Howdy.

I just want to say a quick thank you to all of those that have followed along until this point. Last chapter we passed 300k words, and I couldn't be happier. I never thought that I would get this far, but here we are, and I'm not even close to being done. So expect this story to be around for a while.

You might want to skip this review/response part, I got quite a few last chapter.

Shadowhunter2077: "Well now we have two fights to wait, but surprisingly the one I'm looking more forward is Harper, Malachi and Talon against the Sons of Thor, because to me our trio is at complete disadvantage because the only one who can match one of them is Malachi the rest don't have the raw power to match them so this is going to be a interesting.

Not very sure about OP Percy scenes, out of characters Percy is the one who most don't deserve to be OP because Percy is a character who always wants to be a "normal kid with normal life" even if puts him in danger, the guy never really trains and when he trains he only does for a mouth at least and then he wants to go back to the "normal life", and all the high-tier enemies that Percy fought he was only able to win with sheer luck, Percy in his Prime (end of Titan War to Heroes of Olympus) he is at the same level of Malachi, Matt and Powerful Childrens of Zeus (Hercules, the OG Perseu, etc) otherwise he is very below then in terms of power, and also Percy is the best swordsman in the Camp in the last 300 years, wich means before these 300 years there were guys who were way way better than Percy with the sword. I not against Percy being powerful but make it believable, give Percy a wake up call that force him to train harder.

And about the others pantheons, only Zeus can give then the true answer put they will have the press him to tell them, I loved how you explain the existence of others pantheons and how they coexist with one another, and how you explaind their power which to me makes sense the more power your pantheon have the more ground you can cover, and how you didn't make the others gods to weak, like with Norse they have Gods how can match the Greek ones but they are few so the pantheon as whole is not very strong.

PS: it would be funny if Talon girlfriend was Shinto demigoddess who kicked his ass"

Response: Thanks for the review. I'm glad you're excited about that fight, I'll do my best to deliver on it in the next chapter. About the OP Percy scenes, he won't be OP, just a good bit stronger than he is right now. I have the main plot of Book Three planned out, and Percy has a good motivation for getting stronger, I'll make it believable, don't worry. Also, I honestly thought I botched explaining the other pantheons' existence, but I guess I did okay. I had some help from thesuperone342, so give him some cred as well.

And the idea for Talon's girlfriend being a Shinto demigoddess is something that I think is brilliant and I'm really considering that. It'll be so funny lol.

SuAvE ViPeR: "I just finished this story along with "Zane Williams and the Gods of Olympus" and I just have to say wow. This story and that one are both amazing. I love the characters in this one like they are real, because the amount of time and depth you give them honestly makes them feel alive. The fight scenes are great, the emotional moments are good and the OC romance between Matt and Harper is surprisingly great and well written. I honestly can't wait until they reunite. I asked this over on thesuperone342 story but I'll also ask it here, do you guys know each other in real life? Or do you just promote the others stories because they are good? And will there be a crossover? A lot of questions I know but I'm just curious. It's a great story altogether and I'm glad I found it. Can't wait for the next chapter!"

Response: Thank you. That really means a lot, I appreciate the kind words. I'm glad you like the characters and Marper (Ship name for Matt x Harper I guess lol) I have a lot of fun writing these guys. They're like real people to me. About a crossover, yeah it will happen at some point. As for me and thesuperone342 knowing each other irl, I guess you could say we technically know each other in real life. I mean, we don't live near each other and we've never met in person or anything but we talk on Snapchat about various things including our story ideas and even personal things. So I guess you could say that we're friends. But I have to disagree with you that his story rivals mine. Son of Hercules is clearly superior.

If you read that thesuperone342, I'm just kidding. Love your story man, it does rival and exceed this one.

darkwalker11:"again another great chapter cant wait for the outcome of the two fights"

Response: Thanks, you'll see the outcome in this chapter and the next.

NiHaR OP: "Hmm so if pantheon's have to be categorized in power then maybe the Hindu gods would be the most powerful you know with 1 billion people worshipping them, i agree with Chiron that the Norse will be the weakest out of Pantheon's, The Yoruba may be very powerful as well because well Africa, also dude you left us hanging in battle scenes in both chaps"

Response: Well if that was the case then Christian would be the most powerful, as they have over 2 billion worshippers last time I checked. They would be the most powerful anyway due to God being infinitely Omnipotent in every way, and even the archangels being equal to Zeus. About Yoruba, I'm not very well versed on it, but I know that they don't have very powerful feats, but I could be wrong. And yeah, I'm sorry about the cliffhangers, these next two chapters will be fight scene filled.

thesuperone342: "Awesome chapter. Good scene with Aiden and nice job on fleshing out his character. I like how Harper's siblings were actually given a burial unlike that one satyr dude Malachi killed way back at the beginning of this story lol. Also, I wonder how you would have explained the whole pantheons existing at the same time if I didn't tell you about the Chaos thing? Like would you have said that they came into existence from human belief, as I've seen in a few stories? Anyway, the banter between Harper, Talon and Malachi was hilarious. Talon's like Sea of Monsters Zane but less murdery, and Malachi makes Goku look like a genius and Harper's just done with both of their shit. Anyway, great chapter and I can't wait for the Hephaestus fight.

P.S. Talon girlfriend when?"

Response: Thanks. Yeah I wanted to give them a burial scene despite them not appearing very much, it was to prove that Levi has spiraled downwards farther than Harper expected. I already told you on Snapchat that I don't know what the hell I would have said if you didn't suggest the Chaos thing, so thanks for that. You perfectly summarized Harper, Malachi and Talon's banter, I had fun writing those scenes lol. As for Talon's girlfriend...just keep reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except the OC's) Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes Of Olympus, or Trials Of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.

Now then, on with the seventh chapter. Fight scenes galore.

7. I Have My Weirdest Vision Yet

Let me make sure I have this straight.

Make friends...check.

Become stronger...check.

Go on a quest...check.

Get a girlfriend...check.

Lose a girlfriend...sadly check.

Meet my father...check.

Fight a Titan...check.

Fight an Olympian...well, you can check that now too.

Hephaestus shot fire from his eyes as I charged him. The heat blasts came in orange waves, blowing harmlessly off my skin. I felt it though, and it was pretty warm, a feeling that I didn't like. Hey, I'm a cold natured person, alright.

Despite my clear resistance, he continued. Definitely not in his right mind, so I walked through the fire, closing the distance easily, and planned on what I would do next.

I couldn't kill him like I did Krios, because he was an Olympian, and it wasn't his fault. But I needed to knock him out or something. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

Wrong.

Hephaestus has a hard head. This was proved when I emerged from the fire blast right in front of him and delivered a hard elbow to his forehead. He stumbled and fell to one knee, but remained conscious. At least the fire had went out.

I took this chance to look at my father, and how he was doing. Right now, very well. I could tell that the cyclops Arges was strong, and no pushover. But it was also under influence, just like Hephaestus. And I guessed that these guys were more builders than fighters too.

My father dodged every attack from the Cyclops. Wild haymakers flew everywhere, some connecting with the roof of the area, sending more jagged rocks to the ground. Hercules tucked and sidestepped out of the way, not attacking back.

I decided he would be fine. I needed to focus on my task.

Of course, being distracted, Hephaestus decided to use his brain.

Just as I was about to turn around, I felt a huge force on my head, a tiny throb shot down to my nose, and everything got a little dizzy. What had he done?

I turned fully to see his hands way above his head, holding something. I squinted hard to see it was a giant blacksmith hammer. He had whacked me on the head with it.

His face was contorted with rage, eyes still glowing an orange fiery color. His nose dripped with ichor from where I had elbowed him, the golden substance stopping shortly at his bristly beard.

Before I could react, he brought down the hammer again on my head, then again, and again. Three times he did, and I was nearly brought to one knee. But no, I stayed firm, and finally activated my senses. As he brought down the next attack, I held out a forearm to block it, as the other hand held Viribus. Within a second, the metal clanged against my body, a shockwave resulted, sending a crack throughout the area.

I heard my father grunt a few feet away, then a loud bellow from Arges. I sensed the monster's aura spike drastically, he was pissed.

"Father!" I called, my arm and Hephaestus's hammer still in a struggle.

Father was getting more serious now, dodging faster and faster, but still no attack. Why?

"Father!" I called again.

"I'm fine! Use that club! Especially here!"

Before I could question his words, the giant cyclops took this as an opening. He threw himself at my father and tackled him all the way down to the magma below.

"FATHER!" I yelled out to him, but no response came.

I suddenly felt a blow against my gut, no pain resulted.

Hephaestus was just trying to get my attention back to him.

"I'm yer opponent, boy! No need to worry about daddy!"

His face was already disfigured, but the psycho look on it now just made it downright unable to look at.

I got angrier, and let it fuel me. "Snap out of it!" I growled to the god, pushing him away with my left boot.

He skidded back ten feet, stopping himself with his hammer.

I hefted Viribus. Why had father said that? What was so special about this environment?

Hephaestus and I began to circle each other, and I kept my focus on him. My father would be fine, no need to worry.

The god laughed, "Quite a weapon ya got there, huh?"

"Sure."

"I made it, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"You wanna know why I did?"

"Zeus's orders." I was getting sick of the games. I needed to knock him out asap, and go finish off Arges with father.

But Hephaestus's next words stopped me.

"It was all accordin' to Ouranos's plan."

I broke from my fighting position, my arms dropping to my sides. "What?" I asked in disbelief.

He chuckled at my surprise. "That's right, boy. Ouranos needs the Adam Tree. I made that for you, so that you would bring it right to him, and he could be born again."

My mind seemed to short circuit, my jaw fell a little. "Born again?"

"Hehe, yes boy. You see, the Adam Tree has more significance than you think, properties that even the gods don't know about. Properties that...even Zeus doesn't know about."

I shook my head, "You're lying. Why would Zeus give me a weapon that's meant for Ouranos?"

Hephaestus laughed wildly again, "Because even he doesn't know the tree's true nature! It is older than him after all! Much older!"

True nature? What was he talking about?

"Besides, how do ya know Zeus was the one that mailed it to ya?"

"What?"

"Boy, it was me that sent the club to Camp. I told Zeus I would handle it, and forged a note in his name! You believed it to be him!"

Rage engulfed me. Zeus hadn't written the note after all? How the heck did Hephaestus get away with this?

"You're saying that Ouranos planned this all out? That you were working for him when you made this thing?"

He nodded, "Now you're catching on."

I threw my hands above my sides, "That makes no sense! Why didn't Ouranos just take a piece of the Adam Tree himself?!"

Hephaestus began to laugh so loud the entire mountain shook. His mouth was as wide as my head, and his beard burst into flames every second it seemed.

Finally he stopped, "Boy! Are ya that stupid?! Ouranos couldn't just march to Olympus and take the tree! First of all, he ain't strong enough at the moment to take on all the gods, and second, it's a lot more fun this way. Having your enemy deliver what you need most on a silver platter? Genius!"

I thought about it. And yeah, it made sense now. That was why Krios wanted to take Viribus away, and the Sons of Thor. Okay, so Ouranos needs Viribus, but why? To be born again? What does that mean?

Suddenly the dots connected.

I saw a vision of Ouranos in his physical form. Not a storm giant, a face in the clouds, not even posessing anyone, he was straight up like he used to be.

Viribus would return him to that state?

I stared at my weapon with sudden uneasiness. Just what did I know about this Adam Tree? I've never seen the thing, and apparently it's the source of all trees or plant life or whatever. Okay, I don't know anything about it. All I knew until now was that it gave me lightning and regeneration.

"So what? If he gets this thing then he comes back to life? Like...fully?"

Hephaestus shrugged, "Perhaps. He's never had to do it before, but we believe it will succeed."

He kept his disfigured smirk, and I remained stone faced, angry at the trickery. Ouranos was smart, too smart.

But Hephaestus wasn't.

It was my turn to laugh.

He looked confused at it, "What are ya laughin' at boy? Don't you realize your doomed?!"

"No, you're the one that's stupid! And I know it's not really you, Hephaestus, but you're not very bright anyway, are you? Because you just told me all of this to taunt me, but really, I know why you guys are after Viribus now, and that'll only make me guard it more."

He didn't waver though, he only grunted, "Matters not what I tell ya. Ya can guard that thing with your life, and the Sons of Thor will still get it. You know why? That's their duty. And Norse demigods have a strong sense of duty. No, they've already set eyes on that thing, so it'll be theirs before long."

I stopped laughing, he was right. It didn't matter that he told me the reason, I would still be sought after by those maniacs, no matter how well I protected Viribus.

This was so frustrating. All of it. I've had enough of this.

Use the club, especially in here.

A strange tingle shot up my arm, Viribus seemed to get heavier in my hand, and it vaguely glowed green, like it was a plant. Huh, that's a new one.

Use it in here...

I glanced at Hephaestus, he was still smirking smugly, not knowing what I was about to attempt.

I let my instincts take over, and I brought Viribus over my head, gripping it tight, I brought it down to the rocky floor.

Immediately the mountain shook and rumbled, Hephaestus was caught by surprise, and he stumbled all over the place, his arms flailing to gain enough footing to stand, but my bash was too strong. The next thing that happened surprised me, a few seconds after the mountain shook, jagged rocks and mounds of Earth began to emerge from the floor at great speed, shooting up like spike traps in a castle. These weren't wild either, instead of going every direction, they all aimed at Hephaestus.

A legion of jagged rocks and dirt hit him in the body and face, he futilely swatted, not doing much good. The attack wasn't much damage wise, but it was enough for a distraction.

I broke into a dash, pouring strength into my legs in an instant, allowing me to disappear and reappear near Hephaestus. Only when my foot landed, I felt myself being tugged upwards.

No, I was being tugged upwards.

I felt a bronze net entangle me from bottom to top, tightening by the second, it hoisted me all the way to the roof of the cavern. I yelled as I shot up, all the way until it stopped abruptly, nearly thirty feet above the ground.

I dangled there for a minute, Viribus close to my chest, touching my gray breastplate. I was glad I had that thing on, as I didn't want Viribus to touch my skin right now honestly. I...kinda didn't trust the thing one hundred percent.

The rocks stopped pelting Hephaestus, he brought his hands down to see me suspended like a spider. Of course, he broke into hearty laughter.

"Looks like one of my traps got ya!"

I didn't respond. Instead I wiggled to get myself loose, no avail.

He continued to celebrate, "Hold right there! I'm gonna get my ballistae to skewer you!" He said that like he was saying, I'm gonna get my dog to love you!

He ran over to various parts of the cavern, turning on switches and other things. A few moments passed, and I heard creaking. I looked around to see not one, but five giant crossbows staring at me, fully armed.

"Like em?! Made these myself! The arrows are celestial bronze, so...you're probably gonna die!"

I doubt that, buddy. I was not going down this easy, no way. I felt myself in the net more, and realized I could break it. All I needed to do was release some energy.

I tried to play it like I was in danger. "No, please don't!"

He chuckled, his hand on a lever now. "Sorry boy, but Ouranos's orders. After I kill ya, I'm gonna take that club of yours and deliver it to Ouranos! Then he'll give me revenge against Hera!"

"Didn't think you cared about a petty thing like that?" I was trying to mess with him, or see if the old Hephaestus would pop out.

Shockingly, for a second it seemed as if someone else had taken over. Hephaestus's face scrunched in confusion, he scratched his beard.

"Yeah...why would I?" He twitched, then smacked himself in the face, and it went back to the way it was.

"I mean, no! I want revenge! Yes I do! Now say goodbye, puny demigod!"

We'll see who's puny after this, I thought. I braced myself for the launch.

He yanked the lever and the giant arrows shot simultaneously at hundreds of miles per hour. I squinted my eyes and focused, the arrows slowed to practically nothing, spinning like a graceful spider in mid air, not a care in the world. I smirked, and roared with defiance, letting out some energy from my body, the bronze net snapped and broke instantly, scattering everywhere. A shockwave resulted from my blast, resulting in nearly the entire roof being atomized.

I landed on one knee thirty feet below, ready to fight back.

"Now then, you were saying?" I said smoothly.

His face turned red with anger, his beard caught fire, and his eye glowed orange. Enough with the theatrics, I've had enough. I needed to help Father.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN TAUNT ME?! A GOD- AUGGHHHH!" That last part was him grunting loudly in pain from my tackle. I decided to save his speech, and take this outside.

I had saw an opening and took it, leaping at him like a spear and connecting with his gut. We crashed through the side of the mountain wall, tons of rock exploding and following us in a downwards spiral towards the green grass. We plummeted at the speed of a falling plane, he seemed to still be dazed from the tackle, so I decided to take this opportunity.

I grabbed his beard, and brought his face close to mine.

"SNAP..." I gripped it harder, the fire on his facial hair not bothering me, "OUT..." I swung him around and around in mid air like a kettle bell swinger, the wind whistling and spinning along with us, "OF..." I spun him around more, and finally brought him behind me like I was throwing a baseball, I flexed my muscles, gritted my teeth, and with a very loud shout, I yelled, "IT!" And threw him as hard as I could.

Okay, maybe not as hard as I could, because that would probably send him through the Earth and out of the atmosphere below. No, Instead I used only a fraction of strength to throw him a dozen or so miles to the ground. He flew instantly like a bullet, and disappeared in the trees. I waited a split second, and heard the sound of loud cracking and snapping, maybe a hundred trees being ripped apart by his impact. They fell behind him, or just split into a million pieces.

Finally, I heard a nuclear BOOM! And saw cracks form around the area below for miles. Good thing there wasn't any public structures nearby. Or was there...oh gods, I hope not.

I kept myself in the air by pointing Viribus towards the ground, concentrating on the wind beneath me. Viribus could do that too, let me somewhat control wind. It wasn't very impressive at the moment, but for now, it kept me in semi levitation. I looked around, and didn't see anything, so I put it off as nobody being in danger. Good. I was not about to murder or hurt innocents.

Hephaestus however, certainly didn't get the good end of the stick. I heard his yells until they faded with each mile under the surface. A gaping hole could be seen from my position, what I imagined a meteor crash site to look like, the impact had caused. Sheesh, maybe I went too overboard.

I no longer heard his shouts and screams, but I still waited, because he could come back up.

I waited for a few minutes, almost losing focus with Viribus and the wind. I hadn't trained this aspect much, so I was still new to it. Lightning I handled just fine now though, able to conjure powerful blasts like nothing.

As I stayed above the trees, I turned back to the nearly destroyed mountain, not seeing or hearing any shockwaves, sounds of battle, anything. Was father alright? Had he defeated Arges and just wanted to watch me? What was happening?

I didn't get to figure out any answers, because Hephaestus wasn't down and out yet.

I saw him emerge from the giant hole, pulling himself up on the edge.

"Is that you, or still Ouranos?" I muttered to myself, waiting to see what he would do.

"BOYYYYYY! GET DOWN HERE!"

I groaned, it was Ouranos.

I pulled Viribus away from the direction of the ground, and free fell all the way until I landed firmly on the grass. A small crater formed around my feet.

He looked horrible, ichor flowing from his nose and forehead, his beard was even bristlier and instead of being on fire, it only produced a few embers at most. His shoulder also seemed more saggy than before.

He was panting, "Ya got strength boy, I'll...give you that."

I waited, "But?"

"But...that Viribus will not be in your hands for long. Ouranos will prevail!"

I was getting angry. What was going to get him to snap out of it? To get Ouranos out of his head? Did I have to show him something? Say something?

I bit my tongue and calmed myself. Handle the situation with care, not rage. Care, not rage. Remember what you learned Matt, control it, and let it work for you.

I breathed out peacefully, and lowered Viribus, raising my hand in a calming manner.

"Hephaestus, it's not your fault. You're still in there, I know you are. Ouranos has corrupted you, and you have to break free of his grip."

His face twitched, he tilted his head, "Break free?"

"Yeah, break free, get away from him!"

He seemed to consider this, at least for a second, then he winced and shook his head vigorously.

"NO! I HAVE TO OBEY!"

"No! You don't! Remember who you are! You're Hephaestus, the god of the forge and fire, an Olympian! You're uh...married to Aphrodite and..." Crap I didn't know much about Hephaestus, I just decided to say what came to my head. "You build awesome stuff...I mean you crafted this!" I pointed to Viribus, "You know, for the wrong reasons, but it's still an awesome looking weapon!"

He didn't respond, he just kept shaking violently and wincing.

I tried to keep the ball rolling, "And uh...you're married to Aphrodite, right? That's gotta trigger something?"

It didn't. He just kept going crazy.

"Aphrodite, the um, goddess of love...you know?"

"WITH ARES! NO, NO, NO, HORRIBLE WOMAN!"

I stepped closer, my hand still outstretched, "I know buddy, I know. The gods suck so much...er, except you of course! Yeah, you're great!" I cringed at my calming skills. I couldn't do this, I couldn't calm a large hairy blacksmith god.

Finally he had enough, he opened his mouth and roared a loud bellow, fire shot from the gap. He slowly began to change into something totally different than what I was seeing, it was like he was morphing, or transforming.

All of his godly skin seemed to shed within seconds, and fire replaced it. It wasn't like Apollo's fire, but more of a lava type, the deep red and orange that shaped metal into weapons or tools.

Soon enough he transformed into an outline of himself, only fire surrounded him now, his shape barely visible underneath, but I could glimpse it.

This was his true form.

Yeah, his aura had spiked, and I would have to get pretty serious if I wanted to end this. But I needed to be diplomatic.

I felt Viribus get heavy in my hand again, and I saw it glow a vague green just like before. I instinctively pointed it towards the mountain without looking. I heard rumbling in the distance, cracks and gaps forming in the large rock. I turned around to see the entire top of Mt. Saint Helens ripped apart and levitate into the sky. It was insane, I had just summoned hundreds of tons of rock and was now controlling it with Viribus. It was a sensation hard to describe, but it was like I was lifting the top of the mountain with the hand I held Viribus with, which wasn't hard at all, due to my training. This was foreign though, Viribus controlling Earth like that. What was the reason?

I would have to save that question for later, because Hephaestus was seething at me, his eyes glowed with a fiery hate, the heat of his aura clear on my skin, no pain, but damn it was hot.

I let him leap at me, and then I swung Viribus with extreme strength, praying that what I thought would happen, would happen.

It did.

A moments delay, but it did. A couple of seconds after I swung Viribus, the top of Mt. Saint Helens came soaring over me and towards Hephaestus. The large mound of rock blocked nearly all of the sky from my view, and towered over Hephaestus's figure.

He didn't see it coming, the mountain top slammed right into him with millions of tons of force, knocking him beneath a sea of Earth.

The ground shook as the mountain top shattered to pieces like a Lego set, jagged rocks and boulders flew everywhere, knocking down the remaining trees, uprooting soil and grass. I felt baseball sized rocks hit me like bullets in a legion of attacks, them not bothering me, I just let them bounce off of my face and breastplate.

Once the chaos subsided, I stepped forward and dug through the rubble, trying to find Hephaestus. There was no way he had been defeated by that. I mean, I hoped he was, as that would save time, but he couldn't be that weak, right?

My question was answered when the area right in front of me exploded.

It was like a dozen missile strikes had landed right in my face. The force caught me by surprise and I was sent backwards, flying and flipping in the air until smashing into a dormant boulder. It split in two from the contact, and I landed face first on the grass.

I heard a loud laugh echo throughout my ears, the sound deafening.

"YOU THINK THAT'S ENOUGH TO STOP ME, YOU PATHETIC SON OF HERACLES?! YOU'RE FATHER IS WEAK, AND SO ARE YOU!"

Weak?

No.

No, I am not weak.

I was getting sick of this, of trying to "calm" Hephaestus down. It clearly wasn't working, so I think it's time to stop being diplomatic.

"If you aren't gonna snap out of it, then I'll make you." I didn't scream it, I just said it to myself, firmly. I was going to deliver.

I felt the rage flow over me, at this entire situation, at me not being able to help my father, at Hephaestus, at everything in the last year. I let that flow through my veins like a river.

Only this time, It didn't. Instead, I felt a surge like a rapid, not a river. I didn't fight it though, I simply let my body take over. The red aura encased me with it's bloody glow, the heat radiating all around me. I disappeared at light speed and reappeared next to Hephaestus, he was shocked at my sudden seriousness and speed, as he only turned around right when I brought my fist down on him.

I had quickly put away Viribus and attached it back to my neck, no longer seeing the need for it right now. My right arc connected with Hephaestus's temple, creating a huge shockwave and dissipating his true form. He fell to the ground, a crater forming at the impact, but I wasn't done, he hadn't snapped out of it yet.

I jumped on him and began the onslaught, all of my anger taking over. The anger of Ouranos tricking me, the anger of having to make the decision to leave my friends, the anger of my childhood, the anger of my mother, everything. Every last bit of rage exited my brain and entered my fists as they beat and bashed against Hephaestus's body. A small part of my mind screamed that this wasn't his fault, and that I should stop, that I should maintain my relatively calm behavior, that I should listen to my father's lessons, and use my rage for defensive purposes, to let it flow like a river instead of a rapid.

But I let all of that go, my body acted on it's own. I could no longer control it, and I made no attempt to control it. It felt good to let it all out, all of the frustration and angst fading away with each primitive strike. I knew I shouldn't be doing this, and that it was wrong, but I continued anyway.

Ichor soon began to fly everywhere, Hephaestus's face even more deformed that usual, my fists connecting with his form created various shockwaves and thunder like sounds, resulting in any remaining object being blown away.

His head recoiled with each blow, the crater taller than me now, we slowly fell deeper and deeper with each punch. I grunted loudly every time each strike successfully hit him, at rapid speed, they did, a brutal barrage of punches and elbows, I was going all in. He wasn't even defending himself anymore, for he had fallen unconscious, and now his body was limp and wide open, I was taking out my frustration on the equivalent of a godly punching bag.

"AGGHH! NGGGHHH!" Erupted from my mouth in guttural shouts, the red aura blood red, the color of war, and my emotion at the moment. I was covered head to toe with ichor, Hephaestus's face now sunken in and unrecognizable, looking like a skyscraper sized truck had ran over his face multiple times.

My inner voice kept telling me to stop, that you've ended this, he's done, and you need to control yourself.

But that voice fell on deaf ears as I bashed and bashed, animal like sounds projecting from my throat and into the area with force, I vaguely felt another person on my shoulder, tugging me, a loud sound could be heard in my ear, like cawing, or a screech.

I darted my eyes to my left to see Kyros tugging on my shoulder with his beak, trying to get me to stop.

You're killing him! I heard his emotion in my head. We had a connection, due to him having a connection with my father. We could speak zoologically, meaning we could sense each other's emotions. And right now, he could sense all of my rage, and I could sense his concern for my mental state.

I didn't listen to his pleas, a different side of me was taking over right now, a side that didn't think about the consequences, a side that let rage control him. That side of me was out, a dangerous side, a side with no care.

I had let it take over, and I could no longer resist on my own.

So I turned back around, and continued my assault. I felt a gust of wind come over me and Kyros's aura fade into the distance. He must have flown off.

That left me alone, and very dangerous, not a rational thought in my brain. My rage defined me at the moment, and it was furious, it was all coming out.

I reared my head upward and let out a primitive roar, the red aura becoming wider and wider, engulfing the atmosphere around me. It glowed like a red beacon, spreading for miles sideways and miles upward. My voice was deeper, not fully my own, it created sonic booms and shockwaves alike, radiating against the blue sky, I vaguely caught sight of the white clouds above dissipating at my force, the shockwave of my shout reaching thousands of feet up. My voice went on, sounding a bit like the Hulk.

This was not me.

I needed to stop.

Some part of me tried to resist, to stop myself, but the other part won, too strong to fight. At least from within.

My vision became tunneled. It was hard to describe, but I literally saw red. My red aura had either become so strong, that it engulfed the very bubble I stood in like a sandstorm, or my eyes were now emitting a red glow. Everything changed to red for me, Hephaestus's bloody body, the sky, the land, my own arms and blood covered hands, everything. I was looking at the world through a blood filled lens.

And all of a sudden, a flash appeared before me, like it was real...but not. Again, hard to describe, it was bizarre even for the demigod life. But it was like I had experience a semi real vision in the middle of the day.

I saw the world as it was, in red, Hephaestus's body, and everything else, but now more objects started to appear, to add on to the area I occupied. I saw dead bodies appear with swords and spears sticking out of their corpses, I saw weapons randomly sticking out of the ground in strange patterns. I then did a three-sixty turn and saw that every piece of the world was now painted with a hell like red. A worse than blood red.

I also noticed the weapons that stuck from the ground, the bodies that lay near me, they were in a circular pattern. I found myself realizing that I was trapped in a ring of swords, spears, axes, and dead bodies. Each weapons stuck out like a protective pike, not three feet apart from each other, they all circled me. It was like I was standing on one side of a Mortal Kombat arena. So who was on the other?

My question was answered when I saw a silhouetted figure across the field of death, it was tall, bearded, it's eyes glowed a dangerous blue, a malevolent aura could be felt from it, an immense aura. Even...even more powerful than Zeus.

The figure was facing me, staring. I couldn't see his mouth, or any of his features really, but I could see his long hair, beard, and glowing blue eyes. This had to be Zeus, it looked just like him.

But Zeus didn't have this malevolent of an aura. I had personally never felt the god's aura, due to my fear of being atomized. But I imagined he had a slightly malevolent feeling, like he commanded fear and respect, but it wasn't like this.

No, this aura was murderous, murderous of everything that it hated, that it wanted gone. And it wanted nearly everything gone. It wanted the gods gone, it wanted humans gone, anything that was unfit to do his bidding, could die for all he cared.

No, this was not Zeus that I was seeing. Because like I said, this level of malevolence would never be felt on my grandfather, and this aura was even more powerful.

I know I said that I had never felt his aura before, so how would I know. Well, I just do. I can't explain it, but the figure in front of me, this aura was so gigantic, it seemed to encompass time and space, every creature in land or earth. It was beyond Zeus.

But how? If it isn't Zeus, then it has to be Ouranos. But how did he get this strong? Last time I checked, they were somewhat equal on the Island, or maybe Zeus had the upper hand, I wasn't sure. But there certainly wasn't a gap in Ouranos's favor. So what happened?

My training saved me from combusting, my aura sensing far stronger now, I could withstand things like this, but that didn't mean it didn't have an effect. Right now, I was experiencing a killer headache.

The figure seemed to smirk, and it vanished, or no, it disintegrated in mid air. But shortly after, a soft substance appeared at where it's feet were. It looked like...a cradle.

Or a swaddle, whichever.

The point is, it looked exactly like what you would wrap a baby in.

What was that doing here? In this realm of death and a unstoppable Ouranos?

I felt that I could move freely, so I did. I walked over cautiously to the bundle of cloth, and as I got closer, I noticed that the cloth was a white toga like substance, the kind that native Greeks used to wear I imagine. When I got ten feet away, something very strange happened, a spark of electricity flew sideways, onto the field I once stood on. I paused, my eyebrows no doubt furrowed in confusion. I stepped a little closer, barely a tiptoe, to see what would happen, or if I had seen things. But no, once I got closer, I saw more sparks fly, the electricity not very strong, but it had an undertone to it, an undertone of hate and malevolence. The same that I felt from the supposed Ouranos.

Could it be? Could it be Ouranos as an infant in that cloth? If so...this took the cake as the weirdest vision I've ever had.

I hesitated to prove my suspicion, but finally walked forward and closed the distance.

What I saw was an outline of a hideous creature. No baby I had ever seen looked like this. It was skin and bones first of all, like an animal carcass. It was pure black like Ouranos, but I could see the outline of it's ghoulish form, it's creepy face, the white hair that jutted from the top of it's head, and of course, the thin slits that glowed blue.

They looked like snake's eyes, the blue glowing in a thin, deadly line. This baby, was Ouranos. I just knew. Why this was appearing before me, I had no idea.

I gazed at the alien like baby for what felt like several minutes. A sudden thought crept in my head, if this was Ouranos...I could end it right here...

But this is hypothetical.

What if it isn't?

It's fake.

What if it's real, and Ouranos has returned somehow?

Come on, this is fake, you idiot. It's just a baby.

No, it's baby Ouranos...the very evil Primordial.

I heard whispers all around me, and I flinched, looking around at the wisps of smoke that now surrounded me in a rectangle.

They resembled each member of Ouranos's Big Four. To my right, I saw Cherry and Grayson, and to my left, I saw Axel and Harper's traitor brother...Levi.

Were they alive?

Right now they seemed it. Each of their diverse features were outlined in gray smoke. Cherry's short and slim frame, Grayson's athletic build, Axel's stocky and towering height, and of course...Levi's signature hood.

"You would kill a baby?" I heard Grayson say to me.

"Would you?" Cherry asked.

"It's Ouranos. He has to die." I replied, the sky even redder and more deathly looking, it seemed to swirl like a void, every inch of the atmosphere looked like something out of a nuclear apocalypse, and I was in the middle.

"How do you know?" Axel said gruffly.

I gritted my teeth, "I just know."

They all stayed in their positions, not taking any steps towards me or backwards, but completely still. Not even their mouths moved, which I found disturbing.

Levi spoke next, "Would you like this to end, Matt? Would you like to kill Ouranos?"

"I don't enjoy killing, that's not the case. But I have to, he's going to destroy the world."

"Then kill him! End it here!"

I felt a sword materialize in my hand, it was four feet long and glowed bronze. I held it uncomfortably.

I stood there, gripping the blade for what felt like hours, just staring at the baby.

"Well?! Kill him!" Cherry cried impatiently.

I said nothing.

"Don't have the stomach?" Grayson questioned, "Even after all you've been through? You still let your moral goodness get in the way of what's necessary? You just said that you had to kill him!"

"I know!" I shouted, the volume echoing over the barren wasteland of death and red, not a sound anywhere, except our voices. And to be honest, the absence of ambient noise...that's what really creeped me out.

"Then do it! Kill him!"

I hesitated. He was evil, a complete manipulative psychopath. But seeing him like this...some part of me felt sorry. He looked so fragile, so weak, so...unwanted. Like a failed experiment.

"I...won't."

"Hypocrite!" Axel yelled.

"I'm not." I growled.

Levi laughed, "Yes you are. You hate us, admit it. You want us dead, and now you can grant that. You can use this rage, this anger, to do it. You could kill us if you wanted to. Yet you don't. Why? Are you that soft?"

"I won't let it take over. I can't."

"But you already have!" Cherry said.

"No! I haven't! I'm the same!"

"Hephaestus's body disproves that, Matthias."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" I yelled, the sky becoming more dangerous and angered. It seemed to roar right back, swirling faster and illuminating the deathly land with a bloodier red.

"There it is!" Levi said enthusiastically, "The rage, the anger, that's it! Use it! It's the only way to beat us! You have to give in!"

"I WON'T!" I yelled.

"YOU HAVE TO!" They screamed even louder in unison.

Even more rage consumed me, to the point where I was about to explode, about to let off a burst of energy that would destroy this world, and the others surrounding it. Every last bit.

"NO!" I roared, and everything stopped. A wave of calm rushed over me, I slowly closed my eyes, and breathed in softly, the rapid turning into a river.

This was not real, snap out of it.

You're not a monster. I told myself. You're not a monster.

Matthias...

A deadly chill came over me at the hissing voice of Ouranos. It sounded a little different though than the visions of last year. This was raspy, hungry, painful.

I looked to the red sky above for the source of the voice, expecting a black clouded face to appear there, but no, there was nothing of the sort.

Matthias, he called again. His voice rang in my ears, like his presence was everywhere.

I suddenly felt a ping in my sensing radar, a small aura down below, near my feet.

It was coming from the baby.

I looked down at the bundle of cloth to see a horrible sight. The baby was now in color, and it was ugly.

First off, I immediately thought of those Harry Potter movies, this baby looked like Voldemort had in...which one was it? The fourth one? Either way, this baby looked very similar to that. It was deathly pale, it's bones very visible through it's ghoulish layer of skin. It's face was sunken, like a skeleton, and it's eyes were closed shut, but you could see the faint glow of blue behind the lids, they seemed to be in slits, like a serpent. At the top of it's veiny head lay a patch of pure white hair.

"Pitiful sight, aren't I?" It said, but it's mouth didn't move, at all. It remained an indifferent frown, it's eyes still closed, like it was sleeping.

"Ouranos?" I croaked, still creeped out by this whole atmosphere, and this appearance. Why the hell is Ouranos a demon baby?

"Yes, Matthias. Do you see what I will become? What I will have to endure in order to return to this world?"

I kept my eyes on it's mouth and eyes, to see a sign of any life, but no, they remained shut. It was his voice however, and not an infant's.

"I will do whatever it takes, Matthias, to see my vision through. That is who I am, that is what defines me."

"Wh-Why are you like that?" I hated that I stuttered, it gave Ouranos the impression that I was afraid. I mean, I was creeped out, but not afraid.

"Part of the plan. I have many plans, as you can tell."

"Oh I know you do, and I've thwarted a lot of them so far."

He laughed a horrible laugh, like a smoker trying to catch air.

"You think you've won? I haven't even started!"

"The same goes for me. Whatever you try to hurt us with, I'll stop it."

He chuckled, "Quite the hero, hm? But are you really? A hero has to make the hard decisions, a hero has to go in between the lines of good boy and bad every now and then. Are...you capable of that, Matthias?"

He said it like he was talking to the baby here, in a goo goo voice. He chuckled after he said that, further enraging me.

I kept my calm though, "I have made hard decisions. I chose to train with my father over staying with Harper and my friends. I did it in order to defeat you."

"Defeat me? Or kill me?"

"Same thing."

"Quite the contrary, Matthias. You defeated Krios, but you killed those demigods in Texas last year. The difference is, one is still alive, while the other is completely deceased. You caused that. A boy that vowed to never kill a demigod, but monsters only...quite a change, wouldn't you say?"

I gritted my teeth, he was playing mind games with me, trying to get me angry, trying to get me to give in to my rage. I knew none of this was real, it was just in my head, me fighting against my nature, my impulse to let my anger take control. Well, I wouldn't let it.

"I regret that. I'm not perfect, I make mistakes, just like everyone else." I walked closer to his form in the cloth. It was loose around him now, revealing his entire goblin-mummy body. His skin somewhat shriveled and very, very pale, near white. Especially in the private area.

His form did not open it's eyes, didn't open it's mouth, yet his voice rang true in my head.

"Mistakes? Or are you becoming who you really are?" He said.

I scoffed, "I wouldn't have had to kill them if you hadn't brainwashed them in the first place."

"Is that what you think? I have to disagree with you, boy. I only tell them my intentions, and I never force them into joining me, they make that decision of their own accord."

"You bend the truth, Ouranos. You tell them a side of the story in which you're the good guy."

"I tell them the truth, Matthias. Do you know the truth? Were you there near the beginning when we, the Primordials were born? When I burst forth from Chaos and became lord of the sky and air? Were you there when my wife and children blindsided me?"

"I don't have to be there to know the truth. You were sick even then, you threw your earlier children into Tartarus based on their appearance! And you didn't burst forth from Chaos, you burst forth from Gaea, your own wife!"

He chuckled, "So that is what history tells you demigods? That I threw them in my brother's domain simply because they were ugly? That I am a son of Gaea? Nobody knows the truth but us. You are ignorant. I was created from Chaos just as Gaea was, we were meant to be opposites, me being the sky and her the Earth. Our earlier children were ugly indeed, but that was not the main concern. I had a vision, Matthias, a vision in which we both ruled a peaceful world, a world that contained whatever we liked! We envisioned our children helping us achieve this. But no, the elder Cyclops and hundred handed ones wanted nothing to do with it. They were rebellious, so I disposed of them."

"And that's supposed to make you a good guy?"

"I did what was necessary. If you don't have a purpose in this existence, then you have no value. And they had no value."

I felt my lips tighten. This guy, this primordial was trying to paint himself as the good guy, the one you sympathize with. I wasn't buying it.

"You know, I was once a beautiful god, Matthias. Both Gaea and I were perfect in image, but the thwarting of others changed that. She went behind my back, her and our other children, the Titans, plotted a scheme in which I would be killed. It worked, and I was sent to Tartarus. He is not much for reason, by the way. He said there was nothing he could do, and that it was part of an immortal's life. I stayed there for eons! Years and years beyond your comprehension! I burned and withered, I experienced hell to it's highest peak! But I had time. Oh yes, my son's domain, time. The one thing I thank him for. I had plenty of time to plan, to think, and endure."

I said nothing.

"That is why I will become like this. I haven't set foot on this land in millennia, I have not power to return physically by will! So I must have a middleman. That's where you come in. Did you like my Viribus plot?"

I felt anger course through my veins, the calm river returned back into a raging rapid.

He laughed loudly, "I can feel your anger! Yet you keep it bottled inside. Why? Why not let it out?"

"I'm not playing into your game. I know what this is."

"I am right here, Matthias. I am but a mere carcass of an infant, a pathetic pile of skin and bones. Why not get rid of me right here? Why not take that sword of yours, and stab me through the chest?"

"You're not real."

"I am very real, Matthias. Zeus downed Typhon last year, he destroyed a part of the beast's consciousness. Maybe the same thing will happen to me, who knows? You should take your chance."

I glared at the baby, "Why would you willingly get stabbed, if it hinders you?"

"A small price to pay, if I get to see you cave. Which you will. You will give in to your nature, your anger. Because you are your father's son. He too gave into his anger."

My father? No. He's the one that taught me to keep it in check.

"Don't you know your own father's history? His rage was used against him, and he did horrible things, Matthias. It's a wonder you still follow him."

"Shut up, you psycho. You're trying to turn me against my father."

"If you want me to be quiet so bad, silence me! The sword is in your hand..."

Each of the Big Four started to chant at me to stab Ouranos. I had forgotten they were there to be honest, and their sudden voices made me nearly jump.

"Do it." They said, over and over.

"No." I resisted.

"Come on, Matthias. It is in your nature, it is what's necessary. Who are you afraid of frightening? Why do you resist? Give in!"

"I won't." I closed my eyes, trying desperately to ignore the unified chants urging me to do it, to stab him. It was so hard, like each of their voices were being amplified ten fold, their influence stronger than anything.

"It will make things better, Matthias. All of this will be over. This vision, our conversation, the chanting, everything. You will go back to whatever it was that you were doing."

"I don't care!" I tried to protest, but it was eating at me, my anger threatening to take over. It was like every feeling I had, every pet peeve, every enraged thought, was being amped up to the max, I was about to explode from it. I couldn't take it anymore.

"DO IT!" Ouranos screamed, "STAB ME! THINK OF HOW MUCH TIME YOU CAN BUY! THINK OF THE LIVES YOU WILL SAVE!"

My teeth were gritted so tight, my body tense and stiff. This was the most difficult thing I had probably ever had to deal with.

"Do it, Matthias. Do it." The Big Four continued to chant, unlike themselves, and more like a demonic cult. Very loud, very persuading, It took all I had to resist.

"Stop this! Stop doing this!" I yelled, my hands finding their way to my head, grabbing on to my medium length hair.

Ouranos laughed, having the time of his life. That enraged me more, the fact that he was gaining satisfaction and pleasure at my suffering. At playing games with me.

"This is no game. This is life and death. Will you? Or will you not make the correct decision here?"

"There is no decision! I'm leaving!" My eyes shot open and I looked for an exit. I ran towards the edge of the wasteland, towards a small gap where two of the many weapons stood from the ground. For some reason, I ran at normal human speed. No, I was running slower than a regular mortal. It was like my feet were being held down by the entire world. The pressure was immense.

"Trying to escape, now that's not very heroic." Ouranos said, chuckling with delight.

I began to sweat, to feel fatigue. Things I never felt nowadays due to my training. But here, I was normal, I was very vulnerable.

I finally made it to the edge, but when I tried to go through the gap, the two swords in front of me clashed together with an X, blocking my path. I was thrown backwards by a strong gust of wind.

"Nowhere to run, Matthias. You will make a decision!"

I tried several times with the other gaps, to no avail. Each time I kept getting thrown back.

"COME HERE!" Ouranos roared, his voice still raspy. I felt a hurricane like wind pull me back to where I was. I landed hard on my back, feeling all the pain of a regular human.

I groaned, and got up, staggering.

"Do this, Matthias. Do this, and be a real hero."

I tried to retort, but I coughed up blood, enough to fill half a cup full.

"Do you want to see what I will do to your friends? What will happen if you leave me intact?" The baby now actually moved. It didn't open it's eyes or mouth still, but it snapped it's fingers, loud enough that it couldn't have been differentiated from an adult.

Several images morphed before me. They came into view. All of my friends hung from two thick wooden pikes. Each of their hands binded to the wood on both sides, hanging freely, their heads were down, blood dripped from them, lifeless and dead.

I saw all of them. Percy, Annabeth, Talon, Malachi, Sera, and...Harper

Her sight hit the hardest. I hadn't seen her in my mind for weeks, months even, and in person for over a year. So seeing her for the first time in a while, all hung up and dead. Did not make me feel good.

I felt sickness rise in my stomach, an anger creeping through my head, then my neck, and then the rest of my body. I felt it coming, coming, and more. I couldn't hold it in any longer.

Ouranos laughed, "HA! Do you see Matthias! Do you see what I am capable of-"

He was stopped dead in his tracks by my sword, impaling him through his shriveled chest. I had thrust the blade right through the baby, blood sprouting everywhere, dripping on the sword, and down it's ghoulish body. It's eyes shot open for a moment, it's mouth about to scream, but after a split second, it fell limp.

I held up the sword in the air, Baby Ouranos on the end.

I couldn't help it. I just...couldn't stop myself.

I tried to say something, but my mouth was glued shut, I had no words. I just stood there, holding the dead Ouranos infant.

But then I felt a small ping on my sensing radar, again.

I turned to look at the baby, it's body regaining what little color it already had.

To my utter horror, the next few moments were silent, dead silent. The Big Four had evaporated into nothing the moment I stabbed the baby Ouranos, so it just left myself.

A few moments passed, and a small chuckle could be heard. A terrifying sound, an evil sound.

The baby's head shot up, it's eyes wide and maniacal. They were blue slits, but the surrounding area was white, like a human's, only they were very bloodshot, looking like a zombies.

His mouth upturned into a demonic grin, spreading literally all the way to his deformed ears.

"I knew you had it in you, Matthias." He said, light and raspy, it's mouth moving this time, but the wide insane smile not retreating.

He began to laugh, his mouth wider than his body, the air bended, the sky turned red to blue, I felt like I was being thrust into another world.

Within a few moments, SNAP!

I was back.

I felt myself fall to the ground, the air warm again, and not deathly cold.

I opened my eyes, the sun was bright. Wait a minute...the sun.

I shot up, looking around frantically.

"Easy! Take it easy, son." I heard a gruff voice tell me.

I turned, panicking, "Where is Ouranos?! Where is he!"

My face must have been crazier than I thought, because I saw the face of my father recoil in surprise.

He grabbed my shoulders, "It wasn't real, Matt. Okay? It wasn't real, don't worry."

"I gave in..." I croaked, my face emotionless now.

"Yeah. You did." He said, knowing what I was talking about.

"I-I, I caved. I wasn't supposed to. I was supposed to control it, but I...I couldn't resist. I couldn't stop myself, father."

He said nothing. I turned to my right to see Kyros sitting on my father's shoulder, and a figure on the ground.

It was a stocky man, beaten and bloody beyond repair. His face sunken in to the ground, beating rapidly by something. Golden blood was everywhere, as his arm was completely torn off.

Wait...golden blood?

Oh gods.

It was all coming back to me, I had...gone crazy, I nearly killed Hephaestus.

"Oh...gods." I said.

"Yeah, you went nuts."

"But I-I" I was trying to get the words out, to explain my vision. But I couldn't, for whatever reason.

"We can talk about it later. We need to get to Olympus."

"But his arm? What...happened?"

"All I know, is that I felt an extremely powerful aura over here, way more than Hephaestus's. I came over to see you pounding his face in with your fists. I was halfway to you when you started shouting and screaming something about wanting it to stop. That's when you grabbed his arm, and ripped it from his body."

My jaw fell. I had done that? Holy...shit.

I had lost it. I had lost control.

I had never felt so bad in my life. An ocean of guilt rushed over me, at my inability to control myself, at my damage to others.

"Look, we can't dwell on it now. We gotta get him to Olympus. First of all, to be healed, and second of all, to warn my father and the other gods."

I nodded mindlessly, I knew I wouldn't be able to just brush off everything I had seen. Everything I had done.

That vision...was very disturbing, and so strange. I had no idea what to make of it. Was it really all in my head? Was it just me fighting a mental battle? What was with baby Ouranos.

Why couldn't I resist?

I knew I would have to talk about it. I needed it. I needed it badly.

My father noticed my uneasiness and sighed.

"Matt, you need to listen to me when I say that we have to do this now. We can talk about your...outburst later. But you have to focus for the moment. Can you do that?"

I looked at him, guilt coming over me like waves from a bee sting. I had given in to Ouranos's game, I wasn't strong enough, mentally.

Finally I lied, "Yeah, I can do that."

"Good. We'll teleport there, since we want them to know that we're coming without barging in."

"How will they know we're having a meeting?"

"Oh they'll know." He said, almost grimly. The tone didn't ease my nerves.

Kyros cawed on his shoulder. He patted the eagle, "I know, just hang on tight buddy."

He bent down and grabbed Hephaestus's good arm, which still had blood all over it. Seeing the god's near lifeless form, I felt so bad. He was being influence, and I took out my frustration on him, all because I couldn't control my damn emotions like I thought I could.

"Is he...alive?" I asked, not bothering to sense his aura. I didn't want to use any of my powers at the moment.

Hercules nodded, his lips tight. "Barely, he's got a faint aura. That's why we need to go, quickly. So put a hand on my shoulder, and hold on tight."

I walked over and put my right hand firmly on his shoulder, looking up at his face, I asked a burning question.

"After he's healed, what's gonna happen to him?"

My father looked in the distance, his face unreadable.

"I don't know."

"And us? What are we gonna do? What are we gonna tell them?"

He turned his head slowly down at me, and looked me in the eyes, seriousness etched in them.

"We tell the truth."

He said that, no smile, no wisecrack, nothing. This was serious, very serious. Ouranos could very well return, and bring with him a legion of Norse beings. The Sons of Thor were already bad enough. I couldn't imagine anything else.

I nodded at him. But I felt no better, instead, a horrible sensation swirled around in my gut. Something bad was about to happen, something bad...to me, and not to me.

To people I cared about. To people I loved.

Was that what Ouranos meant? When he said, think of how many lives you'll save!

I had stabbed him. Was it all a ruse? Was he just messing with me? Or had I hindered him?

"Are you ready, Matt?" My father asked.

My thoughts broke, but the feeling didn't. I forced a determined look on my face, and replied, "I'm ready."

With that, the world began spinning at a million miles an hour. I held tightly onto my father's shoulder, the next task shortly ahead.

(000)

Well, that was a mind twister, huh? I hope you all enjoyed Matt's inner struggle as much as I enjoyed writing it. The vision was long, I know, but it adds a lot to his character and to the story really. For those wondering, it wasn't real, it was like Matt said, it was him struggling with his inner rage. But never the less, it adds to the story, and I hope you all liked it, along with the Hephaestus fight.

Also, I realize in myth, Ouranos is actually not the Son of Chaos, but Gaea in fact. I changed it to where he was formed from Chaos, so I hope that doesn't bother anybody. If it does, my bad. It's a small detail that isn't really a big deal.

Anyway, Matt's next chapter will take place on Olympus! And as for the chapter after this, you'll see our trio take on the Sons of Thor! That should be very interesting.

As always, thanks for reading, and check out Chapter Eight, it'll be out sooner than you think!

Until Next Time.