Regrets
A few weeks after the 4 demigods heard the prophecy. A couple of days from August 21st.
Location: Camp Half-Blood
Percy POV
My eyes fluttered open.
What did I see? Was there a fight in a school...and something to do with angels...No, I must have just been having a really vivid dream? At least I would take those dreams over the constant nightmares that would usually happen.
I stared at the ceiling and I sat up, pulling the blue duvet off myself. I felt how sore my arms were as soon as I moved. This wasn't something that happened overnight by a monster or anything, this was because, after the day after I heard that prophecy, Kian showed up and started training me on how to fight with two swords
Awesome, I thought to myself. I was going to learn some cool new moves! It was going to be fun...right?
Wrong!
He made me swing that new sword for 2 hours non stop while he went somewhere. It didn't stop there. The next few weeks he sparred with me and after that was finished, he made me do pushups and all sorts of exercises until I couldn't walk anymore. I was covered in sweat every day and I could never do anything the next day without an ice bath.
Then there was that one time where he showed something cool but I only got to practise that once.
Totally not cool!
As I winced at how painful my arms were, that new sword lay on the cabinet in front of me. It caught faint glimmers of sunlight from the window behind me. My eyes were drawn to the length of it, being just as long as Riptide with e little grooves on either side and an intricate golden design on the front of the blade. The handle was slightly wider and the grip was very comfy and it was very nice to use.
I sat up on the edge of my bed and while I looked at it, a part of me felt like there was something special about it, a new power maybe. Kian didn't want me to test that out just yet but I was going to use it sooner or later. I mean come on, I knew how to use a sword and my powers, I've been doing it since I was 12!
How should I ask Kian if I can test it out?
"Hey Kian, can you let me use the ocean powers in this sword?"
"No Percy, I told you no. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to drink tea while you swing it for 2 hours for no reason!"
The sound of a door flinging open put a stop to any plan I had and from the door, out stepped Annabeth. She dashed towards me and wrapped me in a hug that I returned.
"Good Morning Seaweed Brain. How did you sleep?"
I tried to remember the dreams but it only left fragments that I could no longer put together. "Really good actually. I didn't even know I could get bored of sword-swinging but somehow Kian made it so boring!"
She giggled and sat next to me. I started to feel a bit self-conscious because I didn't get to put on a shirt before she arrived. "You did ask him to train you, Percy."
"Yeah yeah I know." I sighed. "I just want him to teach me some new moves! I already know the basics. Why can't he teach me how to shoot laser beams or something?! I don't know what I'm getting out of this!"
Annabeth smirked. "Well, I can see something is improving. Your muscles have gotten bigger. Especially your arms and chest." she ran a hand through my upper body to prove it.
"H-has it? I mean I didn't know it was getting bigger."
Annabeth gave me a quick peck on the lips. "You have a lot more definition now. Plus, I see a couple of veins. You look very tough."
"Wake up Percy, time to-... oh."
Kian walked into my cabin and he just stood in front of us for a moment. He was dressed in a white t-shirt, black shorts and a small wristwatch with the face turned inwards. It was the same clothes he had while he sparred with me so I had no problem with it, but there was something across his purple eyes, a look that vanished just as quickly as it came.
Kian coughed and regained his composure. "Sorry. Was I interrupting something between you two? I thought you said a boy and girl camper weren't allowed in the same cabin for...yo...know.. obvious reasons?"
"Nope!" I stood up so sharply that Annabeth jumped back a little. "I-I just woke up and Annabeth greeted me first thing. That's all."
"I see." Kian chuckled. "Well go brush your teeth and get ready. Training is in 10 minutes. Make sure to eat up, we're sparring today and I expect you to give it all you have.."
"Kian wait-"
"Talk to me in training. Every moment you don't spend training gives your opponent a higher chance of winning. I'll uh...give you two a moment."
Kian left and closed the door behind him, careful to not make any noise.
"Why can't he give me a break?!" I turned to Annabeth. "I rarely get to spend time with you now."
"We're facing a God Killer, Percy, I can understand." Annabeth placed her hands together and leaned forward. "This is bigger than Kronos, bigger than anything we've faced before."
"I get that! But why isn't he training you, or Thalia or Nico?! We all signed up for it! Why is it just me?!"
"I don't know Percy." Annabeth shrugged. "But whatever he's doing, he has to be doing it for something."
She sat up and stood next to me.
"Oh and one more thing," Annabeth said with a smile
"Yeah?"
"Make sure to put on a shirt."
A couple of hours later….
"Keep your guard up all the time Percy. Show any weakness to your enemy and they will kill you!"
The sounds of our swords clanged against each other, I felt the vibrations run through my fingers so many times that it was starting to feel fuzzy. Despite this, I did my best to keep my defence up. Kian wielded his two red and blue swords with such ease, precision and speed that I thought he was hitting me with more than two.
My arms were starting to get heavy from holding my swords up for so long. My shoulders screamed at me to stop, my legs weren't doing well either; they were shaking and it felt like it was on fire. My lungs burned but breathing was easier because both of us were on the beach so when that fresh cold breeze hit me, it was refreshing.
Kian slashed at my head and I brought my sword to block. Kian used his second to attack my side. I blocked both strikes quickly, earning a small break in this chaos.
"Attack me like you want to kill me, Percy. You cannot keep defending forever."
"I'm trying!"
I started my attacks but Kian blocked them all giving me no openings to strike. I went for the head. Block. I went for his chest. Deflected. I feinted a move to his right and then struck at his left. Blocked with the flat side of his blue blade. Seriously, this guy had good defence and offence that I was beginning to believe that I was never going to get a hit in during this sparring match.
Then it was Kian's turn to attack. He kicked me square in the chest and before I had time to react, he closed the distance. Within a millisecond, I had to block strikes aimed at my head, chest and neck for the next couple of minutes. Having had enough of this, I kicked him in the chest and used it to increase the distance between me and him. He spun around and readied his swords again so I went on guard again, trying my best to keep my arms up to defend against his attacks again.
Kian breathed in and out and his swords vanished from his hands. "Good job. We're done."
"I'm...done?!" I asked.
"You're done. Your training is over." Kian sighed.
"Is that...it?!" I blinked. "You had me doing this for so long and now you're just finishing it?!"
"I couldn't teach you any new techniques so I had to strengthen what was there," Kian answered.
"WHAT!?" I clenched my hands. "I don't get to see Annabeth, Kian, I don't get to see my friends! Every day I wake up with aches and pains in my body that I don't know where they come from! And for what?! You've wasted my time Kian! You've given me nothing!"
"Don't judge my methods so soon."
Before I could comprehend what happened, a large object came flying at me and I instinctively sliced through it using the second sword, hearing whatever I cut through land behind me
"What was that?!" I demanded. "Is that a part of my training too?!"
"Why don't you look behind you?"
I turned around and I got my answer.
Behind me were two halves of a boulder, around the same size as maybe a small building maybe? However large it was, it was cut in half and around each half where they landed, were cracks on the floor around it.
"Oh. My. Gods."
"Now, if you're done marvelling at your achievement, ready to eat? I thought you might be hungry."
I turned to see Kian holding two lunch boxes in his hands. "I made them myself."
XxX
"So that's how strong I was getting?!" I still stared at the result of what I did. "I-I didn't know I could even do something like that!"
Kian ate from his lunchbox with a fork. "Did you think I was just hitting you for no reason? Did you think I was pushing you to your limit without having a purpose? With how strong of a demigod you are, with your water healing powers and your Achilles Curse you told me about, it was a matter of time before your physical strength became superhuman. Forgive me for being so intense but I did it for your own good."
"Yeah, I'm sorry for saying all that." I sweatdropped. "I should have trusted you. Can you do something like that?"
I dug into the chicken fried rice in my lunchbox and with how hungry I was, I started taking bites so fast.
"I can do a lot more than slice a boulder in half." Kian chuckled. "I just wanted to keep getting stronger and stronger so I kept practising and practising. It paid off tremendously. It helps that if I am pushed to my limits, my strength increases tenfold."
"You could have given me a bigger break," I complained.
Kian pointed the end of a chicken bone at me. "Percy, I had shorter breaks when I did it. I'm surprised that you reacted somewhat in a calm manner. I ended up screaming at my teacher. I gave you plenty of recovery time. Did you sleep 9 hours and eat well? You did follow my diet plan, right?"
"Yeah, I did. Annabeth was surprised at how much vegetables were in my food." I chuckled remembering her face. "Who knew Broccoli could be so tasty?
"It lies in how you make it."
"You should have given me more time to see Annabeth and my friends at camp. You had me training from 10 AM to 4 PM." I complained. "I mean I've gotten strong but it would have been nice to see her."
"You can't gain anything without losing something," Kian replied. "But..you are free now. Feel free to go see her now."
"I can?!"
Kian nodded. "Yeah, I'm not some cruel person who won't let you see her."
"Okay." I nodded. "Kian, what have you been doing for the past month? Did you train too?"
"So many questions." Kian laughed. "But yeah I did. I went around the world helping as many people as possible. Put out a few forest fires, prevented more ice from breaking, trained with an Irish Warrior lady and shocked religious extremists. You should have seen their faces."
"What did you do?"
Kian wiped the sauce from his mouth. "Showed them that their beliefs and way of life was outdated and frankly, very stupid. I have no problem with anyone being religious, no celestial cares if you worship a pagan deity….but if you use that as a reason to justify your hatred against someone, someone that has caused you no harm at all, that's when there's a problem. That goes against what I stand for and I will do what I can."
"Are you sure you aren't a hero?" I asked him. "Sounds pretty heroic to me."
"Pretty sure it's not." Kian rolled his eyes.
"So what else did you do? Apart from being Superman?"
"Funny. What I did, well I...did some reading. Apart from that, I didn't do much."
"Apart from trying to attack me?"
He chuckled. "Yeah, apart from that. Now that's over, why don't you go spend some time with that girlfriend of yours you keep mentioning a lot huh?"
I saw the same look in his eyes that I had seen before in the cabin and the school cafeteria but I chose to not say anything for now. "I will. Annabeth is amazing, it's like every second I spend with her, I can't help but smile."
"How did you guys meet?" Kian asked.
"Well, after my first fight with the minotaur I woke up and she was there. I still remember her saying how I drooled when I slept." I laughed. "She gave me a tour of the camp and she was there on my first quest. As we got older, we spent more time with each other and I guess we happened to like each other. Our Anniversary is on my birthday."
Kian chuckled. "What a lucky guy. Defeat Kronos and get the girl all on your birthday."
"Yeah," I chuckled to myself. "It was just magical when I kissed her underwater. After what happened in the last 4 years, it felt like everything was going my way for once. I love her so much. I gave up godhood for her just so I can spend my life with her."
"That's good," Kian answered. "It's important to hold the people you love close to you. Spend as much time as you can with them."
Again I saw that same look in his eyes. "So Kian...what did you get for your birthday. Did something like that happen to you? Do you have someone like that in your life?"
Kian smiled sadly. "I thought I told you before, I don't. If something like that did happen on my birthday….let alone in my life, it would be nothing short of a miracle."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Kian stared at the sea in front of us. "Something like that happening...it rarely happens in my world"
I blinked. "Wait really? Don't you come from a world of superheroes, doesn't that happen often? They always get the girl, right?"
Kian laughed weakly. "Just because it happened to you, doesn't mean it'll happen to me or anyone else. That was the first truth I had to learn as I grew up. Those comics where the heroes get the girl? Nothing but stories and fantasies. It's all bullshit!"
"Oh." I swallowed dryly. "Is..that why you hold a grudge against Aphrodite?"
Kian looked up at the blue sky and tapped his fingers against the rock he was sitting on. "I don't like anyone telling me how to live my life," he started. "Especially not a ditzy stuck up goddess who can't separate fact from fiction. She thinks the world is all roses and rainbows while she plays matchmaker sat up on her high throne shipping those she finds cute."
Kian chuckled. "For an immortal, she doesn't have the faintest idea of how life really works. The thing about Celestials, Percy, is that we are born free...and we hate those who try to constrict us."
"So what?" I asked. "What does that mean? You don't like her so you don't like romance?"
"IIf you happen to find a woman or man who loves you like you love them, by all means, go ahead and be with them because you want to." Kian laughed weakly. " It's just…well-" He wiped his face with his hands. "I can't believe I'm talking about this but here goes….romantic relationships and me...it's like oil and water. Two things that are destined to never mix. The last time…-no, let's not talk about it."
"That's a shame. You know some girls here might be interested in you."
"Really?" Kian raised an eyebrow.
"Come on, dude!" I laughed. "You can't just let one bad experience in your past ruin it for the rest of your life!"
Kian sighed. "It's not that. It's...just that there's no place for someone like that in my life. My line of work...it's better if I stay like this. It's for the better, Percy. So if you wouldn't mind, don't try to set me up!
"I was just kidding! Sorry" I laughed. "So..you did have a girl you did like before right? Before it went wrong?"
Kian glanced to the side before looking at me again. "...I guess."
"Can you at least tell me about her?"
Kian glanced to his right. "She...h-had nice hair. She was strong and she never gave up. That's all I'm telling you."
"Don't worry I won't ask any further." I put my hands up. "It's just nice to know that someone like you has girl troubles."
Kian sighed. "Don't be surprised, Percy. I have a heart just like any human. Oh, one more thing, not a word of this to Annabeth or anyone you understand me? My love life-or lack thereof will not be the gossip of this camp or on Olympus."
"Sure, I won't say anything."
I heard Kian's watch go off and he looked at it, then at me. He got off the rock and turned to me. "I'm going to have to go. Do you know a place where I can get flowers, specifically Jazmine flowers?"
"Oh? You got a date?" I joked but I was only met with Kian scowling again. I cleared my throat and spoke again. "Katie and the Demeter Cabin grow them. I think you can go and ask them."
"Thanks."
"Where are you going?" I asked Kian. "What are you going to do with those flowers?"
Kian turned towards me. "Rest for today and take a long water bath, whatever makes you relax. Spend as much time with Annabeth as you can. When the day of the prophecy comes, when we have to fo. I want you to be as strong, strong enough that no attack hurts you and strong enough that you can protect the ones you love without having any regrets."
"Oh and one more thing." Kian continued. I know you want to test out that sword of yours so go ahead, consider that my birthday present for your 17th birthday. Sorry, I couldn't be there for your party, I hope you enjoyed yourself. Remember to practise that move I was talking about."
With a sad smile, he vanished in a flash of blue light.
Third Person POV
Location: Locus, 30,000 ly from Earth.
Kian held 3 sets of flowers in his hand as he walked through a graveyard. A graveyard he had been to before. His face was held tightly and he trembled with every step he took before stopping in front of the base of the big oak tree. Kian had changed his outfit for this, choosing to wear a black jacket, black trousers and a white shirt.
In the shadow of the oak tree, he kneeled in front of the graves and placed a set of flowers before each one.
(Play a slow version of Reluctant Heroes from Attack on Titan)
Kian sighed and then sat down on the grassy floor. "How has it been a year since we talked? I have so much to tell you."
"I have no right to call myself a hero anymore with what happened. I tried my best to be a normal person, to be as human as I can but- but I have to fight again. Empena still lives and I have to defeat her again."
Kian chuckled and turned to one of the graves. "I don't know how you did it. You did it for a long time, right? How long was it...400 years? Must have been tough. That's the real world of heroes, isn't it? It's not what I thought it would have been. You did your best to stop me from trying to be like you. I should have listened to you when I had the chance."
The wind ran through the tree branches as Kian kept talking to the gravestones
"Not a moment passes where I don't remember them. I still see their faces, I still hear their voices. Everyone that she killed that day, that day we tried to take her down once and for all but we were ambushed. I have no idea how that happened. How could our attack plan be leaked? So many died that day: Jamie, William, Mesan, Zagath. They were teenagers, they shouldn't have become soldiers. I don't know if you knew but Zagath wanted to use his cable fingers to be part of making buildings. He would have given me a discount if I were to buy any of the houses he's made. It would have been a simple life for him. All his hard work got him was a grave."
Kian clamped his hands together. "I don't even know what to do now, everytime I get close to someone or they get close to me, they end up dying. All I have left are my family and the rest of my team. The ones I knew from the start. Then...there are these new people I have to take care of. It's so exhausting having to keep them at a distance. I declined a birthday invitation from a friend I made recently. I just can't put myself through that again. I don't want to see him die, him or his friends."
"Who are they? Demigods. Greek demigods. There are other gods out there on Earth but we knew that. We already met Indra, Surya and others, haven't we? Especially that bastard of a speed god on that planet right? I still remember how you made me promise to never tell anyone and I still haven't to this day."
"One of them, one of the Greek demigods: Percy, he asked me about you. He reminds me a lot of myself. Excited, happy, surrounded by the people he loves. He's a version of myself that died a long time ago. I tried my best to not make him tag along but he insisted. Should have expected him to want to help...I was like that too."
Kian weakly laughed and stood up, approaching the third grave, putting a hand on it as he stared at the name. "...W-why did you have to go and do that?! I c-could have found a better way, there had to have been, you didn't need to-"
Teardrops started to fall on the ground and they didn't stop.
"I h-have so many regrets now. Did I need to pull the trigger? Should I have double-checked our plan? Should I have delayed that final attack? Did I even need to be an Archangel, even when my parents told me that it was too much?... I don't know." Kian sighed.
"But...out of that long list, there is one regret that sticks out. I should have told you….I should have told you that I loved you when you were alive. I don't know if you did love me back...and given my luck with romance, you probably didn't. What I would give to bring you back again…."
Kian dropped to his knees and placed his forehead against the gravestone as the tears started flowing uncontrollably. "I'm sorry I failed to protect you! I couldn't honour your mother's final wish. You all got yourself killed because of me! I was so useless while you just died!... I don't know how much longer I can go on, I really don't know how much this final mission will take out of me but….I will do one more thing."
Kian faced the three graves with steeled eyes, tightened fists and stood up shakily. His hands shook as he spoke. "I will avenge all of you! I'll kill Empena!, I'll squeeze the life out of her like she did to my friends! That I'll make sure!"
The wind around Kian sped up and started rattling the branches violently. "I will kill her until there is nothing left of her in this damn world! THAT IS MY FINAL WISH! EVEN IF I DIE I'LL MAKE SURE IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"
The winds died after Kian stopped. He took a deep breath and he read the text on the gravestones. He tried his best to ignore the heavy feeling in his heart and the constant thoughts in his head. He had been here far too many times, he had felt a pain that almost brought him to his knees.
"Jazmine Izabella Garcia, a sacrifice never forgotten."
"Njoro Garcia, a loving father and a paragon of heroism."
But that wasn't the worst of it.
The graveyard was surrounded by the bodies of his former friends, especially the last grave Kian walked by. He didn't have the heart to look at it, knowing how his already broken heart would be shattered if he did read the name on it. With a clenched jaw, a tight fist and crying eyes, he walked out of the graveyard.
"Rennan Silva, one of our finest."
"I c-can't look back. T-they won't come back… A-all I can do is to keep moving forward."
(Music End)
Back on Earth
Time: 4 PM
New York
Kian stood on top of a roof as he sipped on a drink.
Leaning against a chimney, this was the first time in a while he had some peace in his life. This was his chance to take a breath and see what happened around him. From where he stood, he could see people walking along the streets of New York. As the golden evening sunlight painted the summer skies, a gentle cool breeze ran through his hair. He lay down flat against the rooftop and started to relax, he needed some time off.
Everything was fine.
It was peaceful.
"FOUND' YA!"
A figure flew from below and fired his gun towards Kian's head. The shot, however, instead of hitting Kian, hit and bounced off, leaving blue ripples behind, earning a scowl from the gunman.
Kian didn't bother to bat an eyelid at his attempted murder. "You missed."
The gunman spun on the spot and fired three times but he only met the same result
"Did she send you to try and kill me alone? I'm not impressed." Kian hopped up to his feet now, the drink in his hands vanishing in a flash of blue light.
"Watch your mouth, I'm not alone!"
Around Kian appeared a huge swarm of gunmen and women, all aiming towards his head. There were maybe 30, 40? Whatever the number was, they meant business.
"A team to try and kill me..." Kian stretched his legs. "Let's give you something to work for!"
Kian leapt from his position and slid down the roof, avoiding the shots that hit the roof behind him. He dropped to the street below and flew off like a bullet, leaving a small gust of wind behind him as he vanished from sight.
Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter I apologize for taking a while to do this chapter, I lost motivation on some parts and I was busy with my own interests so yeah...XD
I had to split the ending fight because the chapter was getting way too long to write until the next time!
CrimsonSayian12
