Introduction
Sixteen year old Persephone Jackson has a tough life- being the heroine of the great prophecy is the least of her issues when you compare it to her insane friends and godly relatives. Compounding this, at the crux of the battle for Olympus, she is mysteriously transported to a whole new world, and a whole new conflict.
New York, 2012.
~~~Narrator~~~
Footsteps shot like thunderclaps through the Olympian throne room, the intimidating figure of Kronos stood poised to destroy the seats of the gods' power; in his way, two teenagers and a satyr.
The fearful titan paused before the three comparatively miniscule figures on the ground before him. Any reasonable person would have been concerned about the way the white marble floor had cracked beneath the titans' footsteps.
Any reasonable person would have looked down at their armor, pockmarked with dirt, dents, and scratches. Not Persephone, she had lost too much in the past years, the past few hours even.
The faces of her dead comrades strewn about the steps of the empire state building haunted her even now, their glassy eyes danced through her vision as the titan let out a deafening cry of laughter, the very sound thudding against her drums and shaking the columns surrounding the soon-to-be combatants.
Kronos looked down at the trio before him, his homogenous golden eyes seemed to shift as if they were molten. The power coming off him was palpable. Percy was scared, really scared. The last time she faced him she had almost died, and that was before he was at full strength.
His laugh quieted and he finally spoke.
"So this is the last hope of the Olympians, to be honest I expected better. Even from a group of weak godlings."
~~~Percy~~~
The demigods before him simply glared in response. I felt a deep seated anger bubbling inside of me.
I thought again of all I had lost because of this Titan filth, Beckendorf, Silena, Michael, Zoe. The two friends that I for sure knew were alive were here, with me, and would have my back as best they could, that left me and Kronos. I felt the fear that had filled me earlier leave, enveloped by an all-encompassing rage.
"You know, your friend Hyperion is really enjoying his time in eternity, say hi from me when you meet him, titan." I spat before uncapping my pen and letting the bronze xiphos spring forth.
I spun it once, enjoying the familiar weight in her hand, and unspoken agreement passed between Grover, Annabeth, and I.
They sprung into action with dagger and pipes out, their target; Nakamura. I charged for the King of the Titans; he simply chuckled and drew backbiter from out of thin air. The clanging of steel and bronze rang out over and over again.
The blades were mere blurs and flashes of light as the two best swordsmen of the century each tried to top the other. Percy didn't even have to remind herself that I wasn't fighting Luke, the rage inside her was channeled through her blade, delivering strikes that would've drawn ichor, forgoing the Achilles curse.
~~~Annabeth~~~
Annabeth looked over from her own battle, Grover had for the moment had the son of Nemesis dodging vines that seeked his ankles.
The only thing I could see was Percy's' lithe frame jumping and sidestepping around the titan of time.
Their blades never stayed in the same spot for more than a millisecond. I thought they vaguely looked like snakes, always looking to strike through their prey's guard.
The clop of Grover's hooves as they met the floor, dodging Ethan's sword, brought me back to her own fight, cautiously optimistic of Percy's' prospects.
~~~Percy~~~
Riptide moved like a viper, slashing, blocking and weaving as I vaulted through the air and twirled around the titan lord; but despite my display I was tiring, I could feel exhaustion seeping deep into my limbs no matter how hard I tried to fight it.
I hadn't slept for what seemed like forever and only the pure rage coursing through my veins kept me on my feet.
Despite the amount of slashes and stabs making their way past riptide exponentially growing I continued my onslaught.
My comparatively small frame leapt over and around Kronos as I tried desperately to get inside his guard and strike his mortal spot. Each attempt was met with cold steel and I felt myself losing hope. If I didn't know where he was vulnerable, how could I possibly win this fight?
He hadn't even brought his powers into play. Deep down I knew it was hopeless but the revenge for all I had lost drove me to strike even faster and drive deeper.
I caught a glimmer of blonde in the corner of my vision- Annabeth and Grover must've either killed or incapacitated Ethan because now they joined her. Annabeth was swayed in and out of my sight as she dove into Kronos, knife bared, before shooting out again.
Grover danced around the us as he made roses curl towards the titans torso before Kronos slashed through them in a millisecond and batted away riptide as I sent it rocketing towards his shoulder.
In an instant he turned the flat of his blade and slammed it into my chest. A blossom of pain exploded across my torso as I flew back and slammed into a column. Through blurred eyes, I watched Kronos as he spun and kicked Annabeth so she slid across the floor, impacting the wall next to the hearth, hard.
I blinked slurrily, my body wracked with pain tried to draw breath- but failed, my lungs collapsing weakly. A small trail of blood slowly started to fall across Annabeth's forehead. Grover ran to help Annabeth, his pipe's healing melody whispering dully through my ringing ears. Kronos laughed as he swiftly tore himself free from the roses that Grover had commanded to wrap round his legs.
"Petty demigods, did you think you could really defeat me? I have nearly regained my full strength, once I do, not even the gods can challenge me, let alone lesser beings."
Air came streaking into my lungs, this monster thought it was over. He thought he would leave unscathed. I would make sure he wouldn't leave without something to pay for what he had done. I slowly stood up, my upper body leaning on riptide as I inched my aching body up the column.
The titan chuckled, "I can appreciate your tenacity Persephone, are you sure it isn't misplaced, my offer still stands if you want a position in my empire." Kronos chuckled out.
I almost wanted to say yes, the gods certainly weren't the greatest and I could save her friends, the ones that were left anyway. She steeled herself against those thoughts though. Kronos would be a worse ruler than Zeus, and there was no guarantee her friends would be safe.
"I'd die before I'd consider it, filth." I choked out, still desperately trying to recover my strength.
"Well it was worth a try" Kronos smiled before raising Backbiter with a malicious smile. "Your mortal point won't be hidden forever." He stalked towards me, twirling his transformed scythe with deadly skill.
"Wait!" Annabeth cried out, her barely-conscious body slumped against the hearth with Grover standing between her and Kronos.
"Luke, if you are in there, please, end this, for me. Remember us, me, you and Thalia, she might be dead because of you." Kronos' eyes flickered blue before becoming solid gold once more.
"You foolish girl, Luke is gone, I've burned away what's left of that weak host." He roared.
She continued, "You can stop this, bring things back to the way they used to be, tell us your mortal point." His eyes flickered blue, longer this time, he opened his mouth but no words came out before his eyes glowed gold once more.
"NO! He is mine!" He bellowed before leaping towards Grover, the titan fell flat on his face before the duo as another vine attached itself to the titans ankle and the floor of the throne room.
I saw my chance, and oh man did she take it. A familiar tug pulled in my gut, water broke through the wall behind my father's throne as I pulled the water towards me. I willed the homogeneous mass into a spin, the water swirling around as it whipped up spray and wind all while gaining speed.
The titan got back up to see me floating before him surrounded by my own personal hurricane. The water rejuvenated me in a sudden burst, but the energy it took to keep the element in this state was slowly sapping my strength.
Refreshed, I blasted across the room, my blade shooting out of the tempest that surrounded me as the fight continued. My previously insane acrobatics were only amplified by my refreshed state and she leapt over and around the lord of time once again attempting to somehow strike his mortal spot.
I knew I couldn't keep this up for long and already the storm was fading. I caught glimpses of Grover and Annabeth watching in stunned silence as an ethereal green aura rolled off me in waves, pulsing through the room and battling the similar golden light which emanated from Kronos. My aura appeared to be winning, washing over wide swathes of the aḗr, before the gold struck back with vengeance- pushing the green back to the edges of my body.
I saw the golden glow suddenly push over the edge and overwhelm my own, encompassing virtually everything, as time suddenly slowed to a near stop. My body twisted as I flew over the titan lord's head and I could only watch in horror as his sword shot towards my mortal point.
I tried to move the riptide to block the strike but it wouldn't make it in time, my arm dragged like it was moving through peanut butter instead of air.
Just as backbiter was about to strike, a burst of white φως shot through the air and into my sword. The golden tinge to the air stopped and I moved riptide to block the strike just in time.
The white glow now surrounding my sword seemed to want to be thrust beneath the titans left arm. I landed behind Kronos, the stone audibly shattering beneath me, and before he could turn around I thrust riptide sword into the spot which it seemed to be drawn to.
Riptide sank deep into Kronos' torso, he screamed in pure agony as he collapsed to the floor. I stood back, shocked that I managed to defeat the titan, and confused as to what the energy that had guided my sword was.
The titan fell to his knees, convulsing, he turned to look me dead in the eyes and choked out: "See you in Tartarus, fool." Before collapsing backwards, spread eagle onto the throne room floor. A small smile broke out upon my face, we had done it, the world was saved. But before I could scream elation, a golden blast of light emanated from Kronos' body and hit me squarely in the chest, sweeping me off my feet and sending me plummeting into the throne room wal- wait no, some sort of void. I was immersed entirely in star-spotted ink void.
An oculus of Kronos' crumpled remains upon the Olympian floor was swiftly shrinking until it twinkled into a shining singularity and joined the countless stars. The overwhelming relief that washed over me as I delivered the final blow to Kronos was replaced by a deep-seated worry, what was going on?
I couldn't tell if I was falling or floating, the stars seemed to be stationary, but over time they slowly shrunk and shrunk. I was trapped for what felt like hours, a numbing chill pulling at my limbs, but deprived of almost all other senses. This place was smell-less, soundless, and probably tasteless. Granted, I hadn't tried to lick the stars- yet.
There then was the question of where I was, Kronos had almost certainly sent me somewhere, but where? And why not Tartarus like he promised, unless this was Tartarus and my eternal punishment was to ponder my situation and the fate of my world. I was certain I had killed Kronos- but how? How did I know where his mortal point was? The questions distracted me from tugging emotions in the back of my head, I needed to suppress them. It was not the time to cry about Lee or Thalia. I needed to determine where I was and how to escape.
Gradually, a slight breeze began to whisper past me, tickling the hair on my arms and pushing my pony tail up; the breeze rapidly grew stronger until it was a strong wind tugging at my clothes and armor. I dropped one side of my body and flipped over to see the source of the wind. It was another oculus, this one very quickly growing larger, the wind was whipping now, it buffeted my face and forced me to squint through a tiny slit between my eyelids.
The oculus was immediately no longer an oculus, I plummeted into the hole and got one glimpse of grass and sky before I slammed face first into the ground. I groaned defeatedly and rolled over.
My body was still unimaginably beaten up from the fight with Kronos, so even stumbling to my feet was a struggle. I wanted to just sit down and take in all that had happened over the past 24 hours, but my demigod senses wouldn't let me, I could be in danger. I had to survey the situation before doing anything else.
Looking around, it was immediately evident that I was in an immensely beautiful place. Maybe this was Elysium? Had I died? My suspicion was quickly debunked as I noticed that the sky was pitch black with a magnificent smattering of stars spread across it- in Elysium the sun was always shining. I stood halfway up a shallow knoll which was covered in knee-high grass. Looking down, I could very clearly see my impact mark. I felt a little bad for whatever farmer's grass I had flattened, but by the looks of it, he had quite a lot of it. The fields stretched for miles over gently rolling hills, intersected by several lines of fences and a few copses of trees.
At the bottom of the hill I was currently standing on, a more lush area sat, a long line of woody vegetation and trees was situated in the small valley between this hill and the next. With a jump, I realized that the winding strip of bright greenery was probably following a creek. Leaving my Percy-shaped imprint behind, I stumbled down the hill, trying to trample the least grass I could without falling flat on my face (Which I still managed to do once or twice.)
At long last I approached the bubbling creek, the splashing water was music to my ears as I crashed through the bushes and trees at the side of the creek with the last of my energy. The brook cascaded gently over a few small drops with pools between each one.
I came to a stop on the edge of a rock hanging over one of the clear pools, my exhausted body teetering back and forth as I smiled and tried to maintain my balance. I knelt on the mossy granite boulder and reached down to splash some of the cool, crystal clear water on my face. However, my fatigued body had other ideas, and I crumpled face-first into the clear pool as my vision faded to black.
A/N: Hey guys, its been far too long since I've been actively updating this story. I'm hoping to change that, this rewrite should be picking up steam pretty fast. I'm currently getting my EMT certification, so I have limited time, but more than I have had in the past! Hope you all enjoyed the twice revised chapter, I clarified a bunch of stuff, stopped a bunch of the perspective switching, all that jazz.
Also, my plan is to make a unified storyline for the majority of my stories. So the prequel to this story (and others) is currently being written as well, you can find it on my profile under the name Champion of the Hearth.