Betrayal

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

The undergrowth of the forest rustled wildly as hurried feet ran through them. The runner was very fast, passing by confused deer and a bewildered tiger in a blur.

With long leaps, Luke jumped from the branch of a tree to the branch of another tree, quickly making his way towards … something. Anything.

He just had to be as far away from New York as possible.

'That was a fucking disaster!', Luke swore. 'Shit. Fucking Athena! How'd she see me?'

The son of Hermes slowed down, his left hand leaning against a tree. Taking deep gulps of air, he started to run once again. He couldn't stop. He needed to find a place to hide before the moon came out, otherwise he was done for.

Just like how Apollo could see everything below him, the same went for Artemis. From her moon chariot, there was no illusion, no amount of magic that could hide him from her gaze. Only a bunker lined with Celestial Bronze could block her vision.

And she would definitely be watching carefully today. Zeus had erupted like a nuclear bomb. The skies were so bright for a few minutes that it could almost be considered day time. Lightning bolts tore through the countryside, making deep trenches. The cities were more lucky, having lightning rods to redirect the energy, but those devices weren't built to handle the wrath of Zeus, and there was a significant loss of life as most people in the upper floors of many buildings were turned into charcoal.

BOOM!

Somewhere nearby, almost a few hundred meters, a massive bolt of lightning smashed into the grounding, creating a smoking red crater as a portion of the forest was vaporized into atoms.

"Damn it! Damn it! Shit!", Luke swore, running faster.

Swoosh.

It started as a prickle of heat. A warm sensation.

Then Luke could see the red tint in the air.

The sorrowful wails of the animals.

Forest fire.

Luke only glanced behind him for a moment, cursing as he ran. A wall of flames seemed to almost be chasing him, quickly eating the forest as if it were a starving beggar being given a full course meal. Now the beggar was a king, demanding more and more.

The forest fire was unusual and extremely fast, very much unlike usual forest fires.

Hundreds of meters above Luke, a streak of grayish energy shot across the skies, seemingly keeping pace with him. But Luke didn't notice that. He was far too worried about getting out of this burning forest.

Though it took less than an hour, for Luke it seemed to take ages before he finally got out. With a yell and a giant leap, he barely beat the flames and jumped away from the treeline, grunting as he painfully rolled over asphalt.

Beep! Beep!

Vehicles honked and the drivers angrily shouted as he had nearly gotten in the way as he had rolled over the road.

But his momentum had kept him going, and Luke groaned as his back roughly hit a rock formation, making it crumble.

"Ugh."

With a shudder, he slowly stood up, looking at his wrist. A digital watch was strapped on to it. The smart kind. A map was open on the watch, directions pointing him to a few miles ahead.

Up in the skies, the streak of gray energy stopped flying. It floated in place, slowly solidifying into the form of a goddess. Black hair was tied up and the goddess wore a dull bronze battle armor. Her gray eyes sharply stared at the lightning thief making his way in a certain direction. Athena was in full battle regalia. She had no idea what to expect, and she'd be damned if she was ever caught unprepared.

Her form slowly turned invisible as she floated down, following the demigod.

Luke had been walking for an hour now, and he had barely reached the location when moonlight shone over the area. Luckily, he had reached the safe zone.

The demigod reached below and stuck his hand in the grass, pulling hard.

Creak!

A rusty noise filled the plains as a huge trapdoor opened up, revealing a neat staircase to below.

Athena followed him.

Or at least, she tried to follow him.

As soon as she got two feet near the trapdoor, the goddess suddenly jumped back. There was a barrier. No mere barrier could stop her, that was true. But there was an alarm attached to it. She didn't want to show her hand this early, to alert the enemy that she was onto them. She could always wait.

Luke was too mentally exhausted to notice anything. He walked down the staircase, entering a sparse room with marble flooring and walls. A sheet of Celestial Bronze covered the ceiling, and a layer of glass held the sheet of Celestial Bronze.

White tube lights in the shape of rectangles were attached to the ceiling in a neat fashion, with the wiring being hidden away. There were vents in the ceiling, with a small white device that seemed to be recycling the air from the outside to inside and vice versa.

On the wall opposite to the stairs, an arched metallic structure was embedded into the wall in the shape of a doorway.

Ssshoooo!

A whistling noise filled the room as the air shifted in the arched metallic structure. Almost seeming to twist on itself and threatening to damage the room, the unstable space warped. But the arched structure held firm, and the space stabilized.

The portion of the space encompassed in the arched structure suddenly warped, and a blue and black spiral filled the space. It was a portal.

A black boot stepped out of the portal, followed by the rest of the body.

Luke sighed in relief, leaning against a wall and steadying himself.

The person who stepped out of the portal was a girl who looked a year or two younger than Luke. Her form was picture perfect, the dream of gods, and her silver hair was in a bob cut that covered one eye. Her skin was an unnatural light bronze color and almost looked fake. A black combat outfit hugged her figure and she stared at the demigod with lifeless, emotionless eyes.

Luke sighed again, walking towards her. "Who are you anyway? Why did your master send you?"

Luke knew she was working for the Kronos just like he was. Otherwise why would she appear here? But who was she? He had never seen her before. And she looked so … odd.

The girl spoke in a monotone, with no emotion. "I am designated as Unit A1."

The demigod blinked several times, taken aback. "An … automaton? An android?"

The girl didn't reply or answer his question. Her eyes flashed red as a light emerged from it, scanning the demigod.

She held her hands out. "Identity confirmed. Lucas Castellan. Please hand over the Master Bolt and the Helm of Darkness."

Luke sighed again. This secrecy and hiding around was unnecessary. He could've directly brought the bolt to their master.

The girl had zero change in expression as she took the divine items from Luke. Not a trace of any emotion. Normally, even the most loyal people might get at least a gleam in their eyes if they held such powerful weapons. But not her.

Unit A1's eyes flashed red once again, scanning the bolt and the helm.

"Objects confirmed. Master Bolt. Owner – Zeus. Helm of Darkness. Owner – Hades. Energy signatures are within estimated parameters. Eliminating remote tracing nanotechnology on the objects."

Luke's eyes widened. There were trackers on them?! No wonder he was told to use the helm only for a few minutes at a time and to immediately store the bolt in that special container.

A1 raised her hand, emitting a green light from her palm and shining it onto the divine symbols. A few moments later, she spoke again. "Tracing nanotechnology eliminated. Objects ready for transport."

Walking to the portal, the girl pressed the Master Bolt and the Helm of Darkness against it, and Luke watched dumbly as the most powerful weapons in the world were transported like a mail delivery.

A1 suddenly stopped moving. Then her head tilted sideways, as if listening to something. She stared at Luke lifelessly.

"Understood.", she said. But she wasn't speaking to Luke.

"Wha–"

Shink! Splash.

Blood splattered on the floor and the walls in a wide angle behind Luke.

The demigod felt nothing for a moment, before suddenly he coughed up mouthfuls of blood.

"Ugh!"

A1 was no longer by the portal. In a split second, even less than that, she was in front of the demigod. Her arm shot forward at unimaginable speeds, tearing through Luke's chest as if it were paper mache.

Her entire hand shot out from the back of Luke's body, splattering blood all over the floor. The walls were coated with a new paint, wet and dripping.

"Why?", Luke weakly muttered. His hands desperately tried to push her away, to hit her, but they could hardly budge the android. Her head briefly moved a few millimeters when his fists struck her, but the emotionless expression remained.

"You are a loose end. These are master's orders."

A sickening squelch was heard as A1 pulled her arm out of Luke's body, sending the demigod stumbling. He only managed to stand for a few seconds before collapsing into a puddle of his own blood.

Without turning around, A1 stepped into the blue and black spiral of a portal, vanishing. The portal flashed for a few moments before shutting down.

Luke gasped. 'No! I … I can't … Not like this … why? Why? Why?'

The ground was cold and damp. His body lay in a puddle of his own blood, the red seeping into his clothes. And the smell. The smell of rust filled his nostrils as he tried to breathe.

He couldn't. His right lung was badly damaged, and his heart was torn apart. He knew he had only a few moments left.

His life seemed to flash before his eyes. The adventures he had with little Annabeth and Thalia.

Thalia.

He was doing this for her … wasn't he?

Why?

Why did it end up like this?

He couldn't … not now.

There was still so much to do.

He still had to make them pay.

He had to make them all pay.

The last thing Luke saw before his eyes closed was a divine golden light shining brightly.

And a voice. He could barely hear anything and he missed most of it, and whatever he heard, he could hardly comprehend in his state. But he did hear enough.

"Oh you … die yet … have … tell me … information."

That voice …

Annabeth?!

No … but similar.

(The Shadow Realm)

Poof.

It was almost like the sound of smoke forming out of thin air. The black smoke was shaped like a portal, and the smoke shuddered as a silver haired girl exited from it.

Her surroundings were bleak and dark. The ground wasn't solid, but felt like she was walking on black clouds. In her right arm was the Master Bolt, which was coated with the blood of the demigod she had pierced her hand through. Droplets of blood dripped from the Bolt, seemingly vanishing as it fell onto the black clouds.

In her left hand she held the Helm of Darkness, which seemed to emanate with pure power. It seemed to be feeding on the environment.

A1 walked at a serious pace, not even glancing at the hundreds of ominous blood red eyes glaring from the distance. Low growls echoed over the endless surface of the black clouds, which seemed to stretch forever.

The skies were black as the night, with not even a single star visible. This place seemed to be in complete darkness. Still, for some reason, there was an eerie reddish light that seemed to emanate from everywhere. The light was very faint, but more than enough to see clearly.

Suddenly, the android stopped walking. Taking a single step back, she bent lower, her knee touching the ground. Kneeling, she raised both arms in front of her, showing the objects in her hand.

"Master. The divine items have been verified, cleansed and retrieved. I am here to turn them in."

Her gaze was firmly fixed onto the smoky, shadowy ground below, and her body was utterly calm as she spoke.

In front of her, a large black throne was raised on a pedestal, seemingly overlooking this whole entire realm of shadows. On the throne sat an unnaturally pale skinned man. His shoulder length hair was black as the night with piercing dark eyes, shining with a cold light.

The man raised his hand slightly, pointing it to the android and then curling his fingers towards him.

The Helm of Darkness started to shake. Shadows poured out of the helm at a rapid pace. The divine symbol violently tried to fly away, but it was futile. In the end, it flew to the man's outstretched hand without any meaningful resistance.

Eyes as cold as ice bore into the divine symbol of power. The symbol of power that belonged to Hades, Lord of the Underworld.

"What a disappointment.", the man muttered, his voice drawling almost lazily. His tone was casual, but held a deep, ancient power within.

Shaking his head with a deep sigh, he tossed the Helm beside him. He didn't even bother looking at it again, as if it were just yesterday's trash. The Helm fell onto the black smoky ground, sinking like a boat.

He looked down at the kneeling silver haired girl. "Unit A1. Speak freely. You seem to have a query."

The android stood up. "Yes, master. Why was I told to leave Luke Castellan at death's door rather than to kill him? I must apologize, but I don't see any value in letting him live."

The dark eyed man smiled. "Oh, A1. Don't you worry your pretty little head about that. Focus on the tasks at hand. First, go to the mortal realm and hand over the Master Bolt and the Helm to the 'Four'. They will keep it hidden."

A1 hesitated, uncertainty showing in her eyes. "You … do not wish to keep them, master?"

A deep chuckle echoed through the void, sending chills up the spines of the monsters within this shadow realm. "Keep them? Why? What use would I have for such garbage? But it is good to have this leverage. That fool Kronos will spend the next few months wondering what happened."

The android performed a half-bow. "Understood, master. Requesting permission to use the cryo-chamber for maintenance once my task is complete."

"Granted. Use pod 4. You may shut down for five months."

Clenching and releasing his fists, the man stared at his hands. The air darkened around his form. He stared at the endless expanse of darkness around him. The whole realm seemed to be infusing power into his body, and yet, his body continued to drink up more and more power, nearly as endless as the shadow realm.

His eyes flashed red as he stared into a screen. The screen looked very much like an Iris Message, however, it seemed to act more like a camera, and instead of a rainbow, it was powered by the shadows themselves.

The screen displayed the scene in the 'safe' bunker. The son of Hermes was sprawled onto the ground, seemingly dead. However, the wisdom goddess had soon entered the place, disregarding the barrier entirely. She was healing the demigod.

The dark eyed man's lips curled into a smirk. "Goddess of wisdom. Quite a bold title. Let us hope you are not as disappointing as your father."

The sound of scratching filled the clearing. A large redwood tree trunk created a small trench in the ground as it was dragged by a hand. A small hand.

The young boy seemed to pull the massive tree trunk with ease, not even straining as he pulled it behind him as if it were a trolley at the supermarket.

He walked for a dozen steps, dragging the tree trunk until its top half was inside the mouth of a cave.

Thud.

The boy let go of the trunk, and it created a small cloud of dust as it fell.

Then, he did something even more mind boggling. Raising his fist, the blond haired boy struck the tree trunk with a yell.

Bam!

Crack!

Even cracks spread across from the point of impact, and within seconds, the massive tree trunk crumbled into logs that were the same size as what would be used as firewood.

Taking the newly formed logs one by one, the blond haired boy tossed them into a charred pit. Evidently, this was not the first time he did this.

And though he was a young boy, his age betrayed his strength. As a matter of fact, nobody would or should be able to perform such feats of strength. No human.

Naturally, the blond haired boy was not human. Or rather, he was not entirely human. Merely half of one.

He had electric blue eyes that seemed to sparkle like lightning. Raising his palm, the blond haired boy shot a small current of electricity, immediately sizzling the firewood. Within seconds, a roaring fire was lit up in the cave.

The insides of the cave would have surprised anyone. Instead of cold, damp surroundings with stalactites, the area was squared out, making it look like an actual room.

A large carpet of bear fur was rolled out in the center of the cave, and several wooden tables were lined up against the wall. There were swords, spears and bows hung on the wall. A lot of them seemed to be older and worn out. It seemed to go in an ascending order, from the worst weapons to the best ones.

An entire wall of the cave was dedicated to large bookshelves with neatly arranged books of all kinds.

It was on one of these tables that the blond haired boy was leaning over. He stared intently at a neatly framed photo. The metalwork of the frame looked exquisite, but that wasn't what the boy was staring at.

The photo's background was a large estate, with a black metal gate and a pearl white fountain beyond it. Further in the background was a large mansion. Its architecture suggested it was quite old. Antique almost.

In the camera's focus was a famous actress. Her roles were universally loved in many television series, especially the older series. She was Beryl Grace, who had won numerous Emmy awards in her day.

Standing beside her was a young, ten year old girl with a scowl on her face. The girl had raven hair and electric blue eyes.

The only other one in the photo was a baby. A toddler. Beryl Grace held her son with a cheerful expression on her face. The two year old toddler was blond haired, with electric blue eyes.

RUN JASON! Don't look back! And never let your father know! Promise me! Live!

The voice of Beryl Grace resounded within the blond haired boy's head.

"Mother … sister.", Jason muttered, his eyes involuntarily tearing up slightly as he gripped the photo frame tightly.

Blinking away his tears, the eleven year old Jason Grace shook his head of such thoughts, walking outside the cave and checked the campfire. It was hot enough. He pulled the skinned carcass of a deer, attaching it to a stick and rotating it over the fire.

Despite his best efforts, the son of Jupiter found himself in the past once again. Flashes of his memories played by his eyes. He was four year old, running away from his home. The estate.

The estate. Gone. A thunderstorm had appeared. Tore it down. This happened while he had been running. At that time, he had already broke one of the promises he made to his mother. He had looked back.

His mother was burnt alive in the ensuing fire. Or so the news reports said. The lightning storm. A 'freak of nature' they called it.

As for his sister … Well, she had abandoned them when he was two.

Or had she?

He often wondered that. Jupiter killed his mother. Tried to kill him. Surely, he killed Thalia. Or at least, he must have tried.

Thalia. Was she alive? Or was she dead, just like his mother?

Was she out there somewhere? Struggling on the streets like he had done so years ago?

No. That was not Thalia. She was strong. And brave. His elder sister would never slink from corner to corner like a rat. She took what she wanted, when she wanted. She was always proud of her own strength.

'Perhaps, am I deluding myself? It's been many years. Thalia … she would be a grown woman now. Nineteen.', Jason wondered, trying to imagine what his sister would look like now.

Jason had barely survived while on the run. Luckily, he was a demigod, which meant he ate less, drank less, and slept less. It also meant he spent less.

It took him a long time to find this cave. This place. This heaven. It was only a dozen miles away from the city, and he used that to his advantage. First, he had stolen books. Lots of books. As he grew older, he had started to realize how dumb he was. Having no formal education whatsoever, it was to be expected. But still, it had infuriated him beyond reason. Stubbornly, he forced his dyslexic ADHD mind to study.

Now, he had far surpassed his age group. Jason knew he needed to do more. He couldn't live in a cave forever. Someday, he needed to get a job, move up in his life.

His heart burned for vengeance, but his mind told him what a stupid idea it would be to try and take revenge against Jupiter. The king of the gods himself.

No. It would be best if he forgot all that. It would be best to just ignore that. This was his life now, he decided. Wasting his time and his life on these things would be the height of stupidity.

With a sigh, the eleven year old demigod stood up, taking the deer carcass off of the fire. It was roasted well enough. Now, it was time to eat.

'And tomorrow, let's see if I can't apply for a school. I've gone over the list. Yancy Academy should do. They shouldn't ask too many questions if I use the Mist.'

It wasn't that Jason needed to go to school, but he knew that he needed the credentials for when he applied for college. That was how the system worked.

"Oh man.", Jason muttered, cringing as he ate. "I kept the fire going too long."

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A/N: I know its going pretty slow. Pinky promise that the next chapter will finally pick up things. I just needed to tie up these loose ends. Because remember that while Poseidon/Artemis/Athena talked about Thalia's death, none of them said a single word about Jason. Obviously, that's because Jason's alive!

I mean come on, do you seriously expect me to kill off one of the most important characters off screen? I'm not that much of an asshole.

As for Jason, he's a pretty logical kid. He has a good grip on his head. Too bad that counts for jack shit when you're a demigod. Even if Jason tries to be normal, the abnormal will not let him go.

If anyone wants to know what 'Unit A1' looks like, she's basically 2B from Nier: Automata but without the black visor on her eyes.