Hunting The Earth Shaker

By the time she got there, Jack's household had collapsed.

"Miss Callee isn't going to like this," she muttered, thankful she had decided to teleport outside so she could get the Aeternae from behind.

But from what she could see, there was no sign of the horn-shooting unicorns. Or Newt. Only rubble under a broken roof. Whatever Newt had done had completely wrecked the house. Sharina didn't want to be around when Jack's mother came home, neither did she want any neighbor to see her and mark her as a perpetrator. She was surprised no one had called the police yet. Either no one on the street was home, or they all didn't care enough to bother themselves. There was also the option of the Aeternae killing every single person, but she didn't want to imagine the gruesome sight.

"Where could he have gone?" Sharina asked no one in particular, walking away from the scene.

"East," Hades hinted. "I can pinpoint my brother's location. I am sure I have told you this in the past."

"Yes, yes," Sharina said, dashing off to her left. "Damn my mortal mind."

Urging her body forward, she tried to look out for signs of a chase on the ground, but the heavily graded road made it hard to make out any tracks. Trusting Hades' brother sense, she sped up, silently hoping nothing had happened to Newt.

Still running, Sharina burst out into a quiet highway. Looking around, she spotted a horn towards her far-right. Rushing over to pick it up, she immediately noticed the blood coating its tip and dropped it.

"Where next?" she hurriedly asked the god, fidgeting as horrid scenarios flashed across her head.

"You're headed in the right direction."

Taking off once more, she glanced behind her to watch out for any incoming car, but there was absolutely no movement around.

"The Aeternae may have scared the mortals off," Hades suggested.

"Yeah, I can't see any traces of death here." Panting, she forced herself to move even faster, kicking up a little dirt.

Sharina slowed down as the road turned sharply to the left, leaving only what looked like a deadly drop down a slope before tumbling into the cold, deep sea below. She would have normally turned away and continued down the proper path, but looking over, she immediately caught a glimpse of who she was looking for. Newt stood, two legs in the shallower parts of the water, swinging his trident round.

"He is overly resourceful, this young man," Hades complimented. "Even though he lacks in ability, he was gifted with quick thinking."

"He's strongest in water," Sharina grumbled, measuring the drop. "But how's that going to help me get down there? Can't I just teleport?"

"My power in this current state isn't infinite mortal," Hades said. "Just jump."

Rearing her head back, she turned to give Hades a dirty look before remembering he was just in her head. "This looks more than fifty feet you know. I'm not exactly immortal."

"You mortals dwell on useless things at times," he sighed. "How do you think he got down there?"

"Maybe he mastered teleportation?" she replied, looking over the cliff, down at Newt. "I can't possibly see how...."

Scrunching her brows together, she noticed several rocks jutting out of the cliffside. It could have passed off as a random structure, but there was a certain order to them, almost like someone drew them out intentionally to make a long set of dangerous steps.

"This was Newt?" she asked, sweat trailing down her bare skin. Running the blazing sun made her wish she could have rushed over to her place and grabbed another shirt to avoid her reddening skin.

"Poseidon was also called the 'Earthshaker' anyway," the god confirmed.

Nodding, she took a few steps back, memorizing the position of the closest outcrop. "Just a simple hop."

She then jogged forward and swung off the highway before she could rethink her choice. She planted her feet perfectly on the first rock and jumped down to the second without hesitating. If she stopped to think about what she was doing, fear would kick in and probably lead to her demise. She wanted to lean against the rough surface of the cliff and use it to slide down to each jutted rock, but other than the fact she would get more than just a terrible bruise, she had a feeling some bump would unhook or rip off her bra.

"Newt!" she yelled, daring to take her eyes off the rocks.

From afar, Newt looked like he was completely unharmed and easily protecting himself from the Aeternae attacking him. But as she got closer, she saw his shoulders drooping, along with a torn shirt barely hanging off his body. Still being considerably far away, she couldn't make out his expression. Or the hole that had somehow formed on his right thigh. The only thing keeping him alive from the nearly twenty monsters that surrounded him was the wall of water he had set up. Somehow, Sharina knew if she didn't get down there in time, fatigue was going to overwhelm him and she would have the two people she just met hospitalized or worse.

Newt looked up at her, and even despite the distance, she knew a large smile was plastered across his face. The Aeternae also responded to her call and tried to turn to pinpoint her location, only to meet a blast of water to the face. Stomping their hooves with agitation, they shot a fresh amount of horns that simply struck the surface of Newt's shield and entered the swirling water.

"Hurry up Sharina!" he yelled back, his voice strained. "I'm not sure how long I'll last."

Cursing, Sharina stopped hesitating during each drop and vaulted off the second she felt her feet hit something solid. As she neared the bottom, a horn grazed her right arm, leading her to stumble and miss her step.

"Shit!"

Although she was close to the ground, the fall would have still broken all the bones in her body if she didn't land on a wet cushion. Not prepared for the impact, her breath was slammed out of her lungs. Newt had sent water ahead of her and stopped her fall.

"Stupid animals," she muttered, aligning herself with the ground as the water dissipated.

But that also meant coming face to face with the creature that nearly caused her death. The Aeternae had completely ignored Newt and were now staring at his backup with pure killing intent.

"Ah," Sharina swallowed hard, backing up into the rough surface behind her. "This would be a good time for a power-up."

"Well, then I guess it's time for your second weapon," Hades agreed, as the air in front of her shimmered.