AN: Hey guys, I messed up. I've been saying Perseus has been using his brother's sword, but thank you MisguidedPenguin for reminding me Achilles' sword broke against Talos. I'm going to still have him have a sword, but it'll just be a standard one, he'll get one later somehow. Thanks so much for the feedback, and reminding me of some continuity issues. Also, I got into my ED school, yay! Hopefully I'll be able to update more consistently now. Sorry it's been a month, and I'm trying to update as much as possible, so sorry if I don't update as regularly as I used to. I'm really focused on my school work, and don't have as much time to focus on brainstorming ideas. However, I hope you guys enjoy!
Recap:
"N-no," he stuttered, glaring at Perseus, which just caused the ancient demigod to laugh.
Right when he stopped, the door opened, revealing Silena, who whistled. "Damn, Max. I had my doubts about you," she said.
Perseus smirked. "Oh, it wasn't him. It was Tyson," he said.
Silena smirked back. "Of course," she said. "Max couldn't do it without Annabeth to motivate him," she said with a smile towards Perseus before leaving the cabin.
Max turned even redder, causing Perseus to fall on the floor with laughter. After a few moments, he stood up, and looked at Tyson and Max. "While you deny your feelings, I'm going to go see the woman I love," he said, heading towards the cabin exit. "Even though she probably doesn't love me anymore."
Present:
Perseus walked around camp feeling guilty. He had been so focused on training Max that he hadn't visited Zoë once in the six months since she's been at camp. While Max and Tyson walked around camp, Percy headed towards the archery range. When he entered, he saw a silvery figure in a classic archery stance, firing arrows at inhuman speeds into the center. As sweat rolled down her face and arms, her black hair glistened. Beautiful, he thought.
As he walked towards her, Zoë turned and fired and arrow at his skull, causing Perseus to quickly dodge and cause the arrow to fly over his shoulder. "What was that for?" Perseus asked.
Zoë looked at Perseus with a furious expression. "One. Interrupting me while I'm shooting. Two. Leaving me in this infernal camp for SIX MONTHS!" she shouted, firing arrow after arrow at Perseus.
"I'm sorry, I was training my brother," Perseus retorted, constantly dodging. "You know, for the Great Prophecy where we can kill your father's master?"
Zoë stopped fired, and sighed. "Fine, Perseus. What is it?"
Perseus gave Zoë a quick smile. "I want to visit my brother in the Underworld," he lied. "You game?"
Zoë sighed. "Fine. Anything to get out of this infernal camp. Meet me in 30 minutes at Thalia's tree," she stated before turning back to the archery range.
Perseus smirked before heading back to his cabin to make a call.
TIME SKIP - 30 minutes later
Thirty minutes later, Perseus walked over to Thalia's tree and saw Zoë sitting there. "Took you long enough," she muttered. "Let's go, I can't stand this place," she said in a louder voice and headed off.
"Do you even know where to go?" Perseus asked Zoë.
Zoë stopped and turned around to face Perseus. "Of course, stupid boy. We are going to DOA studios," Zoë huffed.
Perseus frowned. I guess she hates me now, and she's going back to her hunter roots. "No we aren't," Perseus said, a smirk returning to his face. "We are going to Central Park. Hope you like music," he said, grabbing hold of Zoë's shoulder and vapor travelling them into the city. When they reached Central Park, Zoë shouldered Perseus to the ground.
"Don't touch me without telling me," Zoë snarled, ignoring the tingling feeling she felt when Perseus lightly grabbed her shoulder. Perseus just frowned and turned away, bringing out his guitar and playing a few chords.
Zoë snorted. "How's a guitar going to get us into the Underworld," she asked mockingly. Perseus just turned and gave a smirk before the stone guarding the Entrance of Orpheus moved, giving them passage to the Underworld.
"You were saying?" Perseus asked, gesturing for Zoë to go first. "Ladies first."
Zoë huffed before heading down towards the Underworld, shivering as she passed through the entrance. The two walked in silence, and Perseus forced himself not to scan his eyes over Zoë's body. He quickened his step and started walking adjacent to the former Huntress. "So...what have you been doing all these years?" Perseus asked, trying to break the ice.
"Hunting, obviously," Zoë said evenly. After a few moments, Zoë reluctantly turned to Perseus. "What about you?" she choked out.
Perseus smirked. He knew it was hard for Zoë to voluntarily converse with a man, even him. "Besides following the Hunters occasionally, I've been hunting as well. I've hunted some of the world's worst figures, including Genghis Khan, Caligula, Nero, Countess Elizabeth Bathory, and many others," he said casually, causing Zoë's eyes to widen.
"You killed Elizabeth Bathory? I knew here," Zoë said.
Perseus chuckled. "Well not very well. She supposedly had vampiric tendencies, and was a prolific serial killer. She supposedly bathed in the blood of her victims, especially virgins, to maintain her youth. What a horrible woman," he said distractedly.
Zoë scoffed. "Not all women are like that, Perseus," she snarled.
Perseus sighed. "I never said that, Zoë." he said. "Anyways, don't you want know how I followed Artemis' band of merry women?" he asked with a smirk
Zoë gave Perseus a pointed stare, before gesturing for him to continue. "Simple," he said, turning invisible in front of Zoë's eyes, causing her jaw to drop.
"How did you do that?" Zoë asked incredulously.
Perseus reappeared in front of Zoë with a smirk. "That's for me to know, and for you to dot dot dot," he said, heading towards Hades' palace, tossing Zoë a smirk.
When they reached the palace, Perseus turned to Zoë before entering the palace. "Best let me handle this," Perseus stated. "Hades owes me many favours, but I don't think I could bring someone back from the dead," he said with a chuckle before heading towards the doors, which automatically opened. Zoë huffed before following Perseus into the throne room, seeing the son of Poseidon greet the Lord of the Underworld with a quick bow.
Zoë sighed. She had feelings for the demigod, but she was confused. Did Perseus still love her? Did she still love him?
Perseus looked at Zoë, and seeing as she was distracted, he walked up to Hades. "Hello Lord Hades, I'm cashing in on one of my favours," he said nonchalantly.
Hades sighed. "Of course Perseus. What is it you require?" he said sarcastically.
Perseus smirked. "I would like one of your pearls and a trip to Elysium to see the dead Huntresses," he said with a small smile.
Hades eyes widened. "Let me get this straight. You want me to allow Zoë to enter Elysium to see her dead friends?" he asked incredulously.
Perseus smirked. "Yes."
Hades sighed and turned away, hands to his temples. "Fine," he said with a sigh, before handing Perseus a pearl. "Here, guide to her Elysium and give her the pearl. It'll take her back to camp."
Perseus nodded, and started to walk towards Zoë. "And Perseus?" Hades said, causing Perseus to turn back around. "This counts for multiple favours, understand?"
Perseus gave a deep, sarcastic bow. "Yes, milord. You are most gracious," he said mockingly, causing Hades to scowl. He headed back towards Zoë, who looked at him curiously.
"Come on, we're going to Elysium," Perseus said, heading out of the throne room. However, before Zoë could leave, she heard a voice.
"Zoë Nightshade," Hades said with a deep voice. "Don't mess it up," he said seriously, causing Zoë to gulp and nod quickly before following Perseus out of the throne room.
The two former immortals headed down towards the fields of Elysium, but Zoë was confused by the setting. She saw a place littered with targets and a forest nearby, not what she would expect from where Achilles would be. "Where are we going?" Zoë asked confusedly.
"Did I say we are visiting my brother? I lied," Perseus said bluntly.
Zoë pulled a knife out of her belt and put it under Perseus' neck. "I will not ask again. Where are we?" Zoë said with a snarl.
Perseus chuckled. "Damn Zoë, you were never so dominating. When did you change?" he asked cheekily, causing Zoë's cheeks to flush a little bit. "And if you want to know, look to your left."
Zoë turned to see young girls in silver uniforms. "Find a man already?" One asked as Zoë jumped into their arms.
When she released the ex-Huntresses, she turned to Perseus, tears in her eyes. "How?" she asked simply.
"Hades owes me many favours," he said, walking up to her and placing a pearl in her hand. "At the end of the day, smash it and it'll take you back to Camp," Perseus said, giving Zoë a small smile before vapor travelling away.
"You love him," a Huntress said to Zoë.
Zoë's cheeks reddened. "I do not!" she exclaimed.
Another Huntress scoffed. "Either you do, or you haven't realized it yet," she said, leaving Zoë speechless before she went to see the rest of her fallen friends.
LINE BREAK
Perseus reappeared back outside the Camp borders. When he entered, he heard a clashing of swords and headed towards the arena, where he saw Max and Daedalus sparring, while Tyson was playing with a large hellhound. His guard is too low, Perseus thought. While he had Max for six months, Daedalus was a master swordsman, and he would love to have a spar.
"Your guard is too low," Daedalus said, bringing Perseus out of his thoughts. After watching them spar for a little while longer, he heard Max ask if Daedalus had always been a swordsman.
"He's been many things," Perseus said out of the blue, causing both demigods to turn and face him.
Max gave Perseus a confused look. "You know Quintus?" Max asked.
Perseus smiled. "I know of him, considering his age," he said, causing Daedalus to give him a sharp look. "Would you like to spar?" Perseus asked the inventor.
Quintus merely nodded his head before heading to the side to put on his armor again. When he took off his shoulder strap, Perseus could see the brand on Daedalus' neck.
"What's that on your neck?" Max asked the old son of Athena.
"Just a reminder," Daedalus replied, quickly covering it up and grabbing a sword.
Perseus looked at the inventor. "Can you give me a second, I just need to grab my sword and armor from my apartment," he said, to which Daedalus nodded, causing Perseus to vapor travel away back to New York City.
He quickly put on his armor and grabbed a sword. It wasn't anything special, but it would work for now. Picking it up, he felt its balance and flaws. Ugh, I really need to get another xiphos made, I'll probably ask the Hephaestus cabin to make me one, he thought, before vapor travelling back to camp.
He reappeared back in the arena, and gave Daedalus a sharp nod. "Sorry about that," he said before getting into his stance, watching as Daedalus did the same. Perseus scanned the inventor's stance, and was very impressed. It was very solid, and didn't show any weaknesses.
The two swordsman circled ear other, shield on their left arm and swords in their left. After a few seconds, Perseus suddenly lunged forward, slashing towards Daedalus' legs. The ancient son of Athena quickly dashed back to avoid Perseus' slash, and countered by jumping forward with a flurry of strikes. However, Perseus met each strike easily with his sword, and pushed forward with his shield, causing Daedalus to stumble.
Taking advantage of the automaton's off balancedness, Perseus dashed forward, feinting high and low, trying to inflict small blows on Daedalus to tire him out. However, Daedalus regained his balance quickly, allowing him to fend off Perseus' strikes, albeit less easily than Perseus had done in moments prior. Suddenly, Perseus flung his shield like a frisbee towards Daedalus, causing him to duck out of the way. However, while he was ducking, Perseus jump forward, gripping his sword with two hands and came down with a powerful overhead smash that knocked the shield out of Daedalus' hands, causing the inventor to shake out his hand due to the stinging feeling the shield made when leaving his arm.
Using Daedalus' weakness to his advantage, Perseus struck, sweeping Daedalus' legs out from under him, causing him to fall to the floor. Perseus then followed up with an overhead strike, causing Daedalus to roll out of the way and kip up to his feet. Perseus growled before charging again, the two exchanging blows, and the two weapons clashed again and again.
Suddenly, Perseus feinted low, and Daedalus bit, allowing Perseus to bring his sword up to meet the ancient inventor's sword and quickly flicked his wrist, causing Daedalus' weapon to fall out of his hands and to the ground. Daedalus rushed for his weapon, but felt a tip of a sword on his neck.
"Yield?" Perseus asked, sweat starting to come down from his hair.
Daedalus sighed, before nodding and getting to his feet, reaching out a hand, which Perseus took with a smile.
"It's be awhile since I've been tested like that, thank you," Perseus said gratefully.
Daedalus gave him a small smile. "No, thank you. I haven't had a similar spar in ages," he replied.
Perseus smiled before heading out of the arena, causing Max to bound after him and Tyson followed.
"You really good," Tyson said with a huge smile.
Perseus chuckled. "Thanks T."
Max looked at Perseus. "Seriously, will I ever be that good?" he asked eagerly.
Perseus looked at Max seriously. "No," he said, causing Max's face to fall. "However," he started, causing Max's expression to lighten up a little. "You will be formidable in your own right. The reason I am so good is because of my age. I've had over 2000 years to hone my skills with many different weapons, from knives, to daggers, to swords, to guns, to my forearm blades. However, once you master the sword, you will be able to use your powers alongside them, and you will become one of the most powerful demigods to ever live," he finished, causing Max to look at him with a smile.
"Thanks brother," Max said cheerfully. "Now let's shower and head for dinner," he said, walking back towards their cabin, causing Perseus to chuckle and follow him.
After a little while, the three of them headed towards dining pavilion, where they watch as campers ignored the fissure that Nico had made. "Big crack," Tyson said as they reached their table. "Earthquake?"
Perseus sighed. "No, it was Nico," he said. "He was upset that I left him in the Lotus Casino. He's a son of Hades," he finished somberly.
"What!" Max exclaimed. "Nico is a son of-"
"Shush!" Perseus hissed. "Not many know, so don't go around telling everybody. However, Max you can tell your girlfriend sitting over there," Perseus said, subtly pointing towards the Athena table, causing Max's face to turn bright red.
"She's not my girlfriend," Max hissed, his face turning as red as a tomato.
"Haha," Tyson bellowed. "Max have girlfriend, Max have girlfriend," he singsonged, causing Perseus to chuckle and Max to glare at the two of them.
"Anyways," Max said, his face turning back to its original color. "Where is Nico?"
Perseus sighed. "He's with his dad. Yes, it maybe be against the ancient laws, but what Olympus doesn't know can't hurt them," he said with a smirk. After a second his face turned serious. "However, you two cannot tell anyone who Nico is or where he is. He would be in danger if people knew about him."
"The bad prophecy," Tyson stated. "Titans use him if they knew him."
"Exactly, so please, don't tell anyone," Perseus said simply.
Tyson cracked a smile. "Mouth sealed, just like the crack in the ground."
LINE BREAK
After dinner, Perseus headed to the archery range. Yes, he's a child of Poseidon. However, living for 2000 years and shooting for that long will make anyone a decent shot, and Perseus was a very good one. While he could also practice with shurikens or knives, he wanted to brush up on his archery.
After shooting for around 15 minutes, he puts his bow down and goes to the side to collect his throwing knives when suddenly someone crashes into him from behind, putting their toned arms around his waist, and their head against the back of his neck.
"Hello?" Perseus asked, turning around to see a certain ex-Huntress
"Thank you thank you thank you!" Zoë exclaims.
Perseus gives Zoë a smile. "How was it?" he asked.
Zoë backed away from him and smiled shyly. "It was really nice," she said happily.
Perseus chuckled. "At least there's one person alive who is willing to spend time with you," he said good-naturedly.
Zoë raised an eyebrow. "Me of course," Perseus said, puffing out his chest. "Well, I probably should get paid for it," he muttered, causing Zoë to laugh and hit him playfully, causing Perseus to chuckle. "Anyways, archery competition?" Perseus asked.
Zoë looked at Perseus in disbelief. "You really think you can beat me?" she questioned.
Perseus looked at Zoë with a smirk. "I know how good you our, Miss Huntress," he joked. "But I am pretty old as well, and who knows? Maybe you'll get distracted by my handsomeness and misfire."
Zoë looked at Perseus incredulously, but started laughing after seeing the mirth in Perseus' eyes. "You're on pretty boy," Zoë said, getting her bow and getting into a stance.
"10 arrows?" Perseus asked.
"10 arrows," Zoë confirmed. "Ready, set, go!"
AN: Hey guys. It's been awhile. I know. I'm sorry, and I'm sorry this chapter isn't super long. Anyways, I'm not sure how Perzoe is going to happen, I'm not a great writer, and I'm not sure when they'll get together or anything. If it's cheesy or trash, sorry. Also, I know Zoë is much colder to Perseus in the Underworld, and that's because he left her in camp. In the books, the Hunters have trouble with the guys at camp, and I'm assuming the same happens to Zoë. Also, I haven't decided on Perseus' mortal point, as I don't think its been revealed yet. Should I just make it his right heel, and make it the opposite of Achilles? Any suggestions? Also, the spar between Perseus and Daedalus, I don't know anything about swordplay, which is probably evident, so sorry if it sucks. Anyways, thanks so much, and please review!