The first of two updates! Sorry that I missed last week, my friends, but I will do my best to finish the next chapter in the next few hours. It will probably be after 12 AM, unfortunately, but I have many things going on due to corona right now, so things have gotten slightly stressful.
Stay safe, self-isolate, but more importantly... enjoy the story. :)
"Please, can't I come with you, Perseus?" A blonde-haired girl asked her travelling companion. It hadn't been the first time she had asked over the past hour, and it most definitely wouldn't be the last.
"No," Came the curt response. Perseus was nearing Hephaestus' forge at Vesuvius, and all he wanted to do was keep Alex safe. The daughter of Athena, however, had other plans.
"Come on! What if you could use backup! What if you get injured and need help? You'd definitely regret not taking me along then!" She informed him, shaking her head erratically, and moving her hands in a punching motion.
Perseus looked at her. "I'll take my chances." Alexandria pouted. She chucked a small nut at his head, which he caught out of reflex, not flinching. He flicked it back at her, bonking her on the nose, making her fall down.
"Meanie!" She yelled. The black-haired teen merely chuckled and stuck his tongue out at her. His time with her over the past three weeks had been some of the most fun days of his life that he could remember. He couldn't allow her to join him at Vesuvius. Her mother would no doubt murder him if she was hurt under his care, but more importantly... Perseus didn't want to see her harmed.
"So, why can't I come?" She questioned, although she no doubt already knew the answer.
Perseus glared at her lightheartedly. "It's too dangerous for you." Alex still didn't know that she was a demigod. The spike in their combined auras would be too high for Perseus to be able to sleep at all, and then they would eventually get overwhelmed.
"Why, because I'm a girl?"
"No, because you're..." Perseus stopped his sentence short, choosing his next words carefully. "Unskilled with weapons."
"I'm good at fighting!" Alex replied forcefully. The demigod simply raised his eyebrows.
"Punch me." The odd sentence send Alex on her toes.
"W-what?" She looked at him like he had gone bonkers. Perhaps the madness god, Dionysus, from her father's stories had claimed him.
"Punch me," he repeated. "If you can hit me in under a minute, I'll let you come." She looked at him, waiting for the catch.
"Anywhere on your body?"
Perseus nodded. "Anywhere." The blonde's eyes narrowed, and she leapt at him clumsily. He sidestepped her and grabbed on to the back of her tunic to keep her from falling as she lost her balance. She whipped her arms around in an attempt to hit him, but he was already gone. Alex whirled around, seeing him now ten feet away. She started thinking.
'There are three trees behind him, and a bag to his left. If I can get him to the trees, there's only one place he can go!' She smiled triumphantly, while Perseus looked amused. She approached him, slower this time. She held an arm out warily. Then, when she got close enough, she leapt. Perseus backed up, his body only inches away from the trees. 'Yes!' She leapt again, but fell to the ground and punched to her right. However, she met nothing but air. Perseus was still at the trees; however, now he was in the air, upside-down.
'He... climbed the branches instead of dodging? When? I didn't even see it!' Perseus looked at her.
"Sixty seconds are up. You're too focused on your singular plan of attack that you fail to see the other possibilities," He taught her, making her purse her lips. He hopped down, seamlessly landing on his feet. He walked towards her, smiling, only to be met with a weak punch to the chest. 'Is... is she crying..?' Indeed, something he had said had made the girl start to slightly cry. She sniffled a bit, then the tears stopped as quickly as they started.
"I... just want to help you like you helped me, Perseus!" The teen frowned.
"You will be helping me. You'll be watching over my stuff, and keeping yourself out of trouble! That way, I don't have to worry about anything else when I go in there."
Alex's face brightened. "Really...? I never thought about it like that..." She admitted.
Perseus gave a smile, and internally sighed in relief. "Really." He would do anything to keep the girl safe. Anything.
The heat only increased as they got closer to Vesuvius. Eventually, Perseus refused to let Alex go any further. He set up a camp, and slaughtered a deer, preparing it for the girl. He didn't expect to be gone longer than a day or two, but who knew? He left in the night, sacrificing another small animal to Hestia in hopes for her to protect to girl. He didn't know what he would do if she was attacked while he left her behind.
Perseus started the trek to Vesuvius. In the distance, he could see Pompeii - a city a few dozen miles south of the volcano. He sighed at mortal foolishness. Were they truly so idiotic to believe that the volcano would never harm them? The heat started to become unbearable for anyone who wasn't a demigod. He could only imagine how hot it would be in the forge. He sent another prayer to Hestia to protect him. A warm feeling passed over him, telling Perseus that his Lady was listening.
Soon, he was at the 'entrance' to the volcano. A steep, winding path up the sheer slope. He grunted as he pulled himself over a large boulder, slightly wishing that he had brought less supplies. He looked up towards the peak, a foreboding steel door that looked like it could fit Zeus' ego inside and still have enough space to not get smote for inconveniencing the King of the Gods.
He grit his teeth and pulled out Anaklusmos, then dug it into the cliff face, the sword cutting through the stone like a steak knife on warm butter. With his left hand, he grabbed a rock, and started his climb. Walking around would probably expend more energy, and this was quicker. He grit his teeth. Even if he was resistant to the heat, he was still grabbing rocks that were hundreds of degrees, temperature-wise. He ignored the pain, and kept climbing. After all, pain was only an minor inconvenience in the obstacle of getting to his goal... the restoration of Greece.
The climb was harsh, but he had seen harsher things in the past two years. Widening his eyes, he dug his sword in the stone harsher than usual, and hung by one hand in order to reach into his bag. A dagger! He had purchased a set of two twin daggers while they were on their way to Vesuvius - the smaller blades would be perfect for climbing! He switched hands and dug the first dagger in, and turned Riptide back into a hairpin. The red tip still haunted him. He looked at it morosely, then put it back in his hair.
It wouldn't do good to reflect on his mistakes. No. Not when he had a mountain to climb, a saboteur to fight, and a god to appease. No, it wouldn't do any good at all.
Final word count is just over 1200 words. Expect the next chapter within a few hours, like I said. It will be more action filled than this one! Should I focus more on dialogue, or action? I'm leaning towards action, but I actually haven't even decided on an enemy yet.
As always, favorite, follow, and review!
Much love, stay safe,
PJO Fan Power
