Chapter 32
-Back at the Cave-
Remleon scratched his head with his free hand as he was confused on what the do. Currently, his other hand was carrying the skull like head of the god (Dysnomia), he had just fought and defeated in relatively fast time.
The gods head that was usually on fire at all times was currently completely lifeless, his hair now a dark blue, as if the flame had been put out.
The gods eyes sockets were usually glowing with green dots, but now they were completely black and empty.
Remmy, though, was seemingly unbothered. Some of his hair was a little burnt but he didn't seem to mind. In all honesty, he was a little annoyed that his fight was so easy, but he moved on.
Though, he hadn't killed the god, not yet at least.
He raised the beings head and held it in front of his own.
"Wake up." He commanded, and after a second of silence, the god flared back to life, the flames raging hotter then ever.
Remmy, however, didn't react, his grip not loosening at all despite the unearthly flames on his hand.
"Your awake, good." He said blandly.
"What do you want." Spit our the god, but he didn't actually speak, instead a voice just rang in Remleon's head.
"Where are your siblings? I'm kinda in the mood for something...more, and I don't have anything to keep me busy..." the wolf's eyes dilated, turning into an odd yellow color.
"Or else I don't think I can contain myself." He finished with slight fangs protruding from his mouth.
It was the first time he revealed his devilish teeth since the day Percy had chased down the Teumessian fox.
Though it may seem stupid, but Remleon hadn't used his teeth in battle ever since Ancient Greece, only ever showing them for intimidation purposes (something he still rarely did).
Dysnomia let out something that resembled a laugh.
"The fangs of Agreceon, once regarded as the most terrifying weapons in all of Greece. As I remember, the last time you used them was against your very own-"
Remleon tightened the grip on the gods head, threatening to crush his skull. "Watch your mouth." He growled.
"Do not try your mind games. And answer my question, where are your siblings." Repeated Remmy.
Dysnomia contemplated before speaking. Usually he would try and provoke an enemy, but he knew better then to try the wolf.
"Your mistaken if you think I will turn on my brethren because of your threats." Said the god.
"But if you truly desire something to peak your interest, I may have the thing for you." Said the god.
Remmy raised a brow.
"And what is that?"
"Join us, wolf." Said the god inside Remmy's head.
Remleon was caught a little of guard.
He quickly recovered though, "Thats not exactly how things work. I'm not a god."
Dysnomia scoffed. "Not the Androktasiai, wolf, but something much greater. A non divine being like yourself within our ranks would be much appreciated.
Young Master Luke would truly be happy if you were to join us." He said.
Remleon was confuse by the last part.
"Young master who? But besides that, you still haven't explained what exactly I'm supposed to join."
"I cannot explain it all right now, wolf, but just know that we may share a common enemy." He said mysteriously.
"And that is?"
"The Olympians."
Remmy furrowed a brow.
"Did I hear you right? Because I could've sworn you said you want to start a fight with the most powerful beings alive."
The god chuckled.
"You will find that our allies are more competent then you may think. It would be foolish to turn down this offer. As well as, we have something you want."
"What do you mean by that?" Asked the wolf. To his knowledge he didn't particularly want anything at this moment.
"Your hunter friend, the one you killed with your own hands. We can bring her back, only if you were to-" the god was cut off by the wolf's tutting.
"I've heard enough. I have no interest in joining you, so if that's all you have to say I think I'm done with you." Unlike how the god had planned, Remmy was completely unfazed by his offer, despite it involving something he still held dear.
The god let out a low growl. "If you choose to be difficult, then so be it, I will simply have to dispose of you!" As the god spoke, the cave erupted into flames once more.
Remmy, however, was unfazed like usually. The boy simply gripped down, and a second later, the cave went still as the gods skull was completely crushed.
Remleon threw the head onto the ground, only for it to crumble into dust and get blown away.
"That's five now, isn't it?" He said to himself.
"Well now that that's over... you can come out now." He called out to the being who was obviously watching him this entire time.
~Some Place Else-
A man sat in his throne, intensely focused on the scene in front of him. It wasn't too surprising, however, because the being was in a completely empty void, seemingly floating on the nothingness.
He was currently focused on a portal like "window" into the mortal world, looking much like an Iris message, but this was different, it was one sided, and much much older.
Inside the portal of sorts was a single being, a Lycanthrope, standing in the middle of a cave. The man on the throne had just seen said wolf kill a god, something that amazed even himself, in all of his power.
However, the man was truly surprised when the being noticed his presence, despite the mask he had put on. It should have been impossible for even an Olympian to sense him (off guard of course), but the mere monster had just done so.
"Well now that that's over, you can come out." Said the wolf.
The man in the throne scowled. He had let his guard down so much so that a monster (an impressive one to be fair), had sensed him.
The being quickly corrected himself though, using his powers to hide himself so that even the most keen gods would not sense him.
Thankfully it worked.
The wolf shrugged.
"Hmmm, guess my ears are playing games on me." He said to himself, twitching the ears that protruded from his silver crown of hair. "I kinda look stupid now, huh."
The man relaxed in his chair. He was scared that he had blown his cover, but thankfully the wolf hadn't trusted his instincts, or else the mans plan would've fallen to pieces.
The gods thoughts were interrupted as the wolf started walking out of the cave, simply strolling out, and of course he was completely off guard yet again.
"Quite an interesting case, I just hope he stays on this path...
But for now, we have other matters to attend to." The god swiped his hand and the portal in front of him shifted revealing another being, one that had also just killed a god.
"Ahh, the centerpiece. You recovered from your fight hastily, but sadly I don't think you'll have much time to revel in your victory." The god said, watching the boy in the vision.
Little did the god know how true his words were, sadly, for the demigod.
~Line Break~
I washed my face as soon as I finished cleaning my arms. The cool clear water felt nice on my skin, as it was the closest thing I'd had to a shower and would be for the next couple of days, most likely.
I simply sighed at the thought.
All this demigod business was really a bother. Going out for days at a time to fight unearthly monsters, and now gods? It was annoying, even for me.
But, sadly I didn't have much of a choice, so with a heavy heart, I grabbed my ring as well as my cloak, putting them both on as I prepared to go wherever I was supposed to go.
I walked back into the direction I had came, planning on making it back to the camp to regroup with my "team."
It was really funny, to be honest. The son of death and the worst monster on Olympus, teaming up with the lieutenant of the hunt herself.
Honestly, I didn't believe that I would have much love for either of the two, but for some reason there was something that had drawn me to them, as if I was supposed to be with them. It really didn't make sense.
Remmy had beaten me to a pulp countless times and Zoe had tried to do the same, even while we had previously fought side by side, but something about each of them made me forget about that.
I shook my head. All that matter now was killing the Androktasiai, and I needed Zoe and Remmy for that, so as long as those gods were alive, it was my job to keep those two alive as well.
Though, I was pretty sure that they could protect themselves, I still took it upon myself to do so.
My thoughts were interrupted though by a sudden change in the wind around me, putting me off.
I whipped out my scythe immediately and scanned the area, looking for the cause of the change.
The leaves around me kicked up as the winds lifted them up, swirling in a cyclone.
Only a second later, a being appeared from the sky's and landed gracefully yet forcefully in the space in front of me.
I put down my scythe as I quickly recognized the being.
"Limos? What...what are you doing here?"
The goddess looked up with a piercing gaze, instantly making me take a step back.
A thought popped into my head as I met the goddesses gaze. I had just killed her brother, after agreeing to go easy.
"I'm here as part of our agreement, Perseus." She said with a soft voice.
Though there was no way she should've known, I knew that Limos was aware of exactly what had gone down between me and Riyu.
Though I didn't regret my actions, a small part of me didn't feel right.
"Look, Limos, I didn't really want to-"
"Stop, Perseus, there's no point. You did what you thought was best, so we move on." She said, a single tear dropping down her face.
I noticed that she was still calling me Perseus, despite me telling her not to. I guess it was my fault, but it didn't feel right to me.
"Ok." I said, defeated. There was no point into fighting with her when I was the reason she was like this.
"So, what exactly are you here for?" I asked, trying to change the subject.
Limos advances on me, spreading her wings. The goddess shot something from her right wing, too fast for me to see what.
Somehow she caught it in her own and raised it to my face.
"This is a feather from my very own wing. As you know from personal experience, each one is strong enough to kill most demigods with a single well placed throw." She said.
A thought popped into my head as we were face to face. If the god really wanted to, I would be dead right now.
I pushed the thought to the side before responded.
"And I'm assuming you don't, mean to use it on me?"
"No, that would be a waste. Take it."
"What?" I asked.
"You heard me, I want you to take it." She said.
I hesitantly reached out and grabbed the feather, and immediately I felt a jolt run through my body.
I turned the thin object in my hands, and the longer I held it, the weirder I felt.
"Why are you giving this to me?" I asked, breaking out of the trance that I didn't know I was falling in to.
"Don't go back to your camp, you won't find your companions there." She said, ignoring my question.
I didn't really know how she knew I was going back, but I didn't question it. "What do you mean they won't be at the camp?"
"They have there own path to follow Perseus, something that neither of us can change. But even if you could help them, you are not in the position to do so." The goddess stuck her hand out, asking for her feather back.
I handed it back and immediately I felt like a weight hat been lifted off my shoulders.
"This feather, it's cursed. To most people, it weighs a couple of tons, but to those with...with good hearts it's meant to be almost weightless."
My eyes went wide.
"Are you saying-"
"I was a little doubtful, Perseus, even before the incident with Riyu. You, you have good intentions, but I think your sights are clouded." She said.
"But now I know that your more or less trust worthy."
I hesitated before responding.
"And what would've happened if my heart wasn't 'pure'?" I asked.
Limos smirked a bit. "Well let's just move on from that. But anyways, I didn't just come here to test you, demigod." She said, trying to slickly change the subject.
I decided to let it go, or else we may have been here for a long time.
"As I was sayin, Perseus, I have information for you, some that will help you...us end all of this." She said.
I perked up a bit. "You mean to say I can actually survive all of this? Let's hear it."
The goddess snapped her fingers and the air in between us shifted. Soon, the image of one of the Androktasiai appeared, one I recognized.
"That's..."
"Pseudea." She confirmed. "Or Noir, as he liked to go by, apparently. One of the olderest Androktasiai, and personally my least favorite. Though he is my brother, I hold little love for him." She said.
"But to get to the point, he is the one you should be focusing on. With him out of the way, the others will lose the drive to go for you, hell, some may even end up liking you."
I scoffed at the idea. Going from wanting me dead to my friend? But it wouldn't be the first time that had happened.
Limos continued.
"Currently there are three people who are trying to take leadership among the Androktasiai. Those are Pseudea, Riyu, and Algea."
I thought back to Eris's little lesson, and how the three mentioned were the most powerful among the group, so I guess this makes sense.
"Riyu only wanted you dead, and Algea seemingly wanted to toy with you, I'm not too sure, but Pseudea, he wanted something different." She said.
"I don't know why, but he wanted you alive, and he convinced the others to follow him. He only ones who didn't were Riyu and myself, but right now he believes I still stand by him.
The truth is though, he is planning something, involving something much greater, and he needs you for his plan to work."
"And what exactly is this plan of his?" I asked. I didn't see what it could have been if it invoked me, alive, and without the stone of souls.
Limos shook her head. "I don't know, but I've heard him talking to some mysterious people. From what I gather, he is working with or for someone, someone much stronger then even him.
I don't know how, but these people seem to be aiming for something much more ambitious then simply your head on a platter, and apparently want to make enemies with even the Olympians." She said, surprising me.
I wasn't a Greek mythology expert or anything, but from what I know, not many people could stand up to a single Olympian, let alone all of them.
From what I know, only Children of Gaea could, but I don't think those even existed anymore.
"That's, a lot to take in." I said finally. "And you want me to stop this from happening?" I asked. "I still don't see what you gain."
"You don't seem to understand, Perseus, but unlike my fellow siblings, I actually have common sense. I know who to make enemies of, and I know that the Olympians are not on that list. I simply wish to keep things from getting out of hand, and I need you for this to work, so please, do you mind helping me?" She asked, putting out her hand.
I looked at her surprisingly small hand and back at her, skeptical. I really didn't want to get anywhere near involved with the Olympians, and didn't think that would end well for anyone, but I still needed to deal with the Androktasiai, at least. I also couldn't really say no with the way Limos was looking at me.
She had a surprisingly cute face for a girl with 4 wings and killer claws, but I pushed the thought to the side, slightly embarrassed.
I reached out and gripped the gods hand, shaking it.
"I guess I have to accept, right? But first, you have to tell me where I can find Noir, I'm tired of wandering around aimlessly."
The goddess smiled for a second, but tried to contain it.
"Straight to business as usually I suppose.
But if you want to find Pseudea there are three places that he would be."
The goddess snapped her fingers and a rolled up scroll appeared in her hand.
"This is a map of Vegas. Three spots are marked.
The MGM Grand Hotel, the Wynn Hotel, and Palms Place, some of the the grandest buildings in all of America, befitting of a god." She said with a little spite in her words.
"You'll have to go to each if you want to guarantee find the god, but he is more than likely going to be at one of them." She said.
"Are you ready?"
I grabbed the map from the gods hands and put it in my pocket. "As ready as I can be, really." I said bluntly.
The goddess smirked. "Well then, I'm guessing your not trying to waste your time, right." She said, spreading her wings.
"Oh, and I forgot to mention. Currently your in a magical woods, of sorts, made by Riyu with his dying breath, as I kinda of final "screw you".
My guess is that it'll take you a couple of days to get out of it, at least." She said.
"Wait what?!"
Limos smiled. "Good luck, and watch out for the monsters!" She said before launching off into the air, creating a swirling gust of wind around us.
Just as she left my vision, I heard a ominous growl behind me.
"Damn it." I said before taking out my scythe. I guess this is what I get for messing with a god, huh. This would be something Riyu would do.
Before I could finish my thoughts, a massive snake launched at me from the woods. Before it could get close enough, though, I slashed upwards and cut it in half, slashing through its belly.
"This is going to be long..." I decided. With a heavy sigh, I threw my scythe over my shoulder and embarked into the woods.
Little did I know that what I was dealing with right now was much, much better then the hell my companions were going through.
True to his nature, after killing a god, Remleon simply threw its corpse away and already started walking out of the cave before the corpse could turn to dust.
Though at this time, Remmy actually had something on her mind.
From what he gathered, the Androktasiai for some reason wanted him and maybe Perseus on there side. He didn't exactly know what their side was, but he didn't think it was a good one.
Remmy knew his limits, and a problem with the Olympians far exceeded them.
The wolf was lost in thought as he walked through the woods, trying to make sense of what he just heard. He was only interrupted when he got a feeling in his ears.
The wolf whipped his head around and scanned the area around him. He felt like he was being followed, but thought maybe his instincts were off, like back at the cave (though he didn't know that he was actually right).
He felt a wind blow through the clearing, but decided to let it go.
The boy turned around only to find the face of a ghostly figure directly in front of, staring into his soul.
Without hesitation, Remmy swiped a paw at the shade, and immediately made it dissipate into thin air.
The smoke of the shade floated away, going deeper into the thick of the woods. Remmy shrugged, and followed the smoke, slightly on guard.
After almost losing the smoke, Remmy eventually broke through the woods and found a large lake in front of him, a single being sitting at the other side of it.
Despite himself, the wolf shivered as chills went through his body. The fact he had shown weakness made him put off already, plus the fact that he was irritated already.
"Who are you?" Asked the wolf.
The being at the other end of the lake, a hooded a hooded figure, relatively short, stood up.
"Come here, wolf." Said a voice, definitely female. It didn't really sound hostile, but it wasn't exactly too nice.
Instead of replying, Remleon took a single step, and with all his power, he launched himself all the way across the water, causing it to launch up into the air.
In seconds, the wolf closed the distance and approached the being, attempting to grab its head and slam them down.
However, before her could make contact, Remleon was stopped.
Appearing from seemingly nowhere, two shades equipped with long spears caught the wolf and repelled him back, protecting the hooded figure.
"Hmm?" Said the figure, but yet again, the wolf attacked once more.
He grabbed one of the shades spears and twirled it around and slashed it through the other one, making it blow up in a puff of smoke.
Within the next second the wolf had already jammed his paw inside the remaining shades stomach, making it disappear just like the previous one.
Usually, at a time like this, Remleon would try and listen before making a move, but something inside of him was craving blood, and he felt to need to satisfy it.
But, before he could follow up his attack, he felt what felt like 4 blades pushed up against his neck, holding him in place.
Though he could probably get out of the sword lock, something snapped in his head and he felt himself calm down a little bit.
Then again, it may have been because he had multiple blades to his neck by shades that seemed to not die.
"Ready to listen?" Asked the being, a little pride in her voice.
"Who are you." Replied Remmy.
"I suppose I shouldn't expect manners from you, right, wolf? But if you just know, my name is Lethe, a goddess of the underworld."
Remmy's ears perked up a bit. Lethe... she was probably the most well known Androktasiai, not particularly strong but her abilities were exceptional, based of this little encounter.
"And one of the Androktasia." Continued the wolf.
"Yes, one of the Androktasiai, though I rarely involve myself with my brethren as I'm usually in the underworld.
"And what brings you here, outside of the underworld, goddess?" Asked Remmy. "I'm assuming it has something to do with you retrieving the head of my friend?"
The goddess laughed a little bit at the wolf's words. "Do not worry, wolf, because depending on how my little expedition goes, I may return back to the underworld without blood on my hand." Said the goddess.
"So exactly what do you expect from me, Lethe?"
"Your memories." She said blatantly, catching the wolf off guard, surprisingly.
"My what?"
"You heard me, wolf, I want your memories, specifically the ones involving a certain huntress." She said, taking a step closer.
Remleon instinctively tried to back up, but found that he couldn't because of the blades at his neck. The boy was defensive simply off the gods words.
Usually, even bringing up his past wouldn't faze him, but recently it was different, maybe due to his dreams or something...
"What do you mean you want my memories? Watch yourself, goddess!" Barked out Remmy, but Lethe simple laughed in response.
"I am not here to be hostile, wolf, but I can be. I simply mean that I want the power, your memories contain.
You see, as the goddess of forgetfulness, the more memories people forget, the stronger I become. But with memories that have great emotions behind them, the boost I get is unimaginable." She said, raising a hand to make contact with the wolf, but he let out a low growl, making her back up.
"You know, I've been trying to get you to forget about the things that occurred back then ever since it happened, but something about you made me unable to do so.
But now, I ask you, will you give up your memories for the safety of your new friend, Perseus Jackson?"
"This has nothing to do with Percy."
"Ahh, but it does.
You see wolf, right now my brother expects me to be by his side as he prepares to face off against young Perseus. With me along with my brother, Perseus will surely perish." She said.
"But to me, that is just too boring. The only reason that I had agreed to my foolish brothers plan is because I believed I would gain power, but now that I know of his plan, I do not see it working, and must think of another way to acquire power.
You see, wolf, with your memories, not only will I become stronger then the other Androktasiai, but I will also become the strongest of the underworld rivers, letting me earn more respect then I've ever had before." She finished.
"So will you satisfy my needs for the safety of Perseus, and even the hunter Zoe Nightshade? Or will you selfishly hold on the relics of the past for your own personal gain." She said.
The wolf was in a rough place, physically and mentally. He was met with a tough choice, but he knew he couldn't give up his memories, even if that meant Percy may suffer.
Remleon took a deep breath and composed himself, finally coming to a decision,
"So, what will it be, wolf?"
Remleon slowly opened his eyes to reveal a bright yellow gleam that would make even the fiercest of warriors falter.
"Wha-?"
Before the goddess could finish, Remleon lunged forward, ignoring the shades, letting them deeply cut through his neck, but he pushed through it.
Remmy grabbed the gods head and jumped forward before crashing down and slamming her head down into the floor, forming a small crater.
Before she could recover, Remleon lifted her up and span around, launching the goddess at the four shades, making them all disappear upon impact like bowling pins.
The goddess slowly got up, but before she could do anything, she found the wolf's claws directly in her throat.
However, sadly for the the wolf, last second Lethe had summoned one more shade that plunged a spear into the wolf's back, going straight through it and making silver blood gush out from his stomach.
Though most monsters didn't even bleed, if they did it was usually either red or black, but due to reasons only a few were aware of, Remleon bled silver, something odd for a being who was only weak to said metal.
But nonetheless, he was bleeding, but thankfully he was able to use his free hand to take care of the shade, making the spear disappear, leaving behind a hole in his body.
"Give me a reason to not make you disappear just like those shades." Said Remleon, pressing a claw into the gods neck.
"Listen! I will return to the underworld and you will never see me again, I promise! Do you know how long it will take for me to reform, plus how mad Lord Hades will be?" She begged the wolf.
After a second of deliberating, he decided to let Lethe go. Though he had bested her here, it would be annoying to have to deal with her revenge attempt in the future.
"Get out of my sight." Said the wolf, and soon after the words left his mouth, the goddess disappeared.
Remmy waited for a second, making sure the goddess had completely left.
After he confirmed he was alone, the wolf dropped backwards to the floor, barely able to catch himself with his arms.
He reached one hand up to his chest and felt the gaping hole that seemed to get wider by the second. The wolf coughed up some more silver blood as he was wondering what to do with the wound.
Though his healing factor was insane, it would take much more then time for this to simply go away. Of course though, if this was a normal human, or even a demigod, they would immediately have died seconds after the attack, but Remleon didn't really need things like organs or hearts to survive, but they helped.
Remmy ran a hand through his hair that was slowly returning to its usual brown/black color. It was like his bodies way of telling him he was getting tired.
To be fair, he was only half Lycanthrope, so the fact he could even transform was impressive, plus to the extent that he could.
Nonetheless, he was still incredibly vulnerable and even he knew that he could be as relaxed as usual. He either had to find Percy or a place to rest.
Or he could find Zoe, but truth be told he didn't much like spending time with the huntress, it brought up bad memories.
After a second of trying to think of a plan, Remmy came to a conclusion.
"Well this sucks."
With a heave, the wolf forced himself upwards to his feet, stumbling a bit, but he managed.
"I really gotta stop getting myself in these positions." He said as he hobbled out of the clearing, past the lake and back into the woods.