Chapter 11: Perseus Jackson, All Time Hero

The quest has started, but what will their fate be?

Geoff's point of view

Gusts of wind blew across my face as our speedboat churned across the blue waters of the Mediterranean at nearly thirty kilometres per hour, like an arrow through the waters. Except that this was not really a speedboat since it was not its engine which was propelling it forward, but Percy using his powers to manipulate the waves around the boat. Chiron had mentioned that the dark forces of Chaos could be anywhere, so it would be safer for us to travel by boat without its engine spluttering and making loud noises that might give us away.

I tore my eyes away from the horizon and looked at Percy, who was standing at the prow of the boat with both his arms folded and his gaze fixed at a distance ahead of us. The sea breeze tousled his white hair and his eyes looked greener than ever. Wearing just his orange camp tee-shirt and blue jeans, his stature made him looked completely different since I last saw him. His white hair made him looked even more mature and the dark intersecting lines running across his right arm made him more fearsome, somewhat resembling an ancient warrior.

In fact, his speedy recovery had really amazed everyone at camp, including Chiron. The wound on his back had completely healed, not even a scar was seen on his flawless skin. It took a few minutes for Arvin to explain what had happened and about his dream regarding the ancient primordial, Pontus. Finally that brother of mine had seen some sense to bring up that dream, which was in truth crucial to our quest. Now, we knew how many of the primordials were on our side. However, the main question is that why would Pontus wanted to be part of Percy? Was Erebus's relevation about him being part of me also got to do with this fact? What about Arvin then? Was he releted to another primordial?

I pushed that thought away as soon as it became confusing. Currently, there were six of us on this boat: Me, Arvin, Percy, Annabeth, Will and Leo. At the last minute, Leo had offered to come with us, which got Chiron on his nerves since it was too large a group. However, after much pestering, he decided to let it go. In the meantime, we were heading towards ancient Rome, since it was the closest place where the first item leading to the Scroll of Time was.

It was a few hours later that Percy slowed down the waves to have a rest. "This is the fastest speed which I have ever driven a boat," he remarked as he joined us. The boat floated admist the ocean, with the rays of sunlight casting down on us. Except for the calls of seagulls, everywhere was quiet and peaceful.

"How far are we from Rome?" Leo asked as he tossed Percy a bottle of water.

"Not far. About ten to fifteen kilometres more, but I will steer the boat through an unorthodox route, to avoid any complications with Chaos forces. But jeez, heading towards Rome sure brings back memories of the Giants' war," Percy said before taking a gulp of water.

"Yeah, remember us travelling on my Argo II," Leo replied.

With a hand patting on his shoulder, Annabeth, who was sitting beside Percy said," How are you feeling?"

"Great! I feel different, better than before."

Seeing Annabeth looking adoringly at Percy, I can't help but smiled. Ever since Percy had recovered, she had regained her usual self. At the back of the boat sat Will Solace and Arvin. Arvin was staring at his reflection in the water, while Will was fingering with his bow. The bow was an arm's length, made of ebony and metal. The metal was carved in a series of metallic spikes folded in along the bow, which according to Will, could be sprang open to reveal a series of knives that could be used in melee combat. Will claimed it was a sacred item of the Apollo cabin and he intended to use it in the quest, partly because he was the last existing child and and partly because he wanted to use it to avenge his siblings. Will called it 'Guardian Oath'.

"You seem very energetic," observed Will. Percy just smiled at that.

"Do anyone know what are we finding in Rome?" Arvin asked.

"Athena appeared to me a fortnight ago and revealed to me that there was a map hidden in the Athena Parthenos that we retrieved back from Rome. I've brought the map," Annabeth replied as she brought out a sheet of yellow parchment from her backpack. " I think it will lead us to the item we are supposed to find."

"Then I believe we must resume our course," Percy said before tossing the bottle to me as he got back up on its feet. I struggled to catch it with my only left hand but missed.

"Oops, sorry, I forget your injury is more severe than mine," Percy apologised.

"It's okay," I said while bending down to pick it up, careful not to disturb my wound. As my fingers brushed against the bottle, I flinched at the sudden touch of coldness. Then I gasped. The water in the bottle had turned to ice...

It took us another half an hour before Percy steered the boat to a rocky coastline of our destination. Apparently, he had wanted to prevent us from chancing upon any Roman coastguard vessels, which would have put us into trouble. Therefore, he had chosen this remote spot to land the boat, which was by far the nearest to the capital of Rome. Fortunately, there were none around.

The waves crashed against the jagged rocks as Percy guided them to steer the boat steadily between the protruding rocks. One hit by those sharp rocks and we would lose our mode of transport back home. Once the boat ran aground, we all got off and started to pull the boat up the shore. The sea water was cooling as it rushed into my shoes and soaked my jeans. Pieces of seaweed floated on the water surface.

After hiding our boat beneath some thick brambles, we spent a few minutes checking our weapons and equipments before heading for the city. A sea breeze blew inland; however, instead of refreshing me, it only gave me a chill down my spine, as if we were expecting something worse in this place.

"Everything looks like as it did before," Percy mused as soon as we saw the first of tall buildings coming into our view. "But it's strange, the city has never seem so silent before."

Everyone halted to ponder his words, then we nodded in agreement. If its a city, shouldn't we hear bustling noises and the sound of traffic? Then, why did it seem so dead? My right stump started to have a tingling sensation and I shifted my Celestial bronze sword strapped to my back to a more comfortable position. Still, that sensation did not go away. Arvin stole me a glance.

"Perhaps we are still far from the city," suggested Will.

As we neared the city, what greeted us was a terrible sight. Cars and other forms of vehicles were overturned and a few was set on fire. Windows of buidings were smashed and columns of smoke billowed out from within. There were debris everywhere and the once tall, magnificent Roman columns that lined along the roads were utterly razed. Here and there, fires consumed the lush green vegetations of parks and those along the road.

We were silent for a while as we struggled to suppress our shock and despair. We were too late, I thought. The tingling feeling of my wound worsened, but I tried hard to ignore it.

"It can't be," Percy muttered loudly. With that, he rushed into the city.

"Percy!" Annabeth shouted before following him. The rest of us followed them but halted as we reached the city border. Everywhere laid the bodies of pedestrains who were killed in action. The bodies laid in grotesque shapes and the sight of them made me feel nausea. This is too much.

Then, from the far side of the city, came the sounds of gunfire and cries. "There are still survivors," Percy shouted as he went in the direction of the sounds. We followed him as he ran along the roads, careful not to trip over any corpses. Will cursed as he tried to nock an arrow on his bow while running. Then we saw it.

Behind some buildings were eight to ten police cars being parked hastily. A few of them were set ablaze with black flames. Hiding behind the cars were some Roman policemen who were trying to take down the Chaos warriors ahead of them with their guns. However, this proved useless for the warriors continued disposing all those who were in their way despite being hit by bullets multiple times. There were some passers-by around, screaming as they tried to escape, but none managed to.

I watched a man being shot down by an arrow from a Chaos warrior carrying a crossbow and a policeman being slewed by another warrior as he was reloading his gun. The warriors consisted of a motley crew: a few minotaurs, cyclops and humans. The feat ended when one of the human Chaos warrior raised his left hand and shouted a dark spell. Then an explosion occured, sending half the police cars flying and crashing on the last of the policemen and screaming civilians. There was silence after that, except the shuffling movement of the remaining warriors. The shockwave was so loud that it left a ringing sound in my ear.

"No!" Percy shouted before pulling out his pen and uncapping it, turning it into his blue sword, Riptide. Then he charged against the warriors, his voice filled with anger as he yelled out to them. Brandishing our weapons, we followed him closely behind. It was too late to turn back now; besides, seeing how the warriors slew the innocent had made us furious.

Hearing our yells and shouts, the Chaos warriors turned in our direction and charged too. The warrior who had casted the spell earlier raised his hand again, this time directing his words at us. But nothing happened.

I smiled and held a pendant hanging on my neck tightly. Apparently, Morris had given us a great gift before we set off for our quest. The pendant could help us prevent these warriors from using their dark magic, or free magic against us whenever we were near them. Before that warrior could react, Will sent an arrow through his chest, which immediately exploded, pulling his body into pieces and tossing a few of the warriors back.

Then we clashed against them, slashing, yelling, parrying with all our might. Arvin shot elctricity at a few of them, causing them to back off. Percy yelled as he parried and dodged their blows, at the same time administering death blows at their heads and necks. Annabeth put on her Yankees cap, which made her invisible as she crept behind the enemies to backstab them.

As usual, Leo shot bolts of flames at the warriors while waving his flaming sword at them. Will had turned Guardian Oath into a melee weapon. The metal spikes along the bow had sprang open which he used to slash at the enemies near him. Then, swiftly, he nocked three arrows and shot them at three different targets.

Admist the fighting, a dark human warrior came running towards me, his black sword drawn with his bloodied silver mask boring down on me. Attack his neck or heart. I told myself as I met his sword. Though difficult, I struggled to attack him while holding my sword with my left hand. The warrior was covered with gunshot wounds and his cape was filled with holes. As he parried and blocked my blows, his blood splattered onto my eyes, causing me difficulties in seeing. Then he slammed into my right (my injured side), causing me to cry out in pain and lost my footing.

"Geoff!" both Percy and Arvin shouted in unison. I raised my left hand to shield his blow, then nothing happened. No sword pierced through me, nor I feel any pain. As I lifted my hands away, I was surprised to see the Chaos warrior frozen into a statue, and encased in ice. His sword was poised in mid air. Groaning, I rolled away from him.

"Geoff! Are you alright?" Percy asked as he rushed to my side.

"Did you do that?" I asked him.

Scratching his head, he answered," I'm not sure but the moment I raised my hand, he became like that."

Then he grinned. " Everyone! Get behind me!" he shouted. As soon as all of us had gathered behind him, Percy raised both his hands. He frowned as he concentrated at the warriors coming at us. Then the surrounding temperature dropped and then, before all of us knew it, every single Chaos warrior had been frozen into blocks of ice.

"Percy, since when-" Annabeth asked but she was lost for words, and so do the rest of us.

"I think that 's one of my new abilities. Now I can freely control any states of water," Percy beamed with pride.

"Yes, but now you guys are dead!" a new voice boomed. The sky flashed for an instant, then a man wearing black appeared in front of us. His eyes were glowing white and behind him were twenty more Chaos warriors. "Greetings! demigods, I am Ouranos, Primordial god of the skies," the man smiled sinisterly as he spoke.

That's all for this chapter. Pls review.