AN: What's this? A double upload?!
I've been writing these out pretty feverishly. I've been drafting out a few chapters in advance, which is surprising for me. But I guess this'll just be a treat for you guys :D.
But I digress.
I hope you all enjoy the chapter!
So without further ado, lets begin!
Disclaimer: I, Beowulf, do not own PJO or JJBA. I only own this plot, my OC, and the disappointing truth that I do not possess D4C. If I did, I'd probably be wanted in at least 20 realities for tax evasion.
~Chapter 5~
"You and your big mouth, Trevor!" Travis Stoll shouted out as he and his siblings scrambled and ran, going for their twelfth lap around the camp. He ducked suddenly as a bullet went whirring over their heads, "I didn't sign up to be shot at like this!"
Trevor King, a much younger child of Hermes, yelped as a bullet whizzed past his ear, "Stop yelling at me and keep moving!"
"It's your fault, you idiot!" The other twin retorted.
"KEEP RUNNING, OR I'M GONNA BLOW SO MANY HOLES IN YA, YOUR GUTS'LL BE LEAKIN' LEAD!" (1) The maniacally laughing Cyrus barked out as he dashed along behind them (and if anyone were to look closely, they'd notice a faint blue foot pushing off the ground along with his real foot), reloading the Last Word before firing another slew of bullets at the panicking Hermes campers with a fan of the hammer.
They were rubber bullets that wouldn't really wound anyone...but they didn't need to know that.
To the side watching along with other curious campers, not counting Aphrodite's daughters who were busy ogling the new 'meat', the rest of the younger Hermes children under the age of thirteen sat and watched, joined by the di Angelos. All of the younger kids were laughing hysterically, along with Nico, while Bianca was giggling a bit to herself, despite her slight pity at the plight of the older Hermes campers.
After another hour of that, Cyrus apparently decided that he'd had enough and that his vengeance was fulfilled. Almost instantly, the poor victims of Cyrus's chase collapsed, moaning and groaning about their sore legs.
The gunslinger teen chuckled to himself, spinning the gun in his hand before making it vanish as he heard the clip-clop of hooves behind him. Turning to see, he stifled a laugh at Chiron's disturbed/amused countenance.
"I...see you have finished with your little vendetta against your cabinmates."
"Yes...for now," Cyrus added that last bit, making some of his victims flinch at the thought of having to go through that again.
Chiron just shook his head before clopping a bit closer, "The counselors will be convening on the upcoming Capture the Flag game: Campers v Hunters. Would you like to join us?" The centaur asked. While Cyrus was technically still unclaimed, he still had gathered enough interest on Olympus to warrant him tagging along with the counselors.
The teen in question shrugged, before nodding, "Sure why not. This game should be pretty fun."
"I gotta say though...for a place that's meant to be training heroes to fight monsters...forgive me for saying this...but it's kinda one-dimensional in my opinion. I was expecting a bit more in terms of tactical thinking, what with you teaching..." Cyrus hummed quietly as he glanced over at the Hermes cabin. For the offspring of the "God of Thieves" he was expecting a bit...more in terms of unorthodox strategy and deception. Not one of them were able to come up with a way on the fly to stop him from chasing them.
"You seem to forget, when I made a name for myself as a trainer of heroes, I only had one apprentice at a time, so to speak," reminded Chiron, "but now, I am...regrettably stuck with almost a hundred of them with no help from Mr. D or anyone else for that matter.
"Ah...well that explains a lot about the current death rate among demigods," Cyrus frowned to himself before sighing, "I suppose that's fair. That and I guess cunning and shrewdness can't exactly be taught in the conventional ways...perhaps I should get involved and make some form of class for that..."
Chiron stroked his beard, humming in thought, "That could be interesting...after all, if monsters are getting smarter...so should we. I'll think on this idea for a bit. Regardless, I hope I see you at the meeting. We will be convening after lunch."
The dark-maned teen gave a two-fingered salute and a grin, "Sounds good Chiron."
As the centaur trotted away, he couldn't help but add over his shoulder, "Oh, before I forget, Thalia wanted me to remind you that you gave your word that you would explain your seven-year absence."
He chuckled as he left, leaving a paling Cyrus in his wake. The demigod would later vehemently deny that he had been whimpering at the thought of dealing with the vicious daughter of Zeus.
"That lousy little...I swear I'm going to deck him if he doesn't show..." Thalia grumbled as she paced back and forth in front of her tree, her expression souring with agitation.
She had finally managed to corner the dark-haired demigod at lunch, forcefully reminding him to show up where she had specified they would meet for their...conversation. Leaning against the tree, Percy watched as his cousin paced back and forth, smiling in amusement. He decided to tag along simply because Grover and Annabeth were. Not to mention he would get a good story out of it if Grover's tales about the enigma of a boy were anything to go by. Plus, maybe he'd be able to understand why the guy (seemed) to have a dislike of him.
Also, he totally wasn't the slightest bit jealous...not at all. Nope.
"Relax, Thalia," Annabeth said as she kept her eyes on the pages of yet another book she had managed to get her hands on. "He'll show. You of all people know how Cyrus is about keeping his word."
She tactfully left out the part about Cyrus's knack for finding loopholes in said words that he kept. That and she still wanted to have answers as well, just like Thalia, but to a lesser extent.
"Well yeah, except for...actually he didn't break his word that time, he just showed up really late," Grover corrected himself as he absently picked up a random thing that happened to be green from his left hoof. He sniffed it, before popping into his mouth. Percy glanced at his Satyr friend out of the corner of his eye, giving him an 'are you serious' look.
"Oh, Bamf-Boy'll show up, or I'll make him show up!" Thalia raged to herself, static electricity sparking around her twitching fingers, as if she wanted to strangle someone. Percy bit his lip to stifle his chuckles. He didn't get why she was so pissed off, but the way she was acting when said anger wasn't directed at him was just too funny.
"You rang?" Cyrus asked from behind them out of nowhere, still wearing his camp attire and his ever-present overcoat. Percy jumped up at the sound of his voice.
"Where did you come from?" Percy said, a little loudly due to his surprise. He was expecting him to mention his strange warping power, but Cyrus just looked at him with an annoyed expression.
"I just walked up behind you guys. I guess you didn't hear me," Cyrus shrugged, smirking a little at the sputtering son of the Sea God. Just because he could warp almost everywhere with D4C didn't mean he'd use it constantly. Still had to keep his agility skills sharp.
"You asshole, you've been holding off for too long! You better give me some answers over what happened these past seven years...and why the hell don't you look twenty-two?" The daughter of Zeus interrogated as she kept jabbing him in the chest with a finger.
"What's wrong with that? You into older guys or something, Thals?" He teased, giving her a wink. Thalia blushed and growled in anger, her eyes sparking a little.
Holding up his hands in an attempt to pacify her, he chuckled nervously, "Kidding! Kidding, Thals. No need to get so violent, I'll do my best to talk."
Her rage would not be denied, as Thalia threatened him with a raised fist, "I'm giving you 'til the count of ten to give me an excuse not to pummel you for making us think you were dead! One! Two! Nine! T-!"
"You guys didn't 'think' I was dead. I died." Cyrus interjected with the subtlety of a bull in a china shop, a small frown on his face.
Silence. Percy stared in disbelief at the very serious teen in front of them while Thalia's, Annabeth's and Grover's jaws were all slack with shock. The daughter of the Sky's fist flopped to her side as she tried to process.
Percy, being the one most distant from Cyrus, but still curious, recovered from his surprise first, "Hold on a second...you died? How?"
"Evisceration...among other things," Cyrus grimaced a little as he rested a hand on the side of his waist, a phantom pain twinging, "And let me tell you, zero out of ten, would not recommend..."
The son of Poseidon was feeling a bit queasy now. "You're kidding right?" He asked, resisting the urge to gag.
"Nope! I'm sure the rest can attest to that. Two hellhounds got me in the arms, if I remember right? Ripped all the flesh from the damn things. "
The two demigoddesses and the satyr looked away, the latter going green in the face while Annabeth and Thalia flinched, suddenly struck with not-so-pleasant memories.
"Agh! Get off me you damn mutts!"
"Cyrus!"
"Go, I'll catch up!"
The sound of something metal clanged and echoed.
"We're not leaving you Bamf-boy!"
"GO!"
"Bu-"
"I said go damn i-grahh!"
Tearing flesh was the last thing they heard before they ran.
"After that, a Colchis bull showed up. Those two mutts kept me held there while it charged. The horns caught me right in the stomach, it started shaking its head pretty violently and well...I went everywhere at that point. Legs one way, torso the other. I really do pity the janitor for the mess I left," Cyrus grimaced, his eyes dark.
At that point Annabeth finally recovered and began running her hands over the dark-haired boy, checking over his limbs for markings and the like to back up his claim of being sent to Hades like that. Thalia was still staring with a gaping mouth while Percy and Grover had excused themselves due to the brutal imagery, running over to some bushes.
"How did you survive?" Annabeth asked as she stepped back. She hadn't found any markings or scars to speak of, and while she knew that didn't back up his story, she was...painfully aware of the Hellhound part.
His anguished roars at those black beasts haunted her dreams for quite some time after she arrived at Camp for the first time.
"I just said I didn't Annie," Cyrus corrected her, "as for how I came back it's...kind of complicated."
"Complicated how?" The daughter of Athena narrowed her eyes in suspicion, joined after by Thalia who had recovered from her stupor.
Cyrus rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Well...if I say D4C one or both of you will probably hit me." The two girls glared angrily, with the older of the two making a fist again, "Okay okay wait! I know it's not really an answer but if I were to tell you what D4C's power really does, It'd open up a whole new can of worms and I'd really rather not have to deal with dying again.
Thalia scowled, but relented, lowering her hand but her eyes demanded he continue.
Cyrus sighed, scratching at his stubble, "After I managed to come back, Hades and Thanatos weren't too happy with the fast one I'd pulled, so the big guy downstairs decided to send a few of the Kindly Ones after me until I managed to give them a huge slip...Thankfully I managed to get him off my back by doing him a favor with Nico and Bianca."
"So basically, you died and managed to bring yourself back, but at the cost of getting on my Undead Uncle's and the God of Death's bad side, which is now dealt with?" The boy in question looked up at the sky for a moment, before nodding.
"Yeah, that's pretty much it," he said, suddenly stretching and clasping his hands behind his head, "We done now?"
Thalia caught herself admiring his toned midriff as his shirt rode up, before shaking herself out of it and glaring into the boy's...very nice dual-colored eyes..."No! Stop it!" "No, we are not done! You still have to explain why you look seventeen instead of twenty-two!"
Cyrus tilted his head as he regarded her, before smirking mischievously. "Nope!"
The daughter of Zeus's eyes narrowed. "Yes! Yes, you do!" She shot back, "It doesn't make any sense!"
"...Thals, we fight beasts out of Greek 'mythology' every single day and yo- we're children of the Gods. Does it really have to make sense?" Cyrus deadpanned. "Besides, you're the one who's supposed to be...what, eighteen or nineteen now?"
Thalia opened and closed her mouth in silence, unable to find a retort. Percy, having recovered from losing his lunch alongside Grover and rejoining the group, piped up, "He's got a point."
The glare of two electric blue eyes shifted over to him in an instant, "Stuff it, Bubble Brain! No one asked you!" She snapped.
Percy glared right back, crossing his arms, "Make me, Hot Topic Reject."
"How about I show you what happens when lightning strikes the same place twice?" Thalia snarled out.
"That would be a miracle considering your aim," Percy taunted.
"Time to start practicing then!"
"I can tell you need it!"
"I will fry you where you stand, Sushi Breath!"
"Oh, should I sit down to make it easier for you, Pinecone Face?!"
Cyrus watched the two of them bicker back and forth with a smile on his face, "Heh, Abbott and Costello ain't got nothing on this," he mused quietly before he realized something and grinned.
Out of everyone, Grover noticed said grin first, with Annabeth currently focused on trying to keep the other two's argument from spiraling out. The dark-maned teen noticed that Grover noticed, his grin widening further.
Grover shook his head no. Cyrus nodded his head yes.
No.
Yes.
No.
Yes.
N-
Cyrus quickly grabbed the lapels of his overcoat and pulled it tightly over him, disappearing in an instant. Grover facepalmed. Hard. Annabeth sighed before looking over and seeing where the enigmatic demigod used to be.
"Guys. GUYS!" She shouted at the two arguing children of the Big Three to get their attention. Having gotten it, she pointed and sighed. "Great...now we'll have to hunt him down for answers again. Come on, we have to get to the Council meeting."
Percy and Thalia shot each other killer glances. This wasn't over.
Cyrus leaned back with his hands clasped behind his head and a smirk curling his lips as Travis and Connor glared at him half heartedly: half from exhaustion and half from actually being chased around with a gun.
The rest of the counselors (excluding Annabeth, Percy and Thalia) had already all arrived. Lee Fletcher, counselor to the Apollo cabin was currently staring at Cyrus like he was a puzzle meant to be solved ("No doubt he knows about his father's curiosity with me."), along with Darius Brooks, and Katie Gardner, who was also looking at Cyrus with intrigue, while also stealing glances at the tall son of Hermes next to the mysterious gunslinger.
Charles "Charlie" Beckendorf and Silena Beauregard both sat opposite from Cyrus and the twins, and whispered to each other about the newest addition to their camp. Bianca, being the eldest child of Hades, was also present, though sat a bit off to the side, not wanting to draw attention. Three chairs remained open for Annabeth, Percy and Thalia to take, which they did fifteen minutes later.
Thalia's eyes were daggers stabbing holes in Cyrus's head for his escape. The teen simply grinned and gave a teasing kiss in return.
The sound of a throat being cleared made everyone turn as Chiron entered the room in his wheelchair, probably so that he wouldn't knock anything over or make a mess.
"This meeting, which has been called in preparation for the upcoming Campers v Hunters Capture-The-Flag game, is now in session," Chiron began, before dropping the formal aura and asking almost pleadingly, "Does anyone have any ideas?"
Darius looked over at Cyrus, grinning at seeing his new (self-proclaimed) rival, before nodding at him. "I say we ask the new guy for his two cents. Whatcha think Trenchcoat? You got a plan?"
"Hm?" Cyrus looked up, having been fiddling with the ring on his finger with a bored expression on his face. The Ares boy growled in annoyance.
"I'm kidding," Cyrus chuckled, "And yeah, I could probably think up something, but I don't think that's the priority right now. The first issue we should address is to determine a captain. A leader to command and coordinate everyone."
Annabeth nodded, musing quietly, "We need someone who can stand against Zoe, considering she's the one that usually gets the flag." She said, getting several frowns from the gathering.
"Lemme at her!" Darius demanded with a bloodthirsty grin, "She's a good fighter and I wanna brawl!"
"No way, she's mine!" Thalia snarled as electricity sparked around her eyes.
"Nah, sit this one out Thalia, we'll take her down," Connor said with a grin at his other half.
"Yeah, sabotage and traps for the win!" Travis chimed in as he high-fived his brother.
As the argument erupted, Cyrus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Jeez, I can see why they've lost every time now..."
A sharp whistle broke up the argument, and the overcoated teen lowered his fingers from his lips before rubbing his forehead. "Finally. Now I can see why you all have lost every time to the Hunters."
His eyes narrowed a little in disapproval, "You all have no coordination. No teamwork. No wonder you guys have lost."
Some looked sheepish while others glared. Cyrus continued as he looked over at Chiron, "The Hunters are constantly united in their Hunt under one patron. The Campers are all divided between the petty boundaries and vendettas of their parents. I'm sure you can see where I'm getting at here?"
Chiron frowned, "The cabins all do fine when it is called for. I don't see how...oh..." The campers watched as an expression of horrified enlightenment crept over their teacher's face.
"Aaand the penny drops." Cyrus said, as Chiron facepalmed, moaning at his foolishness at having missed something so simple. The boy chuckled, "Don't worry Chiron, if it'd been Annie's mom or even Ares helping you out instead of Mr. D, you'd have caught it sooner." He said, standing up to go over and console the poor centaur with a pat on the back.
He blinked for a moment and looked around, "Speaking of which, where is he?"
"He refused to show up when I told him you were coming. Something about refusing to deal with the 'arrogant mystery'." Chiron groaned out as he held his head in his hands, "So stupid, I should have seen it. How did I not see it..."
Leaving the centaur to himself, Cyrus took charge to get the meeting back on track. He returned to his seat, crossing his arms as he regarded the room full of campers. "Right, so we understand our weakness yes? Our biggest issue is the lack of teamwork outside our own cabins and going on quests."
There were mumbles of reluctant acceptance throughout the room. Cyrus rubbed his head for a moment, before shrugging, "It's not a bad thing per say. It happens. Believe me, you wouldn't believe the amount of shit I had to put up with when I had my own gang."
"What's that mean? A gang?" Annabeth asked, her curiosity regarding her adoptive older brother's mysterious past getting the better of her.
"Never mind that. What we need is a plan for this game, and if we really want to win, we need to set aside our egos and petty grievances." Cyrus said, subtly trying to steer the conversation away from his history. Some of the campers took note of the deflection and stared for a moment, before letting it slide...for now at least.
"Well you can still think of something right?" Lee Fletcher asked, "Come on, with your strength and that ability of yours it's like you're the new Herc-"
Cyrus's slightly glowing eyes snapped to him, giving an icy glare that had Lee's voice catching in his throat, "Do not compare me to him."
Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he continued. "That annoyance may have good press from Disney, but I'd rather not be compared to him. If you have to compare me to someone, just do it with me and Fishface over there's namesake."
"Alright, that's it!" Percy slammed his hands on the table, standing up and glaring at the teen, "What is your problem with me huh? What did I do to you?"
"You haven't done anything to me." Cyrus regarded the son of Poseidon with a cold gaze, "It's what you are not doing, that irks me so very much. You've been running around on dumb luck making all those demigods who trained and completed quests look like fools. Meanwhile, you don't do anything to fix or improve yourself!"
"You take that back!" The son of the sea snarled, gnashing his teeth a little. A pressure took hold of the room as Cyrus's eyes glowed a light fuchsia once again.
"Why should I? It's the truth isn't it? You have unorthodox thinking and are quick on your feet, I'll give you that. But you aren't honing that at all, are you? You are naïve, and foolish!" Cyrus hissed lowly as he slowly stood, leaning on the table.
The overcoated teen glared, his dual-colored orbs boring into those of sea green as he spoke softly, "Let me tell you a tale, son of Poseidon. Once upon a time, there was a young boy. He was a gentleman, kind and loyal, who just wanted to make his dad proud. He was a lonely boy, with his mother having died a long time ago and very few friends at all. Following so far?"
"Um...not really..." Percy said as he sat down, wondering where the teen was going with this.
"Not really huh? Alright then," Cyrus said with a scathing chuckle as he slowly began circling the room. "Well then, a few years later, he gets an adoptive brother who, turns out, is a complete jerk. But, after a few fisticuffs, and the like between boys, it all seems to work out! Hurray, lets break the drinks out! Sounds good doesn't it?"
"Um...kind of?"
"Except, turns out that naïve, foolish hero of our little story, was betrayed. By his adoptive brother, who tricked him. Gasp! Oh no! Turns out the bastard of a brother had some issues, and everything starts to go off the rails fast. Sounds great huh?"
"Oh...N-no..." Percy said quietly as a certain scarred blonde flashed across his mind a bit.
"'No.' Sure, lets put it that way." Cyrus scoffed before looking around at the room, "would anyone like to guess at what happens next in our little tale? Anyone?"
Darius swallowed before piping up, "Uh...the two brothers fought?"
"Ding ding ding! We have a winner, he got it on the first shot!" Cyrus declared with an unnerving smile on his face as he continued pacing around the room, "Yep, there were fights. First with words...then with fists...and then, battles to the death."
By now, the sheer presence and sway Cyrus had over the room was stifling. The assembled counselors were clearly uncomfortable and Chiron, even while thinking that he should stop this, was too enthralled in the story to do so.
The boy stopped, his eyes moving over all the campers, "Our hero had his evil brother on the ropes, time and time again! But in the end, he was too naïve in his thinking...and he died. The evil brother managed to slay our noble and kind hero, with a strike clean through his neck." Everyone flinched at the brutally icy tone in his voice.
Cyrus circled back to his chair, sitting down, but still leaning forward as his stare pinned a certain son of Poseidon in place. "I will make this crystal clear to you, Perseus Jackson. Either you start to actually give a shit about what you are doing here and what you are meant to be learning and improving yourself with, or by the time I leave this camp-"
His fist slammed into the table and it splintered, a good sized dent in the wood. He glared at Percy as the rest of the counselors jumped.
"Your foolishness will be your downfall."
Silence reigned as Cyrus leaned back once again, looking around at the unnerved and alarmed counselors. "So...story time is over now, back to the matter at and. Who wants to be captain?"
Not a single hand went up.
"I see..." Cyrus said slowly before looking over at Annabeth with a small smile. "Annie! You're the smartest one, so let's have you as Captain. We've got about a day or so to come up with a plan. I'll be around if you need me."
With that, the gunslinger teen vanished from his chair. Said chair fell to the floor with a clatter, shaking the group from their daze. Four of the girls (Thalia, Bianca, Katie and Silena) all had blushes on their faces. While Cyrus's act of intimidation had definitely done its job, it was also kind of hot how he had taken control of the situation.
Especially for the former of the four.
Annabeth, who had come to at her name being called, was already brainstorming battle plans for the Campers v Hunters. At the same time, her mind was speedily trying to analyze the story that Cyrus had told. It definitely wasn't just a random story that he'd heard or come up with, because of how emotional of a reaction the boy had. Was it a friend he'd had? Or a person he'd known?
Charlie, Darius and Lee had found a new role model/rival in camp, with the twins going along the same way. At the same time, the twins (and Percy) were also trying to keep their composure at the implied threat against their lives.
"So um.." Darius started after a moment of silence, grabbing everyone's attention. "Is he going to be a year-rounder? 'Cause if that's one of his moral stories, I really wanna hear his horror ones."
Cyrus sat on the edge of one of the cliffs overlooking the beach as the sun went down. He wasn't exactly the brooding type, but telling the story of Jonathan Joestar was not something he particularly liked doing. He sighed as he looked down.
Valentine's memories were vast and meticulously detailed. This was especially the case in the war against DIO Gone to Heaven. Valentine had worked alongside all of the Joestar Bloodline and had faked being controlled by DIO, which had given him insight into the enemies that had faced said Joestars. This had given him knowledge regarding the pasts of all of the Joestar family, as well as their greatest enemies. The former President had never known the exact path that the family had taken in regards to their adventures, but he understood enough (2).
Cyrus gritted his teeth. Percy was painfully similar to Jonathan in his eyes. Courage and loyalty and resolve...as well as a certain kindness to his allies and enemies alike. But he also had a few of Jonathan's weaknesses too. Foolish naivety was chief among them. However, unlike Jonathan, Percy wasn't an exceptionally clever combatant. He had his moments of cleverness from what he had heard yes, but he wasn't a tactical thinker by any means like Jonathan had, and didn't particularly like learning. Which was worrisome at best, and unacceptable at worst. (3) It didn't help that Jonathan wasn't exactly Cyrus's favorite out of the Joestars.
Monsters were growing stronger and smarter with every passing age. Any idiot could hit a hammer on a blade, but it took knowledge and cleverness to hone that blade into a weapon of war. Eventually if nothing changed, monsters would overwhelm demigods. And that was something Cyrus refused to let happen.
"...did you need something Chiron?" Cyrus asked as he heard the clop-clop of the centaur's hooves approaching behind him.
"Are you alright my boy?" The age-old trainer of heroes regarded him with a touch of worry, "You left everyone in quite a bit of shock with your...tale."
"I figured. Don't worry Chiron, I'm fine. But thank you for looking out for me."
Chiron glanced over at a sizable boulder that had been near where Cyrus sat looking at the sea. Emphasis on had.
The boulder was absolutely shattered, with chunks of rock scattered around. Yeah, the mysterious demigod was definitely 'fine.'
Shaking that off, he frowned, "Cyrus, I know this is a bit much to ask of you...but can you go a bit easier on Percy? He's-"
"Part of the prophecy, yes yes I know." He finished, frowning as he gazed out at the horizon, "however, so are the di Angelos and Thalia. Lest you forget."
"True, but the di Angelos are nowhere near their eighteenth birthday."
Cyrus tilted his head a little in acknowledgement before grimacing, "You make a fair point, but Thals is past hers and Jackson only has two years til' his."
Fiddling with his ring, he sighed, "If there is anything I have learned about prophecy Chiron, it's that they cannot be avoided. You can only accept them and move forward. Coddling Jackson will do nothing but harm him. It will hide him from the truth and upon knowing it, he'll try to avoid his fate."
Chiron regarded his newest camper. "Is that so wrong?" He asked with a frown.
Cyrus turned to the centaur, and Chiron was struck by how...old his eyes looked. As if he knew things far beyond even Chiron did. Said eyes hardened as Cyrus frowned. "Yes, it is very wrong."
He sighed and looked up at the sky. "I don't know about the Fates as much as everyone else, but I know this. Fate is as inescapable as Gravity. Those who try to fight it and escape it, doom themselves to a fate worse than death itself. What goes up, must come down. Fate will always correct itself." He said, the memory of a certain man with black-spotted pink hair flashing through his mind.
"I've seen it again and again Chiron. Hell, my friend almost 'escaped' her fate, and what did that get her? She was stuck in stasis, in that godforsaken tree over there. There is a war coming, just as inescapable as the fact that if I were to throw a pebble up, it'll still come down due to Gravity."
"So...this war is inevitable then? We won't escape it?"
Cyrus's shoulders fell as he solemnly replied, "Yes. It cannot be escaped."
Chiron looked carefully at Cyrus, his eyes saddened a bit. "That's quite a pessimistic outlook don't you think? That fate is so unbeatable?"
Cyrus just looked at him, before snorting. "Gods, everyone always thinks that huh? The idea that Fate is something inescapable, is such a bleak and depressing outlook?"
Chiron raised an eyebrow. "Is it not?"
The boy gave him a wry smirk, "No, because why would Fate matter?"
Seeing the look of surprise on his face, Cyrus chuckled and continued. "I don't care about what has been written for me, or what is to come for me. In the end, all that matters, is that I do what I what I feel is right." (4)
Chiron gaped at Cyrus. This boy, who was thousands of years younger than himself, had spoken so profoundly. "...you truly are a mystery, Cyrus Khan."
The boy chuckled, standing up from his seat. "Why thank you. Now then, I believe dinner is soon? Let's go grab some food."
AN: Phew, finally done. This is definitely one of the longer chapters delving into Cyrus's mind and past a bit more. Valentine was a clever one, that's for sure.
Notes:
(1) Anyone catch the reference?
(2) As I stated before, in Eyes of Heaven, Valentine was extremely involved throughout the game, being the one to bring together all of the Joestars to defeat DIO, as well as having faked his being controlled by DIO. This means that he knows, at the very least, the basics of each JoJo's life and philosophies as well as some of the minor villains and definitely all of the main villains (disregarding Wonder of U). In regards to Cyrus himself, he definitely respects all of the JoJos in their own ways and has learned from Valentine's memories of them.
(3) Percy has a surprisingly high amount of things in common with Jonathan. Both are quite noble, kind, and both do have moments of 'big brain' thinking. They also have the shared flaw of naivety, and intense loyalty. Jonathan's loyalty even ended up getting him killed when he tried to save his wife. For this, Cyrus has a lot of respect for Jonathan, because he's so damn noble and determined. But at the same time, Cyrus dislikes the sheer amount of naivety and foolishness that he possesses. Jonathan is repeatedly hoodwinked, deceived, or otherwise is so annoyingly noble that it ended up getting him killed in the end.
Percy is not Jonathan. Jonathan took things pretty seriously and trained hard in order to fight Dio and the other vampires, whereas Percy has kind of coasted on dumb luck. And Jonathan was pretty fuckin smart. The guy was a trained archeologist after all, and he was sharp enough to come up with battle plans on the spot. While Percy does have a knack for on the spot thinking, he really doesn't like learning new things.
(4) All JoJos have one thing in common. They are all bound by fate, just like anyone else. However, the difference is that they understand that Fate will always follow the path of Justice. After seeing it again and again through Valentine's memories, Cyrus has adopted the same thought process. One JoJo in particular of course...I wonder if you all can figure out which one it was?
And that's it for the notes!
I hope you guys enjoyed and please review! The criticism and feedback sustains my mind.
Cheers,
Beowulf