Chapter 10: The Choice

-o-

By the time I regained consciousness, my head was pounding and apparently I was being carried on someone's shoulder as a potato sack. All I could see was the muscular back and butt of someone coming up the stairs before walking into a dark room and being dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. The place was dark, barely lit by the light of the moons that entered through the huge window at the back of the room. Like the rest of the house, the place was packed with expensive things, like bookcases with hundreds of books and expensive sculptures.

"A little bit of finesse wouldn't hurt, buddy," I growled as I caught my breath.

"Jack, are you okay?"

"Thalia? What happened?" I was surprised to see her kneeling beside me with her hands tied.

"You were already turning the corner when you stopped and got punched so hard that you rolled on the ground for several meters. Then several wolves and two Germani arrived and brought us here."

"Where is here?"

"My study," a voice announced. In front of the window through which the light came in, there was a huge desk elaborated in detail, with papers and other objects on it. Behind it was a huge chair that slowly turned towards us and a lamp lit up. The face of a man was staring at us, with brown eyes the same color as his curly hair and beard that descended to his chest. With total calm, the man got up from his chair and approached us, letting us see his royal blue robe that exposed his sturdy body and hairy chest. "Do you know who I am?"

"Sorry, I'm new to recognizing creatures and individuals from Greek mythology."

The man snorted, "I am Acrisius. And I know who you are, Jacobo Jesús Álvarez Torres, son of Roberto Manuel Álvarez Gálvez and María Guadalupe Torres Tapia. And you too, Thalia Grace, daughter of Beryl Grace and the Lord of the Gods, Zeus."

Hearing him say my full name and my parents' made me wince, "How do you know?"

"That doesn't matter at the moment. What matters is that the lady knows who I am."

I turned to Thalia, who was staring at the man, "Ancient King of Argos. Grandfather of Perseus."

"Wait a minute, Percy's grandfather?"

"No, another Perseus. The one who cut off Medusa's head."

"Oh, got it."

"I thought you were dead," Thalia growled. "Something about a sports accident."

"Yes, I was until I ran into the Doors of Death and fortunately they were open long enough to go out and take the world anew. I unearthed my fortune that I had stored in my beautiful Argos and with that I had the necessary fortune to start over with an export company that allowed me to take over more companies and become bigger and more powerful.

"It was around that time that I learned of the existence of the Triumvirate of Nero, Commodus and Caligula, who were already close to being worshiped as gods. I could have joined them and become even more powerful, but they rejected me for being Greek and mocked me in my face before making a ton of dirty games to damage everything I had built. But in the end I laughed when all of them were annihilated by Apollo and I appropriated all their assets and businesses to make the Thunderbreaker Company. "

The name Thunderbreaker echoed in my mind. I had heard it so many times. I had seen it in logos on the gifts and products my dad brought to the apartment. The same logo that was on his briefcase that he carried every morning to the office.

"It seems you already understand, don't you, Jacobo? Your dad works for me, even though he doesn't know it."

"What do you want with the Huntresses of Artemis?"

"Good question. You see, having succeeded where those fools from the Triumvirate could not, now there is only one more step left for me: to take revenge on the one who ruined my kingdom. And, Miss Grace, that someone is your father, Zeus. He got my daughter Danae pregnant. Because of him, that Perseus, who was the one who murdered me, was born. The only thing I need to obtain is that sweet revenge that I have longed for for thousands of years. "

"Thanks, Dad," Thalia sighed in exasperation, as if it wasn't the first time she's met someone who had a vendetta against her father.

"Oh yeah. Thank your father, Thalia."

"But what do you want with the hunters?"

"It's simple: I want to have the attention of a god. In this case, of your lady: Artemis. Now my main objective is to become a god and that is where your hunters come in, since they will be the fundamental piece to attract Artemis and take her power. By sacrificing one by one, that will bring her down tomorrow with the full moon and take the divinity out of her," Acrisius explained. "You see, at the time when the Triumvirate was at its highest point, I patiently awaited its fall while observing in detail the movement of the gods and the ways that I could defeat them. My first thought was to take advantage of the humanized Apollo, but his power was pathetic then, but I watched his potential grow until he managed to take down those silly Roman lords. The morning after the fall, I started taking everything they left behind, like this as the survivors of their forces. The cynocephalis were easy to convince, but the Germani were more complicated as they were reduced in number and distrustful at first of a Greek; however, they had no choice but to join me. "

"Don't tell me: once you have the divinity of Artemis and are a god, you will overthrow Zeus and be the lord of everything," I guessed, following the standard of classic villains.

"You are not as dumb as I thought," Acrisius applauded condescendingly. "I also know that it will not be easy without having the support of a greater force, so for this I will gather an army with all the demigods that there are and thus overthrow the head of Olympus. A force that I would like you two to be part of. And you, Thalia Grace, I want you to lead it. "

Thalia's face froze in surprise for a second, "What?"

"I want you to direct my force to overthrow your father. The one who has ignored you for years. Who did nothing to stop Hera's attacks on your family. Who, instead of saving your life, turned you into a pine. Who did nothing to save your brother, Jason. "

Thalia said nothing. I felt a chill as she saw her gaze drop to the ground and she stared at him while she thought about what to say. Oh God, what if she agreed? However, if she said yes, would I do the same?

"I have not forgotten you either, Jacobo. I know that it has been for you to be a legacy, placing you inferior to the rest of the demigods, that is why my first act as lord of the gods will be to make you a powerful demigod like there has never been before. Serve me and I will give you whatever you want: riches, treasures, your reunited family. "

Those words hit me like ice water. For a moment I was reunited with my family in Mexico, exuding a powerful demigod aura like Percy and Nico did, while I had Thalia next to me. That would be an ideal dream, but would it be the right thing to do? Yes, I didn't want to have to face Thalia if we were both on opposite sides of the conflict, having to die to death as soon as we met, but I did not want to participate in a coup between gods where not only I, but many more or even the whole world could be affected. No, it wouldn't be correct.

"Sounds tempting," I said, staring at the man, "but I'll have to decline the offer. I don't want to get my hands dirty for power. It wouldn't be right."

Acricius exhaled, sadness in his eyes, "You disappoint me, boy. I saw potential in you. Gaius, execute it."

My pulse plummeted to zero when I suddenly felt a few hands grasp my head and begin to squeeze it hard. I screamed in pain. I felt like it was going to be my end.

"Jack!"

The sound of lightning reigned in the room for a second before it hit the floor. My vision was blurry and my head throbbed, but I could see Thalia pinned by the neck against a bookcase by a Germani with dreadlocks. Acrisius walked towards her with an amused face.

"Very interesting. With a lightning bolt you could take down a Germani. That made me change my mind. You are too powerful for my army. If you react like this after the offer I made to you, what assures me that you will not attack me from behind? You know what? Kill them both. "

"Wait... a... minute..." Thalia gasped, fighting for the grip on her throat. "I can... make you... a better... offer."

Acrisius looked at her suspiciously, but with a wave of his hand, the Germani released her and she fell flat on the ground. I tried to run to her aid, but another giant grabbed my hoodie's neck and slammed me to the ground, knocking the air out of me.

"I hear you."

"You want to take the power from my mistress by force. Terrible mistake. She would finish you in a second in a fight. But I could be of use to you: use me as a hostage. As the leader of her hunters, Artemis would transfer her powers voluntarily and completely, but only if I ask her to. "

"Sounds sensible to me."

"But with one condition."

"Tell me."

"I only ask for Jack's safety: that he gets out of here unscathed and that he is not hurt in any way as long as you are a god."

"What?!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She was willing to sacrifice herself for me. "Thalia, no! There must be another way out of this one."

"It's my decision, Jack. One that I make with sorrow, remember."

The words of the prophecy repeated in my head, but I wouldn't accept it. The sacrifice was supposed to be me, not her. I couldn't accept it.

"Good. He'll get out of here safely and you stay with the hunters," Acrisius then snapped his fingers and I was again caught and picked up like a sack of potatoes, which I struggled to.

"No! Thalia!"

"Everything will be fine, Jack," she told me softly. "Live your life happy and free."

The last thing I saw before they took me out of the room was a tear coming down from her blue eyes.

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As much as I struggled, I was simply thrown into a van, which was driven by a wolf while another one was in the copilot seat and a Germani that sat in front, watching with eyes fixed on me. I still had the bracelet that Leo had given me, but the giant was watching me closely and pressing the hammer logo would alert him.

"Where are we going?" I asked, trying to ease the tense atmosphere inside the vehicle, I had no answer. It was then that something occurred to me. I got up, hands still tied, and faced the Germani, "Hey, big guy. I asked you where we are going."

The Germani didn't seem to be in the mood to be held back, because he quickly put his hand on my neck and threw me back into my seat on the other side of the van, slamming me against the metal before the same hands sat me down, giving me the cover to press the hammer icon on my bracelet.

"Hey, watch out back there!" the wolf in the copilot seat complained from the conduit seat.

I counted the seconds as if they were my last moments of life, waiting for Leo to arrive from one moment to another until they became minutes. I prayed that I had not been out of reach and that the signal did not reach the son of Hephaestus.

Several more minutes passed when we stopped and the wolf got out of the vehicle to open the door for us. I thought we would be in town, maybe to drop me off at the apartment, but instead we were on a dirt road in a wooded area.

"Wait... where are we?"

"Boss's orders," the wolf who was driving said as he walked back behind the Germani.

"The deal was that I would be safe."

"The deal was that you would leave the building unscathed and nothing would happen to you as long as my lord is a god," The other wolf said. "Nothing was said before that."

My pulse raced and my ears buzzed from the blood rushing through my veins at great pressure. Acrisius never intended to let me go at all. The intention was to kneel before him or die, the latter being my destiny.

The Germani began to walk threateningly towards me, his huge hands ready to end my life with a single movement. His sunken eyes stared at me like I was a rabbit about to be eaten by a hawk, along with a wicked grin that made me shudder. I didn't stand a chance without weapons and with my hands tied. It was my end.

Until a miracle fell from the sky... literally.

It fell like a meteor on the Germani, giving him a downward blow to the head that made him kiss the ground leaving a crater. Above the dejected giant was a muscular woman with tattooed arms and a partially shaved head. She wears a handsome leather jacket and threadbare jeans with combat boots that made her look like a post-apocalyptic warrior. Sticking out of the sleeves of her jacket were metal hands.

"Are you okay?" the woman gave me a fleeting look.

"Y-yes."

"Stay back. Help is here."

Before I could say anything else, the Germani stood up and his gaze was full of anger, "Luguselwa. Traitor."

"Cletus. I see that you are still alive and have sold yourself again."

"You are no different. That Demeter girl has you under her thumb."

"I don't serve her as a slave. I follow her because she is my friend and I have sworn to take care of her for my life."

"Say what you want. We are the same."

"We are not. There is something that makes us different."

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

"I am stronger," the Luguselwa woman declared, raising her metal fist again, which began to rotate, and threw a blow to Cletus's face that threw him back in a spiral, almost crushing the wolves that had come with us. The Germani leaped to his feet and lunged back to the attack, his fist colliding with the woman's before another and another. It was a fight of the titans, like All Might vs Nemu. With each impact the earth shook beneath my feet as both figures fought for dominance.

Then a figure moved below my visual field, being a girl with glasses, green dress and with a gardening belt cutting my ties with scimitars.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Meg. Leo sent us to help you."

"Where is the?"

As if answering my question, a figure loomed in the night sky. Festus, the bronze dragon, flew over us as the moon shone on its metallic surface before landing behind us and roaring so loud that it caused both Titans to pause their combat for a few seconds before the woman threw an uppercut at her opponent's jaw.

The wolves drew their swords and lunged at us, but Meg reached into a pocket on her belt and threw something that then grew sunflowers so tall it encouraged their passage no matter how much they cut. We both ran towards the dragon but a roar rang out behind us with Cletus leaping over us, but he was intercepted by Luguselwa and they both got lost in the trees, which shook as their battle took place.

The wolves finally got past the makeshift sunflower patch and were catching up with us while we still had several yards to go to catch up with Leo, who was looking for a way to maneuver Festus on the narrow path surrounded by trees.

"Leo, do you have something to defend me?"

"Here!" the boy threw something that glowed in the moonlight before landing in front of me, which I raised and wielded to block a wolf's attack and then repel it. A crowbar.

"Who am I? Gordon Freeman? I need something more lethal!"

"It's the best I could get out of my belt!"

I was about to curse his Mary Poppins belt but the same wolf attacked again and again I had to defend. The metal bar was harder for me to wield, being shorter and less lethal than the swords I had trained with. I was going to ask Meg if she had anything to help me but she had her hands full with the other wolf until she obliterated it with her two scimitars.

I brandished the metal bar firmly, deflecting the wolf's slashes until I was able to land a blow that caused him to lose his grip on his sword and then hit his snout. The mangy fell to the ground, but still hadn't disappeared, so I approached carefully, aiming my crowbar at it.

"Tell everything you know. Where is your headquarters?"

"Everything will be useless. The base is fully guarded. No one could enter by land or air without our knowledge. When the full moon rises tomorrow, my lord will reach divinity."

"Answer: Where?"

"First dead," the wolf then reached into his jacket and pulled something out quickly, feeling a sting on my shoulder, but my anger was greater and I hit him on the head to turn him into a pile of dust as I let out a warcry.

"Are you okay?" the muscular woman came back from the bushes, with a few blows and her jeans more threadbare than she had before, but she apparently had won the contest.

"And the Germani?"

"He won't give us trouble."

"We have to go back," I announced running towards Festus.

"Where?"

"Where they have Thalia and the other hunters."

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I know you should be excited to be riding a metal dragon. Which is the closest thing to a power metal song I'll ever be in my life. But that didn't matter to me at the time.

"Over there!"

After making sure that the van did not have some kind of monitoring system and then getting rid of it, we continued the way back the way it had come and we followed the coast until we could see the beach house in the distance. We were prepared to enter the heat of battle as soon as Festus landed on a car in the main entrance and the alarm sounded, but nothing like that happened. The main entrance was deserted and there was no disturbance on the property. What's more, everything was empty and dark.

Wielding the sword left behind by the wolf, I leaped from the dragon and hurried toward the front door, which was open. I expected that to be an ambush, but no one came to meet me.

The whole place was empty. Even the paintings, sculptures and movements had disappeared as if no one had lived there before, leaving me with a bad feeling that made me rush up the stairs to get to the studio, but it was the same.

"Nonononono," I repeated to myself as I ran downstairs and ran to the basement door and down the steps to the cells.

Empty.

There was nothing left. No hunter. No clue that anyone was locked in there. Even the brass bars of the cells were gone.

"Jack?" Leo spoke to me behind.

"They took them. They were here."

He put my hand on my shoulder, "We have to go back to camp. We'll think of something there."

I was about to answer but suddenly my doors gave way and I was about to rush to the ground, but Leo held me. He started to ask me what was wrong with me, but his voice started to sound like he was coming from the other side of a tunnel. My vision blurred before I plunged into darkness.