Chapter 10

Jackie charged Deimos with the Strong-Maned Pig Charges the Boar Hunter Technique. The Technique was the sorta power that'd multiply damage from attacks coming outta a charge three-fold. Only catch was that it didn't do jack shit for accuracy, so if you missed or your opponent dodged, you were shit outta luck, with wasted Chi and an opening to your sides for any asshole to slip a blow in while your ass recovered. Jackie'd never used it before 'cause that always seemed too fucking risky. Deimos, though, he ain't the type to duck a charge, he's the type to countercharge. Brother Piggsy'd picked up on that right away, and, true to form, Deimos let out a roar and rushed to meet Jackie's charge with a charge of his own.

That'd turn out to be a mistake on Deimos' part. Jackie parried Deimos' right cross on his left at the same time as he lashed out with a right cross of his own. The cross-counter was enhanced with the Strong-Maned Pig Charges the Boar Hunter, the Qirin's Hunting Pounce, the Iron Thrust, and all sorts of shit. Jackie'd literally his Deimos with everything he could put in a single punch. The results ain't too disappointing neither. Deimos' face literally smashed in from the blow, neck twisting till it snapped as Deimos went flying through a buncha walls to land in the street outside at the base of the statue of Athena. He ain't moving or breathing and Jackie was pretty fucking sure he'd just killed a God.

Accordingly, Amanda Lau held her hands up as Brother Piggsy smashed through her strongest Mystic Shield and surrendered. As a gesture of good faith, she immediately dispelled whatever Mojo she'd laid down on the base. As the various Gods and whatnot began waking up, Jackie decided he was gonna make sure that Deimos was dead. He made his way through the breach that'd been literally blasted into the Temple of Athena, through the multiple cored-out rooms, and out onto the street. There, he found Aoife MacDougal kneeling over the corpse of Deimos. As he approached, she glared over at him, apparently she ain't too pleased about her half-brother's death. Jackie was an only child and his Old Man'd been faithful to his Ma, unlike a lotta other wiseguys, so he didn't have any half-siblings neither. Honestly, the closest he had was Steph, and the thought of her getting killed? Oh yeah, now he got the anger in her eyes.

"Deimos may have been an arsehole, he may have been a daft cunt, but he was still family. Ares isn't going to forgive you for this, and neither will I." Spat Aoife.

"I ain't expecting you to. We can settle this right now if you wanna go? Your Sorceress already surrendered." Offered Jackie.

"No. Not now. Soon, though." Snarled Aoife.

"Well, if you're gonna turn down a duel like that, I'm gonna have to force the issue!" Exclaimed Jackie as he moved forward with the Quicksilver Stepping Method.

Instead of hitting Aoife though, the Scottish Demigoddess pre-empted Jackie's rushing kick with a sonic scream that picked Jackie's happy ass up and tossed him into and through one of the other still-standing Myrmidon Statues. As Jackie's eardrums burst from the pressure and he struggled to right himself, Aoife MacDougal snatched up Deimos' corpse in a sorta bridal carry and flew off with it toward the second level of Olympus. By the time Jackie'd shaken off whatever shit she'd pulled on his inner ear with that scream, Aoife MacDougal was long gone, along with Deimos' corpse. Still, two outta three ain't too shabby, Jackie thought as he made his way back inside the wrecked temple.

Honestly, judging by the amount of damage, between the buncha rooms that'd been wrecked, the courtyard, and the buildings across the street, it was looking like they'd demolished around three city blocks worth of property in the fighting. Thanks to the whole bigger on-the-inside shit that the Temple of Athena had going, though, a lotta that damage was contained inside the rooms of the Temple. Not that Jackie'd be counting that as a win, mind you. It ain't a win when you wreck up a holy place of a Goddess that's big enough to squash you like you squashed Deimos, after all. Especially when that holy place's been used as your team's base for a bit.

"I gotta stop punching folks through walls." Grumbled Jackie.

"I believe Athena will forgive you. Just this once." Came Hecate's voice from nearby. The Goddess of various magical disciplines walked out of a darkened corner as if appearing from outta the Aether. Hells, for all Jackie knew, she had. Magic Goddesses could do that sorta shit, after all.

"Deimos' dead. I hit him hard enough to break his face and his neck." Frowned Jackie.

"Good." Nodded Hecate.

"Come again? It sounded like you approved of my killing a God." Blinked Jackie.

"What do you know of how Divine Mantles get handed down on Olympus?" Questioned Hecate.

"Somewhere between fuck and all." Deadpanned Jackie.

"Well, then this will be educational for you. On Olympus, when a God is killed, their Mantle of Power is returned to the Throne of Olympus for the King of the Gods to hand out. Normally, this is done to that God's next of kin, if any. Not even Zeus would dare to hoard Mantles for fear of the rest of us doing to him what he did to the Titans. However, Deimos and his entire family were rebels. It is unlikely that Zeus will hand that mantle to anyone under Ares' Banner." Explained Hecate.

"You mean that we're gonna get a new God of Dread and he's gonna be on our side?" Queried Jackie.

"Or she, but yes. That does seem to be the case." Grinned Hecate.

"That's good news, then, yeah?" Asked Jackie.

"It is." Nodded Hecate.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to temper that Good News with bad news." Came Princess Diana's Voice from another room.

Jackie headed to the door of that room to see her, Sun Wukong, Poseidon, Zhurong, and Erlang Shen standing around Amanda Lau, with Guandi, Brother Piggsy, Brother Sandy, and Aeolus standing around in the periphery of the room. Amanda Lau looked nervous as she was being scrutinized by all these Gods who'd been trying to beat the life outta her till recently. That ain't the whole story, though. Jackie'd gotten decent with reading people over the past two years and he knew when folks weren't just agitated 'cause of the situation or their surroundings. Sure enough, he'd find out just what had Amanda's panties in a twist.

"Tell him what you told us." Prompted Sun Wukong.

"Ares is planning a ritual with Circe's help. He's going to steal Cronus' Power for his own. The conditions for the ritual require a noon eclipse to open a bridge to Tartarus in a pool of stagnant water. That's tomorrow, by the way. Using that ritual, Ares will transport himself and Circe into Tartarus and Circe will use her magic to draw Cronus' power out of him and into a vial, which Ares will drink to gain Cronus' Mantle and all powers of the Titan." Informed Amanda Lau.

"Thank you. Now come with me, I shall escort you to your quarters." Nodded Zhurong before practically frogmarching Amanda out of the room.

"With the powers of the King of the Titans added to his own, we will not be able to stand against Ares on the field of battle, not without a combined effort, and even then, there will be heavy casualties." Intoned Poseidon.

"Speak for yourself, I can handle that sort of thing." Smirked Sun Wukong.

"That isn't the point, Brother Monkey." Sighed Brother Sandy.

"Indeed. The Supreme Art of War is to subdue the enemy without fighting." Agreed Guandi.

"Sun Tzu? Lotta stock in a mortal tactician for a War God." Mused Jackie.

"One takes wisdom where one finds it." Smirked Guandi.

"Regardless, it's better to disrupt this ritual as our colleagues from Mount Meru pointed out. Unfortunately, it isn't likely to be that simple. Nothing with Ares ever is, I'm afraid." Sighed Aeolus.

"How so?" Questioned Brother Piggsy.

"We sent scouts ahead to the Second Level of Olympus. Xihe is reporting a massive consolidation of Ares' forces around the Gymnasium of Herakles. It's a central location that allows them to strike in force anywhere on the second level. Caishen has managed to get in touch with Hermes using their similar Mantles and Hermes has let Caishen know how that's possible." Began Erlang Shen.

"Which is?" Queried Jackie.

"Tunnels. A series of steam tunnels bored under the Gymnasium that connect to the sewers of Olympus. Apparently for the Steam Baths in the Gymnasium." Informed Princess Diana.

"Figures. We hitting the Gymnasium from the Sewers then?" Asked Jackie.

"One team has to. Zeus has a counterattack planned to sweep the forces off the third level from the fortified foothold they maintain there, but we still have to attack Ares' headquarters to disrupt the ritual." Insisted Poseidon.

"I'll handle the Gymnasium. Steam tunnels and sewers sounds just like Gotham. It'll be a piece of cake." Volunteered Jackie.

"Brother Piggsy, Brother Sandy, you should go with Brother Drinky. He's gotten himself into a whole mess of trouble on his own." Grinned Sun Wukong.

"Reminds me a lot of you, actually, Monkey." Teased Erlang Shen.

"I knew there was a reason I agreed to teach him." Chuckled Sun Wukong.

"You agreed to teach me 'cause I kept coming back at you after you kicked my happy ass down Mount Meru a dozen times." Deadpanned Jackie.

"Eh, six of one, half-dozen of the other." Waived off Sun Wukong.

"Regardless. We'll help Brother Drinky, right Brother Piggsy?" Questioned Brother Sandy.

"Of course, what sort of Older Brothers would we be if we didn't?" Queried Brother Piggsy.

"Then we need a strike force to handle the push onto the Third Level of Olympus. I'll handle that and Zhurong has already agreed to help me lead there. Which just leaves the Ares Task Force." Continued Guandi.

"That is something that I will be leading. My wayward Nephew needs a spanking and if my brother isn't going to do it, I will." Intoned Poseidon.

"Right. I suppose I'll join you. Could be fun, I hear there's all sorts of nasties in Tartarus to fight." Grinned Sun Wukong.

"Ideally, we'll disrupt the ritual so Ares doesn't get to Tartarus'." Reminded Princess Diana.

"Come on, aren't you the least bit curious how you stack up against Titans or Hekatonchires?" Pressed Sun Wukong.

"Whether I am or not, the plan remains the same." Shrugged Princess Diana.

"Spoilsport." Snorted Sun Wukong.

"I didn't say I wasn't going with." Smirked Princess Diana.

"As am I. We ought to have our strongest fighters present just in case." Added Erlang Shen.

"Good. Then it's settled, we'll split up into three teams and hit each location. I'll provide scouting reports along with Xihe." Offered Aeolus.

"Good. If you need anything before we head out, see Caishen, as usual, he and Wenchang Wang are handling Quartermaster and Administrative duties. We'll attack in eight hours, so rest up and get ready." Commanded Poseidon.

And with that, the plan for the next phase of Combat was set. Jackie'd headed over to the Quartermaster's area to try and grab a few healing pills to refresh his stock Caishen gave him enough to refill his used pills and then some. Wenchang Wang, on the other hand, pulled a buncha scroll from some of the pigeonholes he was keeping a buncha 'em in and handed 'em off to Jackie. Only thing is, Jackie ain't asked for anything from Wenchang Wang. His natural suspicion was ringing alarm bells in the back of his mind, though Jackie ain't too sure what exactly the point of tricking him with some sorta trapped scroll'd be at this point in the invasion. 'Course, he'd never find out if he never asked, so ask he did.

"All right, I'll bite. What's this?" Asked Jackie.

"Those are manuals for Wuxing Elementalism up to the Archmage Level. I noticed that your Western Repertoire of Elementalist Spells is a bit lacking. I suppose that's what modern sorcery gets you. This ought to help with that deficit." Answered Wenchang Wang.

"All right, what's the catch? There's gotta be some catch, yeah? Ain't no such thing as a free lunch." Frowned Jackie.

"In the time you have been with us, your stock has steadily risen, first you were a mortal with bare drops of divine blood, subject to mortal instruction on the Mystic Arts and Cultivation. Then, while still Mostly Mortal and still a product of Mortal Sorcerous Training, you obtained Cultivation instruction from Sun Wukong himself, the first Student that Monkey has taken in five centuries. Next, you have somehow not only managed to strengthen the divine blood in your veins but also have become more mystically potent than the overwhelming majority of Mortal Sorcerers. Your rise in such a short time has been meteoric." Informed Wenchang Wang.

"Yeah, I know what I did, what's your point?" Demanded Jackie.

"My point is that it occurs to me that cultivating an exchange of favors with such a rising star can only be a good thing. It's simple Guanxi." Pointed out Wenchang Wang.

Jackie frowned at that. On the one hand, it ain't like Archmage-Level Mystic Primers just fall outta the sky. On the other, Jackie hated owing folks anything. Money, favors, he'd deal in them, but he don't like being the guy owing instead of the guy owed. It leaves a bad taste in his mouth every time. Jackie wrestled with the implications of making this deal for a bit before deciding he couldn't really afford to refuse. With a nod, he agreed and now was locked into a favor exchange with the God of Scholars. At least Jackie wouldn't be hurting for Magic Primers any time soon, provided he holds up his end of the deal all right.

Heading outta the Quartermaster's Office, Jackie took a seat in one of the undamaged rooms and got to work on the primers. For the next four hours, Jackie learned a buncha spells from the apprentice, initiate, and disciple primers. He'd managed to get a tenth of the way through each of those before turning in to get four hours of rack time. He'd wind up needing the sleep, 'cause soon enough, he'd be headed for the Gymnasium of Herakles and duking it out with more gods. That was the sorta thing you wanted to be well-rested for, after all. Jackie drifted off for a four-hour nap and found his dreams strangely lucid, dreaming about some sorta pale-skinned, thin, man who seemed to be urging him onto some sorta quest and pointing him toward England for some fucking reason. When Jackie woke up, he was certain he'd need to head there once shit was finished up here.

For now, though, he had a War on Olympus to wrap up. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, here we have the end of the Rebels' sneak attack. Jackie managed to kill Deimos now that Brother Piggsy could keep Amanda off his back for long enough. The more important bit is that Amanda Surrendered and gave up the information about Circe's ritual and Ares' plans for it. We also got a bit of a tease for the next arc once this storyline on Olympus wraps up, courtesy of Dream of the Endless. Anyone who was a fan of nineties Hellblazer will enjoy the next arc.

Of course, this being Olympus, Wonder Woman goes with the team fighting Ares, while Jackie, as the guest star in a Wonder Woman Event, goes to the less important fight at the Gymnasium of Herakles. It's simply the conventions of the genre at play there. Mind you, opposition at the Gymnasium isn't exactly going to be a cakewalk, Phobos is there, as are Aoife MacDougal and Nemesis. Thankfully, Jackie has Brother Piggsy and Brother Sandy to help him out there. Comparatively, Eris is handling the front on the Third Level with a bunch of alchemically suped-up beastmen, while Ares and Circe try to pull off their ritual.

Next chapter will be the first part of that phase of the fighting.

Stay tuned. . .