Short A/N
Things have gotten a tad… serious here. Subjects such as rape are being discussed in this chapter (merely discussed - it describes the murder trial of Ares after the Halirrhothius-Alcippe incident). So a trigger warning, I suppose. But if the gods are taking a bigger role in this story, their characters must be explored, right?
Happy Birthday, Percy!
11:30 PM
Penny
When Percy stormed off and disappeared, and Penny was left with a weak, asleep Annabeth, she realized it was her duty to stay with the girl and take care of her until Percy returns. She was her brother's future girlfriend, wasn't she?
Sure, it wasn't talked about, but it was obvious. She took a dagger to the stomach for her brother, and when her brother told her about it, she was yet to see her twin so close to tears.
She watched the blond sleeping and wiped at the sweat on her forehead as she was clearly tormented with a nightmare. Her hair was messy around her and kept twisting around her shoulders, and her face frowned deeply.
Penny turned around to wet the cloth she used again, and was with her back to Annabeth when she woke up with a start, yelling, "no, PERCY!"
That's never good.
Penny turned around slowly, gulping, and her eyes met Annabeth's miserable grey ones. "What happened to Percy?"
"Luke - I mean Kronos -" Tears streamed down her face, "he told someone they, they have him!"
11:45 PM
When discovering that, she just felt… empty.
Got him? What does that mean?
Is he dead? Will he die? Is the world ending today, along with her heart, which will surely die with her twin?
And what was she to do?
Normally she'd cry, but again, she just felt nothing inside of her. But it was still eating at her inside, numbing her body.
When she walked out of the room, still so… empty, all those demigods, they watched her with admiration. They all chattered happily about how she defeated Hyperion, they all grinned at her and mock-saluted to her.
"Where's Nico?" She demanded from them, and they shrugged at her. "Where's Nico Di Angelo?"
"Central Park," Will Solace told her, looking up from a wounded son of Demeter. "I'd run, 'cause else he might…" and he pointed downward.
Well, she didn't mind giving Hades a visit. She could use the advice of the smart God.
01:23 AM
She was soon kneeling in front of him, Nico staring at her with wide eyes as Hades nodded and gestured for her to get up.
"Is it done, then, Lord Hades?" She asked, her eyes watching him but not really seeing. She felt darkness inside of her, she decided.
Can you feel darkness, chewing your stomach from the inside?
Tears suddenly broke the barrier and flooded her eyes. "Is he going to die then? Is Olympus preserved or razed?"
Hades shook his head slowly. "I cannot tell you, yet. But while we're still standing, we can confidently say 'no'."
"No to what?" She started seeing more clearly again, her eyes taking in Hades' reserved gaze.
"Well…" he played with his famous Helm of Darkness, "no to both. The demigod from the prophecy must die, and then it all goes down. The fact that we're still standing means it hasn't -"
"Happened yet," a smile finally brightening up her features, "he must not be dead yet. He's not dead yet!"
"No," Hades agreed slowly, "but it is… his birthday."
"But we can use the day to search for him!"
"No, Penelope," the God frowned, "We must continue to fight. We don't know the ways of the Fates, how the ultimate challenge we are to face will show itself. We must continue fighting… and you must lead the forces, now that you've won the trust of your peers."
03:07 AM
She knew she needed to sleep, so she forced herself to do so, but of course her dreams were riddled with nightmares.
Nothing about Percy, but a lot of the gods being slapped around by that giant, horrid Typhon.
Yes, that nightmare did end with her father joining the fight as he promised.
But watching Hermes shoot from the air and slam at the ground when that beast kicked him still made her heart leap from its place. The way that enormous foot hit his head, and the god opened up his mouth and roared in pain, ichor dripping from his blond curls, making them seem as if they were melting, and when he hit the ground it was so final, so absolute as he ceased to move.
09:48 AM
He's immortal, she had to remind herself as she got dressed and brushed her teeth in front of the mirror in her room, watching the black bags beneath her eyes.
He's immortal.
/
She had that treacherous hope inside of her, despite everything screaming to the contrary, to see Percy when she got out of her room.
"Is Percy really gone?" A girl from Athena's cabin shattered her hopes as she asked her with wide eyes.
Penny gulped, passing her hand through her hair. "He's not… gone, he is just missing."
"But is he dead?"
"How am I to know?" She snapped at her, "but probably no. If he was, would the world still be standing?"
Yes, she held on to Hades' words with all her might and tried to put on a brave face, because Nico wasn't well-known enough and Annabeth was still healing, so she was, apparently, to lead.
As she went down the stairs she located Nico, at last, but he was standing next to possibly the last person she wanted to see right then, when she was trying to establish her leadership.
Thalia regarded her quietly as Nico gave Penny a hug, his hand stroking her back in a soothing manner.
"Pen," he then said, "Thalia says that there's a Titan that wants to meet you -"
"Where's Percy?" Thalia cut him off in the middle of the sentence. Penny turned her head slowly to shrug, trying harder than she'd ever tried before to mask her emotions.
"He is missing, but not dead."
"How do you know that?"
"If he was dead, the world would have gone with him, or the war would be over."
"And to what are you hoping for?" Thalia asked, crossing her hands.
Penny narrowed her eyes. "I have… no time for hope. As long as I know he's alive I fight on."
"That's right!" Nico said cheerfully, too cheerfully really, and pushed Penny's back gently, "let's go meet the Titan."
And of course Thalia was coming with them.
10:24 AM
They could see the white flag from half a mile away. It was as big as a soccer field, carried by a thirty-foot-tall giant with bright blue skin and icy gray hair.
"A Hyperborean," Thalia said. "The giants of the north. It's a bad sign that they sided with Kronos. They're usually peaceful."
"You've met them?" Nico said.
"There's a big colony in Alberta."
As the giant got closer, Penny could see two human-size envoys with him: an empousa demon with a black dress and flaming hair, and a tall man in a tuxedo. The empousa held the tux dude's arm, and the group walked leisurely toward the Heckscher Playground. The swings and ball courts were empty. The only sound was a fountain nearby.
Penny turned to Nico. "Is he the Titan?"
Nico nodded slowly.
The man in the tux stepped forward. He was taller than an average human - about seven feet. His black hair was tied in a ponytail. Dark round glasses covered his eyes and the skin on his face was covered in scratches.
"Penelope Jackson," he said in a silky voice. "It's a great honor."
His lady friend the empousa hissed at her, and she couldn't decide if it was out of jealousy and possessiveness or just general hostility.
"My dear," the titan said to her. "Why don't you make yourself comfortable over there, eh?"
She released his arm and drifted over to a park bench.
"To business." The Titan extended his hand. "I am Prometheus."
Penny was surprised, but she knew better than to say anything as she shook his hand.
But Prometheus must have guessed what she held back as he winced. He touched the scratches on his face. "Please, don't mention the vultures. But yes, I stole fire from the gods and gave it to your ancestors. In return, the ever merciful Zeus had me chained to a rock and tortured for all eternity."
"But -"
"How did I get free? Hercules did that, eons ago. So you see, I have a soft spot for heroes. Some of you can be quite civilized."
Penny nodded slowly, waiting to hear him speak.
"Now, Penelope Jackson, let us parley."
He waved her toward a picnic table and they sat down. Thalia and Nico stood behind her.
The blue giant propped his white flag against a tree and began absently playing on the playground. He stepped on the monkey bars and crushed them, but he didn't seem angry. He just frowned and said, "Uh-oh." Then he stepped in the fountain and broke the concrete bowl in half. "Uh-oh." The water froze where his foot touched it. A bunch of stuffed animals hung from his belt, and he reminded Penny of Tyson, and the idea of fighting him made her sad.
Prometheus sat forward and laced his fingers. He looked earnest, kindly, and wise. "Penelope, your position is weak. You know you can't stop another assault."
That wasn't completely true… she tried not to look back at Nico.
The Underworld was yet to join the fight.
"We'll see."
Prometheus looked pained, like he really cared what happened to them. "Penny - can I call you Penny? Penny, I'm the Titan of forethought. I know what's going to happen."
"Also the Titan of crafty counsel," Thalia put in. "Emphasis on crafty."
Prometheus shrugged. "True enough, huntress. But I supported the gods in the last war. I told Kronos: 'You don't have the strength. You'll lose.' And I was right. So you see, I know how to pick the winning side. This time, I'm backing Kronos."
"Because Zeus chained you to a rock," Nico guessed.
"Partly, yes. I won't deny I want revenge. But that's not the only reason I'm supporting Kronos. It's the wisest choice. I'm here because I thought you might listen to reason."
He drew a map on the table with his finger. Wherever he touched, golden lines appeared, glowing on the concrete. "This is Manhattan. We have armies here, here, here, and here. We know your numbers. We outnumber you twenty to one."
"Your spy has been keeping you posted," Penny guessed and tried to keep her voice from shaking.
Prometheus smiled apologetically. "At any rate, our forces are growing daily. Tonight, Kronos will attack. You will be overwhelmed. You've fought bravely, but there's just no way you can hold all of Manhattan. You'll be forced to retreat to the Empire State Building. There you'll be destroyed. I have seen this. It will happen."
Prometheus spoke with such certainty it was hard not to believe him.
"Not to mention, Penny…" And his eyes, shining almost unnaturally, met hers, "not to mention your twin, Percy. As you must have guessed, he is not dead. Not yet. This is your chance to save him and reunite with him."
She felt Thalia's eyes drilling her neck as she sat back to digest that piece of information.
He offered her Percy's life?
She would give her own life for her twin gladly.
But can she give up on the entire world for Percy, to give up on the entire pantheon, on her father and mother, on Hermes -
"Ah, yes," Prometheus suddenly gave her a smile laced with amusement, "your… suitor."
She narrowed her eyes at him and that only made his smile grow wider.
"Is he your suitor yet?"
She blushed and glared at him. "I don't think this subject is relevant."
"Oh, but it is, if he is the reason you won't give in to the just side. Yes, Penelope, the just side."
"You are not the just side!" She protested as she heard Thalia whisper behind her to Nico to explain who Prometheus talked about.
"Not all Titans are bad, and not all gods are good, young demigod," Prometheus said slowly. "I can see you have a strong faith in your father and in the god of Messengers. Perhaps a memory could show you their true character."
And before she could object, his finger reached out to touch her forehead, and everything around her faded.
/
She found herself up at the Throne Room, when around her on 11 thrones, sat the huge gods. On a throne in the middle of the room, made of simple white marble, sat an enraged Ares, tapping the arm of the seat with impatience.
Hermes cleared his throat as around him everyone argued fiercely. "Right! So, this is the first Murder Trial held on Olympus, and it is against Lord Ares for killing Lord Poseidon's son, Halirrhothius -"
"Who tried to rape my daughter, Alcippe!"
"You'll get your turn, Ares," Hermes seemed more irritated at the interruption than at the claim, and that stung Penny a bit, "As it was, let's begin. Lord Poseidon?"
"Thank you, Lord Hermes," Hermes nodded and sat back down, and Poseidon stood up, giving a pointed look at Ares. "Let us make it short. Lord Ares has butchered my son for merely attempting something many of us do," she was horrified by what her father was saying, but around him many were nodding, "and to kill the boy in that way -"
"The fact that you do that a lot doesn't excuse you," Athena narrowed her eyes. Poseidon glared back at her. "I rarely side with Ares, but I have to, now. I doubt I would have spared a man attempting to rape my daughter."
"Wait just a second there, Athena -" that was Hephaestus.
"That's true, daughters are off-limits," Apollo agreed, and Penny couldn't help but notice that they didn't declare raping as off limits, just daughters of gods.
"Be honest, Poseidon," Zeus rolled his eyes, "would you have acted differently if it was the reverse?"
Her father looked as if he was tasting something sour as his mouth twisted and his eyebrows furrowed.
They continued to argue back and forth - Demeter gave an example of Zeus raping a daughter of Poseidon and how angry he was, how he punished the king of the gods, and Athena reminded her dad that he too raped a girl, and in her palace.
Penny's eyebrows moved higher and higher, especially when the time to vote came, and she noticed that Hermes fell asleep during this debate.
Was raping such a boring subject to him?
Was it because he did that often too?
They ended up sparing Ares, on the grounds of him defending his daughter's honor.
But by the end of that, Penny wanted to vomit, and wasn't too sure how much honor she had toward the "Mighty Olympians" anymore.
/
The image faded. Prometheus pulled his hand away from Penny's forehead.
"Penny?" Nico asked. "What... what was that?"
She realized she was clammy with sweat.
Prometheus nodded sympathetically. "Appalling, isn't it? The gods are selfish creatures, Penny, never after what is right. They only care about what is pleasurable, convenient, and they've been playing with mortals since the beginning of time. Can you honestly respect the fact your father possibly raped women? Can you honestly trust an Olympian, such as the Messenger God Hermes, not to do the same to you? Playthings, Penelope Jackson. To the gods, mortals are just playthings."
She was too stunned to answer.
"Penny, no," Nico warned, "he's playing with your mind. You know how Hermes feels about you. He'll never do that to you."
"But did he do that to others?" Her eyes were fearful as she turned around to Nico, who gazed back at her with helplessness.
"Do you really blame your friend Luke?" the Titan asked her. "And what about you, Penny? Will you side with such unjust beings? What's the real difference between them and the Titans? And Kronos offers you a much better deal - Olympus expects you to sacrifice your brother. Kronos offers you to pardon his life."
Penny clenched her fists. As much as she hated what Prometheus had shown her, she knew that so many people died because of the Titan, and so many people will continue to die if she went with him. She could never be selfish (like the gods were, a treacherous voice in her mind said) and sacrifice the entire world for her and her twin.
She shook her head slowly. "No. Even if the gods are selfish, I cannot be. We will stop you, and if there is just, real just in this world and beyond it, then it will pay off as it is the right thing to do."
The empousa snarled. Her hair erupted in fresh flames, but Prometheus just sighed.
"If you change your mind," he said, "I have a gift for you."
A Greek vase appeared on the table. It was about three feet high and a foot wide, glazed with black-and-white geometric designs. The ceramic lid was fastened with a leather harness.
Thalia gasped. "That's not -"
"Yes," Prometheus said. "You recognize it."
Looking at the jar, Penny felt a strange sense of fear, but she had no idea why.
"This belonged to my sister-in-law," Prometheus explained. "Pandora."
A lump formed in her throat. "As in Pandora's box?"
Prometheus shook his head. "I don't know how this box business got started. It was never a box. It was a pithos, a storage jar. I suppose Pandora's pithos doesn't have the same ring to it, but never mind that. Yes, she did open this jar, which contained most of the demons that now haunt mankind - fear, death, hunger, sickness."
"Don't forget me," the empousa purred.
"Indeed," Prometheus conceded. "The first empousa was also trapped in this jar, released by Pandora. But what I find curious about the story - Pandora always gets the blame. She is punished for being curious. The gods would have you believe that this is the lesson: mankind should not explore. They should not ask questions. They should do what they are told. In truth, Penny, this jar was a trap designed by Zeus and the other gods. It was revenge on me and my entire family - my poor simple brother Epimetheus and his wife Pandora. The gods knew she would open the jar. They were willing to punish the entire race of humanity along with us."
She didn't have to ponder too deeply on this one.
Zeus killed and raped people without much thought, that much was known throughout the entire history of the Greek World. Her father - kind to her, but was he kind in general? She wanted to be sure of that, but for him to side with his rapist son…
And Hermes… Hermes.
If you leave out all that happened with Luke, which was rather problematic in itself, even if she did believe Hermes truly loved Luke and tried to do what he could for him, well, even then, can she really, truly trust an Olympian?
How were the gods any better than the Titans?
Prometheus tapped the lid of Pandora's jar. "Only one spirit remained inside when Pandora opened it."
"Hope," Penny said.
Prometheus looked pleased. "Very good, Penelope. Elpis, the Spirit of Hope, would not abandon humanity. Hope does not leave without being given permission. She can only be released by a child of man."
The Titan slid the jar across the table.
"I give you this as a reminder of what the gods are like," he said. "Keep Elpis, if you wish. But if you decide that you have seen enough destruction, enough futile suffering, then open the jar. Let Elpis go. Give up Hope, and I will know that you are surrendering. I promise Kronos will be lenient. He will spare the survivors."
She stared at the jar, the lump in her throat very pressing, and the familiar tears threatening to fall. She didn't like temptation. Especially when it was the temptation to save her twin.
"I don't want it," she protested, pushing it back to the Titan.
"Too late," Prometheus said. "The gift is given. It cannot be taken back."
He stood. The empousa came forward and slipped her arm through his.
"Morrain!" Prometheus called to the blue giant. "We are leaving. Get your flag."
"Uh-oh," the giant said.
"We will see you soon, Penny Jackson," Prometheus promised. "One way or another."
Then the truce party turned and strolled up the lane through Central Park, like it was just a regular sunny Sunday afternoon.
01:12 PM
Back at the Plaza, the three went to Annabeth's room quietly, and once there, Thalia grabbed Penny's shoulders. "What did Prometheus show you?"
Reluctantly, she told the three about the murder trial. Thalia seemed more and more angry as she continued, pulling away from Penny and pressing at a pillow forcefully. Annabeth stared up at her while she spoke, and Penny wasn't sure if she was white from the wound or the story, and Nico never looked more uncomfortable to her as he stared deeply at the floor, his cheeks blushing.
"No one is perfect," Annabeth finally said, her finger tracing circles on the blanket covering her, "the gods are quite far from it. But as much as they may have mistreated human-kind, don't forget that during the reign of the Titans humans were only seen as fast food or cheap entertainment. As the Titan of Time, Kronos would often travel the world and speed up the lives of random humans and sadistically watch them wither up and die. Besides, there were no women during that time, the gods created them, so who knows how the Titans would be to women?"
"Not much better, I'd wager," Thalia muttered as she looked out of the hotel windows at Central Park. "Fires are still burning in the north, by the way, and who knows how many people died from those fires, just because of the Titans' efforts to weaken us? I say we fight on. Penny, can't you see we must fight on -"
"Of course I can!"
"- As just because you shouldn't date the gods does not mean it's not better to live under them?! It sure seems like male-gods are prone to… problematic behaviour. But my patron, Artemis, is just and pure, quite literally because she avoids men. It goes without saying, Penny, that if men are not always to be trusted, male Olympians are to keep away from!"
Penny was thunderstruck, really, when Thalia managed in one angry rant to disqualify her as a leader, doubt her decisions, imply her character to be weak, disregard her for falling for Hermes and insult and besmirch Messenger God's character.
"Whom I choose to date is really, truly irrelevant to this!" She yelled, standing up and glaring at the daughter of Zeus, "let's have a world to live in before we discuss such petty, irrelevant subjects! Not to mention how I'll never discuss said subjects with you, the exact opposite of me and someone who has never respected me, so please spare me from your opinion! As for fighting on, of course we will! This argument is redundant!"
"So, you're not upset with what you saw?" Annabeth asked from the bed, and Penny's anger subsided.
"I… I am," she answered, "but it's to be settled after the war. Now we should focus on winning it."
"By the way, your father did not rape Medusa, Penny," Annabeth said slowly, looking down, "it was known that she was in love with him. To the best of my knowledge, she was a priestess of my mom, and Poseidon convinced her to date him, and not only that, but they later went on a date in one of her temples. That was too much for my mom, and she took her revenge on Medusa. Me, Grover and Percy even met her, and she was deeply in love with your dad. I'm afraid that the rumor he raped her might have been spread by my mom."
Penny tried to ignore that, as she truly wanted to discuss the gods' shady character later, but that did make her feel better.
"We will fight on," she insisted again. She then turned around to Nico and Thalia. "Go to your father, Nico, and you to the Hunt, Thalia. Tell them it's all going down now, and the target is the Empire State Building. So we need to gather all our allies and protect Olympus."
02:08 PM
Nico
It was Hades' time.
Penny disappeared on her Pegasus, Black-Jack to chase a giant pig with wings, and he went to do as she said and call upon his father, but he had a strong feeling that Hades knew, and that feeling was confirmed when hundreds of skeleton-soldiers marched out of the portal of the Underworld and organized themselves in straight rows, watching him blankly.
"Umm, hello," he stammered, but then the moment sank in again and he grinned. "You are all to defend the Empire State Building! Help the demigods, and fight the monsters! Simple, right?"
Around two-hundred boney-hands raised up in a salute, and then they started to march again.
/
But even with Nico's never-dying dead skeleton-soldiers, they were not enough.
Besides them there were around 50 demigods, another 40 nature-spirits and satyrs to face what must have been 500 monsters.
Nico slashed, kicked, stabbed and slammed into the floor, but there were always more joining the fight.
At some point he discovered Penny again, and she was dirty from head to toe with monsters' ash, her eyes glancing again and again at the setting sun. "While the fighting is intense -" She yelled to him as she evaporated a giant, "- it doesn't seem like it's really going down now!"
They both heard a screech, and Penny's eyes widened at the sight of two of Apollo's children almost being crushed by another giant's fist.
"We need help here," Penny frowned as she pulled out a green whistle and blew at it, hard.
"What does it do, Pen?" He yelled to her as he helped a young satyr fight a monster.
"You'll see!" She yelled back, and indeed, he saw, when a lion the size of a truck appeared, crushing and destroying monsters as he made his way to Penny.
The beast was majestic, its fur a shiny golden color, glimmering in the orange light of the setting sun, its face proud and his ten-feet long tail flapping in the air and crushing monsters that dared to be in its way.
"Greetings, the esteemed Amyntas. Thank you for coming. Lord Hermes has given me the means to call on you," and she bowed deeply, her eyes shining with deep respect.
The giant animal eyed her deeply for what felt like minutes, before he finally bowed back. Then he turned around and started to bite, hit and strike at each monster he saw.
Their side stared shocked at the huge lion and skeleton-soldiers that continued to fight on.
At first it seemed unballanced. But the lion jumped from place to place, decimating at least 5 monsters each time, and the skeletons simply reformed each time they were hit. Soon, the demigods snapped from their shock and surged again with a new energy to them.
Soon, the last of Titan army fled, and just in time to be destroyed by a pack of 50 Centaurs, cheering and laughing and shooting arrows at any monster still standing.
"I hope I'm not too late," Chiron said as he approached them and gave Penny a hug, "but I've managed to convince my brothers, and now we shall stand with you."
"Thank you," she sounded grateful, "thank you so much."
05:56 PM
Penny
Recent events just proved to Penny that the only way to win a war was to… not do it alone.
Amyntas left after she bowed deeply again and thanked him profoundly, and now 50 fierce, though admittedly somewhat crazy Centaurs joined their side.
But she knew that the fight wasn't over, perhaps hasn't even started.
She also knew that when it picked up again, Kronos will lead the forces. While that scared her, it wasn't even half of how scared she was at the day progressing while they still haven't found Percy. It was soon 6 PM, and if they reach the end of the day and they still couldn't find him… what does that mean?! Does that mean he was dead?
Nico went to call on his dad, Thalia helped heal Annabeth some more, as the stubborn blond insisted to rejoin the fight, and Penny sat aimlessly in Central Park, staring at the cloudless skies and waiting for Nico.
The sun shone in her eyes, blindingly bright.
And in that exact moment everything around her darkened.
A/N
I didn't even plan on making this a cliffhanger, but it felt like such a perfect place to stop, haha
I don't know if there are Harry Potter fans here as well, but if you're interested I also have a new HP story about the Weasley twins going to school with Harry, and just like this story that one would be quite AU as well, so if that sounds interesting to you I'd love it if you could check it out! :D
As for this story, we're nearing the end of the first series. There is just a tiny part that I need to write, and then we reach those 14 written chapter I told you about that are already written.
So as always, give me some feedback, please? :)
I'm again too tired to reread my responses to the reviews so there might be errors. Sorry in advance :)
GreenEyedSam - Thank you so much! I actually always learn from your reviews, haha :D I didn't know that. Next time I'll write about a group of sharks I'll use 'a Shiver' for sure.
It's so flattering to know you've binge-read it so many times! Thank you so so much.
guest - Thank you so much! And you were so kind to review that twice just to make sure it's for the right chapter, so thanks for that!
Well... she used his gift in a different way ;) The thing about the twins currently is just a lot of helplessness, I think. The one thing they want to do is to rescue each other, but they know that it isn't the right thing to do. So it's a very hard place to be in. What will happen with that? Who knows...
That really was funny, wasn't it? Sometimes writing the Penny's family-Hermes interactions is almost as fun as writing Penny-Hermes interactions haha
I'm so glad to hear you like Hermes-Penny interactions, I never tire of hearing that :D As for what she decides, I really like your guess! And it might be correct :)
As for the rest of the review, well, I won't comment, but mostly because you seem to be right on money haha
Thank you so much for reviewing!
123wwww - Haha, I think he can manage one last mortal? Even if that mortal is Percy. I promise you that after that he took a long nap ;)
storp930 - No hard feelings :) Thanks for letting me know and for reading thus far.
FaeGhostReader - Thank you so much, you're so sweet! :)
ayienne - Awww it's so flattering to know you checked again and again! XD Chapter 27 was just to let everyone know chap 26 exists, so it makes sense you couldn't find it, haha
There was a major problem with the site, but they fixed it by now.
I'm so glad you liked the first day of battles. I actually haven't read the books in years either, only again recently (a read which inspired this fic, haha) so I'm with you on the subtle differences. But I can say that in the original Hyperion hasn't indeed come until later, it just made sense for me that Kronos would send another Titan to fight a possible prophecy-child while he battles her twin. And indeed, they caught on :)
EXACTLY, I'm so glad you think so as it is exactly what I aimed for. We're always told you need to be a specific kind of girl to be powerful, but Penny just does her own thing :)
Well, some of your questions were answered and I imagine you have some new ones too. As it should be, I think ;)
Thank you again so much for reviewing, I loved reading it!
Guest - Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the bridge scene and the conversation and thank you so much for sharing that :)
Sting3 - Thank you so much for reviewing again! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story :)
Heheoop - I'm so glad to hear! Did you know I've never done so myself? Not fully anyway. But I plan to! Perhaps when I finish Book 5. But thank you for telling me it does work :)
the8horcrux - Can you please always review like that? I laughed so hard. Reading your reactions is brilliant, really :D
- Haha laugh away, I know I did when writing it!
- ... You're so very right ... And don't stop on my account I thought it was hilarious... But really, don't you hate it when they don't have emotions?
Real talk for a second - I'd be fine with them just not having emotions and fighting blah blah, that works logically (a bit repetitive but whatever) but what makes it Mary-Sueish is the fact that everyone always falls in love with them as well - besides them being the best-fighter-EVA. I call bull. Even if the scary, emotionless fighter-girl is some's type, it certainly isn't a universal type, and it seems like a wish-fulfillment trope to me.
- You're probably right haha
- Yup, daughter of The Earthshaker and Stormbringer ;D
- :) X4
- Er... I'll probably reveal that at some point, maybe? ... :)
Well I love your reviews, so as always, thank you so much for sharing them with me! :)
Belle Charzar - Hey, I'm so glad you did come back! Hopefully you'll stay again and continue to surprise everyone ;)
Thank you, again, for complimenting my writing style is it's truly why I'm on this site - to test it on others and see what they think :)
Thank you thank you for the 'she's not Mary Sue', I really dislike those haha
I did have a somewhat clear image. I also write funny - I write deep into the future what I'd like to see and then build the story to reach that point :)
Ah yes, the hope in the jar. Well, it started its journey in this chapter and we'll see what's to happen next!
As for all the other guesses, I won't comment on them, but I really like your direction, it sure is interesting :D
Thank you so much for reviewing again!
Guest - I'm actually thinking about changing that, so we'll see about that.
Emily - I always like reviews from you, hello again! Thank you so much, I'm so glad you like it!