who I am..." Morte chuckled leaning back from Percy, he would throw back his head and laugh. Smoke billowing from his body as he began to revert, sinking back into his host. His teeth and claws retracted to their normal size, his skin and eyes morphing into their natural colour whilst his wings sunk back into his shoulders. He would stop laughing, looking down, appearing himself once more. Artemis would blink blearily at his brother, his expression one of exhaustion. As he had control returned to him, he looked around hastily, with no memory of what happened after he'd seen the Pumpkin King. He eyed the body that that lay on the floor, so Morte had just killed him. That was acceptable at least, the last thing he wanted was his brother to witness one of Morte's 'rampages'. He looked over at Percy with a weak grin, Morte's complete control always took it out of him for some reason.
"So yeah... Maroni's then?"WC:1053
Art's Total: 2547 / 1500 | Event WC reached, 1047 Excess
Tag:
@Percy