Chapter 19: Before Death, comes Life.
The Gigantes, the Firstborn…they do not worry me. I fear them, true, but from the few things I understood from deciphering ancient rites is that they are bound to laws, laws that protect them from themselves and us from them. It is this fine line, the word of a few, that keeps certain destruction from us. I fear the day those words are forgotten. It is Atlantis that worries me, Atlantis is the key, it must be. I find myself writing these words in the throne room of the forgotten city, and around me I see secrets that are begging to be discovered. I have discovered one, and I believe it is tied to the prophecy. I…I believe I found the Seaborn's Ace.
Poseidon's Notes, Page 24.
"Left".
He blocked left.
"Right."
He blocked right.
"Strike!"
Percy spun under the opposite blade, slashing his sword upwards. He was blocked by a dagger, long, dark and jagged, right before his blade met the neck of his opponent.
"Stop!"
Percy sighed, and promptly fell backwards in exhaustion. In front of him, Zagreus merely shrugged, as if only slightly uncomfortable after non-stop sparring for almost four hours. Not even Luke drilled him this hard!
"You did well." Achilles said, "Better than yesterday, worse than tomorrow. Rest, and rise to perfect your blade again."
"There is little more we can teach you with the blade." Zagreus said, his smile eerily similar to one Percy would give. "Now is just practice, making it perfect. However, I believe that it is time you begin using your Enlightenment to fuel your fighting style. You tire out too quickly, you hit too softly. Anyone fuelled with Enlightenment would overpower you after a while, no matter how talented."
"I don't know how to use my enlightenment for anything other than a few tricks." Percy admitted, "I know little of what I can do, and my father was not kind enough to teach me."
"Here's something that they won't teach you in Olympus." Achilles said, "No one's enlightenment presents itself exactly the same, not even those belonging to the same House. All of us, Zagreus, Nico, Bianca, Thanatos, Orpheus…all of us are part of the House of the Dead, and while we do share some similarities between powers, they are exactly that, our powers. Thanatos can sever the connection between Body and Soul, instantly killing people, Orpheus can cause sounds that can kill if you hear them for too long, and Zagreus can master any weapon that he had used to kill, even if it was by accident. All our powers are similar in the fact that they relate to Death, however they present each other differently. You are not different."
Percy sat up, listening intently to Achilles.
"Your Father, and the House of the Seas, has always had a connection to water. However, your father was known as Earthshaker, for while he did have an incredibly strong connection with water, he also had a strong connection with the earth, who holds water within its shell. He could cause devastating earthquakes, splitting apart the earth or even raise and lower bodies of land in the ocean. Tell me, have you had a connection, a true connection to your Enlightenment?"
Percy thought back to that fateful duel against Clarisse. He remembered the power he had held, the feeling of moisture around him as it fuelled him, how he felt winds rising and…
"From the look in your eyes I see that you have. I suppose it has nothing to do with causing earthquakes, or at least not on continental scales?"
Percy shook his head.
"Stand up, take up your blade." Achilles said. He rose a hand and a beautiful gold and silver spear appeared.
Over the past few days, Percy had begun training with both Achilles and Zagreus. He had not seen Nico or Bianca much, only a few quick conversations here and there as they had told him they were quite busy. Annabeth was nose deep into books in the library, something that Hades had reluctantly agreed to allow her entry, although Percy suspected it was because he didn't know what to do with the girl.
When he was not talking to Hades or helping him evacuate Underworld through narrow portals, he was training with Achilles and Zagreus. Over those days, he had noticed with intrigue how the Horsemen seemed to not carry any weapons, however with a few twists and turns of the hand they would appear in between tendrils of dark smoke.
Percy stood at the ready, his sword drawn.
"I want you to reach for your Enlightenment." Achilles said as he held his spear. "I don't care how you reach for it but do so."
Percy reached for the power, the bubble within him that seemed to grow when he touched upon its blessing. He found it, and began to draw the power into himself. He felt a surge of strength, the familiar feeling of moisture around him, and he found himself surprised to see that his previous experiment a few days ago in the cafeteria of Olympus was now a permanent feature of his enlightenment. He could feel the water inside of Achilles' veins, and while it was subtle and took concentration, it was almost like looking for someone's enlightenment.
"Good. Now, draw more."
Percy was surprised at this request.
"More?" he asked aghast, "I already feel it tensing my emotional barriers."
"Do you think the Titans will care?" Achilles said, "Do you think they will let you breathe, allow you to find comfort in your emotions? Draw more, Perseus, get used to the feeling, to the drug. Feel it coursing through you, feel it drawing you towards the edge. Feel its hunger, and take control!"
Percy drew more of his Enlightenment, and for a moment, a blissful moment, he felt unstoppable.
"Good." Percy heard, as Achilles lunged with such a speed that not even Luke would match him.
Percy felt him coming, he felt the water in his veins, and his body took over as he blocked the spear that was aimed towards his neck.
"Good!" Achilles said, "Let it flow, feel it flowing through you, but don't let it control you! Again!"
Achilles spun around him, and Percy blocked again. He remembered the exercise he had done with Annabeth, how he had learned to feel Enlightenment. Right now, it was something similar, however for the life of him he could not feel any enlightenment from Achilles. The only thing that was stopping him from being turned into a Percy Skewer was that he could feel the water in Achilles move closer to him when he was about to strike.
He blocked another spear lunge.
"You're not attacking, Percy, lets increase the difficulty, shall we?"
Percy was not prepared for Zagreus to jump into the fight. He barely managed to dodge, Zagreus' blade nicking him on the back. He hissed in pain at the long gash that crossed his lower back.
"Concentrate." Zagreus said, as he and Achilles fell in synch. Percy chose to go on the offensive.
From the outside, it was something marvellous to see. Achilles' long range probed at Percy's defences, and Zagreus' heavy hits nicked bit by bit his endurance. When Percy attacked, Zagreus blocked every strike, while Achilles spun his spear at incredible speeds and pushed Percy back.
They truly were a dangerous duo, and Percy was beginning to feel exhaustion creeping up on him.
"USE YOUR POWER!" Achilles yelled from somewhere.
"ENLIGHTEN YOURSELF!" Zagreus said.
Percy didn't have time to reach for more of his enlightenment, for every time he tried, he would be assaulted by a barrage of attacks from both Zagreus and Achilles.
"I-I cant!"
"THE TITANS DON'T CARE!" Zagreus, or was it Achilles' voice said from somewhere around Percy. He couldn't tell, he was too tired.
"THEY WILL TAKE EVERYTHING FROM YOU!" A cut appeared on Percy's cheek.
"THEY WILL TAKE UNDERWORLD" Another cut, this one on his leg.
"THEY WILL TAKE OLYMPUS" Three cuts on his arm.
"THEY WILL TAKE NICO, ANNABETH AND HADES!" Ten slices on his chest.
"THEY WILL TAKE BIANCA!" He blocked the strike at his heart.
"I will protect her." Percy remembered his promise, as he held the smiling face of Bianca. "I will protect her, and that smile. I will protect her…"
"YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER FROM ME!" Percy yelled, and around him, the air begun to pick up in a stormy hurricane.
He absorbed the moisture around him, and he felt all the cuts on his body healing. He felt invigorated, stronger, powerful, and he knew where the next strikes would come.
He blocked, once, twice, thrice! He pushed Achilles' spear to the side, and he caught his surprised face for a moment before he rose his blade and stroked towards his chest.
Zagreus' blade stopped him, however Percy had felt him approaching and just as Percy's blade bounced on Zagreus' two handed sword, he slid underneath the man and slashed his chest, the momentum carrying him forward.
Zagreus hissed, and Percy took the opportunity to hit him on the back on the head with an overpowered hit of his blade.
The hurricane increased in power, and Zagreus was pushed away from him as Percy rounded on Achilles.
Percy fainted to the right, and he saw Achilles preparing himself for the faint. What he didn't expect, however, was for Percy to actually strike, and not faint an attack at all. He caught Achilles off guard, and the man had to strain his muscles to move out of the way from the incoming strike.
"Always do the opposite of what your opponent expects, Percy." Luke's voice echoed in his mind.
Achilles managed to push Percy back, which spoke numbers of the man's skill since he was clearly being overpowered by the younger boy. Around them, the Hurricane grew into a visible storm of wind and above them, rain began to form in a light drizzle.
Percy fell to a knee and was forced to defend from the onslaught of strikes from Achilles, who had a smile on his face so wide that Percy thought he had gone mad.
Achilles raised his spear, and Percy met his strike above the head. He then twisted beneath his arm, bringing the sword with him. He lowered it and forced the sword to cut horizontally through his chest.
A long gash appeared on Achilles' chest, and blood began to pour.
The hurricane stopped, the rain stopped, and around him, all went still.
"Shit, Achilles, I'm so so—"
The butt of the spear hit Percy in the head, then in the stomach. Achilles jumped behind him and pushed him forward, causing Percy to slam face first into the wet ground.
"It's not over until you either kill, capture, or make your opponent yield." Achilles said, stepping on Percy's back and making him groan.
After a few seconds, Achilles removed his foot from Percy's back, and Percy turned to see the man was offering him a hand.
He took it, and stood up, dusting himself and picking up the blade that had fallen a bit. When he turned towards Achilles, Percy saw that the gash across his chest was no longer there.
"W-wait weren't you injured?" Percy asked him.
"Was I?" Achilles smirked.
"Yeah, I cut you."
"Did you?" Achilles smirked again.
"Whatever." Percy sighed.
"That was some mighty power you showed there." Zagreus suddenly appeared. His dark hair was a mess, and his heterochromatic eyes seemed unfocused and surprised. "Your father was known as the Earthshaker for his control over the earth, however you seem to show incredible powers over wind as well as water. You…absorbed? The moisture in the air, even now it feels dry."
Percy noticed that Zagreus was right. Around him, the air was dry, harsh, and hot.
"You seemed to form a small hurricane." Achilles said, placing a hand under his chin in thought, "As well as growing more powerful with it. If you hadn't gotten distracted, you might have won."
Percy's eyes widened at that.
"You did good, it seemed that the moment we mentioned Bianca you did a one-eighty. Is there something we need to know?"
Percy blanched as Achilles and Zagreus smirked at him with equally teasing faces.
Percy was about to respond, when suddenly a winged creature appeared between them from what appeared to be the shadows themselves. Dark wings folded into a cloak, and a second figure stumbled in front of them from under the cloak.
Percy recognized Charon's faceless mask, and Orpheus' nervous disposition.
"Achilles, Zagreus." Orpheus said, he turned to Percy and did a quick bow, "Hunter Perseus. I believe we may have problems."
"What is it, Orpheus?"
"Monsters." He said, "I counted three men leading them, an army of over ten thousand strong and growing. And what's worse, they all seem to have a minimum level of Enlightenment."
"That's impossible." Zagreus said immediately, "There is not ten thousand Enlightened out there who have not been taken into either Olympus, New Rome, or Underworld."
"I believe there is now, and from what Thanatos and I managed to hear, this only seems to be a small part of their army."
Percy saw Zagreus and Achilles pale.
"Are you positive, Orpheus? Are you sure its not just…I don't know, an illusion?"
"I can feel the tunes of Enlightenment, old friend, I know this to be as true as day. Ten thousand Enlightened Monsters stand at the Gates of Underworld, and it will only be a matter of time before they—"
A huge, booming sound echoed through Underworld, and then a horrible screeching sound.
Thanatos growled, the first sound he had heard from the man, and vanished in a burst of shadows, leaving behind only a few black feathers.
"Shit." Achilles said. He turned to Orpheus, "Sound the Alarms, Underworld is under attack." He then turned to Zagreus. "Rally the armies, and any soldier we have. I want them where we discussed. I also want fifty men around Tartarus at all time."
Before Zagreus left, Achilles grasped for his arm.
"Zagreus." Achille said, his voice sincere and pleading, "Don't leave me alone in this world."
Zagreus smiled.
"Never."
Achilles turned, and focused on Percy.
"I'm afraid there will be no rest today." He said to Percy, "It seems they have triggered the traps inside the tunnel. It will take them a few hours to break through, however we must prepare."
"Can we win?" Percy asked, hesitantly. Achilles bit his lip.
"I don't know." He admitted, "But we will try our best. Underworld is not a fortress that can easily be broken into, however its true purpose is not that's its impregnable, it's that its inescapable. An Army of Ten Thousand may find itself breaking into Underworld, true, but they will not be able to escape, its layout, maze-like structures and un-climbable walls will see to that."
"So, we let them break in?" Percy asked.
"We do, and once they find themselves in this giant mousetrap, they will regret the day they chose to attack one of the Ancient Cities."
Percy didn't know what it was, if it was the light that shone in Achilles' eyes, or the feeling of unease that seemed to overtake him, but he found himself suddenly excited and wary for the battle to come.
"W-where do you want me to go?"
"I want you to report to aid me in breaking their lines. We want them to break in, yes, but we also want to minimize how many enemies are entering. Ten Thousand strong that's just…anyway, if we can cut even a thousand of them, it will make phase two of the plan much easier to carry out." Achilles smiled at him. "I will take the eastern gate, you take the western gate. Anyone climbs the walls, you kill them, anyone tries to get through, you kill them. Don't let them get through if you can avoid it, but don't try to hold the gates if you can't. Let's show these monsters the true might of Hunters of Underworld."
Percy smiled, and as he was about to move towards the western gate, Achilles stopped him.
"Perseus." Achilles said, "You are powerful, but you are not invincible. There will be plenty of help with you in the West, Orpheus will aid you, as will an entire battalion, however if you find yourself overwhelmed, there is no shame in taking a step back. Underworld has stood strong for thousands of years. It has never fallen, and it will not fall today. Death is the truest form of prophecy, but before death, there must be life. Now go, fight, and show them the true might of the Sea."
Percy nodded, and made his way towards the West. He was not prepared for what was to come, that he knew. He had barely a few months of training, barely touching the most basic elements of his power, yet he would be damned if he died today.
"For Olympus." Percy said. "For Underworld."
"For Bianca."
The End of Part II