Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.
Consul of the Underworld: The Game Begins
Summer Four: Sakura Wars: Underworld Assault Force
"...Sakura Wars?" Percy asked after Hazel, who took the book from Frank, read the chapter title.
Eyes went to Apollo, who was flipping through an Entertainment Weekly magazine. He looked up and arched a brow.
"...Oh, I'm sorry, this is the part where I explain the possible meaning behind the reference, right?"
"Normally you do it without us asking, but since you didn't, you-"
"Threw everyone off guard, huh?" Apollo smirked at Athena, who glared at him for cutting her off. The sun god chuckled. "Good, I try not to be too predictable all the time. Well, what's the word? Sakura? Cherry blossom. The title is a reference to a computer war game-"
Ares and Athena perked up in interest.
"That focuses on strategic tactics and is also a dating simulator."
"...Ugh, that's so lame." Ares groaned and Aphrodite glared at him. Athena looked a little disenchanted as well, but figured that the strategy would make up for the culture-enforcing norm of relationships.
"I think a flower war would be better. All the little seeds and grapes get mini assault rifles and helmets." Percy mumbled. Piper and Jason snickered while Dionysus rubbed his head.
"For some reason, I'm more annoyed with you more than usual, Peter. ...Why?" The god demanded.
"He doesn't have to say anything, Dionysus. There's a story to be read. Just relax and drink your Diet Coke," Poseidon said, a smirk on his face.
"Very well, if I must." Dionysus huffed and did just that.
It was the summer holidays and Hades' youngest daughter was certainly enjoying it. Alkaid, and the rest of the House of Hades (minus Makaria of course), were at the Oscars after party of the biggest winner of the night, King of Sparta. Since they were above ground, Lady Persephone was able to join them, with her mother's — begrudging — blessing of course.
"Oh, God, no." Piper's amusement fell rapidly and her head fell into her hands.
"Ooh!" Aphrodite, unlike her daughter, perked up.
Ares scowled heavily and Hephaestus rolled his eyes.
The demigod, dressed in a simple black dress, was munching on some orderves while her older sister, in a punk dress, was scowling at the actor.
"What's wrong with you?" Alkaid asked.
"Him." Melinoe pointed to the movie's lead actor, Tristan McLean.
"...I thought you said you wanted to jump his bones?"
"Oh, I did." Melinoe nodded, still looking sour. "He's even got a kid, so if I do, I could have checked off DILF on my list."
"Did you have to say that!?" Piper asked Hazel, her face a bit paler than normal.
Hazel, who had a contrasting furious blush on her face, averted her eyes. "It was better than reading all the words..."
"...Thank you for sparing my ears of those four words being attributed to my dad."
"Anytime."
That observation didn't please the goddess like Alkaid expected though, instead it seemed to make her scowl deeper, "Sadly, Skankzilla got to him first."
Aphrodite squawked. Artemis arched a brow. She and her uncle's daughter really needed to have a chat sometime.
The demigod of Hades raised an eyebrow.
With a groan, Melinoe rested her chin on the table, "Our 'Fairest' of them all?"
"Ah." Alkaid nodded, but blinked, "Wait a minute. How do you even know they were together?"
Melinoe grumbled dispassionately, "'Dite likes to mark her little conquests with her godly perfume. Mortals and demigods can't smell it, but us? Oh, we can tell. Kinda like an animal pissing on the ground to mark their territory."
"That little-!" Aphrodite seethed and then glared at Ares when he snickered.
"What? Aw, c'mon, Dite, that's funny!"
Artemis smirked. They really had to have that chat sometime.
"Or in this case, lovers."
"Exactly!" Melinoe tossed her hands in the air out of frustration, "I haven't done a Native American in a while!
"Oh, great, so it's about race, now?" Piper groaned. Lovely.
I was betting on it tonight. Damn Skankzilla."
"I...see." Alkaid dryly remarked. But she perked up a little, "Wait, if he has a child…?"
"Yep, she's a little dove." The goddess snorted, "Looks like a creampuff in that puffy pink dress too."
"How old is she?"
"I don't know, you mortals age so quickly. Like, 6, 7?
"Jason, I need you to do something for me."
"What, Piper?"
"Kill me. Here and now." Piper begged.
"Mm, no...I think I like you too much to kill you."
"You'd kill me if you really loved me."
"I think we have a different definition of love."
Aphrodite, had she not been so irate at the daughter of Hades, would've tittered over the playful debate Jason and Piper had. It was a wonderful expression of a happy relationship.
I could care less." Melinoe rolled her eyes and stood up, "Well, I'm going to get some scotch. Maybe see if I can nail the lead actress.
"Smart." Hermes and Apollo nodded.
Artemis' amusement and desire to meet up with Melinoe fell slightly, but remained due to their unified stance on Aphrodite's tendencies.
Don't wait up!"
With that, the ghost goddess departed.
Still, if she is a demigod. Alkaid smiled, a twinkle in her starry eyes. Maybe it would be fun to meet her? After all, she doubted the young girl even knew what she was.
Doing a quick point-me charm to guide her in the right direction, Alkaid headed towards the other demigod.
It took her a moment but she eventually found a little girl dressed in, as Melinoe said, a puffy pink dress and with her dark brown hair in a braid. The girl's little face was twisted in disgust as she poked some pigs in a blanket with a toothpick.
"Even at that age...your father failed you." Leo drawled.
"He tried to make bacon once." Piper recalled with a grimace on her face. "It...didn't end well."
"Yes, Tristan was not very good at the whole breakfast thing," Aphrodite said with a small smile. "It was amusing when he tried to make me breakfast. Adorable, really, in his boxers and apron...his back flexed-"
"Mom! Please! Not now!" Piper groaned.
Alkaid walked over to the little demigod and smiled, "Hello." She greeted politely.
The child turned around and blinked at Alkaid. Her eyes were like a kaleidoscope, shifting from blue, to green, and even brown. "Uh, hello." She replied in a tiny voice.
"Can I sit here?" Alkaid asked gesturing to a chair beside the younger girl, getting a meek nod in return.
The older demigod sat down, pointedly taking a look at how the girl was poking at her food. "Not hungry?"
"My dad's jerky assistant, Jane, got this for me. She should know I hate meat." The little girl scrunched up her nose and puffed up her chubby cheeks in irritation.
"Aww, Piper, you're adorable."
"Annabeth, I swear to God..."
"Turnabout is fair play," Annabeth said with a wicked smile on her face.
"A vegetarian?" The girl nodded, "I am too." Alkaid informed with another smile as she received a gasp in return.
"No way! Really?" At Alkaid's nod, the little demigod gasped excitedly. "That's cool. I'm Piper Mc-uh, Piper. Just Piper."
"McUh, that's a weird name. What is that? Scottish?"
"Shut up, Leo," Piper said with a pout on her face.
"Hey, Jason, when you two tie the knot, are you going to take her name? Jason McUh has a bit of a ring to it."
"...I'll think about it."
"Jason!" Piper glared at her boyfriend while he smiled apologetically at her and the demigods snickered.
"My name is Alkaid. So, where is this so called Jane? And why are you here by yourself?" Alkaid asked, waving over a server with a plate of vegetable sticks and dip.
Piper blanched. "She went to talk with people, and my dad's, uh, busy with stuff."
"I see." The child of Hades smiled in understanding, "My Father is very business minded too. Bit of a pain, right?" She winked conspiratorially, which earned herself a giggle from the younger girl.
"Yeah!" Piper nodded, but frowned dejectedly, "This place is sooo boring." She whined, taking a veggie stick and eating it. "All the other kids here are real snooty too."
"Snooty? Piper, those are connections!" Hermes clapped his hand on his face and groaned. "What's wrong with kids today?"
"...They're kids..." Apollo drawled.
She gave Alkaid a considering look. "But not you, you seem cool."
"Why thank you, Piper. And you seem adorable." Alkaid replied, looking at her dress.
Piper tugged at the waist of her dress, "I feels like I'm wearing cotton candy."
"But Piper, you look marvelous!"
"Mom, I'm not going to get dolled up and displayed anymore than I have to." Piper drawled.
"I don't know, Piper McLean, I believe your mother may be onto something," Rhea said thoughtfully.
"Lady Rhea..."
"I'm just saying dear."
Piper sighed, but took the answer as it was.
"You get used to it." Alkaid informed the daughter of Aphrodite.
"Blech, never!"
The child of the underworld chuckled, oh this daughter of Aphrodite was just so precious.
Taking a napkin and shaking it out, Alkaid smirked, "Want to see a magic trick?"
Piper scrunched her brow, "It's not going to be those silly kid ones, is it?"
"I never do children's' magic." Alkaid firmly stated, she was above such petty sleight of hand antics.
Even if she did dabble in it as a child.
It had just been a phase...
Honest!
"Nerd." Ares snorted.
"Wait...She's a magician, a witch, a gamer...I can't believe it. She's every dork on the internet's dream girl!" Hermes gasped.
"No, she's also a vegetarian." Apollo pointed out.
"Oh, right...Darn, I thought I was onto something," Hermes said with a frown.
"Hermes...Do not exploit my children." Hades warned sternly. His warning was waved off by a sulking god of merchants.
Alkaid made a fist and began feeding the silk napkin into her fist. She clasped her other palm over it and kneaded the napkin. Piper's color changing eyes were glued to her hands, but they were jumping around Alkaid as well, no doubt her ADHD trying to see if it was a trick or 'magic'.
"...Percy, snap out of it." Annabeth smiled in amusement as Percy became intently focused on the trick.
"Shh, Wise Girl, I'm learning magic."
Thalia scoffed. "That'll be the day I learn to fly."
"You shouldn't knock it, Thalia," Jason said.
"I'll stick with throwing lightning and shooting arrows from the ground, thanks."
Opening her hands, presenting them to Piper, Alkaid revealed the white dove that she was now holding in her palms. It chirped and nipped at its feathers, hopping across its platform. It looked at Piper and fluttered over, landing on the gaping daughter of love's shoulder.
"Wow! Amazing!" She gushed and nervously reached up to pet the dove. Knowing who she was, the dove let her stroke its beak, "So...cool." The girl whispered in awe.
"...Piper, how would you feel about a pet dove?"
Piper pursed her lips, unsure how to answer her mother's question. "I'll get back to you on that, Mom."
"So, how was I?" Alkaid asked with a smug smile.
"Way better then my first grade talent show."
"I aim to please."
"All night long."
"Ares!" Hades, his sisters, and Rhea glared at the war god.
Ares huffed. "You people have no sense of humor."
"Alkaid." A voice called out and the older demigod straightened her back. Piper in contrast shivered at the sound.
"My apologies, Piper, but it seems I must go. My Father is calling me." Alkaid apologized to the little girl.
"Wow," the little girl rubbed her arms, looking around worriedly. "That was weird." She looked up at her new friend with a pout. "You can't hang out more?"
"Sadly, no. It was wonderful meeting you though. You can keep him if you want." Alkaid said as she stood up.
"Huh?"
"The dove. You can keep him." Alkaid explained as she turned to leave.
As she walked away, she caught sight of Piper humming as she stroked the dove's spine. "I'll call you...Skylark!"
"Wow, really Piper?" Annabeth asked, a smirk on her face.
"Oh, come on! I was six!"
"Or seven," Jason said.
"Exactly!" Piper nodded.
"And Fairly OddParents had nothing to do with it?" Leo asked, smirking.
"...Maybe." Piper muttered.
The daughter of Hades heard the dove coo in response, apparently in appreciation of its new name.
Alkaid strolled over to her Father and Persephone as he was waving off a man that he was previously conversing with.
"Who was that, Father?" The demigod asked with mild interest.
"Oh, just Wayne Simmons." Hades confessed with a shrug, "We'll be seeing him soon."
"Uncle H! Spoilers are my schtick!" Apollo frowned.
"Oh please, Apollo. These are things I do with my House." Hades smirked.
"Cause?"
Hades gave his daughter a chiding look, "Now that would be telling, daughter."
Alkaid pouted, she liked to be in-the-know.
Suddenly the room felt warmer and somehow brighter. Hades reacted by going rigid.
"Oh no," the lord of the dead palmed his face, "Dammit, I forgot he might be here."
Persephone looked at him in disbelief, "How could you forget?"
"He could have been with one of his lovers!" Hades argued, "You know, his usual distraction!"
"Amazing foresight, dear husband." The Springtime goddess sarcastically noted.
"Oh here we go! Well excuse me for not being my 'All Knowing' little brother."
"Must you bring him into this?"
"Yes, Hades, must you?" Zeus asked.
"What? Did I hurt your ego, Zeus? Would you like mother to kiss it and make it better?"
"Boys, no fighting." Rhea chided absentmindedly.
"Yes mother." The two gods replied without breaking their glare.
"You started it." Hades childishly replied.
Alkaid cleared her throat, earning the gazes of both immortals, "Um, what's going on?"
"Apollo." The King and Queen of the Underworld said dryly in unison.
"...Aw, hell yes!" Apollo pumped his fist.
Hades groaned into his hand.
"And your forgetful Father forgot to take precautions against him showing up." Persephone scathingly noted. "At least I remembered to cover my tracks and explained to my mother that I came to spend time with Melinoe."
"Now is not the time for proportioning blame, Persephone." Hades hissed as he summoned and unceremoniously dumped his Helm of Darkness onto Alkaid's head, the rim of the helmet dipping over her eyes and onto her nose.
"Oh, that's a fashion no-no." Aphrodite tisked.
"But it'll hide her from me. Smart thinking, Uncle H." Apollo nodded.
Zeus glared at his son. Whose side was he on?
"Hey!"
"The hell is going on?" Melinoe demanded, having made her way over to them after feeling the Helm's presence.
"Apollo." The elder gods explained, once again in sync.
"Well, shit."
"Hello to you too, Cuz," Apollo said sourly.
"Exactly." The springtime goddess said, not even bothering to chide her daughter on her language.
The trio were still bickering/commiserating with each other about their misfortune over the situation when a young man in a stylish blue suit walked up. His skin was bronzed and complimented his short blond hair and sky blue eyes. It was Apollo.
"Uncle H!" Apollo greeted with a blinding smile, literally, "It's so great to see you above ground!" He greeted holding out his arms for a hug.
Hades just blinked at him.
"Ooh, denied...That makes what? Three thousand? Four thousand attempts?" Hermes asked.
"I will get Uncle H to hug me one day! I must complete my bucket list!" Apollo declared.
Hades rolled his eyes. "You're going to be very disappointed."
Not deterred by this at all, Apollo turned to Persephone, his arms still wide, "Sis, Persephone, how goes it?" He asked in a cheerful voice.
Persephone gave her half-brother a hug, smiling awkwardly. "Apollo, so wonderful to see you."
"I know it is." The sun god beamed. He turned to Melinoe and frowned thoughtfully. "Hey, you…"
"Melinoe, goddess of ghosts." The minor god replied curtly, not at all happy that the Olympian didn't even know who she was.
"I knew that." Apollo winked.
"Liar!"
"Ha! Joke's on you, Hermes, I never lie!" Apollo smirked superiorily.
"Just teasing you." He laughed merrily before clapping his hands together. "So, enjoying yourselves? What are you doing up here anyways? A little family outing?"
The House of Hades just shifted uncomfortably. Too caught up in his own monologue, Apollo didn't seem to notice.
"I wish Arte would come to these with me sometime." The god of the arts sighed dramatically, "I swear, she's got to come to civilization once in awhile. If not, I'm going to have to check her for rabies."
"Hm, speaking of, when's the last time you saw Ask for a check-up, Arte?" Apollo asked.
Artemis pointedly looked away, a frown on her face. "I am a goddess of Olympus. Disease and injuries like that cannot be spread to us like they can Mortals."
"Listen to your brother, Artemis. It's always better to be safe than sorry," Rhea said to her granddaughter, who pouted upon the chiding.
"Well, she just lost three of her hunters due to their stupidity and superior nature." Hades casually interjected, Persephone swatting his arm, making him look at her in confusion.
"Yeah, that sounds like the hunters."
"Apollo!" Artemis frowned at her twin.
"What? It's true. I give Thalia at least half a century before she succumbs to those mindsets, and that's only because Jason is alive."
Thalia glared at the god. She would not succumb to stupidity...Superiority, maybe, but not stupidity!
Apollo nodded, rubbing his chin. "Change of topic! I was so happy this movie won. I put personal interest in it after all." The god chuckled.
"Ah, yes, well, we have to get going now Apollo. You know how it is, people die, all the paperwork. Got to go." Hades rushed out and smiled as best he could, making Apollo look at him strangely.
As the House of Hades retired from the after party, Melinoe complaining the whole way, Apollo hummed thoughtfully.
"I wonder what that was about?" Apollo asked himself and sniffed under his jacket, "Nope, fresh as a daisy.
"As opposed to...?" Hermes fished.
"The glorious odor of the morning after." Apollo grinned.
"You're disgusting," Artemis said with her nose curled.
Huh, maybe it was something I said? Well, I'll just have Herm send him a wine basket or something to apologize." With a shrug, the sun god looked at some of the women and grinned, "So, ladies! Who wants to see my car?"
"No woman can deny the allure of my chick magnet," Apollo said with a smirk.
"Hm, there may be some merit to that," Rhea said. "After all, during Zeus and Metis' marriage, Hera was drawn to Helios because of his chariot..."
"Mother! I told you that in confidence!" Hera hissed.
"I knew it!" Zeus glared at Hera. She was too good at fellatio that first time!
As the catchy theme of beats and clicks indicated the end of her show, Alkaid couldn't help but smile.
"Kim Possible rules."
"No truer words have ever been said," Piper nodded in agreement.
Annabeth arched a brow. "I dunno, half of the things she could do was only because of her tech supplier."
"...Leo, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"
"I think so, Piper, but how would I apply the rockets of a space shuttle to a convertible?"
"Nice." Thalia snickered out while the two friends grinned at each other.
"I don't get it." Hazel muttered.
Percy gave Frank a disapproving stare.
"...It's a long list."
It was true, the new show was just amazingly witty and Alkaid had become quite fond of the main character. Kim Possible could do anything but still acted like a teenager with teenage problems. In some ways Alkaid could both empathise and be envious, what with her own double life and her own inability often times to just be a teenager.
It was why she was going to recommend the show to Gabby in her next letter to the Delacour girl. She and the little girl had started up a regular correspondence since school ended for the year and they returned to their own respective home countries.
"Oh-ho! What's this?" Aphrodite asked, intrigued once more.
Alkaid had decided to play along not only to further the potentially very valuable contact the French girl could become but also in no small part because the girl was just so sweet and enjoyable to talk to. That the daughter of Hades was flattered by the other girl's crush had nothing to do with things.
Nothing at all.
The goddess of love let out a few titters while the god of the underworld glared at her.
Speaking of letters, she rolled over to her desk with the full intention to pen said letter. After all as the saying went, "It's best to strike while the iron is hot."
The daughter of Hades began filling out her letter to young Gabby about her week, the little dear was inordinately interested in her day to day affairs, apparently her own big sister was notoriously skimpy on the details on that front. Even as she outlined her week, minus any mention of anything that might hint at her true heritage of course, she took the time to ponder her holidays so far.
One event that she had been mulling over a lot lately was her close brush with discovery by the Olympians at the Oscars' after-party due to Apollo's spontaneous nature. He may have been 'hot', something that she and Melinoe agreed about, she might have a girlfriend and be a functional lesbian but she was bisexual enough to still appreciate the male physique.
"You're welcome, kiddo." Apollo grinned and reclined in his throne.
But her sister was still cross with the sun god about the whole thing. Apparently she'd been close to getting an invite to some private time with a hottie of her own when his sudden appearance had forced the family to have to leave. Though he did send a lovely basket of wine (Dionysus approved)
"But sadly not tested," Percy said.
"Humph, shows what you know, Peter. Fine wine ages well, so I might have tasted it before my punishment," Dionysus said before he sipped his Diet Coke.
"Huh...Go figure."
to her Father as an apology about the whole thing. So Alkaid assumed he wasn't all bad.
Who honestly sent her Father gifts anymore outside the House of Hades?
"A good question," Rhea said, giving her children and grandchildren looks.
"...Oh boy..." Hephaestus sighed while the rest of the Olympians shifted uncomfortably.
Still, wearing the helm… Alkaid thought back and couldn't resist the shiver down her spine at the mere memory. Wearing her Father's helm of darkness had invoked truly mixed feelings. On one hand, there was the euphoria of the power rush, just wearing a symbol of power, of that of the Big Three no less, gave her. It was simply intoxicating.
"...Well, it seems the power desire is genetic," Athena said dryly. "Be wary, Annabeth."
"Athena!" Zeus squawked while Poseidon and Hades glared at the goddess.
But on the other hand, as it had rested on her head, she had simultaneously been overwhelmed by unease as she felt the effects of trespassing into a domain she had no authority over. Even being her Father's daughter, the helm had made it clear that she was not meant to wield its power, even if it was just a higher tier of her very own powers.
Altogether, she just hated the experience. It had left her nauseous as the conflicting emotions it invoked overwhelmed her and more importantly thoroughly confused her.
And Alkaid hated to be confused.
On a brighter note, she had received a wonderful game on her birthday thanks to her amazingly wonderful Father.
It was called Kingdom Hearts, and involved a mix of Disney and many Final Fantasy characters all in one game. It was a concept that had enamoured Alkaid in an instant.
"...Greatest. Game. Ever." Piper muttered. "Almost better than Pokémon."
"Blasphemy!" Leo declared.
At least it got her to stop her marathoning of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire.
Hm, I really should go back and see if I can level up a bit more in the ladder. And level cap my Swampert too. No no, I need to finish beating Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts first. Alright, it seems I'll be grinding later.
"Already?" Aphrodite asked.
"Not that kind of grinding, Dite," Apollo said. "Gamer grinding is gaming for an obscene amount of time to get major objectives done.
Alkaid had to beat the game fast too, Makaria had gotten her own copy and whilst Alkaid loved her sister dearly, she was just such a spoiler!
Especially when she found something to gush over.
The youngest of Hades' daughters hated to have her games spoiled.
Touching up her letter and signing her name at the bottom, she wheeled to Rhip, who was cleaning his wings on his perch, "Here you go, bring that to Gabby, would you?"
Rhip cawed his agreement and promptly grabbed the letter in its claws. Taking flight he flew through his personal tunnel of darkness, specially set up by her Father to open for him, to exit and return to the Underworld when delivering letters, and was off.
Nodding in satisfaction at getting that out of the way, the demigod smiled and turned her attention to her T.V. and the game console plugged into it, "Now for the grind."
Rubbing her hands together in eagerness, Alkaid got to work on defeating the One-Winged Angel.
"Good luck!" Leo offered.
"A simple clean up job Father said," Alkaid muttered, "just a rogue group of Keres that Thanatos is too busy to go roundup. Be a dear and help him, Father said." Alkaid said, trudging through the town of Redmond, Washington.
"Ha. I love these moments," Apollo said as he tossed some popcorn into his mouth.
That task she'd managed handily. Unfortunately, said violent spirits hadn't been acting out without cause. Apparently they'd been reacting to some monstrous centaurs doing some truly vile things to the women in the area.
That alone would have been enough to motivate Alkaid into action, she hated rapists, but the fact that the monsters' actions were stirring up the dead just made it her responsibility not just as a woman but as an envoy of the Underworld to deal with this.
"...I wonder if this will be when I meet her," Artemis said thoughtfully as a scowl crossed her face.
"Doubt it, sis." Apollo muttered. "Uncle H takes control of things that are 'Underworld' business."
"For good reason," Hades said with a scowl.
Thankfully the centaurs weren't hard to track down. They hadn't used any magical defenses at all, not even the Mist, to hide their presence so a simple point me charm had led the daughter of Hades right to them.
The herd had apparently decided camping out in the open of one of the city's parks was a good idea.
The centaurs, as expected, had the upper bodies of men (though looking more orc than man) and full equine bodies from the waist down that had palomino coats. The only departure from the classical imagining of a centaur, and these monsters' Party Pony cousins, were the horns sticking out of their heads that made them look like wannabe deer.
Alkaid just walked up to them, there was no point in going Solid Snake on them or using tactical bombardment.
She wanted to see the fear in their eyes as she dusted them, with how poor it was going it would make her day.
"Hey, look at this!" One of the drunken evil centaurs sneered, "We've got a guest!"
"I hope whatever she does makes them suffer," Dionysus said with a huff.
"...You're jealous they're drunk, aren't you?" Hermes asked, a smirk on his face.
"I admit nothing." Dionysus snapped.
That earned a round of hooting and hollering from the monsters.
Inhaling through her nose, the demigod said, "May I propose something?" She asked with a sickeningly sweet voice, wearing her trademark sunny smile.
"Huh?" One blinked stupidly.
"How about we role play?"
"Oh my!" Aphrodite covered her mouth with a hand and smiled.
"Why me?" Hades groaned while his brothers smirked.
"Oh? You're into that, babe?" The herd's apparent leader, he was bigger than his peers and actually wore armor, asked.
Whatever Alkaid was going to say in reply however was cut short when she took note of what adorned the centaur leader's armor.
The heads of three young women were impaled on spikes on the armor that he'd draped over his equine rear half.
"...Oh that's...that's effed up..." Nico gaped.
The other demigods looked just as disgusted as he felt.
"Oh? You like?" The leader let out a boastful laugh, "They were Amazons.
"Slaughter 'em!" Ares growled. The Amazons were his surrogate daughters, and slighting them was like slighting him. And Ares didn't let anyone, man, women, Olympian or monster diss him!
Cocky little bitches, they were. We had some fun with them, but we had to put them down. Too feisty for breeding. Wonder how you'll do." The monster finished with a leer that garnered another round of hooting from his herd.
Well, that made it clear to Alkaid what her next action was going to be.
"I see. Well, as I was saying, let's role play." she placed a hand on her chest, "I shall play the part of the drunken sailor...and you all can be a bunch of baby seals."
The centaurs all looked at each other in confusion.
That didn't sound like a fun way to role play.
"Hey, don't knock it, it could turn out to be very interesting." Aphrodite chided the monsters.
"Uh, Aphrodite..." Poseidon trailed off. He waved his hands. "Never mind, you'll find out in a second I'm sure."
Alkaid raised both her index fingers, wisps of darkness swirling around them and pointed at the herd. In seconds, beams of darkness rained down on the monsters, targeting heads and hearts in rapid succession.
In a matter of a few seconds, she had thinned the herd to nothingness.
"And scene." Alkaid breathed out, relishing the fear and sheer confusion she saw in their eyes just before they died. It was nice.
"...That's not role-playing!" Aphrodite gaped.
"More like being a travelling improv group." Apollo mused.
"I wanted to warn you," Poseidon said with a shrug. "But I figured you wouldn't listen."
She walked over to where the leader had been and sighed at the twisted faces of horror that looked up at her. She gingerly gathered the heads and built a small prye. The least she could do was give the girls proper burial rites. Even if it was belated.
She made sure to place a drachma under their tongues, before covering them with more firewood. When the pyre was complete, she murmured a few words in ancient Greek in prayer and lit the makeshift funerary altar alight.
Watching it burn, Alkaid could hear the sound of marching from the distance and turned to the direction of the noise.
"Marching...Oh boy," Jason said with a sigh. "Probably more demigods."
"Romans, I bet." Leo mused.
"That far north? I don't think so," Frank said. He rubbed his chin. "It could be the other Amazons."
"Oh yeah, they do live near Seattle, don't they?" Percy mused.
"...We really need to discuss your adventure again, Percy." Annabeth muttered.
"Huh, why?"
"To make sure you stayed true to her." Leo explained with a smile. "Duh, dude."
What now? More baby seals?
At the entrance of the park was a girl, just an inch taller than Alkaid. She had short white blonde hair in a bob cut. Her eyes made Alkaid catch her breath. They were a steely orange, but were sharp like a raptor's. She had a slim figure, like a supermodel but with a more average chest. She wore a suit of chainmail over what seemed to be a simple tunic and skinny jeans.
"...Damn." Leo gaped. He glared at Percy. "You lucky bastard."
"What?"
"Don't you what me." Leo scowled.
What really drew the demigod's attention though was the accessory the older girl seemed to be wearing around her waist.
The belt of Hippolyta. The badge of office of the Amazon Queen.
And now I have to deal with the leader of the Amazons...yay. Alkaid thought bitterly, hoping this wouldn't turn into a fight.
"You, girl, tell me where the centaurs are," the taller girl demanded in a dangerous voice.
Normally, Alkaid would have spun an elaborate tale or the other to get herself out of this. Unfortunately, she had not had the time to clean up the battlefield yet and so was standing very conspicuously in an entire clearing full of monster dust. With such damning evidence all around her, she had no choice but to tell the truth.
Drat.
"They're gone, I ended them. I also gave your sisters a proper funeral pyre. I'm sorry for your loss."
The queen knitted her brow and narrowed her predatory eyes solely at Alkaid, "Those were my kills, girl." She said in a grunt.
Looks like this is going to turn into a fight after all, Alkaid thought with a sigh.
"Listen, I'm just going to go, that cool?" Alkaid said, and without even waiting to receive an answer turned to walk off, her only concession to the Amazon an insincere "Thanks." she threw over her shoulder.
A "YEAHHHH!" accompanied by a guitar solo blared and when eyes glared at the source, they found Hermes and Apollo with stony faces and sunglasses on.
A thunderous stomp, one that shook the ground, made the child of Hades falter in her steps. She turned to see the taller girl glaring at her, the ground split under her left foot.
"You are not going anywhere, girl. I came here for a fight," the queen said, a tone in her voice that make Alkaid feel alarms go off in her head. "And I, Queen Tabitha, intend to get that fight."
"You didn't come here to save your sisters?" The daughter of the Underworld asked in genuine surprise.
"They were taken days ago, we knew they were dead or worse." The taller girl dismissed casually.
"To avenge them then?" Alkaid suggested hopefully.
The Amazon Queen just snorted. "Like I would need to come in person for something so trivial. I came here for a fight, pure and simple. And I'm not leaving here without one."
"...She's one of Ares'." Athena drawled.
"Probably one of Mars'," Ares corrected her with a grin.
"That's why you're alone, isn't it?" Alkaid said with a disgusted sneer. "You snuck away to pick a fight, just to satisfy your bloodlust."
Tabitha grew a smile, one that just illuminated her true intention. That was the smile of someone who loved fighting, a battle junkie.
The girl pulled out a length of chain from the pouch on her hip. Her other hand reached for the dagger sheathed on her other hip. She finally pulled out the whole chain that held a celestial bronze ball the size of a baseball at one end, whilst the other end ended in a dangerous looking nail-like point. The queen of the Amazons started to menacingly spin the chain, a wild grin on her face.
A ball and chain? What could that possibly do? The child of Hades wondered, summoning her Grimoire just in case.
Wanting to end this fast, Alkaid used an Axel Shooter, firing two dozen magical spheres at her opponent. More than enough, she imagined, to knock the Amazon unconscious.
What happened next floored Alkaid.
Just as the projectiles were about to hit Tabitha, they swerved around the queen, destroying the park's grounds all around her but not one hit her.
Okay, I have amazing aim. What just happened?! The magical demigod seethed, she had a 99.9% accuracy rating!
"That all you can do?" The Amazon taunted. "My mother is Bia, goddess of force, might, and power! One of Zeus' winged enforcers! I can manipulate forces, including gravity. Physics is my bitch! Now prepare to die girl!"
"...Okay, so she's not mine. Interesting parentage," Ares said thoughtfully.
"And a powerful foe to be wary of." Zeus rumbled. "I am curious as to how Hades' daughter will fare."
"...I think that's his way of saying 'Go Alkaid'," Poseidon theorized.
"We should for Father's return again." Hades drawled.
"I said I was interested in how the fight would go for her, not whether or not she will win!" Zeus snapped.
To be able to have such fine control over a demigod ability. Most impressive. Too bad I've already thought up a counter. You may be able to affect physical forces but what about the astral? Alkaid thought to herself smugly as she readied her defenses for the inevitable counterattack.
"Bye bye!" Tabitha exclaimed with glee and tossed her ball and chain, the ball looking like a large bullet.
The child of Hades unhurriedly brought up her prepared defenses: a multi-layered barrier.
At first the ball seemed to make quick work of the barriers, breaking through no less than four of the things in short order, but then all of a sudden that changed.
"Magic is total Bull Hockey...But that's good for Alkaid in this case I suppose," Thalia said under her breath. She still remembered Alkaid brushing off her death like it was nothing.
"Careful with those grudges, Thalia." Nico chided with a small smirk.
"Like you can talk, hypocrite."
"I never denied it."
Each time the ball and chain shattered a barrier, a dark light would surround it as the magical defense broke apart like glass and steadily the weapon picked up a dark aura.
By the fifth barrier, this aura was strong enough that its effect finally took hold. Without warning, the joins of the celestial bronze weapon suddenly split open: the ball popped in half, the chain links opened and scattered across the ground. Looking on at the sight, Tabitha's eyes could only widen in shock.
"And strategy wins out over brute force once again." Athena smirked.
"Bah! Brat got lucky," Ares said with a small scowl.
Smirking, Alkaid gave herself a mental pat on the back. Nesting curses within the layers of my barriers was good thinking. Thank you Baba for the tips.
Just as the Slavic witch said, the daughter of Hades needed to use spells that would stack up with each other. And that's what she did to make the queen's weapon fail.
While the queen was stunned speechless, Alkaid decided to take the offensive.
Putting a card in her Grimoire, Alkaid cried out, "Raza Clover!"
Motes of deep green light flickered before Alkaid and screeched towards Tabitha like a blizzard.
"Briares would not like her," Zeus said lowly.
Hades rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure he wouldn't. I'm sure anyone under your rule wouldn't."
"Quite the jump there, Hades."
"Do you deny it, brother?"
Zeus remained silent.
"I thought so."
The spell was astral in nature, so Tabitha couldn't 'deflect' it. It's nearly impossible to evade that spell. Alkaid smugly thought as she launched her attack. Better yet, the spell even does astral and physical damage. Let's see her tank that!
Tabitha tried to deflect it, but failed as the spell hit home in a multitude of explosions. Each mote detonating independently.
Alkaid preened at what she was sure was her victory, and turned to calmly walk away. There was no need to even wait to see the result, the only way to evade it would be to be amazing acrobatic, like Alkaid herself.
"That'll come in handy later in life," Aphrodite said.
"Aphrodite!" Hestia glared at the goddess.
"What? The war! She's obviously bound to be a large part of it." Aphrodite scoffed. She smirked. "Honestly, Hestia, being so gutter-minded like that will lead you to breaking your vow."
"I wouldn't mind that," Rhea said with a mild thoughtful look on her face.
"Zeus would, Mother." Hera cut in.
"We aren't done!" a voice roared and the ground shook, making Alkaid fall to the ground. She turned to see Tabitha, covered in dust and a few burnt marks, her chainmail in ruins but otherwise unharmed while her fist was buried in the ground.
"Do you know how hard it was dodge that!? I only got hit by a few of your little mines and it still ruined my Anglo-Saxon chainmail shirt! Now I have to get another one to match my ancestors' designs!" The queen seethed at Alkaid and literally punched the air.
The air shifted and a bolt of air struck the magical demigod, but thankfully she had wards against such attacks. Though quite a few shattered, Alkaid mused, Using her power to enhance the force behind her strikes and literally use the air as a weapon. She really is strong. No wonder she became Queen of the Amazons.
"...I like her more than the current one," Ares said with a smirk.
"I can't see why. Hylla is badass." Frank mused. Hazel nudged him and he shrugged. "What? She is."
"...Fair enough."
Alkaid quickly went to rebuild her wards, even as she made another mental note to thank Baba for teaching her the need for such things.
Picking up the nail-like point of her ball and chain from where it had fallen to the ground, Tabitha crouched down and launched herself towards her opponent like a bullet, a unhealthy gleeful look in her eyes.
She reached Alkaid in the blink of an eye and went for a double downward slash with her bladed weapons.
With the crack like a car backfiring, Alkaid was gone and appeared twenty feet away thanks to the quick use of apparition.
While Tabitha recovered from her missed attack, Alkaid snapped her Grimoire closed on another spell card. "Balm Blazer."
Tabitha, in an amazing show of acrobatics, dodged the sky-blue beam which hit a tree behind her instead. Said tree imploded on itself.
Hades smirked and Demeter looked infuriated.
"Good girl." The King of the Underworld muttered, smirking at the glare his sister sent his way.
Seething, the queen snarled. "Quit running away!" She commanded and punched one of the nearby public bathrooms, breaking the wall into rubble, and bringing the small building down.
She punched the air again, creating a shockwave and darted right after it as Alkaid made to defend against it. Tabitha held out her dagger hand and forced it down, dragging Alkaid to her knees by manipulating gravity.
The shockwave hit Alkaid's prepared defenses and shattered them as their creator was too preoccupied fighting off the effects of the increased gravity cast on her to reinforce them. They had however served their purpose and protected the daughter of Hades from the shockwave but with their destruction, she was now open to attack.
Capitalizing on this, Tabitha closed in on the open mage preparing to slash her with her blades.
Alkaid once again apparated to avoid the attack.
"Teleporting in battle?! That's so fuc-!"
"Ares!" Rhea, Hestia and Hera glared at the seething god.
"What!? It's bull! This fight sucks! There's no bleeding, no stabbing! That explosion wasn't even entirely physical so we didn't even get a decent tit shot!" Ares complained. An iron block appeared over his mouth as he seethed.
"...Mother, I will blast him if you so wish." Zeus offered, his grip on the Master Bolt tight.
"After the chapter is finished dear. Let him fume in silence." Rhea smiled kindly at her youngest child before she looked to her granddaughter. "Please continue, Hazel."
The daughter of Bia's smile just widened at this. She proceeded to hold up her arms, as she created a gravity well around her even as her sharp eyes darted around the park. Spotting her target, she slammed her arms down, and she intensified the force of the gravity in her well to extremes. Bits of the earth, trees, debris, all manner of things were sucked into the well and steadily crushed together in a ball that grew ever denser.
Alkaid reappeared and found herself forced to her hands and knees, her hastily erected anti-gravity wards protecting her from being sucked into the growing maelstrom and crushed but only barely as they strained against the epic forces the Amazon had summoned. Teeth gritted, the child of Hades glared at the daughter of Bia, who was locking eyes with her.
A caw from Rhip drew Alkaid's attention and she quickly looked through Rhip's eyes. An entire unit of Amazons were heading this way!
She looked back into Tabitha's eyes and seethed, I can't take them all. Especially if she's leading them. Looks like I'll have to withdraw.
Alkaid felt a prick to her pride at that, but swallowed the feeling.
"Coward! Take your beating like a demigod!" Leo shook his fist mock angrily.
"Tactical retreats aren't cowardly," Annabeth said in mild annoyance.
"Ehh, that's not what we're taught," Frank said uneasily, with Jason and Hazel nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, think of it from the Roman's perspective, Annabeth." Leo nodded.
"Oh shut up, Leo."
Alkaid had barely gotten to her feet when Tabitha was already on her like a crazed beast and slashed down at her, destroying her shields again while Alkaid apparated once more to get away.
About a good fifty miles away, Alkaid held her hand on her chest, breathing in relief, "She broke my wards again, with sheer force...talk about a close call."
She waited for Rhip to meet up with her and then Shadow Traveled home.
"She bailed out of there faster than Apollo or Hermes when Hera brings up the topic of their bachelordom." Hephaestus noted.
Apollo dimmed rapidly while Hermes' eyes began to search for an escape route.
Hera huffed and crossed her arms. Her sons they may not be, but she still wanted all of the Olympians to have a healthy, loving marriage like she does.
The Queen of the Amazons was seething. First all the damn centaurs were killed, then the blasted girl who killed them got away from her!
"We weren't done yet!" She screamed in outrage that her opponent had fled. She had a crazed look in her eyes, one that would have made her Amazons quiver in fright if they saw it. She looked off in the distance and her inhumanly sharp eyes caught sight of some fallen hair.
Right where that cowardly girl had been.
Tabitha walked over and picked up the few strands of black hair, certain it was the girl's.
Curling it between her fingers, her face twisted into greedy want.
"Oh my!" Aphrodite covered her mouth to conceal a smile. She could twist this, or rather, her other could twist this, into a very interesting drama.
The daughter of Bia just faced off with her newest prey...and she didn't like it when her prey ran away.
Tucking the strands into her pocket, Tabitha faced her coming Amazons and walked towards them.
She wanted to know who that girl was.
Oh yes, Aphrodite mused with a wide smile. She could make this work.
Omake: A Letter to Daphne.
But first! Aphrodite tittered and clapped her hands together.
"Hm, a raunchy letter, perhaps?" Apollo mused. He was slapped upside the head by his twin while Hermes snickered.
The goddess of love's eyes sparkled at the thought. "Oh, I hope so!"
"My daughter would...Well..." Hades trailed off before he made himself look foolish.
Alkaid tapped the tip of her chin with the end of her fountain pen. She was roaming the deepest part of her poetic side to write a rather, ehem, intimate letter to her girlfriend, Daphne.
"Called it!" Apollo cheered.
Hades scowled. At least he kept his mouth shut.
Since the ending of fourth year, the two had exchanged a series of innocent and loving letters with one another.
However, this time the daughter of Hades was going for something a little more provocative. Unfortunately though, she was currently going through a case of writer's block.
"I can't use strawberries again, I did that last time." The demigod muttered to herself, her brow furrowed in thought. After another five minutes of thought, her ADHD started to act up.
"Ugh, I need a Yoo-Hoo." Alkaid frowned and dropped her pen. She stood up and made her way to the palace's kitchen. Maybe a brief walk would help her creative process.
As Alkaid left her room, she didn't notice Melinoe step out of the shadows behind her.
"...Oh...Oh this is going to be good." Hermes grinned and rubbed his hands together.
"No..." Aphrodite's smile trailed off. She glared at the screen. "No! No! She'll ruin it! She'll ruin everything!"
"Wouldn't that make more drama, dear?" Rhea suggested.
Aphrodite opened her mouth to retort, paused, and then shut her mouth. A smile, blindingly bright, spread across the goddess' face.
"Rhea, darling, you're a natural!"
The elder sister took one look at Alkaid's work so far before a mischievous smile stretched across her face.
"Come on, Al." Melinoe said, planting her rear in the comfy desk chair, "This is pukefest sugary. You want your girl to be dying to see you again, not make her bored out of her mind." the goddess said and grabbed the pen.
"So let's edit this baby." Melinoe said, starting to scribble her own additions to Alkaid's poem onto the flowery paper. She copied Alkaid's handwriting to put down a whole bunch of risque phrasing to spice things up to level 11.
"Man, your girl is going to be all over you after this!"
She make a quick copy for Alkaid to see, and sent the original off via Rhip.
"...Oh, this will be glorious." Aphrodite smirked coyly.
Hades drummed his fingers on the arm of his throne, a scowl on his face.
"Brother, you're radiating fear."
"Hera...Does it look like I care right now?"
The Queen of the gods shook her head, unable to comprehend why her brothers and husband were so defensive over their daughters' promiscuity.
"I speak out of worry for the demigods," Hera said, gesturing to the paling or shivering forms seated not far from them.
"..." Hades remained quiet, but did his best to reign in his temper once he saw that even Nico and Hazel were showing mild signs of being affected.
"-and then Melinoe ruined it!" Alkaid explained the situation to Makaria over some hot chocolate. "I was aiming for something sweet, but she made it crass and racy instead. And then she sent it! I'm so embarrassed now I don't think I can ever show my face to Daphne again!"
"There, there, Alkaid." Makaria comforted as she awkwardly patted her little sister on her back. "I'm sure it couldn't have been that bad."
"It is." Alkaid declared morosely, holding out the copy to her sister. "Here see for yourself. Mel left a copy to taunt me."
Makaria quickly looked over the poem and blushed deeply, "Oh my!"
"You see what I mean?"
The older sister could only nod, too flustered to respond more meaningfully.
"Oh, she gets flustered over the smallest of things," Aphrodite said with a frown. "Tell me what it says! I want to rate it personally!"
The two sisters sat in an uncomfortable silence for a while after that, one that was eventually broken by Makaria who tentatively offered, "Maybe your girlfriend will, er, like it?"
Alkaid just shot her sister a disbelieving look. "Daphne is a proper young lady, she wouldn't be into such crude wording."
"Ten bucks says she gets off on dirty talk."
"Hermes!" Hestia glared at Hermes.
"What? It's a fair bet! Being cooped up and forced to behave properly like that."
Weeks later when Alkaid met up with Daphne again she'd ask about the damning letter, only to learn to her own mortification that Daphne had chosen to keep it. When pressed about why she would do that, her girlfriend just blushed and refused to say anything.
"Called it!" Hermes gloated.
"Melinoe seems to have a good grasp on these things," Aphrodite said thoughtfully.
Hades rubbed his head. "Can we just continue? Please?"
"We suffered, brother." Poseidon began with a smirk.
"Share our pain," Zeus finished, also smirking.
"I hate you both."
"I wanna read," Leo said while the gods were arguing. He stifled a yawn and cracked open a can of Diet Coke that appeared beside him with a sticky note on it.
Annabeth, who saw the note, grabbed it from the floor and read from it.
"'The one thing Mr. D. get's right every time; all you need to enjoy a day is a nice, refreshing Diet Coke. MatPat and Seer approved.' ...Who's MatPat?" she asked.
"That...is a good question," Dionysus said under his breath.
YAY! I'm back!
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