This is shorter than I would like it to be, but fear not for it isn't the only chapter this week. I have a new schedule for this summer break while I have the freedom and time on my hands, and with it a plan to make more chapters a week per story without other work in my way. I am posting this chapter after I have just finished it, and I will in the morning (and after I apply for some jobs) continue with the following chapter. In content, it's supposed to go alongside that in here, but it did not feel right to put them in one chapter. The flowing of it didn't read in a good way, so I've decided to work it separately.
I do want to respond to comments and questions anyone who reads this story has, and that I'm able to answer without giving too much away. I feel somewhat bad for my lack of solid commitment to my schedule and writing and the amount of times I've rewritten most of these stories. So, if you have any to ask that are burning if any at all, do leave them as a comment. I will just respond to them sooner on my Twitter than doing them for the next chapter since I'm just cycling through them each week and won't touch this for a while so I can work on the others. That can be found under the name Phantos God of Horrors (since apparently I can't just post the link?), and an example of what would be done was made just last weekend with my newest story, Pro Hero Metal Bat.
Thank you to those of you who enjoy this story and have followed along with my BS and comment and everyotherfuckingthingyoudowiththisstorythatmakesmewanttocontinue and I hope to have the next chapter in by Thursday. Maybe one more on Friday too. Enjoy the newest bits.
What Delta had expected of Perseus upon meeting him was never met. He found himself surprised to find the life the son of Poseidon was living had turned him modern man instead of modern demigod.
Delta had expected a camp, not a two floor apartment with a view of Central Park opposite of the front door.
Delta had expected company, not a demigod living alone with women's attire in his closet and drawers.
(Apparently Hestia stayed nights and days at the apartment. Slightly worrying, but she wouldn't be coming over while he was around, nor would any of the other gods, according to Percy. Interaction and interference was going to be minimalized by the gods between them and Chaos' people. They'd just be watching from above, as Chaos and Percy both explained in their own way, with the latter less than pleased at the idea.)
Delta had expected a monster outing when he and the demigod of legend went out to the store for groceries, not a peaceful walk through the town to a CVS and a friendly conversation with one of the clerks that Percy had apparently gotten to know in his new life.
Delta had expected to be fine beside Percy with no one noticing their out-of-place features, and he at least got that.
But that was all he got.
The sleeping arrangements were less than ideal, but Delta didn't have a problem with them. He could sleep within his armor seated in the common area of the apartment. Percy didn't seem too happy at the idea of letting that be, but Delta was used to it out on the field. The two had their dinner (somewhere along the way Percy had learned how to cook on the stove and oven which made sense given he had access to them now when no one really did at camp) and called it a night there, with Delta taking a seat beside the couch towards the TV and Percy took a case of beer bottles up to his room. The son of Poseidon handed the remote for Delta to use until he decided to sleep, if he still had any interest in the art medium after being isolated from the world for so long, and left him there for the night.
Delta didn't turn the TV on. Maybe the news could give him some useful information on the current state of the world he had left behind, but it wouldn't cover the past few years if something major hadn't happened to make them all worthwhile, and he didn't see the reason to humor the news channels to get that information. Percy could better inform him, and the internet could provide even more. He'd have to check and bring them up later.
But Delta didn't go to sleep either. He sat awake in the darkness inside his armor with nothing but his thoughts for the night's company. The most that had changed about the world happened at the start of his ignorance to its events, and Percy had already given him quite the lengthy overview of that experience. It wasn't at all a story Delta would have even believed, and in truth a part of him didn't.
He didn't distrust Percy to a dime, per se, but the demigod before him acknowledged his mental struggle against the nightmare of and from Tartarus. Perseus had every right to fear that pit, but Delta wondered how much the demigod had hallucinated because of that place. How much of the fight had truly gone down. How many of his friends had actually turned on him. How many he had actually hurt. If the hate Percy presumed they held toward him was even real.
Delta had never experienced Tartarus but he knew enough about it to presume the worst and most heartbreaking of scenarios.
"FUCK OFF!"
Delta turned his head to the stairs where the sounds of smashing glass echoed from. He stood, opening the side of his armor over his legs and reached in to pull out the hilt of a sword. His grip tightened on the empty handle as his armor closed again, and the blade shot out in layers from the base. More tumbling about sounded from above and Delta made his way to the base of the stairs, ready to charge up to help in the fight.
But at the top, alone, shirtless, and looking to be in one piece unscathed, was Perseus. Looking down at Delta, the only light from his floor emanating from his hair and his eyes, and when his lips parted the teeth too. The glow from them was soft, but it was strong enough to shine light on the frown of his features, along with shining off the bottle and sword in his hands.
"Is something the matter, Perseus?" Delta questioned from below, flexing the fingers around the hilt of his blade in case the answer was a 'no.'
Or he wouldn't be getting an answer.
"Take off your armor." The jittering of his armor ceased as Delta locked his own eyes with Percy's blue orbs.
"Perseus?"
"Take it off."
Delta faltered, lowering his blade to the first step. "Perseus, what happened?"
"I don't trust you." That blade came rising again as the glare in his fiery eyes became clear. "Take it off."
Delta lifted the blade higher, turning his body slightly as Percy took a foot down one step. "What brought this on?"
"I think I'm being too lenient with the new people I'm coming across, and that includes you. I don't know who you are and I have no reason to let you into my home. Now take off your armor."
"You know I can't do that, Perseus." Said demigod growled, the light of his features diming as he took another step down, bending his arm and raising Riptide in front of himself.
"And I told you to call me Percy. But that wouldn't change much, now, would it?"
Delta shook the head of his armor slowly. "Don't do this, Percy."
"Don't make me."
Take it off.
Delta hunched himself back and let his head raise away from the demigod despite the situation. "Chaos?" Perseus made no move in response to the other voice, so Delta could at least assume it was only for him.
It's alright. You have my permission now. It seems there are other plays at work we'll have to work with.
Delta lowered his gaze to the man of fire and water standing steps above him. "What do you mean?"
You'll have to trust me. It is not in my place to explain. Not yet.
"Are you deciding?" Percy let his voice fly again, rolling his shoulders slowly and clutching both items in his hands and taking another two steps closer.
Delta tensed at the approach. "Are you certain about that?"
Percy's approval and kind heart will be more necessary to obtain than I initially realized.
Delta allowed the sword to drop in his grip as the rest of his body loosened too. "Only if you are indeed certain. I have decided, Perseus." The demigod kept his body stiff and straight high up the stairwell as Delta kept his eyes to Percy's. "I will comply." Nothing of Percy changed upon hearing the words, but he made no more advances following.
From the chest the armor opened, starting from the top link of the metal around the neck and following down opening one at a time. By the time the wave of opening down the center reached the waist, it stopped, and down the center of each leg it continued again. The helmet and gauntlets themselves stayed unmoved from their positions, but as the figure within became visible Percy could see why.
Soon the back half of the towering figure of the armor was all left standing aside from what would have covered the head and arms of the man within. Delta lifted a foot forward, setting it on the step above where his armor stayed still and pulled the rest of his body with it to stand on that step. His arms, crossed over his chest with his shoulders pushed high, dropped slowly. His shoulders eased as the arms hung by his sides.
Percy blinked down at him. "So this is you?"
Delta kept his head down, looking at the dark blue spandex suit covering most of his body, save his feet wearing small shoes that didn't cover his ankles and the bare hands hanging by his hips showing his caramel skin. "More or less," Delta spoke softly. "Simple clothing is preferred in the armor, how it folds in on itself and all." Delta turned his head over his shoulder, facing his armor as the rings remade themselves and reconnected at the front.
"It's taller than you are." Delta furrowed the white hairs that made his eyebrows, turning up to show his brown eyes to the blue fire of Percy's.
"Safety precaution. Most weapons we come across are that of a firing type, usually don't pierce the armor. Blades can make it through the small openings, and making the enemy believe they've hit a vital point helps in drawing them in with false hope."
"There's…a lot I'd have to ask to get that." The glow from Perseus died, his hair still flowing atop his head and the stars in his eyes still turning. Delta didn't think turning off the light of a fire was possible until then.
"Is…" Even with the lights out, Delta could still see the features plaguing Percy's face. "Is something the matter, Percy?"
"…" The frown that stayed upon the son of Poseidon's face throughout that conversation suddenly straightened, becoming a thin line across his lips. He looked down to the bottle in his hand, rising it closer to his face before turning his sword over his arm and cutting off the top of the bottle. Ignoring the glass and cap that bounced down the steps between him and Delta, Perseus lifted the bottle to his lips and tilted his head back, allowing the alcohol within to pour down his throat in one go.
When it was gone, head and bottle lowered in an arc, and Percy let out a hard cough with his exhale. His head stayed tilted down, eyes gazing towards the steps leading to the soldier of Chaos without meeting his eyes before he turned on heel and walked back up the stairs and back into the darkness of the upstairs. "Night, Delta."
"Cage," Delta called after him, but Percy ignored him, if the slamming of his door was anything to go by. "…It's Cage."
"This does happen."
Instantly the sword went flying out the hand of his armor and into Delta's own hands, as he turned on his own heels to the common room and the woman sitting on the couch watching him. She was simply dressed, jeans and a jacket and her hair fancied in a ponytail, unbraided compared to his own. To her lighter skin was a soft glow that kept the room soft where Percy's facial features had given up. "I am not here to harm you, soldier of Chaos."
Delta kept his gaze hard on her, looking her over and over to find some way of recognition, but his eyes could do nothing to remember her from what he knew of the gods and monsters he had studied.
The woman looked down at herself with a small, sad smile. "Perseus did not explain the changes I have made to my appearance when in his company, has he? I do believe that is fair; I did tell him I would keep my distance this week."
His form faltered for a second, arms dropping from the readied position in front of his chest, and his hardened gaze of confusion softening. The woman stood slowly, turning with equal speed and taking slow steps to the soldier steps higher than her. The armor though empty straightened itself, stepping away from the bottom of the staircase and into the line of the glowing woman.
Her smile dropped with her glow, eyes turning up to the soldier in charge of the armor. "I would think it best not to fight me, soldier. My brothers would not be pleased at a violent approach, and I know my champion upstairs would come down at a beckoning call. Given the tense face-off he had just given you, a physical confrontation would do nothing to keep us on good terms."
Delta took a moment to think of her words, picking out a few identifiers before lowering the sword completely, and himself to one knee. His armor followed. "Lady Hestia. My apologies; I had no recognized you."
"Yes, my look has changed much from what my siblings were familiar with. If you truly have been away from watching over this world grow, I assume it would be surprising to you too." The goddess had passed the armor as she spoke making way up the steps to one below Delta. The soldier edged his eyelids closer, standing again slowly and turning his body to face the goddess.
"You've heard?"
"We've been watching since you arrived. My brother and others on Olympus are intrigued and worried by your presence and your master's interest in Perseus."
"The gods…watch him?"
"Always have." Delta blinked. "My brother, bless his heart, is easily paranoid. He's been worried of the power and episodes Perseus has experienced over the years. That," the goddess nodded in the direction of the ascending staircase, "was one just now.
"It is not in my place to explain the full details," she continued, stepping past the man visiting and turning him to follow her with his eyes. "That is for Perseus to do. You can ask him in the morning." She paused, two steps above him before turning back around to look at him and raising a hand to hover beside his cheek. Delta kept himself frozen, keeping it best to not approach the goddess in a way that would offend the king of the gods and the rest of the Olympian family if earning their trust was to happen.
"I see why Percy was so hesitant." Hestia's voice turned soft, matching the frown and glow. Delta blinked in question as her hand lowered back beside her. "You remind him of Beckendorf."
Hestia waited for no response, leaving the soldier alone and wide-eyed on the stairs to continue her trek upwards, following gently and quietly into the room Perseus had slammed himself into.
Chaos sat alone atop a building, taking his male human form and dangling his feet over the edge. No one could see him, and therefore no one could fear for him losing the life he was only accessing but did not truly have. His hands cupped together between his knees, squeezing in on one another and generating small bursts of light from each moment of pressure inwards.
His head turned slightly, the night of his cheeks blending in nigh perfectly with the sky of the horizon. "You're a new face."
Behind him, steps away at the door that lead to the roof for the real people reach stood a man of blood red, business attire and fire. The man molten features floated about in a layout that mimicked a man to match the creators. "I have a lot to wear." He stepped forward in a paced speed, leaving patched of burns and smoke where he had rested his foot before. "I was not expecting someone like yourself to take notice of my presence. I'm humbled."
"Would that be your name?"
The molten man stopped paces behind the creator and moved his stone lips into a curve of a smile. "No it would not. Nor is it any of my siblings. It's too broad a state."
"Then what is your name? I usually remember my creations, but you are not one of them." The creator turned his body more, leaving the black holes of his eyes to bore down on the other being.
"I was never given a name. Just a domain. And you are right; I am not one of yours."
"May I ask you where you are from?"
"Nowhere near but right where the problem is coming from."
Chaos rose into the air, turning about his form and landing on his feet to face the other. "So those creatures are yours?"
"In essence. Or in technicality, as the boy puts it." The molten man strode forward, joining by side the god of creation. "All I do is contain them. I have no control over their actions and choices. They made those long ago."
"And they broke free?" The ruler of all did not turn his body to look back to the horizon, but his voice and posture never faulted.
"Times when I must leave my chambers can come at a cost, especially when my…guards go hunting. "It is the fault of a third party that they escape, and rounding them up in your world isn't an easy feat when I do not have the power to do so."
"But I do not have that power either." Chaos rose his head, facing the stars above that danced in harmony with those etched in his face. "I can sense them running about but I cannot control or remove them myself. This is not something I have come across before."
"The troubles of traveling where we don't belong, I guess." The fiery man shrugged with his words. "I have ordered for others to come along and clean up this mess. If we are lucky then this disease of mine put in your world will be gone without a scratch."
"And if you are not?" He turned to the creator, still staring into the space above. "If luck does not favor your endeavor?"
"Have your creations pray that she does," the man responded. "The one behind this has already failed an attempt to pay a visit. He is not taking his second attempt without caution."
Chaos made no response, and the man of red made no continuation. The two stood in silence of one another, frozen beside one another, before the molten man turned and made way back to the door following their brief conversation.
"And your talk with Perseus?" The man's hand had not reached the handle of the door before Chaos spoke again, and the red man turned to face the creator still gazing at the stars above.
"A fallback plan, if need be." His hand made contact, singeing the steel handle as he swung the door open. "And he remembers her. Misses her. Wonders if she does him." He said no more after that, and did no more after that, taking leave into the building and leaving the steaming door to shut behind him.
Chaos did not lower his chin, holding his head back to face the sky he had shaped above and painted the human form he took. And he smiled.
"Did you hear that, my daughter? He misses you too."
