• Chapter 2
    On the way, Apollo told Arthur of what he would ask of Arthur. Expecting Arthur to be scared, Apollo was shocked when Arthur merely nodded and said okay. When they arrived at Artemis’s hut, Artemis was hunting deer with her wolves. She came back, sheathing her bow.
    “Whose the runt,” she asked.
    “This,” Apollo started, clasping Arthur on the shoulder, “is the champion of the Sun God,
    Arthur.” Artemis tried to contain her laughter, making noises as the laughs began to escape. She then burst into hysterics, holding her stomach, laughing. Arthur looked down, ashamed. Apollo grew angry at his sister. Artemis continued laughing, pointing at Arthur. When she
    finally ceased her laughing, she wiped her eyes and resumed a serious face.
    “Oh...oh, you were...you were serious?”
    “Dead serious. Arthur has already proved himself on the battlefield, incapacitating four
    bigger and stronger opponents. And he has just returned from the land of the dead, stronger and deadlier than ever.”
    “Wait, wait, wait... you mean to tell me, that a one-eyed shrimp took out four bigger enemies and came back from Tartarus?”
    “Yes and rose as victor over an Elysian Hero.” Artemis was taken aback, then she scoffed.
    “He’s useless, Apollo. Do you really think Father will be intimidated by a kid with an eye patch? Um, hello! He can’t see out of his right eye!” As she shouted this she threw an arrow at Arthur’s blind side. Arthur saw the arrow and was able to first dodge it and then catch and throw it back. Artemis dodged using her full speed, the arrow barely missing her. She was
    thunderstruck.
    “How did you... how...”
    “My ‘eye patch’ gives me the ability to see attacks, and Lady Persephone granted my body the ability to perform extraordinary feats,” Arthur responded. Artemis then said in a small voice,
    “What weapons do you wish to use?” Arthur grinned.
    “I’d like a sword and shield, custom made.”
    “But of course,” Artemis said and was going to call for Hephaestus when she thought of a way to truly test this young warrior.
    “Oh, Champion Arthur?”
    “Yes, my lady?”
    “The sword can be made to your specifications, but I’d like you to do one final test.”
    “What is it?”
    “When my father, Zeus, rebelled against Cronus, he took into battle the legendary Aegis Shield. Since then, the shield stays in his treasure vault in his palace. If you can successfully procure the shield and make it back without being detected, you may use it as your shield.” Artemis grinned inside, for this was truly a test for Arthur. Arthur grew wide eyed when Artemis promised him the shield, for he had read about it and that even the great hero,
    Perseus, had used it when he slayed the Gorgon, Medusa. Apollo lost his golden aura for a
    moment.
    “Sister, surely you must realize this is a suicide mission, even for us?”
    “That is why this is called a test, Apollo. If he is to be your champion, he must do the
    impossible, which is his whole purpose. Slaying the gods is supposed to be an impossible task. If the boy cannot merely steal a shield, then surely he could not slay even the weakest of gods, the demigods.”
    “Diana...Artemis, think of what you do.” Then Arthur spoke up.
    “I’ll do it. Lord Apollo, I wish the shield to be mine, so when I fight Zeus on the appointed day, he shall be humiliated once more, that the shield which was stolen from his great palace shall now be used against him. Please take me to Mount Olympus. I can do this, Lord Apollo. Trust me.” And in a horrible moment, when Arthur said that, it was not Arthur Apollo saw, but the face of young Phatheon. Apollo shook off the image.
    “Fine, do not fail me.” Arthur snapped a crisp salute.
    “Yes, Sir!”


    The plan was simple, yet highly dangerous. Arthur would hide behind Apollo as he drove his chariot to Zeus’s palace on Olympus. The palace was guarded by the enslaved, but highly
    loyal Titans. Apollo would momentarily distract the gate Titans by stretching, and “accidentaly” blinding the guardians with the rays of the sun temporarily. Arthur would then burst past them into the palace, from which he would break into the vault and steal the Aegis Shield. Upon taking it, Arthur would make his way back to the gates and await Apollo. They
    initiated the plan. Apollo did as planned and Arthur rushed past the Titans.
    “What was that,” cried one of the Titans, struggling to regain his eyesight.
    “Oh, my dear, worried cousin,” Apollo began, with fake pity in his voice, “ ’twas merely the wind. Thou hast a very vivid mind. Now, I pray thee to let me pass.”
    “Oh, my mistake, cousin. Lord Zeus awaits you inside.” Apollo nodded respectfully and walked inside. The golden gate closed behind him and when they were satisfied that he was out of hearing range, the Titans began to talk.
    “What’s the deal with his medieval talk,” one asked.
    “Oh, you know Apollo,” responded the other. “He still in the past. Everything he says and does is old school. This is the guy who thinks that the Olympians need to rule over the world.” His opposite nodded.
    “You got a point.”
    Meanwhile, inside the golden pavilion that was Zeus’s palace, Arthur began the operation. He took it easy, first by climbing to the roof. This however, was not very easy, as Arthur was still trying to get used to not having sight out of his right eye. After a long battle with himself, Arthur finally emerged on top of the palace. He unrolled the map Lady Artemis had given to him. He looked at it, trying to get his location. He finally found his spot and proceeded to move to the building in which the vault lies. Fortunately for Arthur, his body could now
    perform feats he was not able to do before, such as jumping rooftops. Arthur finally moved to his objective and was trying to devise a way to enter the building. His watched beeped. 10 minutes had elapsed, only 10 left in the operation time; he had to hurry. Arthur looked for any external opening in which he could enter through. No such luck. Arthur was running low on time, so he decided to lose secrecy. Arthur jumped up and kicked the roof into the vault. Normally, no human could have done this, but Arthur surpassed humanity in some sense. He crashed through into the vault. The guardians rushed to the sound of the disturbance and Apollo groaned, believing that he just lost his champion. Now, when Apollo first began searching for human champions, an old woman came to him. She prophesied that should she died, all his champions would take heroic names and die the same as their namesakes. To avoid losing them, he locked her away in a room next to the vault, the same room Arthur mistook for the vault. The old woman looked up and screamed. Stricken with panic, Arthur strangled the woman, and when her body grew limp, Arthur collapsed to the ground and sobbed into his hands at his murder. But Arthur shook it off, reasoning to himself that it was necessary. He left the room, and using Apollo’s key, he unlocked the vault and rushed in. There laid the Aegis Shield. Arthur took it and it sized of itself in proportion to its new user. That moment, Arthur knew it was meant for him. A guard rushed in and swung a club, much larger than the size of the Aegis Shield. Arthur raised it anyway. The shield grew to the size of the club and deflected it. Arthur tackled the Titan with the shield and beat it to death with it. Placing the shield on his back, it resized itself and Arthur ran to the gates, where Apollo, after misleading the guards, waited. Arthur climbed into the chatriot and they flew to Artemis’s hut.