Chapter Eleven: Chaos
It took me several seconds to truly understand what I was watching. The hunters were engaged in a one-sided battle around the base of a large oak tree; and it was not going well for them. The only discernible enemy appeared to be another archer. She stood in the center of the hunters and fired arrows at those around her.
"Wait, those are the hunters," Zoë said in shock. "Percy, we have to help them." I glanced over at my friend and saw desperation on her face. They were once her family; it was understandable that she was worried about them.
"We will, Zoë, but charging in blindly won't save them," I said.
"Look at them, they're being slaughtered down there," she said frantically. Below, the hunter known as Phoebe had just been defeated.
"Look closer," I said. "None of the hunters have sustained fatal wounds. Whoever is attacking them, she must want them..." A gunshot down below drew my concentration. The girl who had been fighting the hunters now had a pistol and was aiming it right at...
"Thalia," I whispered. Two more shots rang out and Thalia cried out in pain. The girl seemed to say something to my old friend, but they were too far away for me to hear it. Then, the girl walked over to another injured hunter, one with blonde hair.
"Change of plans, follow my lead," I said to Zoë when the girl's gun transformed into a sword. Before she could answer, I disappeared into water vapor and reappeared there just in time to block a killing blow. Riptide's blade was mere centimeters from Annabeth's face. I had been cutting it close.
"I think that's enough for one day," I said to the girl. Her eyes widened in surprise. She stepped back and transformed her sword into a spear. I could feel Annabeth's eyes boring into me, and the torrent of questions she was holding back right now, but I couldn't afford to take my eyes off this girl. Something about her seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn't tell what.
"Zoë, get the hunters to safety," I said when she arrived. "I'll handle this one."
"Good luck, Percy," she whispered and helped Annabeth off the ground. Many of the hunters had managed to stand up now, and the older ones were staring at Zoë in shock. She ignored their questions and convinced them to come with her. Within moments, the area was empty except for the girl, the trapped Artemis, and me.
"So, you are alive," the girl said. "I had my doubts that the Chimera had succeeded. But, I see that I was correct."
"Wait, you sent the Chimera to kill me?" I asked in confusion. The girl smiled.
"Not I, but my mother," she said. "I'm impressed that you not only managed to kill it, but survive the ordeal."
"Who is your mother?"
"Eris, goddess of chaos and the true ruler of this planet," she said.
"Really, you must be well trained to have defeated the hunters as you did," I commented.
"I am my mother's greatest creation," she said. "No being of this earth can kill me."
"Who are you exactly?" I asked when I realized that I didn't know. The girl looked at me oddly.
"Don't tell me that you've forgotten," she said. "After all, you're the reason I'm here." I tried to think of where I had met her before. I gazed into her silver eyes, and then it clicked.
"Ari?" I asked. "Is that really you?" I didn't understand how a little girl like the Ari I knew had become what she is now.
"It is, Perseus," she said. "You seem surprised. Why is that?" Her words dripped with sarcasm.
"The last I saw you, you were an innocent little girl who had lost her family," I told her. "What happened to you?"
"My eyes were opened, Perseus," she said enigmatically. "Shortly after you... disappeared, I had a dream. In the dream, my mother spoke to me. She told me who I was and gave me my purpose, my destiny."
"Let me guess, your mom is still angry about that party, right?" I guessed. "Now, she thinks she can finally destroy Olympus all together. Am I right?" Ari laughed at my explanation.
"Olympus is already consumed by conflict and chaos," she said when she had calmed down. "Even without my mother's aid, the Olympians would tear reach other apart over the smallest thing. No, Perseus, while Olympus is the eventual goal, it is not my mission to destroy it."
"And what is your mission?" I asked. Ari just smiled and shook her head.
"Ah, but that would be telling, Perseus," she said. "Regardless, this has gone on long enough. If you would be so kind..." She began to walk away, but I vapor traveled in front of her.
"You're not going anywhere," I said calmly, but on the inside I was tensing up for the inevitable fight. Ari narrowed her eyes at me.
"No being of this earth can kill me," she said menacingly.
"I am no longer of this earth," I stated. Ari gripped her spear so hard that her knuckles turned white, then she calmed down. She spun her spear and it became a sword in her hand.
"Vieni e conoscere la tua morte, Perseus," she said. In answer, I raised Riptide in preparation.
Ari made the first move. She sank into a shadow at her feet and reappeared behind me. I anticipated this and turned to block a stab at what was once my only weakness. Ari kept on the offensive and swung at my neck. Her blade whistled over my head as I ducked under the strike. I rolled to the side and pulled out a stiletto.
I had obtained the tiny knives and learned to use them in 15th century Italy. I always kept a few on me in case stealth was necessary.
Ari spun her sword and it transformed into a longer, heavier sword. The blade must have weighed a ton, but Ari wielded it with ease. She ran towards me and raised her massive sword in an overhand blow. I rolled to the side again as the ground was destroyed under Ari's attack. Faster than I thought possible, Ari pulled her sword from the crushed earth and spun it to transform it back into a normal sword.
I was impressed. I hadn't had a fight as difficult as this in two hundred years. I didn't know what manner of training she had undergone, but Ari was doing a good job of keeping me on the defensive.
I ran to her this time. My years of training kicked in and I found myself analyzing her. I noticed small details like the fact that she used her left hand to hold her weapon, or that she had lost her confident demeanor. Just before I reached her, I threw my stiletto to distract her. I didn't expect it to work, so I wasn't surprised when she caught the small knife right out of the air. Luckily, it allowed me to get close enough to strike. Her speed saved her. She raised her sword fast enough to stop my sword mere centimeters from her throat. It became a battle of strength with both of us trying to over power the other. Our swords sparked against each other as we both gained and lost ground.
"You do not disappoint, Perseus," she said through gritted teeth. I grimaced as I was forced to step back to steady myself.
"What are you?" I responded when she continued to match, or even beat my strength. Ari smiled cruelly and pushed me back further.
"I told you, I am my mother's greatest creation," she said. "I am the ultimate weapon against the lies and corruption of the world. My mother is coming, Perseus, and when she does, this world shall burn in the flames of chaos and be reborn under her rule."
"I won't let you," I said shakily and used all of my strength to push back against Ari's unimaginable strength. "You claim to serve chaos, well so do I, but of another kind." I chuckled bitterly at my pun.
"What does that mean?" she asked. "Chaos is chaos. There is no 'other kind' to serve."
"I serve Khaos, the greatest of all beings, master of creation, guardian of the innocent, bane of the guilty," I said. "Upon my oath, you shall not succeed." When I finished speaking, I let myself fall backward onto the cold ground. Ari, surprised by the missing resistance, fell forwards. I raised my legs and propelled her over me. She landed with surprising grace and quickly jumped to her feet. I rose as well and examined my opponent. She had lost most of her composure and seemed to be on the brink of losing it entirely.
In her anger, she charged forward and swung madly at my head. I leaned back as the sword sliced the air in front of me. I retaliated and Riptide struck at Ari like a snake. Though she managed to dodge at escape injury, Riptide managed to sever a single hair and she watched it slowly float to ground.
She backed away and began twirling her weapon rapidly as it transformed again and again. Swords, spears, maces, knives, and even guns from different time periods and civilizations appeared in her hand as she spun her weapon at ever increasing speeds.
"Give it up, Ari," I said. "You can't beat me. I've spent the last 500 years learning how to use and defeat all of those weapons. So, make your choice; it will all end the same way."
Ari's fury was boiling just under the surface now. Her grip on her weapon was so tight that her knuckles were white. Veins pulsed at her forehead and her silver eyes had darkened with rage.
"No one... can kill me," she said slowly through gritted teeth. "I. Am. CHAOS!" Ari's rage exploded and the formerly peaceful twilight transformed into a scene of destruction. The earth was shaking violently, the winds screamed across the plains at unimaginable speeds, lightning turned the night into day as thunder assaulted my ears, and at its center was Ari.
Her eyes had gone completely black as she released her power. She had risen into the air and now floated in the center of her own apocalypse. I stood in awe of her power, but that didn't stop me from trying to stop it. I called upon my own powers to try to quell the mayhem, but it was futile. If anything, the storm only became stronger.
I was forced to my knees by the wind and the shaking of the earth. I made one final effort to take control, and for a moment it appeared to work. But, the strain was too much and I had to sever the connection. I curled into a ball in hopes of avoiding further punishment.
Just as I thought the world was going to tear itself apart, it stopped. I looked up to see Ari standing on a field of charred earth. What had once been merely a small grassland in central New York was now a desert. I shakily got to my feet only to be thrown back by what felt like a thousand bullet trains hitting me at once. The pain was unimaginable; at least holding the sky and the River Styx had been painful to my entire body, but now the pain was centered in my lower abdomen. I tried to take a few shaky breaths before I began cough violently. It felt like I was tearing my throat apart, and the amount of blood that came from me might have proved it. I tried to rise again, but something stepped on my chest and pushed me back onto the unforgiving earth. I managed to open my eyes to see Ari towering over me, her eyes had returned to normal, but still contained all of the malevolent power as before.
"I could kill you right now," she said. "But, I won't. You aided me years ago, Perseus, so I shall spare you in honor of that time. But, be warned that I will kill you the next time you interfere." Ari removed her foot from my chest and the pain eased ever so slightly. She looked at me like someone would look at a deformed animal, with disgust and loathing. Without another word, she turned and walked away. I remain lying there until she was gone from sight for good.
I painfully got to my feet and limped over to Artemis. She has been silent for the duration of the fight and now stated blankly off in the direction Ari had gone.
"Lady Artemis," I rasped. Her focus snapped to me and I heard a sickening pop from her neck.
"We must go, the gods must be..." I coughed up blood. "...must be informed of what has happened." Artemis nodded numbly.
"Can you cut the net?" She asked. I nodded. I reached into my pocket and retrieved Riptide. Luckily, the threads were so thin, and Riptide was so sharp, that freeing Artemis required almost no effort on my part. Artemis stepped forward and placed her hand on my shoulder. Her hand glowed with silver light and my pain and weariness left me.
"That should suffice for now," she said. "Though, it would be better if Apollo looked you over. Healing is more his forte than mine." I bowed in gratitude.
"Thank you, Lady Artemis," I said. "It has done more than enough. I think we should go."
"You go to Olympus and I shall retrieve the hunters," she said with the same emotionless tone she had used for the entire conversation. She disappeared in a flash of silver.
I sighed as I mentally berated myself for my failure. This had been my first true test, and I had failed. I knew that I would have to speak to Chronus about this, but it would have to wait until after the situation was explained on Olympus. I disappeared in a cloud if vapor and reappeared in the lobby of the Empire State Building. I didn't even bother asking for the key as I stepped into the nearest elevator and hit the appropriate bottom. The elevator began to rise into the heavens, but my heart sank further with every millimeter.
A/N the story idea for this fic belongs to Anonemuss14. Please thank her for writing such an excellent story.
