Chapter Text
The world seemed quiet despite the noise Montague knew was going on around him. He could still hear partly from one ear, muffled as if he was under water. The other was filled with ringing and nothing else. His eyes focused onto Zeus, standing in front of his group as he raised his gun again, swinging it back towards him. He had fired it off a second before, bullet flying by his head so close he swore he could feel as it grazed his hair.
Next to him, Oscar fired off his shot gun. Montague could see his mouth open, looking like he was roaring but no sound seemed to reach him. Zeus turned his attention to the tiger, a look of disgust covering his face. Nisha flung herself forward, swinging her sword up to distract the god while Montague loaded a new magazine into his rifle.
Sound started to trickle back in, Oscars voice reaching him after a shot gun blast sounded off, letting loose a roar. Diamond encased one of Montague's hands, fingers tapered down into daggers as he launched himself forward into the god. Just as his hand connected, diamond fingers slicing into his stomach, Nisha called out. Her voice was faint, only able to hear from the ear opposite of where she was.
"Incoming, we got people to the left." Montague jumped back, darting around as Oscar finished reloading, letting the two of them work on Zeus as he aimed at the newcomers. A large cat figure ran forward, rifle aimed up to the god. A man walked behind him, gun trained on Zeus while a woman to his side yanked a pin from a grenade. He saw a smile flash across her face, and Montague called out to Oscar and Nisha.
"Get to cover," he shouted, voice resonating through his head oddly with his hearing barely there. He watched as the grenade landed, the other two jumping away just in time as it exploded beneath to gods feet. Montague was knocked backwards, air wheezing out of his lungs. Shots continued to ring out faintly as the other group advanced. With a shake of his head, he rolled himself to his feet, aiming his gun to where the other group was before aiming back at Zeus.
The two groups continued to fire, and time seemed to slow as Zeus fell to the ground, landing on a knee as a bubble of what looked like electricity formed around him. Montague emptied the rest of his bullets into it, not a single one reaching its target. His gun clicked, empty. Oscar glanced at him, then Nisha, shaking his head as they realized they had run out of ammo and Zeus was still alive.
"Come on," a voice called out. It was the woman who had thrown the grenade. "We can regroup and try again another day." The three of them looked between each other, wondering if they should risk it. Zeus shook his head inside of where he was protected, like he was trying to shake off the slight injuries he had gathered. Montague gave a nod, permission to follow the other group. Oscar came over to to him, grasping his hand as he helped pull him up before the two of them quickly ran past the god. Nisha went around the other side, meeting them as the other three turned to jog away.
Following them, sound continued to improve in Montague's left ear while the ringing slightly lessened in his right. His breath seemed loud. Turning he watched as Zeus slowly raised himself up, lightning crackling in the sky above them. They needed to get out of there, now. In front of him, he watched as the group ran across the marble, making their way down a set of stairs towards the fast flowing waterfall. One by one, the new group ran along the rocks, before jumping and throwing themselves over the waterfall. Apprehension filled his gut as Nisha looked at him with terror in her eyes. They walked forward, looking over the edge to the gauge the drop as loud crashes came from the building they had left Zeus in.
"Are they fucking insane?" Oscar called out, peering over the edge to the pool below. They watched as the three swam towards the shore, where a vehicle was parked. Montague shook his head.
"We will do it, one at a time. Give each other ten seconds to get out of the way before the next person jumps. Aim for the middle." He ran forward, launching himself off the cliff, stomach twisting with butterflies as his body seemed to suspend itself in mid air. The feeling of falling coursed through his body, nerves alight with adrenaline. Crashing into the water feet first, he sunk down before propelling himself forward. He swam to the shore, not bothering to look back. The crashing water of the falls blocked all sound that his good ear could hear.
He crawled out, gasping for air as he coughed. A hand reached down to help him up, covered in gold. He glanced up, taking in the group that surrounded him. With a grunt, he clasped the mans hand as he pulled him up, before he heard the sound of Nisha coughing as she dragged herself onto the shore line. Oscar followed after, fur soaked as he tried to shake some of the water free. A laugh burst out of Montague as he watched him, adrenaline still coursing through him as Oscar growled with annoyance.
"Do not ever make me jump from that high again," Nisha groaned out, ringing the water out of her hair. She turned around, watching as her mask floated in the water, just out of reach. With a sigh, she turned back to the rest of them to study the other group. "Who are you?"
The man reached a hand out, which she took apprehensively. "My name is Midas, this is Tina and Meowcles. We worked for a group called GHOST here before. I've just recently .. returned to the island."
"Seems like things are a little bit crazier then when we left." This time it was Tina that spoke up. "If you guys are looking to take down the gods, that's what we're here to do too. Might be easier if we worked together."
Montague glanced at the other two, a silent conversation happening between then. With a nod, he faced the other group. "We will need a place to stay. Ours are being watched. You should also know that we had another person with us who went rogue. I do not see her being a problem, but you should know before hand." Midas nodded, before turning and opening the driver door.
"I have somewhere that will fit everyone. Let's go." He slid in behind the wheel, while Tina hopped in to the passenger seat. Montague glanced around, noticing three seats left with four bodies.
"Where will your cat sit?" He questioned as he seated himself behind the passenger seat, deciding to keep his bad ear to the side with no people. Just as he finished his sentence, the trunk door opened and he watched as the cat-man seated himself in the back. A low purr barely registered as the rest of the group climbed in, and Midas started the car. Montague kept his eyes trained forwards, watching the two for any unexpected movements. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed Oscar sitting slightly sideways, opting to keep an eye on the cat in the back.
Suddenly, the woman turned around. "So, who are you guys?" The other two looked over at Montague, and he watched as the driver's eyes flicked up to look at him through the rearview mirror.
"I am Montague, this is Nisha and Oscar. We were a part of a group called the Society, although with everything going on there is not much power to be had with that." The woman hummed, eyes looking distant as if she was lost in thought.
"Do you know Agent Peely or Agent Jones?"
At that, Nisha groaned. "That god damn banana makes me want to rip my hair out. He causes nothing but havoc." Tina raised her eyebrows, fighting a grin as her eyes flicked over to Midas while he chuckled.
"That is what he is good at," Midas agreed. "He worked with me a while back. What about Jones?" This time it was Montague's turn to sigh, looking out the window as his lip curled with annoyance.
"That man is a nuisance at best. Il capte rien." He glanced forward again, aware of Midas's eyes trained on him through the mirror again. "He is nothing but bothersome, him and Hope both." At that, Midas's brows furrowed slightly.
"Who is Hope?"
Nisha spoke up then. "She is the little sister to Valeria, the one who went rogue from us. Hope is a part of what they called the Underground. Her and Jones both dedicated their time to trying to take us down. Breaking into our places, trying to steal our amulets, trying to take over the train system so we coud no longer run businesses properly." She sighed, shaking her head. "They never managed to get far, but always just enough that we were inconvenienced regularly. We took their banana, I thought as payback but I think Valeria wanted him for something more."
Montague nodded at that. "She would come over to talk to him, where ever he was being held. She would not let anyone in the room when they spoke. Not long after, the massive hand came out of the ground with that box. She stopped returning our calls, we could not find her. Jones and Hope stole the banana back, but by then there was too much else going on to care about that. We have not seen her since, but have heard she is working with a former employee that also went rogue." He paused, observing Midas as he drove. "Were you here when the box opened?"
Midas glanced up, eyes meeting in the mirror before returning his gaze to the road. Tina tilted her head slightly, looking over at Midas to watch as he replied.
"No, I wasn't on the island at that point." Tina looked away, watching the scenery pass by through the window. Golden grass was slowly turning back to green. The group fell quiet, letting the rest of drive pass by in silence. Finally, they arrived to a grassy hill, a pole sticking out of the ground that descended down past the edge. They made their way forward, Montague letting out a low whistle as he took in the yacht.
"Well, welcome to your new home away from home. Follow me." Tina grinned at them, reaching a hand up as the zip line magnetized her body. She let herself fall forwards, careening down before the line leveled out, dropping her off on the middle deck. Montague looked between Nisha and Oscar before stepping forward, letting the line carry him down. Nisha followed, then Oscar, followed by Midas and Meowscles. A woman walked out from inside the ship, head tilting as she took in the newcomers.
Tina waved her forward. "Come meet some new friends!" She called out. "This is Montague, Nisha and Oscar. Everyone, this is Skye." They all nodded at each other as Skye made her way over.
"Everyone you meet on this boat is a previous employee of mine. There is also Brutus and Marigold, who are away on a scouting mission at the moment." The name of the boat flashed through Montague's head, briefly remembering the words splashed across the front of it as he stood on the hill.
"The boat is also called Marigold," he decided to mention. "That is your wife, I am assuming?" At that, Tina and Skye both burst out laughing as Midas sighed.
"No, Marigold is his .. Twin, for lack of a better word," Skye finally informed him. "Wait til you meet her, you'll get it." Montague raised his eyebrow, lips forming a frown as he nodded slowly. She gestured for them to follow her, turning as the group walked into the boat. The first thing they noticed was the large golden statue of a man in a suit, glasses adorning his face as he held what looked like a globe. Oscar chuffed, trying to hold back his laughter.
"Who is this?" Montague asked as they walked past it. "You must think highly of them to keep such a grand statue." Tina tried to choke back her laugh, eyes sliding to Midas. He leveled them with a stare, annoyance flickering across his face.
"It's me." The group remained silent, as Montague bit his lip, raising his eyebrows. Montague nodded as Midas spoke again. "I'm going to clean up, Tina and Skye will show you to where you will be sleeping." He turned, walking himself up another set of stairs. They watched him go quietly, before Montague chuckled.
"Cela a du sens." Nisha shot a hand out, knocking his arm as a way to tell him to be quiet. Tina tried to hide a grin as the two women led them down to the bunks, showing the men to their rooms and Nisha to the other where they were staying. When he realized they wouldn't be staying together, he voiced his concern.
"You are more then welcome to stay in whatever rooms you want, however all the clothes in here are womens. By all means though," she grinned as she raised her hands. "If you want to wear them, you can." Montague narrowed his eyes at Skye, before rolling them and making his way back to the mens bunker. He rooted through the different chests for fresh clothing before asking to be led to a bathroom. She led the way, smile still tugging at her lips. "Everything's in the closet, if you need something let us know and we can get it."
Turning the shower on, he let the steam fill the room as he stripped down. He put the water as hot as he could handle, letting it run down his back with a sigh. Rolling his shouders, he rubbed his ear before snapping his fingers next to it. Still nothing, but the ringing seemed to have disappated for the most part. Closing his eyes, he let the his body relax under the water, wondering what the future had in store for him.