The Silver Lining

Catharsis

December 2nd, 2013

The color of her hair; it was the first thing he noticed about her during their first encounter at Westover Hall. The auburn tresses tamed by the silver hairband that formed her ponytail. His eyes drank in the sight of her immense beauty. Her cute button nose, the splash of freckles that trailed across the bridge of her nose and dashed across her cheeks, her naturally pouty lips, her angular jawline, down to her lithe form that enabled her graceful movements. The last feature his eyes had the pleasure of observing were her own as they stared back at him. The bewitching shade of silver that they were had struck him to the core. Sucked him in without so much as a warning. They were cold and demanding, whether of respect or attention he didn't know, and yet there was also a kindness behind them that he could tell was reserved for very few people. Releasing the breath, he hadn't known he was holding, he silently berated himself for being so taken with her at first sight. For the gods' sakes, he didn't even know this girl. He didn't understand why but that familiar tug in his gut that he felt when using his celestial powers…became so strong once he was captured by the allure of her gaze.

Just as he was regaining his senses and he was beginning to zero in on the surrounding voices while they were in a heated discussion. The beauty's mouth began to move and once again he was enraptured. His world came to a halt as her lovely voice flowed like a melody from between those luscious lips of hers. She spoke his name, not much higher than a whisper but the word alone resonated with him as if a gunshot had rung out next to his ear.

"Perseus…", and in that moment, he forgot why he should care that she already knew of him before he got the chance to introduce himself and he that he knows nothing of her but her beauty. It just felt so right, as if every fiber of his being was responding to her beckoning. He didn't know why this was happening yet neither could he bring himself to care. His feet moved towards the girl of their own accord, slowly at first but gradually picking up into purposeful gait.

"Perseus...", She whispered yet again. His feet kept moving and he was by no means ready to deter them from their destination. "Perseus." She spoke his name this time with an authoritative tone and he was taken aback by the strength that now rolled off her in thick waves as he approached but he steeled himself and pressed on. Her voice came again but this time it forced him to snap to attention because it was backed by eleven other voices all yelling at the same time "Perseus!"

He blinked.

He was no longer in the dark forests outside of Westover Hall, now he was on the training grounds of Camp Half-Blood almost five years later. Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs in his head he realized that he had been daydreaming.

"Jeez, Percy." A nearby voice sounded, "I know you're strong and all but I'd appreciate it if you actually focused during our spars." The masculine voice that was laced with irritation belonged to Jason Grace. The young man was handsome and an inch taller than Percy himself standing at an intimidating 6'2", he was also extremely muscular but not so much as to make him look like a meathead. His short cropped blond hair was damp with sweat as his electric blue eyes locked in on Percy. His eyebrows furrowed as his regal features were set into a look of mock anger.

Percy just chuckled in response, "Sorry man, just spaced out there for a second. But it's been a long day, I'm gonna hang it up and head on back to get a head start on dinner.", He said this whilst capping Riptide.

At this Jason relented and adopted a look of concern. "Dude, are you alright? You've been doing a lot of that "spacing out" lately." The superman look-a-like was worried about his best friend. Percy had seemed troubled as of late and for the last couple of weeks, he had noticed his restless nights leaving his cabin just after everyone else falls asleep and roaming the camp until he finally ends at the beach, just gazing at the moon deep in thought.

Percy paused, ready to spill his thoughts to him in that instant but he thought better of it. 'This is probably the one thing I can't talk to Jason about.' The thought crossed his mind. It could cause more issues than anyone could handle if someone knew that he was having nightly dreams of a woman who would literally kill him for doing so. Not to mention that he was currently in a relationship with Annabeth, who would also have his head on a platter if she knew. Hell, hath no fury like a woman scorned, right?

He paused for a moment, "…What's the date today?" he finished, chuckling awkwardly while trying to change the subject, "Sorry, I can't seem to remember."

Jason studied Percy for a second sensing the white lie and noting how Percy dodged his question, "It's December 2nd, 2017, and if you ever feel like sharing those thoughts bro, you know where to find me." He offered Percy a sympathetic smile before moving to the wooden dummies to finish his daily training. 'I wonder what it is that's got him so distant. Oh well he'll talk when he's ready.'Knowing how guarded Percy was when it came to certain issues he let it go because that's as far as he was getting.

Percy began his short walk back to the main part of camp and he was bothered. Not specifically by the goddess that had so effortlessly captured his attention all those years ago. But, it was the fact that he also had a girlfriend of almost just as long. He knew he loved Annabeth, he truly did yet this flawless creature…she managed to confuse him and made him question things he should not.

"Oh, Percy you are so going to crash and burn." He murmured to no one in particular, palming his face as he continued his trek. Reaching the middle of camp, he decided to forgo the food for now and head towards the Big House in order to talk to Chiron, his teacher. He was in need of some sage-like words to calm his turbulent mind.

Upon reaching the doors of the Big House he almost got caught across the nose by the door swinging open and the man/centaur himself rolling himself outside. Chiron flashed him an apologetic smile before speaking.

"Ah! Young Percy, it's nice to see you today. How are you feeling?", He asked kindly. His light wrinkles and soft smile reminded Percy of why he considered Chiron to be a father figure to him.

Percy smiled brightly as he was glad to see the old guy, "I'm doing well Chiron, just finished sparring with Jason earlier and I was just wondering if I could ask you for some advice on a subject." He decided to take an indirect approach to this subject so as to omit any information that could quite possibly cause his life to end prematurely if he was overheard.

"Well, I don't see why no-" was all the aged Centaur could get out before an explosion from outside of Camp Half-Blood rocked the foundations of the buildings surrounding them and shook the ground with the force of a small earthquake. "Holy shi-" Percy began as he regained his bearings. Another explosion leveled a portion of the forest outside of their camp. Percy was forced to grab hold of both the porch railing and Chiron's wheelchair in order to keep them from falling.

He looked to Chiron and his mentor nodded to him, showing his consent. Not wasting any time after he made sure that Chiron was fine he hopped the railing and took off running towards the source of the explosions. The closer he got though, a pit formed deep in his stomach that grew as he quickly closed the distance between himself as the plumes of fire that had now risen into the sky. Almost blending in with the radiant setting sun.

Percy noticed that most of the campers were standing at the edge of camp, already armed to the teeth. He could hear demigods all around him as they made way for him to pass them, and he ran at top speed knowing that he was the only one at the camp capable of harnessing enough control over the water in order to put the flames out. As he neared what he assumed to be the battlegrounds he could vaguely hear the sounds of weapons clashing, just barely loud enough for him to hear over the explosions.

And to his utter surprise and horror, once he broke through the tree line, he saw the woman of his dreams kneeling in a deep crater and stopped dead in his tracks. Even as damaged as she was with bruises and cuts, some deeper than others, littering almost every inch of exposed skin. Even with her hunter's garb in tatters and she clutched her silver hunting knives whilst taking a ragged breath. His breath hitched. Frozen in place by the magnificent creature in front of him when they locked eyes. Silver on green. Goddess on Demigod. Phoebe Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and the Wilderness, Chastity, Maidenhood, and the Moon. And in that split second, that instant the entities as the focus was taken away from the current battle. The enemy that Percy had failed to notice attacked in a flash of light; impaling Artemis through the stomach with his spear made of light that could very well be likened to an extra-large glow stick with pointy ends.

She appeared to have been ready to speak before her jaw slackened and her body crumpled to the ground. The mysterious man stood over her and observed his unconscious enemy before looking back up the edge of the dent in the earth that they created. "Whew, that was a bit more difficult than I thought it would be.", He said this in an airy tone as if there wasn't someone currently dying at his feet.

The young man's vision tunneled as he made a mad dash towards the fallen deity. He did not know what propelled his feet forward, but he allowed them to carry him as swiftly as humanly possible. Adrenaline pumped through his body and he could hear his own heartbeat, distant but pounded away like a war drum, behind his ears.

He did not care that there was currently a being nearby that could take out an Olympian Goddess without much more than a scratch. Neither did he care that that same being wasn't even an arm's length away from him anymore as he slid to his knees and scooped the woman up bridal style before dashing away, retreating up the side of the crater and back towards the tree line.

But just before he got there he felt it. His stomach dropped to the ground he was sprinting across as he felt the surge of power from the entity that he just ran away from. As if it was even possible, he felt the muscles in his legs propel him even faster than a human probably should. Granted, he's not completely mortal so anything's possible here. But it was too late.

He saw the man before he heard him. Suddenly the man who had remained completely still as Percy had entered his personal space and left it just as quickly, was standing on the ridge of the large depression with a jovial smile plastered across his carefree face. He looked… happy. But what truly caused Percy to skid to a halt was the fact that the man was smiling directly at him with his eyes closed… his eyes were completely closed meaning that he didn't even consider Percy to be even remotely close to a threat!

The man's long bleach blonde hair flowing down past his back that was two braids above each ear that reached around and connected to the back coupled with his smooth face gave him a very effeminate look. He clutched the unconscious and heavily bleeding goddess even tighter as his mind raced, trying to come up with an escape plan that would enable him to save this immortals' life. However, his thoughts were interrupted when the smiling man spoke.

He motioned toward the spear lodged in Artemis' stomach.

"Hey, kid… I'm gonna need that back."

The lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis, Thalia Grace, sighed in frustration for the 50th time today after her Lady left her and the rest of their troupe stationed on Olympus whilst Lady Artemis was sent on another solo hunt. Thalia paced back and forth near the doors to the throne room. She really had a bad feeling about this, especially because of the fact that the rest of the Olympians had been arguing in what they would like to call a "meeting" for the past half day since the Moon Goddess had departed. Ares the War God was sitting on his throne more interested in picking his nose rather than participate in this debate. Hermes, Demeter, and Hephaestus all watched with a mild interest from their respective thrones. All were silently hoping that they get to see a pair of brothers come to blows… again.

A deep masculine voice thundered across the room.

"I refuse to agree to this ridiculous plan of yours, you fool!"

"Damn it, brother we must act now!" Poseidon countered, anger clearly rippling across his face. He ran a hand through his short and messy ink-black hair and clenched his jaw. The five o' clock shadow blanketed that strong jaw of his seemed to have been permanently trimmed to perfection, further accentuating his godly looks. He had not worn his normal floral button-down t-shirt and instead donned his celestial armor. The intricate designs that flowed across his breastplate to his vambraces seemed to vibrate with power as his anger grew.

"And that we have you halfwit.", Zeus, the God of Thunder began again in order to placate his elder brother. "I have sent my daughter, Artemis on a solo hunt to look for this stranger and bring them to our council, who has been reported be as strong or even stronger than some of the gods present in this room."

At this, a goddess in the form of a child, Hestia the Goddess of the Hearth, Home, and Family, spoke up from her place near the hearth.

"Brothers you both must calm down and think rationally." She reasoned, her being the conscience of their dysfunctional family had its perks because they both visibly calmed as she continued. "Zeus, are you absolutely sure that this was the best option? Because Artemis was actually kidnapped the last time she went solo."

Zeus contemplated this for a moment, stroking his thick and dark beard whilst doing so. "I can see your point sister but she is the best huntress we have."

Athena spoke up this time, from her throne, her calculating grey eyes leveling with Zeus' own. "I don't think she meant that Artemis wasn't the best option you had just that she probably should not have been sent alone."

Thalia perked up, suddenly interested in the conversation. Maybe this meant that they would send her to accompany her lady. That would mean freedom from this stationary job of waiting for her return to Olympus. Just as she was beginning to open her mouth to offer herself, another voice rang out.

"I will go, father."

Thalia's eyes landed upon Lady Artemis' twin brother, Apollo the God of Archery, Light, Healing, Music, Poetry, and the Sun. Before becoming a hunter, she actually found the man to be more than attractive, something Percy would never let her live down because it led to her driving his flying bus. She shuddered at the thought.

"Never again." She thought to herself as she remembered that moment. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she refocused on Apollo as he stood from his throne.

"No, Apollo I was actually thinking about sending one of the minor gods…" He trailed off because his son had that look in his eye, the one that showed how determined he was to keep his sister safe; even if she didn't think she needed his help. "Never mind, seeing as how you'd probably just leave and go to her without my permission anyways go on ahead.", Zeus acquiesced.

Apollo nodded towards his father and walked towards the doors of the throne room. Although he was a natural fun-loving and easy-going person, he was no nonsense when it came to his sister and being reminded of his previous inability to keep her out of harm's way caused him to steel himself. He was determined to make sure this went soundly as he flashed from the throne room and to where he last felt Artemis' energy just before he reached the doorway.

Thalia just sweat dropped as she wondered why the theatrics. If you can teleport, why even attempt to use doors?

Jason yelled in frustration. Just as Percy had dashed past the borders of Camp Half-Blood a barrier of light had appeared in front of them, keeping the campers from following him. It was so large that it completely encompassed Camp Half Blood's own barrier; hindering anyone from coming in or out. He didn't like the look of this at all and was less than happy about Percy being out there on his own. Summoning a dry lightning storm atop the barrier he let it loose and struck the barricade with all his might. Yet it wouldn't budge. Not even after five full minutes of nonstop attacks from all of the strongest demigods in camp.

Chiron, had by this point shed his wheelchair, was trotting up to where the campers were currently reacting to the newly shared imprisonment like caged animals.

Jason looked towards Chiron desperately, now definitely consumed with fear for his friend. "Chiron, the barrier won't come down, what do we do?" He asked frantically.

"…There's not much more we can do but wait for young Perseus to return, my boy." Chiron stated with a resigned sigh. He was also extremely worried at what might be waiting for Percy on the other side of these walls. The reason being is that he could feel a power out there that was more ancient than the Olympian Gods themselves.

Percy was rooted to the spot. He was going to run and every fiber of his being screamed in protest as he stayed still. He couldn't move. As soon as the primal instinct of flight had clawed its way up the darkest part of his mind an immense pressure settled itself on his shoulders and constricted his lungs making it exceptionally difficult to breathe. He remembered feeling but hadn't felt it since…. Since fighting Gaea.

His eyes grew as large as saucers, as he realized that he was more than likely going to die. The unconscious goddess in his arms wasn't the only celestial being in that crater. He clutched his goddess tighter as he understood that he wasn't getting out of this without a fight.

The man, reading Percy's defiant body language, gave a sigh of exasperation and dragged a hand down his face, "Wow kid, I guess you're as dumb as I thought." Noting that the young man made no move to remove the weapon from its current meat sheath and return it to him. "I guess I'll just have to punish you then, you know, because disobedience is unacceptable and all that jazz."

Percy's instincts kicked him into another gear as he jumped back from the explosion of light that erupted where his feet formerly were. Still clutching the goddess, he glared at the man as he only smiled politely back. The demigod's eyes rapidly scanned the surrounding area, looking for somewhere to put her down safely. The Mystery God gave him no time to finish as he appeared in front of Percy in a flash of light punching him across the face in a mighty downward arc with a brain-rattling force that smashed him into the ground. Percy rolled backward to create some distance currently ignoring the ringing in his head and the river of blood coming from his nose and ears.

"Oh, you felt that one, didn't you?" The God asked, nonchalantly rolling his wrist around with a Cheshire grin spreading across his face. "This would be so much easier if you didn't run, you know?"

"Or you could just go back to wherever you came from and stop being the supreme overlord of dicks," Percy replied sarcastically through gritted teeth. It seemed that getting his head rattled a bit shook some of that fear from him.

Shaking his head, the God chuckled and replied, "If that's how you want it to be, then so be it." The God snapped his fingers and the light spear that was previously lodged in Artemis disappeared leaving a large hole in its wake. Ichor flowed from the wound tenfold now that it was unabated.

Percy's eyes widened as the tug in his gut came, snatching the water particles from the air around them he created a small barrier out of it to protect himself and Artemis. "This should buy me enough time to stop the blood flow." He spoke to himself in a hurried tone. He tended to do that when he was under a great deal of stress. Surrounding one hand in the water he willed from the barrier protecting him he laid it on her abdomen and willed it to clot the ichor so it wouldn't continue to try to escape from that gap.

He then tore off the bottom half of his orange camp half-blood t-shirt and used it to create a makeshift tourniquet. Once he tied the ends of the shirt into a knot he looked up to see the deity slowly approaching with a bored look on his face.

"He waited for me to finish," Percy noted to himself. Percy watched as the man took a couple steps forward until he was within arm's reach and then raised his arm.

Percy didn't know why but got the strongest feeling that he should run, right now. Consequences be damned. All he knew was that this man was really intent on killing him, it was just that he was taking his time in doing so.

The man cocked his head to the side as he noticed his movements were being studied by the boy kneeling behind the barrier. Reaching out with his arm… he flicked the barrier. Just a flick of a finger, no more than you would do to scold an insufferable child. But the deadly nature of this God's power was undeniable.

The strength behind that pluck was enough to completely destroy the barrier and the ground below them that they were resting upon. It threw Percy and Artemis like rag dolls as the dust blew up into clouds in its wake. Artemis finally drew the luckier end of the stick and was simply propelled high into the air as if she was but a small stone.

Percy was tossed out of the crater and through multiple trees also bouncing across the ground like a rubber ball along the way. His unwanted trip through the forest was abruptly ended by a lone boulder just before he reached another clearing.

*BOOM*

A majority of the boulder was destroyed in an instant and the dust cleared to reveal a broken Percy sitting in the rubble, back against the remainder of the boulder. He couldn't move and everything was swimming in his vision. His body was tingling in pain. He looked around frantically searching for Artemis but he didn't see her anywhere near him, not that he would if he could. He couldn't even focus his eyes on Aether himself.

"Well… suffice to say, this was kind of fun.", A condescending voice sounded from some short ways away.

"Eat… a… dick…" Percy croaked out, coughing up more than a little blood he noticed that the man was already nearing him again and that he was still smiling. This lit a fire under him. He came to the conclusion that even though he didn't know who this god was he wanted to kill him just as badly as he needed air.

And so, with a herculean effort, Percy raised himself to a knee. Teeth clenched in pain and his body protesting in agony. Percy finally drew riptide, his trusty sword that he's had since he's known of his celestial heritage, and uncapped the enchanted pen. It extended into sword form and the beautiful sword seemed to cry out for blood as it gave Percy enough strength to rise to his feet. It's time in the possession of Poseidon proving to be useful in this situation because it enhances his connection to all nearby water sources.

It suddenly occurred to him that this whole time he hasn't seen another demigod since he left the camp. He thought they would've backed him up by now. "What the hell was taking them so long?" He seethed inwardly, knowing that the God had something to do with it. He spoke against his better judgment, although it was really only meant to buy him more time to regain more of his strength through riptide. "Who the hell are you?"

The man observed Percy's pitiful state as he actually stopped advancing. "Well, I suppose since you're not dead yet I can at least tell you my name before I end your sad excuse for an existence." He drawled on, making lazy hand gestures further accentuating his utter boredom and lack of interest in Percy.

"I," The God began, "am Aether, the Primordial God of Light."

Apollo flashed into the forest where he felt Artemis' energy signature last. Yet as he arrived at his destination he felt the power of a god much stronger than that of his sister's. Snapping his head in the direction it was coming from he sensed three people a short way away from him so he flashed to them.

In the half of a second it took for him to get there Aether had already blown Percy and Artemis away and had followed Percy deep into the tree line at the speed of light.

Apollo had a sudden feeling of dread as his godly senses had alerted him to something… no not something… but someone was falling from the sky! He flashed to the person and snatched them from their descent back to the earth and flashed back to the ground only to realize that the person in his arms was indeed his sister.

Now he had a choice to make. One option was to immediately take his sister back Olympus and the other was to help whatever fading energy source against that all too familiar Godly power deeper in the forest. His mind was made up almost immediately as he flashed out of there with Artemis and directly to the throne room.

The only thing running through his mind as he locked eyes with his father, besides the worry for his sister's current state of wellbeing, was why would an elder god the likes of Aether himself would do something like this?

"All right Aether," Percy said as he struggled to rise to his feet. Stabbing Riptide into the rubble below him to help support his weight he stood at his full height. "Seeing as how you were so gracious as to give me your name, would you mind leaving before I have to make you?"

Percy's grip on the blade tightened tenfold as he finished his sentence. His own aura exploding around himself to accentuate the validity of his threat.

Aether looked bemused, "…are you threatening me kid?"

"Well since there's no one else on earth with a name as dumb as yours I guess I am." Percy shot back with a cheeky grin to boot. Even battered Percy was still all in for a fight and if he was going to die today he was going to die fighting.

Aether paused before speaking again, his interest in the boy suddenly peaked after the short exchange. "Funny, I'm not even supposed to be swatting flies right now," the god chuckled, "I had a goddess to kill… buuuuuuuuut, I like you, so I'll kill you instead." That sickly-sweet smile spread across his face again faster than the black plague. Aether's power surged again to match Percy's own.

Artemis quickly crossed Percy's mind again. "Hopefully if I distract this prick long enough help will reach her." He thought hurriedly as he dropped into his battle stance for what could be the very last time.

Neither of them moved for a couple seconds but for Percy, it seemed like years. He could hear nothing but his own breathing through this tense silence. Aether was just as relaxed as he was when Percy first arrived so nothing changed on his end. He was standing there unarmed as if beckoning Percy to make the first move.

Percy knew he would come to regret this but he also knew it was presently the only way he was going to (hopefully) keep Artemis alive. He charged. Breaking into an all-out sprint he intended to put everything he had into this swing. He was on Aether in a matter of seconds swinging with a strength that may have even rivaled that of Heracles himself…

Aether materialized his light spear as Percy's blade came within an inch of his throat and at a supersonic speed parried the blow. Riptide clanged off the spear and Percy went ballistic. Throwing caution to the wind he attacked in a flurry. Slashes came at Aether from all angles but he managed to deflect them all with ease.

Laughing heartily, Aether pointed a finger at Percy's chest mid-clash and a beam of light shot forth from it and threw Percy back a couple yards. Dragging his feet in the dirt to force his body to come to a complete stop, Percy was going to charge at Aether again but he had already appeared in front of Percy with a bright smile plastered on his face. He was having fun now.

Percy's reflexes saved his life as he bent over backward to avoid the wide swipe of the spear. Pushing off his hands into a flip that sent himself into the air, Percy swiped his hand across where he saw Aether standing and not even a second later all the water in that spot was pulled from the air and smashed against Aether.

Aether was caught completely off guard by the attack and was flung from the spot. He flew into the nearby trees creating a dust cloud in his wake as his body destroyed some of the terrains in his wake. Percy landed quite roughly but readied his sword again. As tired as he was from that last attack he was far from making mistakes due to fatigue. Pulling himself together he watched the tree-line and waited for Aether to return.

Aether's lips were set into a hard line. He couldn't believe this! This was preposterous! A mere demigod was able to inflict damage on him. Not just that but even to the point of drawing blood and ripping his new clothes. That boy would come to regret ever doing that, he would make sure of that. Aether stood from his current place in the dirt, blood flowing from a deep gash in the side of his head and an arm bent at an odd angle. His clothes ruined with cuts and missing pieces riddled everywhere. His teeth ground together as he imagined the things he would do to this boy when he caught him.

Percy watched intently as he saw Aether step back into his line of sight. Grinning slightly, he taunted the god a little to make sure that he had nothing but his complete attention, "Hm, you felt that one, didn't you?" He jeered and the god's nostrils flared at having his insult from earlier thrown back at him. "Oh, and you've got a little something… right… there." Percy was chuckling now, using his free hand to point to the side of his head.

Rage. That's what the god currently felt as he stared at this insolent demigod. He would end his wretched existence. Yes, that sounded lovely. He spoke yet his voice was several levels deeper than before, "I applaud your effort here today, boy. Yet, you will die here today as a direct consequence of your insolence. No one will be coming to your aid. Not even your puny camp mates as they are quite busy at the moment with doing a whole lot of nothing. It's just you and me until you are no more." After his arm snapped back into place, Aether pushed off the ground and took off with the force of a freight train, a leaving a dent in the earth in his wake.

*BOOM*

Percy blinked at the sudden explosion and just as quickly Aether had closed the distance between them and grabbed Percy by the face and threw him into the ground. Percy's body dragged across the ground as he was helpless to stop his own momentum. Looking up he saw that Aether was standing behind him now with his foot raised high in the air.

Percy tried to get up but was still incapable of doing so, he ended up coming to a stop right beneath Aether's foot and being forced to block with riptide at the very last second when it came down with enough strength to shake a mountain at its foundations.

The explosion of dirt and rock that resulted from the blow was absolutely ridiculous. The dust cloud reached higher than the treetops and the debris flew in all directions. Percy's head was dipped back into the dirt behind him in his own mini sinkhole while the rest of his body was a little higher in a newly formed crater. Aether scoffed at the fact that the demigod wasn't dead yet and snatched Percy from his place in the ground, holding him in the air with one arm.

Percy, with his head now free of its restraints looked at Aether, one eye swollen shut, and spat a glob of blood at him. Aether growled and dropped Percy and to his mild surprise, Percy landed on his feet. Aether gave a cruel smile and proceeded to beat the life out of Percy. Punches rained on the demigod from every direction possible. There were no pauses in the brutal assault. There we no a from the torso up that the God didn't hit. All the while Percy was powerless to defend himself. Eyes rolling backward he tried to raise his sword but his arms wouldn't cooperate. Riptide hung loosely from his right hand as he lost feeling in his left. He could vaguely hear laughing far off in the distance, although, he knew it was coming from Aether himself. As heavily damaged as Percy was though he refused to let himself fall. And so, he stood. Being beaten senseless with a seemingly endless attack. Angry red bruises sprouted up everywhere on Percy's upper body, skin split in multiple places and cuts formed.

Every blow that landed forced a different image to flash across Percy's mind. He saw different times in his life and many people that he held near and dear to him. People that he wouldn't hesitate to throw his life away for. Annabeth was first, his wise girl would always be important to him even if there was another that invaded his thoughts. Then there was Thalia, Nico, and Jason. He knew that all of them felt the same way about him that he did for them. Next was his mom and oh, how he loved her so. He knew that if it came down to it he would sacrifice the world itself for her (Even though she probably wouldn't approve). And then there was Artemis. She stood before him in his vision in all her glory and he could not help but shed a lone tear at the thought of not being able to see her again. But, he had to do what was necessary in order to make sure she was safe and that at the moment was giving his own life.

Percy's body finally went limp as Aether drew his arm back for the last and most devastating blow. Swinging with the intent to kill he caught Percy square in the mouth while he was on his way down to the ground. The force behind the punch threw him straight back from where he was and towards the trees. He flew helplessly towards the tree that would surely be the cause of a broken neck but just before he made an impact he was caught by someone.

Apollo looked up at Aether with a look that would've torched him if looks could kill. His eyes glowed with a power that was not unlike Aether's own. A childish smile crossed Aether's face. "So, you decided to actually join the fun Apollo?"

"No, we both did.", Came Apollo's frosty reply.

Aether's eyes widened slightly as the ground began to shake violently. His head snapped in the direction of the localized tremor and saw the Sea God himself step into sight. "This is definitely not ideal.", he thought to himself quickly as racked his brain for a way to a quick escape. One Olympian? He'd have more than enough of a struggle with the likes of Apollo but it could be done. Two Olympians? And one is a Big Three at that? He'd be lucky to make it out with all of his body parts intact.

Poseidon was shaking with barely contained rage. His eyes left Aether's for a moment and landed on the unconscious form of his son hanging limply in Apollo's arms. The poor boy had been beaten within an inch of his life and would've actually been killed had they not arrived in the nick of time.

"Now seeing as my counterpart isn't in any mood to have a conversation with you, I guess I'll do the questioning." Apollo began quite crossly, had it been his decision they'd be spilling Primordial blood right now but his Athena had persuaded Zeus that it would be wiser to try to figure out what he was doing here and why. "What the hell are you doing here, Aether?", He hissed venomously.

Aether was relaxed again as he felt that it would be more interesting to indulge this interrogation. "I'm here because I want to be." He said simply, shrugging his shoulder nonchalantly whilst doing so. "It's not like I can't come down to play every once in a while."

Apollo, however, was not moved by the white lie. He laid Percy down in the grass behind him and turned back towards Aether with his bow already materialized and three arrows knocked. "I'll ask my question again… yet this will be the last time I ask you." He said threateningly, ready for the slightest movement so he could relieve the itch in his trigger finger. "What are you doing here?" This time the question came with as much godly authority he could muster into it to convey the seriousness of the situation.

"Alright, alright." Aether raised his hands in mock surrender, a knowing smile playing across his face. "You win, I'll spill the magic beans." He added with a wink.

Apollo's patience was currently wearing thin and he didn't know how much longer he had until Poseidon's anger would most likely wreak havoc on Aether and the entire east coast of America. "Then cut the crap and spill them, asshole.", He all but growled through gritted teeth.

"Hey now, that's no way to talk to someone who's about to freely give you important information; Now is it?" Aether spoke teasingly, wagging his finger condescendingly as if he was talking to a child. Apollo bristled at the remark but didn't get to respond as Aether continued to speak. "Anyways, congrats kids." Aether began again brightly. "You've ruled the world so far and it's not looking too shabby to be completely honest with you. Like seriously, I like what you've done with the place in our absence. Buuuuuuuuut, it's just not gonna cut it."

This confused Apollo and Poseidon both. What did the way they've been going about things have anything to with this?

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news but… you are now at war." His voice dropped several pitches and the air around them seemed to get a tad bit colder.

Apollo's stomach dropped and Poseidon had materialized his trident and now had it pointed towards Aether's head. "Another war? Haven't our people been enough of those already as it is? It hasn't even been a full two years since the last one and we still haven't fully recovered from the devastation it caused and the grief of our lost loved ones. This doesn't even make sense. Aether hasn't even given a clear motive as to why we're now at war. So why must we sacrifice ourselves and our children once again for no good reason? This is utterly absurd! Preposterous! I refuse to have my own son on the front lines risking everything for us again! Aether. Will. Die. Here and now!" Poseidon's racing thoughts had become a crescendo of anger and when it reached its highest note, he exploded.

Aether picked up on the fact that it was now his cue to depart. The earth convulsed and split beneath his feet and he was forced to vault away from his position or he would've surely been swallowed by the earthquake that followed. Aether landed farther away from the pair shortly before he was forced to twist his body in such a way that would make a ballerina jealous, for Apollo's arrows came flying at him with a ridiculous speed and he dodged them by the skin of his teeth.

He felt the wind pick up until it rivaled that of a category three hurricane and it snatched him from his feet and threw him fast past and above the trees. Continuing to weightlessly travel around in circles carried by this wretched weather, he had no doubt in his mind that he was currently caught in a tornado the size of Godzilla. "Poseidon must really want me dead." He thought absentmindedly. Nonetheless, He was growing quite worried. This could really get him killed if he doesn't start taking them seriously. The two as a team but not be the most well rounded but both of their power combined have the potential to force him to fade. And that wouldn't be good at all.

Suddenly, he felt his body dropping from the sky as Poseidon released him. He saw them standing below him as his body rapidly approached them at ungodly speeds. Both of them standing at attention ready to cut him down once he was within reach. He smiled cheekily to himself as he came up with an idea to counter that. Once he came within 15 meters of them he placed both of his hands on his face and yelled…

"SOLAR FLARE!"

A light that had enough brightness to rival that of the sun came from Aether's body and completely blinded Poseidon immediately as he was mid-thrust with his spear. Apollo though, also having the domain of light, was largely unaffected by it but merely caught off guard by the unorthodox use of the domain. He didn't even know it could be used like that.

Aether's hasty gamble was rewarded when Poseidon's Trident passed harmlessly over his body and Apollo was too awed by what he just pulled off to do anything but watch him fall past them. Just as his nose came within an inch of coming in contact with the ground, however, he flashed away leaving a dumbfounded Apollo standing there trying to calm a wild and blind Sea God.

Next: Animal Kingdom