WHASSUP EVERYBODYY! It feels like ages. My WiFi's been on some mad s***, so I couldn't update on anything. Both Wattpad and FFNet weren't letting me publish anything on my mobile data either. So here's a chapter for both books! (Yes, I copied and pasted this A/N from my other book, and no, I don't care).
Lionking712: I don't really have an update schedule to be honest. I'll just have some free time all of a sudden and start panicking that I've not written anything in ages and do a chapter, or I'll update kinda regularly. Depends on how busy I am, really.
HumanGuy66: Yeah, sorry it's gonna be Pertemis. Most of, if not all, of my stories will be. It doesn't make much sense now, yeah, but Percy will go back to the normal world, and that's when it'll happen. Glad to see you're enjoying it!
"Why... Why in Hades' name would I do that?" Percy yelled. "Do I look like I want to be burned alive? What type of idea is that?"
Phlegethon raised an eyebrow at him. "So you just assumed that it's only Styx's river that gives you benefits if you swim in it?" He asked, smirking.
"Well... Yeah?" Percy trailed off, realising his mistake. "Uh, sorry. What will happen?"
Phlegethon continued to splash the river with his feet, accidentally kicking some firewater up onto the riverbank. "Well... You'll become fire resistant, for one. I know that your parentage makes you slightly immune to flames, but my river will make you totally immune to fire and harmful heat. You'll be able to summon fire armour like mine, and make small explosions with your hands. Also, you'll be able to summon Phlegethon water from nothing."
Percy's eyes almost popped out. "THAT'S AMAZING! WHY HAS NOBODY SWUM IN YOUR RIVER YET?"
The god of the river beside them winced and looked at his feet sullenly, his fiery mood disappearing. "It's a bit of a sore point for me, actually. Me and Styx put out the rumours about our rivers' blessings at the same time, but anyone through the ages that was brave enough would rather swim in a river with black water than one with literal fire in it. Can't blame them, really." He said, muttering it so quietly that Percy had to strain to hear it.
"Eventually, everyone forgot that there was even a benefit to swimming in my river, only just remembering that mortals who drank from it would be able to withstand the atmosphere here." He said sadly. Then his happiness bounced back, much like Apollo's would. "So, will you try it?"
"Yeah, I will." Percy murmured, taking his shirt off again. "Do I have to focus on a mortal point, or..."
"Nah, it's not making you invulnerable or anything, so there's no need for anything like that. All you have to do is stay under the surface for over ten seconds." Phlegethon said eagerly. He's like a kid on his birthday, Percy thought.
Percy stretched his hand out to touch the firewater, but immediately snatched his hand back as the flowing river erupted next to it. An explosion happened right where his hand had been, looking like a miniature version of the solar flares Percy had seen pictures of in one of his old schools.
Styx snorted in laughter. "Oh just do it, Percy stop being such a little bi-!"
She stopped in surprise as Percy steeled himself and suddenly dived in, not even giving them any warning. Phlegethon immediately started counting, and Styx raised both her eyebrows in approval. Honestly, she'd expected Percy to need to take at least an hour or two to prepare his mind for the ordeal. Maybe he'd been through so much that this didn't even seem so dangerous to him anymore.
Whatever the case, Percy Jackson must be just as tough as he appears, she thought admiringly.
Meanwhile, under the fiery surface of the Phlegethon, Percy was panicking. He'd jumped in, but he couldn't feel anything. It was strange. Actually, he could feel something now! The liquid around him was...cool?
Then Percy realised that the firewater was so blisteringly hot that it had literally overloaded his nervous system. He hadn't felt the sensation fully the first time, being half dead and delirious, and he wished he couldn't feel it now either. It almost made him respect Annabeth a little again, realising she bore the pain to give him some as well.
I wonder if it's been ten seconds yet, Percy thought absentmindedly. If you ignore the fact that you're probably being burnt alive, this is quite peaceful. I'm sure Phlegethon will give me a sign when I pass the time, anyway.
On the bank of the river, Phlegethon scratched his head in confusion. "It's been half a minute already. Is he trying to prove a point or something?"
Styx, who had been rubbing the two hellhounds necks, suddenly looked up and smacked him. "You idiot! He's waiting for a sign from you, obviously!"
Phlegethon's mouth made an 'O' in surprise, then he turned and made a small whirlpool in the river. Immediately, Percy shot out of the firewater like a cannonball, flying about twenty feet in the air then landing unsteadily. He almost fell to the side, but the hellhounds, who had seemingly decided to stick with him, were suddenly there to support him.
"Ow... Did it work?" Percy muttered. Phlegethon nodded proudly in response.
"Well done, Percy, first to receive the blessing of Phlegethon!"
Percy rolled his eyes. "Another title? As if I didn't have enough already..."
Phlegethon laughed. "Now, I was thinking of something as you were down there. Percy, w-would you like to join our family?"
Percy looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean?"
Phlegethon looked at his feet. "Well, although all us gods of the five rivers are all siblings, but we barely see Lethe, Cocytus or Acheron. Honestly, it gets kinda lonely with just me and Styx. So would you like to be our brother as well?" He asked in a rush. Styx looked at him hopefully as well.
Percy threw his arm around the god's shoulder. "Of course, bro."
Phlegethon laughed and bro hugged him. Then he turned to Styx sternly. "Now, I believe you have something to do for Percy?" He said with a scolding frown.
Styx huffed. "Yes, yes, I'm sorry." She waved her hand over Percy, and he felt himself get stronger. "There's your invulnerability back. You'll also be able to summon Styx water, you just didn't know about it the first time."
Percy smiled. "So I don't need to swim in the river again? Yes!" He teased.
"Oh? And what's so bad about my river? Too painful for you?" Styx teased back.
"Nah, it stinks in there, that's all." Percy said cheekily, and immediately started running before Styx, who was too busy laughing, could catch him.
He turned around after running for about ten metres, but was immediately bowled over by the two hellhounds, who thought he was trying to play with them. Percy laughed.
"Hmm, I should probably give you two some names, huh?" He asked, as Styx and Phlegethon came over.
He examined them both. One's fur was all pure black, and it looked extremely solemn and tough, with scars.
The other had a mouth that was arranged more in a wide snarling grin. It's fur was a green so dark that at a glance it appeared to black, but it faded into a dim red colour on its head. It's eyes looked like it was always calculating something.
"Uh, Styx?" Percy asked. The goddess looked at him curiously. "Hellhounds don't appear to have privates, so how am I supposed to find out their gender?"
Phlegethon snickered. "Why don't you check if it has them again, maybe with your han-" He was interrupted as Percy pushed him backwards into his own river, and both the demigod and Styx burst into laughter.
Styx then turned to him. "Those are both males. Don't ask me how I know, maybe it's because I spend so much time in Tartarus." She said in answer to his earlier question.
Percy nodded in understanding. "I see. In that case..." He pointed at the hellhound on his left, the tough one with black fur. "I'll call you Jotaro." Then he rubbed the head of the hellhound on his right. "And you'll be Noriaki."
(JoJo references let's gooo ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
The hellhounds nuzzled into his hands, and Percy looked at them in surprise. Yes, he'd known Mrs O'Leary, but apart from her, he really didn't think hellhounds could be capable of showing such affection to a demigod.
Percy sat cross legged for a while with the two dogs, ignoring his hunger. Phlegethon and Styx sat down behind and to the sides of him, all three leaning their backs back against each other. And, so, Percy gained a new family.
Suddenly, Percy heard footsteps approaching. He drew out Riptide in pen form and was about to flick the cap off, but Phlegethon stopped him. "Don't. You'll enjoy this, I'm sure." The fiery god said.
Percy put Riptide away immediately. He now completely trusted the two gods with him. And his trust was vindicated.
Two large figures walked out of the red dog near them, talking. One of the figures had something curled up on their shoulder, and as Percy looked at the silhouettes inquisitively, he suddenly realised who it was.
"D-Damasen? And Bob?" He murmured, tears already streaking down his cheeks already.
Phlegethon nudged him in the side. "Go to them, already." He said quietly.
Percy slowly got up, then he covered the fifty or so metres between them in around four seconds. He crashed into Bob's back, hugging him tightly. "I can't... I can't believe you guys are fine... Bob! Damasen!" He cried, his tears soaking into the back of Bob's shirt.
Bob, only feeling something crash into his back and start making it wet, thought it was a monster, and in a second had already stepped away and was swinging his broom spear. But then he stopped as Small Bob jumped from his shoulder to curl up the figure's head, showing that he trusted him.
Bob and Damasen took a closer look, and suddenly, "PERCY?" Exploded from both of their mouths. Percy looked up at them, tears still coursing down, and nodded once.
Both of them converged on him, covering him in a massive hug. "We missed Percy!" Bob shouted. Soon, all three of them were sobbing.
But suddenly, Damasen stepped back. "Percy... How are you back here? Did the thing at the Doors not work?" He said sadly.
That made Percy cried even harder. The story was hard enough to tell when he was in a calm state of mind.
"L-Later, I'll t-tell you later." Percy muttered. "How did y-you guys survive?"
Bob looked at him proudly. "Tartarus was happy with Bob and Damasen!" He said, wiping his face unashamedly.
Percy tilted his head. "How? Why? What?" He asked, confused. He too was wiping away tears.
"My father, Tartarus, was disappointed in me because I refused to fight." Damasen said solemnly. "So when your inspiration drove me to fight, he was proud. It may not have been on his side, but he viewed it as a start." Damasen said solemnly.
Percy gave a watery smile. "Wow... H-Have you met Styx and Phlegethon?" He asked, pointing at his new brother and sister.
The gods in question came over and greeted Percy's two old friends, smiling cheerfully at the reunion they'd just witnessed. As they all walked back to Damasen's house, Styx told Bob and Damasen what had happened to Percy in an undertone, while Phlegethon kept him distracted with the hounds.
Soon, they reached Damasen's hut, and Percy smiled. It was clear Bob had been hard at work on the house. The small shack -well, small for a twenty foot tall giant- now looked a lot stronger, the spaces between the bones and leather now filled with the reddish rock that could be found everywhere in Tartarus. There was a new extension, also made of the rocky material, and Percy guessed that was where Bob lived.
They all went inside, and Damasen thanked the two gods for helping his friend. Then, Bob had an idea. "Why not have the gods stay with us, Damasen?" He asked cheerfully.
Damasen raised an eyebrow. He'd already defied his fate of fighting the gods, he might as well do more. "Why not?"
Phlegethon and Styx smiled gratefully. "Wow, thanks!" Phlegethon said. "It gets kinda boring hanging out in the river all the time."
Styx made an extension to the side of Damasen's place, creating it out of Styx water and then solidifying it. Phlegethon did the same thing behind her's, although the flames seemed to be harmless.
Percy looked at his hands. The power to summon water from the Styx and Phlegethon, huh? Let's try it.
Percy stretched out his hands, and simply concentrated.
