I opened my eyes and instantly knew I was in a dream. I looked around a bit. Rather than the run-down room I remember falling asleep in with Piper on my chest, I was sitting in one of those old Southern-style gazebos. The ones from around the Civil War- the ones strategically placed to overlook beautiful gardens and all that to distract people from the cruelty of war.
I don't remember the specifics of these places, but I remember that weird feeling of disgust I'd had when I learned about these things in school.
It rubbed me the wrong way, knowing that all those soldiers died just so rich people could sit in places like this and talk about the war like it was some faraway thing that no one cared about.
It almost felt ironic that I was sitting here, on the brink of a war amongst the Olympians, presumably about to do the same thing. Well, I guess I'm just getting the full experience that the people back in the day must've gotten, privilege and all.
I turned my gaze away from the beautiful garden, fixating myself on the scene in front of me. A table was set with silverware, china cups, and of course a steaming pot of tea, the fragrance shifting-sometimes it was cinnamon, or jasmine, or mint. Other times it smelled like fresh cookies. There were plates of scones, cookies, and muffins, fresh butter, and jam.
"I'm glad you could join me," Came a light, airy voice. When I saw who the voice belonged to, my jaw dropped.
I forgot my name. I forgot where I was. I forgot how to speak in complete sentences.
She was wearing a white satin dress and her hair was curled in a cascade of ringlets. Her face was the most beautiful I'd ever seen: perfect makeup, dazzling eyes, a smile that would've lit up the dark side of the moon.
Pick the most beautiful actress you can think of. The goddess was ten times more beautiful than that. Pick your favorite hair color, eye color, whatever. The goddess had that. When she smiled at me, just for a moment she kind of looked a little bit like Pam Beesly from the Office. Then, like this model I used to have a crush on in fifth grade. Then, a girl I'd seen at the train station earlier this year and never really forgot about. Then… well, you get the idea.
"I am Aphrodite," she continued, blissfully unaware of my inability to think. I took a deep breath and clamped down on my haywire feelings, hard. "You are dreaming, as I'm sure you've realized."
"Yes, my lady," I ground out. My {FLIRT}perk started activating, and I felt a lot less like I was talking to a celebrity and more like I was just talking to a really hot girl. Daunting, still, for sure, but more in a nervous way than the completely mind-blowing feeling I'd first gotten.
Aphrodite smiled, "I'm sure you have questions."
"A few," I admitted. Aphrodite smiled at me again, patiently. She nibbled on one of the scones. She offered me the plate, but I politely declined. "Why would you go to Lord Hades for help? Piper told me a bit about her situation, but it still feels a little out of the left field to go to him."
"Well, that part's simple. Your father and I are good friends; he told me of your quest, and I knew I could pull some strings to make Piper's path intersect with yours. Hades was the one who gave the quest, so it only seemed natural for me to ask him if she could join," Aphrodite explained calmly. By this point, I was pretty relaxed in her presence. "There's someone after her, too, as I'm sure you know. I figured you could give her the protection she needed. On her own, she'd hardly be able to get to camp without being slain."
"I...I guess that makes sense," I agreed, having come to a similar realization earlier in the day. "Forgive me if I overstep my bounds, here, but I find it a little hard to believe that my uncle would just accept your request out of the kindness of his heart. Not that I'm insinuating that he's a bad person- he's keeping my mother safe, after all. Although, he's doing that on the condition that I recover his helm. See what I mean?"
"Smart," Aphrodite complimented, pursing her lips. She took great care to not smudge her lipstick. "Your uncle and I did indeed strike a deal. In return for Piper's safety, he asked me to lend him some of my expertise regarding a security matter around his palace."
"Ah," I said, a little confused, but willing to drop the matter for now. "Why is, uh, that particular person chasing Piper?"
Dream or not, I wanted to avoid saying any names. Aphrodite can if she wants, but I'm all set.
"Well, let's just say that the someone out there, he wants to get back at me for something. This person has no morals and would stoop to any level to do so," Aphrodite said with a tone of finality that made it abundantly clear that I should drop the subject. "Any other questions? Speak freely- we have unlimited time in here, you know?"
She handed me a small clock the size of a pocketwatch. True enough, the hands were frozen.
Not my smartest move, but I blatantly ignored the warning I'd heard in her tone.
I know, I know. It was like she'd basically turned on a bright neon side the size of Mount Rushmore saying don't ask me this one question, but I knowingly skipped over it. I guess I'm just cool like that.
Call me selfish, or stubborn for going against what an Olympian wants, but I'm not about to go to war over some woman who won't even tell me the full story about what I'm fighting for.
Mind made up, I asked, "Why does he want to get back at you?"
"Ah. I assumed you would ask," Instead of the anger I'd been expecting, a frown formed on her face- almost as if my predictability had offended her. Snob. "Tell me, Percy, do you happen to know why most gods seem to rebel?"
"Um, they don't like the life they were given?" I guessed. I mean, I knew I'd go crazy if I was assigned a role and expected to carry it out for all of eternity. Wasn't that how some gods went off the deep end?
Funnily enough, that sort of annoyance and anger at life was a trait that I was beginning to see in demigods, too. It was all just a continuous cycle of people getting mad at their fate. Gods hate the life they were forced to live, demigods hate the life they were burdened with, it feels like the only things winning in this situation are the monsters that get to fight both.
"Partially. I won't bore you with the double talk and riddles. When I first got to Olympus, every single male god instantly fell in love with me. They all wanted to make me their wife- Hera, feeling that her godly family was about to unravel, was determined to prevent that, and ordered the other Olympians to silence themselves. As the goddess of marriage, she felt an obligation to pick the perfect husband for me and proclaimed that such a perfect match was her son Hephaestus," Aphrodite explained, rolling her eyes at the explanation. She looked vaguely disgusted, too, as if I'd asked her to eat a slug. "My husband redefines the word workaholic. I've never talked to him for five minutes, we've never had a meaningful conversation, and I've most definitely rarely, if ever, seen him not staring down my shirt. He never has been and never will be capable of loving or being loved. Where do you think that left me? A goddess of love, trapped in a loveless marriage."
"So, then, you started to…"
"History, young demigod, as you may find, is horribly misconstrued," Aphrodite warned, her eyes flashing dangerously. For a moment, I reminded myself I was talking to a real goddess, here. "Mortal minds are easy to manipulate. Especially when it's a spurned god doing the manipulation."
"What about all of your godly children? And your demigod ones?"
Aphrodite laughed. It was a light tinkling sound, like silver bells. "Percy, if Athena can make kids from her mental connection with mortals, wouldn't you agree that the goddess of love can do the same? As for my godly children, I created them myself. Once upon a time, I did have a great deal of power. I was made out of the remains of Ouranos, you know."
"Made them?"
"I am a goddess, child. I can create children with my power," Aphrodite explained. Her smile was beautiful, if not a little condescending. I felt like to her I looked like nothing more than a little puppy. "Try not to think too hard about it. Godly powers can be confusing."
"So, you haven't gone around, uh," I touched my two index fingers together a few times. Looking back, my cheeks were definitely as red as her dress by this point.
"No, child," Aphrodite laughed, leaning into her chair. I tried to not let my eyes stray too far downwards, even if it felt like she was making it difficult on purpose. "I have not had sex with an Olympian or a mortal and I do not plan on it. My image has been so horribly warped that anyone wanting to have sex with me would do so for lustful reasons only. I have no chance of true love."
"That…" I trailed off, unable to find the right words. The goddess of love unable to love? That felt cruel, even to me. I felt my heart break a little as I looked at the beautiful woman in front of me.
I sat back in the chair, deep in thought. What god would want to do that to Aphrodite? Who would gain from making her seem like a whore?
My heart stopped for a moment. I was running through all of the myths about Aphrodite when one started to bubble up. A god who'd always wanted her, a god that was prone to jealousy and anger.
"No way," I whispered. I felt a wave of burning anger in my gut. "He…he…"
"There are many ways to trap an immortal," Aphrodite confirmed, a tear running down her face. "While it's true that love is one of the strongest forces, the power of an immortal is linked directly to the belief in them."
"So, if everyone thinks you're a disloyal wife who sleeps around with other people…"
"They lose their faith in love. Their faith in me," Aphrodite finished for me. She dabbed at her face with a napkin. "And I am powerless beyond my looks and a few other things. With no real love in my own life, I have but a fraction of my power. When you're powerless, you don't have much of a choice but to bend to the whims of those who are powerful…"
Her tone seemed a little too familiar. I wracked my brain trying to figure out what it reminded me of.
She was trapped, no one believed her, and she had no way out. How could someone beautiful be so sad?
Wait. I recognized why her tone seemed so defeated.
She sounded exactly like my mom, trapped in her marriage with Gabe. Aphrodite thought there was no way out, just like my mom did. Even though they were completely different people, they had still resigned themselves to the same fate.
Fate, fate, fate. Why did it always circle back to fucking fate?
Suddenly, the table creaked and groaned. The plates of food snapped under the immense pressure of my anger, and some of the carefully folded napkins went shooting into the sky as a burst of wind shot out from my body.
"Did he do anything to you?" I seethed, standing up abruptly. I had suspicions Gabe tried to hit my mother once or twice, but she forbade me from doing anything, which kind of made sense.
Back then, I was a kid. Gabe could've folded me like a lawn chair, or worse, even killed me. My mother wouldn't have ever risked my safety like that. Now, though…
Mana was pouring off of me in waves. The memories I'd been repressing, along with the sudden realization that Aphrodite had been wrongfully made out to be a whore for eons- it was all too much.
"I-no, not like that," Aphrodite quickly overcame her surprise, her hair and dress flapping wildly in the wind.
"I'm sorry," I said through clenched teeth, forcing myself to calm down. The wind stopped blowing, and by her magic, the table began to knit itself back together and stand upright. Oh, fuck- I'd just completely ruined Aphrodite's tea party and her outfit. I've heard stories of mortals being vaporized for much, much less. "Clearly, I've forgotten my place."
"It's quite alright," There was a different gleam in Aphrodite's eyes. She seemed impressed, almost. "Say, Percy, would you be open to making a deal with me?"
"A deal?" I repeated, the remnants of anger leaving my body. I could still feel a well of hatred deep inside of my body, but it was cooling and hardening. Freezing over temporarily- but still very much there. "What kind of deal?"
"One that will benefit us both," Aphrodite shrugged. She interlaced her fingers, her face gaining a serious look. "I need you to help me take care of Ares and regain my power."
I saw back down in my seat, gazing across the not-so-ruined table in confusion. "Aren't I already taking care of him?"
"Well, in a sense. I want you to permanently stop his pursuit of me," Aphrodite elaborated, and my jaw dropped. "You could do this by securing a vow on the River Styx from him."
"I...okay, before I even get into the logistics of me being able to do that, why in my uncle's name would I do that?" I questioned. "Don't take this the wrong way, but it seems dangerous for me to try to bargain with that lunatic. My best bet would be to avoid him at all costs."
Aphrodite raised an eyebrow, "I would pledge to keep your mother save for as long as she lives."
"Well, from what?"
"Oh, come on, Percy," Aphrodite scoffed, tapping the side of her head with her index finger. "Where's the intelligence you were showing before? If you actually fend off the God of War, you'll instantly be put on his list of enemies, a list he takes very seriously. There's no line he wouldn't cross to get his revenge on you. Your mother's death would be the among the first things he would orchestrate."
"And risk my father's wrath?" I countered, "Surely he wouldn't risk the Lord of Seas' wrath, especially over a mortal."
"You misunderstand your father's position," Aphrodite fired back. "He could very well be angry at Ares, but ultimately, his hands would be tied. He'd be going back on his own word, the word he'd had to not let himself get involved with mortals and sire a son. Assuming he threw all caution to the wind and attacked Ares, as you said, there's no way another war would be started, over a mortal. Despite his immense power, your father would be unable to make a move, and you would be forced to take this quest of revenge alone. Not only that, but let's say you somehow gained enough power to exact your revenge on Ares. Becoming a true godslayer would paint a gigantic target on your back- it would force you to constantly live your life on the run. I think I've explained the situation well enough for you to understand. On another note, let's not forget the monsters that would come to challenge you every time you'd go to visit her. You're only growing stronger, Percy. Pretty soon, you'll become a homing beacon for monsters. With my help, you could forget about all of that while you're with your mother."
"You're smart," I said, returning her words from earlier with a sardonic grin. Aphrodite smiled pleasantly at me as if I'd just given her the best compliment she'd received in a while. "You'll believe me if I don't trust you implicitly, though. You've shown that you've got your hands in a couple of deals, so I'm not under any false impressions about how helpless you truly are. Let's say I agree- how will my mother be safe, as you're trying to convince me?"
"My power right now is not as vast as it once was, I'll freely admit that. That's why, the second part of my request has to do with you," Aphrodite said, taking a deep breath. "I need you to form a bond with me."
"A bond?" I repeated, the words feeling alien in my mouth. "What kind of bond? And why?"
Aphrodite sighed softly, "Without getting into the nitty-gritty of things, I gain power from a couple of different sources, a major one being bonds that I form with other people. I don't have many bonds with loving individuals, seeing as my fellow gods tend more to care about themselves than anyone else, and the ones that do care for others, well, I'll just say that they don't care for me as much. That messes up the whole idea. You, on the other hand, have a great deal of love for your mother- and an immense capacity to love in general. To top it off, you'll have a beneficial attitude towards me because of the outcome of our deal."
"Boosting the strength of the bond," I finished for her. "Giving you extra power."
"You catch on fast," Aphrodite praised, her eyes flickering with a few unreadable emotions. "Then, of course, I could use some of that power to protect myself, and some to keep your mother from harm."
"You still haven't explained that part," I pointed out, a grin forming on my face. "You're not getting this partnership out of me unless you give me the whole story."
"I would essentially bless your mother and recognize her as my family," Aphrodite explained, with another small smile on her face. "That would keep monsters from attacking her, and it would warn any immortals about crossing her path, at the expense of risking my wrath. In the event that they choose not to heed my warning, I'll intervene myself. Whether that's frying the other immortal, simply escaping with your mother and bringing her to you, showing up with your father- rest assured, she'll be fine. Not a single hair harmed on her head."
"How would you have that much power from one bond?" I leaned back in the chair, my head flipping through the situation. While I'd never say this straight up, I'm sort of getting the sense that I'm going to have to face down Ares, anyway. If I can secure my mother's eternal safety as a consequence, why not? "And this bond? What do I have to do on my end?"
"Nothing. Just be you. As for the power, protecting a mortal is something I could do, even now. Your bond would just make things easier on both of us. My powers are a little...odd, at times, but to put it in perspective, if I were to ever truly love someone, I'd be nearly at the full capacity of my power. For now, I'd be drawing on your latent capacity to love, as well as your overpowering love for your family. You'd be like my batteries, for example."
"Fine," I said, running a hand through my hair with a bit of stress. "We can make the bond, and I'll kick his ass into next Tuesday. I'd like a proper oath from you if you'd please."
"Gladly," Aphrodite said softly, raising her right hand. "I, Aphrodite, pledge on the River Styx to uphold my deal with Perseus Jackson."
[SIDE][STORY] Quest Alert!
{Love's Arrow!}
|| Aphrodite has been trapped between the gods of Olympus for centuries! Free her from her binds and help her find true love! ||
{Rewards:}
- 50,000 EXP!
- Your mother's safety!
?
{Failure:}
Death! Sensing a pattern here, [PLAYER]?
[YES/NO]
"We have a deal, then," I said, her eyes trained on me as I discreetly clicked yes.
"Partners, then," Aphrodite said in a smooth tone. Suddenly, her eyes glinted. A megawatt smile formed on her face. "The bond has been made. I'm certain it'll give me enough power for our deal- especially given how I've begun feel about you now."
My eyes bulged. I might be one of the denser people you'll meet, but there's no way I'd miss a hint like that. "Wait, what"-
"We'll talk soon," Aphrodite smiled at me and waved her hand. I was forcibly dragged out of the dream and back into the real world.
|| You have slept in a bed, HP and MP have been restored 100% each. All ailments and negative status effects have been cured. ||
I gasped out for breath, shooting straight up in Medusa's bed. What the fuck just happened? I tried to calm my racing heart.
Piper, who had gotten up a long time ago, was sitting in one of the chairs nearby. She was munching on a bag of sour cream and onion chips.
"Well, finally," She called out, a light dusting of red barely visible on her cheeks. Piper tossed me my bag. "I stocked up some food and drinks from down there. I also may or may not have gone downstairs and used her credit card to get two train tickets west."
I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and cracked open one of the cans of soda from my bag. Deciding not to think too hard about why a monster from the myths would need a credit card, I said, "Piper, demigods can't use the internet. It sends a gigantic flare up for any Greek being. The monsters probably have a good idea of where to find us."
Piper rolled her eyes. She hefted her bag over her shoulder. "Guess we're just going to have to get moving, then. Let's go."
I got the overall feeling that she was a little embarrassed about last night. Well, it is what it is. Not everyone has the same benefit I do of having a half-life on negative emotions.
Not to mention, I guess I wouldn't be too keen on seeing someone after I cried myself to sleep on their chest after just meeting them, either, if I'm being quite honest.
A couple of minutes passed, and we went off in search of the Amtrak station. I looked back as the gnome emporium disappeared behind the trees. It was like the forest itself swallowed it back up. I hoped no weary travelers made their way over there ever again.
I felt a slight pang in my left eye. I really hoped I wouldn't be using it anytime soon. Don't get me wrong, it's an insanely broken power, but eternally turning someone to stone is sort of cruel.
Also, it kind of hurts like a bitch.
The station itself wasn't that far away- maybe a half a mile, give or take. Piper remained silent the entire trip, which was fine by me. We boarded the train with no problem.
I'm sure we must've looked weird- two slightly dirty-looking kids, boarding a cross-country train- but no one said a word.
I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I got on the train, and almost had to do a double-take. The baby fat had almost all but melted off of my face. My cheekbones looked higher. My nose suddenly didn't look so big on my face.
If I had to guess, I looked less like I was twelve and more like I was fourteen!
We spent two days on the Amtrak train, heading west through hills, over rivers, past amber waves of grain. Between my ability to create almost any foodand Piper's charmspeak, we were able to keep mostly to ourselves for the entirety of the trip.
We weren't attacked once, but I didn't relax. I felt that we were traveling around in a display case, being watched from above and maybe from below, that something was waiting for the right opportunity.
Well, and I confirmed that too.
{MANA DETECTION} wasn't going to level itself. I bumped it up to three more levels just by actively using it, and now, I could keep a passive version of the skill employed at all times. It wasn't perfect; it wouldn't tell me how much mana a person had, but it did alert me when a new presence popped up.
You'd be surprised how many monsters just existed out in the world. I know some of it had to do with the fact that the both of us were demigods, and that Piper used the internet, but still.
At every station, they were just there-waiting, plotting.
That friendly-looking stray on the stairs? Yeah, a hellhound ready to bite my head off.
The vendor selling cotton candy with a smile plastered on his face? A telekhine, with his cart full of swords and daggers.
These monsters were different from the ones I'd encountered back home. They were smart, deliberate. They'd blend right in with the rest of the crowd, hoping to catch a demigod lacking, but in front of my eyes, all disguises were useless. I wasn't going to ever be caught off guard like that again.
Medusa's eye was interesting, too. I hadn't experimented with it, but based on what I could tell, the rules weren't as simple as I thought. I didn't just turn any living thing into stone, I also turned any organic tissue into stone.
For example, when I looked at some of the monsters in the crowd outside of the train and focused on their legs, I could see them get gray and brittle and snap off. It wasn't ass immediate of a reaction as I'd originally hoped for, but it was a start.
Not to mention, it was a little harder to concentrate that hard, but it was beneficial enough to at least learn the basics of the eye. Who knows, maybe it would end up saving my life someday.
Aside from that, the past few days had been a welcome break. Ever since I became a demigod, all I'd been doing was run, run, run. I never got to relax.
Now, though…
On this train, all I did was meditate, sleep, and eat. I couldn't let my mental state slip up in the presence of a god, again. I doubted deeply that all of the gods were as nice as the ones I'd met so far.
Plus, I had a duty to Aphrodite. I said I'd keep Piper safe, and I planned on it- I wouldn't let us get caught off guard like that again. If that meant she was bored while I mentally fortified myself, so be it.
Hold on for a second, while we're on the subject, can we just talk about the Aphrodite situation? I could feel my cheeks start to burn intensely. She couldn't have been serious, right?
I mean, like, I didn't know if she was at the time, but then she used my full name (which I never told anyone), and the last three dreams I've had have been about her in some way, shape, or form.
It was a little disconcerting. Sometimes. I saw events in history play out, but completely different than how the myths described them. I guess if there was any doubt in my mind about whether she was lying or not, it was gone.
Other times, I saw just her. She'd be doing some mundane task like strolling through the gardens on Olympus or cooking, and I'd feel her look right at me in the dream.
But, she couldn't be serious, right?
Why in the world would a goddess- not just any goddess, mind you, the goddess of love- be interested in me?
Ping!
I stopped thinking and instead focused my attention on the little wisp of blue that just appeared in my vision. Was that Piper just getting worked up?
I opened my eyes, jarring myself out of the meditative state I was in.
I could see Piper switching back and forth between alternately pacing the length of the train and looking out the windows.
"Restless?" I asked calmly.
I, on the other hand, was fully relaxed.
She whipped around. Piper crossed her arms. "Really? Yes, I'm restless. Percy, we've been on this train for days."
"Yes. We've been on this train safe, for days, you're right," I corrected her. Oh, she didn't like that one bit.
"Safe? Percy, I'm going crazy on this thing. I don't know how you can sit still for hours on end- full disclosure, I don't even care-but I just can't. I need some excitement! I know we're going to LA, but can't we please just stop somewhere along the way?"
Piper, the God of War is after you, I wanted to say. You're going to have way more excitement than you could hope for.
I had to try to be at least a bit considerate, though. She's just a kid who was thrown into this weird world. I doubt she even knows it, but I'm certain that her desire to do something stems from the fact that she wants to feel normal again, and not like some commodity being hunted across the country.
I could understand that. Furthermore, the conversation I'd had with her on the banks of the Hudson was still fresh on my mind. I didn't want her to resent this world too much, or there could be some horrible consequences.
I sighed and checked the map. "We have a layover in St. Louis coming up. How about we take a little break and check out the Gateway Arch?"
"Yes!" Piper said gleefully, coughing awkwardly as everyone else in the train turned to look at her. She sat back down next to me rather abruptly. "You're the best!"
We pulled into the Amtrak station downtown around noon. The intercom system blared overhead, telling us we had about three hours to burn before we got on our connecting ride to Denver.
"Alright, Piper, let's go check it out."
The Arch was about a mile from the train station. The lines to get in weren't that long. We threaded our way through the underground museum, looking at covered wagons and other junk from the 1800s. It wasn't all that thrilling to me personally, but Piper kept telling me interesting facts about how the Native Americans used to live around these parts, and my skills kept leveling up, so I was pretty content with the situation.
[ACTIVE][STR] {OBSERVE} [LV: 7][PROG: 28%]
|| By using this skill on a target, you will get information about it and a small amount of data, as well.
[LV: 1] shows you their level and some basic information. As you grow the skill, it will eventually show more and more about the person and/or object that you're looking at.
[LV: 5] passively shows someone's information without the need to activate the skill as well as indicates how much damage you've dealt! ||
Score! I was never ever going to get caught off guard, again.
"Come on, Percy," Piper urged, grabbing my arm. She basically ran to the elevator. "Let's go!"
"Sorry, miss, but the elevator is full," The guy working there said, although I could clearly see it wasn't. Was he just trying to get some extra time to talk to Piper?
She wasn't falling for it either. One charmspoken sentence later, and we were shoehorned into the car with this big fat lady and her dog, a Chihuahua with a rhinestone collar.
I figured maybe the dog was a seeing-eye Chihuahua because none of the guards said a word about it.
We started going up, inside the Arch. I'd never been in an elevator that went in a curve, and my stomach wasn't too happy about it.
"No parents?" the fat lady asked us.
"Nah, they're downstairs," I replied, getting a good look at her. She had beady eyes; pointy, coffee-stained teeth; a floppy denim hat, and a denim dress that bulged so much, she looked like a blue-jean blimp.
[ECHIDNA]
[THE MOTHER OF MONSTERS]
[LV]: 60
[HP]: 200,000/200,000
[MP]: 150,000/150,000
|| Hesiod described Echidna as a female monster spawned in a cave, who mothered, with her mate Typhon, almost every major and minor horrible monster in the Greek myths. Echidna was usually considered an offspring of Tartarus and Gaea, or of Ceto and Phorcys (according to Hesiod) or Chrysaor and the naiad Callirhoe, or Peiras and Styx (according to Pausanias, who did not know who Peiras was aside from her father). Echidna was a dracaena, with the face and torso of a beautiful woman (depicted as winged in archaic vase paintings) and the body of a serpent, sometimes having two serpent's tails. ||
Holy fuck.
I turned to the little chihuahua that was yapping away at me.
[THE CHIMERA]
[LEGENDARY MONSTER]
LV- 70
HP- 350,000/350,000
MP- N/A
|| In ancient myths, the Chimera was killed by Bellerophon on Pegasus when Bellerophon jammed a lead ball into its mouth. The ball melted, killing it with lead poison and suffocation. The original Chimera died long ago at the hands of the hero Bellerophon, though lesser Chimera still prowl the labyrinth of Crete. ||
All of a sudden, I was really wishing I just told Piper to suck it up and made her stay on the train with me.
Another thing that wasn't sitting well with me was that these two were really good at hiding their true forms- their mana levels had appeared to be average for a human and a dog until I'd taken that closer look right about now. That proactive approach I'd taken might've just saved the lives of everyone in this elevator.
Still, though. Neither Echidna nor the Chimera made a move to attack me yet- they probably wanted to do it on their own terms. Some monsters were just smarter than others, I guess.
|| For thinking in a logical manner, you have gained [+1] to your [INT] stat! ||
Really, game? Really? That felt sarcastic.
The Chimera growled, drawing me out of my thoughts.
The woman said, "Now, now, sonny. Behave."
The dog had beady eyes like its owner, intelligent and vicious.
Deciding to test the mother and son combo, I said, "Sonny. Is that his name?"
"No," the lady told me. She smiled as if that cleared everything up.
At the top of the Arch, the observation deck honestly just reminded me of a tin can with carpeting. Rows of tiny windows looked out over the city on one side and the river on the other. The view was okay, but if there's anything I liked less than confined spaces, it was a confined space six hundred feet in the air.
I was ready to go pretty quickly. If possible, I wanted to completely avoid fighting enemies that were leveled this high.
Piper kept talking about how cool things looked from up here, and how her Dad always told her about some of the tribal myths revolving around this place. She probably could've stayed up there for hours, but luckily for me, the park ranger announced that the observation deck would be closing in a few minutes.
I steered her toward the exit, loaded her into the elevator, and I was about to get in myself when I realized there were already two other tourists inside. No room for me. The park ranger said, "Next car, sir."
"I'll get out," Piper said. I could tell she knew something was up, too. Not bad for a fresh demigod. "I don't mind waiting with you."
No way, Piper. I knew she meant well, but she couldn't compete with these two- she'd only hold me back. I could tell my chances at survival were pretty slim, to start. "Eh, it's okay. I'll see you at the bottom."
She looked nervous but let the elevator door slide shut. The car disappeared down the ramp.
Just me and my monster friends, now.
[STORY] Quest Alert!
{Prove Your Worth!}
|| You've been cornered by Echidna and the Chimera. Escape with your life and show the gods of Olympus that you mean business! ||
{Optional Objectives:}
- Kill the Chimera (0/1)
- Kill Echidna (0/1)
{Rewards:}
- 1000 REP with Piper!
- 1000 REP with Hades!
- 1000 REP with Zeus!
- 1000 REP with Aphrodite!
- 1000 REP with Poseidon!
- 20,000 EXP!
?
?
{Failure:}
You and Piper die!
[YES/NO]
This was probably the hardest yet most rewarding quest I'd received to date. I squared my shoulders and clicked yes.
"Let's cut to the chase, then," I said as Riptide appeared in my hands. Days of meditation along with the Game's boosts had tempered my battle instinct and composure. I turned to look at Echidna, my face completely calm. "Echidna."
She rolled up her denim sleeves, revealing that the skin of her arms was scaly and green. When she smiled, I saw that her teeth were fangs. The pupils of her eyes were side-ways slits, like a reptile's. "Be honored, Percy Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood."
So Zeus had allowed this. Go figure. The big bastard was starting to get the sense that he was wrong, and he'd rather be dead than capable of proving him wrong.
I let out a small breath, sensing the mana in my surroundings. My manipulation abilities weren't as high as I wanted, but I could still pull things to me and push things away from me, so it was alright. Game on.
"Come, sonny," Echidna said, cooing at the dog. I noticed wisps of mana edge out from her fingertips and onto the dog's fur- she was essentially boosting his power exponentially.
The Chimera barked, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Doberman, then to a lion. The bark became a roar. Ah, I get it. She was like his battery pack.
The Chimera was now so tall its back rubbed against the roof. It had the head of a lion with a blood-caked mane, the body and hooves of a giant goat, and a serpent for a tail, a ten-foot-long diamondback growing right out of its shaggy behind.
I made a throwing motion with my hand, and 300 [MP] drained out of my stores as a chair was flung towards the beast. It weaved underneath it, and the chair went sailing into the wall, crashing loudly.
The Chimera charged, its lion teeth gnashing. I managed to leap aside and dodge the bite, springing off of the beast's broad chest and into the air. It opened its mouth, emitting a stench like the world's largest barbecue pit, and shot a column of flame straight at me.
I easily dodged it, dropping into a roll the moment that I landed.
Okay, think, Percy, think. I glanced up at its neck. There was no way I'd be able to land a fatal blow there- it had that gigantic metal collar on. My [STR] definitely wasn't high enough to cut through something like that.
Next spot, the tail. That snake did not look too friendly to me, either.
I have to stay on the move, though. The Chimera is too fast for me to stand still for more than a few seconds at a time.
I took off running towards the Chimera. I vaulted over one of the observation tables and launched a fireball at it.
It weaved under the crimson, baseball-sized flame. Unfortunately for him. I expected that. It smashed into Echidna, causing her to howl in pain.
She put it out with nothing more than a pat and a scowl. I tried not to lose too much hope at the measly damage I'd done- there had to be a way out of here alive.
"It's going to take more than that," Echidna warned. The Chimera roared in agreement and started running towards me again.
My legs tensed, and I flipped over it, grabbing the snake-like tail. Unfortunately for me, the tail was much stronger than I'd expected, and a flick from it sent me skidding across the deck.
Fuck. This was going to be a tough fight to win.
The myths said that Bellerophon killed it using poison- that he killed it from the inside out. That meant that the rest of the Chimera's body was probably incredibly durable.
Well, I guess I can try his approach, too, in that case. The only problem with that is that approach is that I needed poison, fast. If I had a steady stream, I could superheat it with my powers from Hestia and send a burst of noxious gas deep into his mouth.
Where the hell was I going to find poison right now?
The Chimera turned faster than I would've thought possible. Before I could swing my sword, it opened its mouth and shot another column of flame straight at me.
This time, given the constraints of the room around me, I had no choice but to dive through the explosion. The carpet burst into flames; the heat was so intense, it nearly seared off my eyebrows. Where I had been standing a moment before was a ragged hole in the side of the Arch, with melted metal steaming around the edges.
So…I'm not paying for that.
I winced at the smell of burnt metal. That fire had shredded through the metal like it wasn't even there.
Ragh!
I dodged another bite from the monster, and its fangs cut through the metal of the Arch like it was cardboard. A couple more fireballs exploded from my fingertips, but they splashed disappointingly softly against his hide, netting me a meager 300 or so [HP] for each successful hit.
This thing was like fighting a wall!
I looked around, my mind hopelessly listing through things that could help me. The floor, no., the ceiling, no, Echidna, no, the lights, no- wait!
Yes! They could!
Most light bulbs were fluorescent- that was the one thing I'd ever actually learned from Smelly Gabe. Well, learned might be giving him too much credit. He was ranting about a countrywide bill that had passed, making it so that only certain kinds of lightbulbs could be sold, which in turn made it so that he had to shell out more money for his st- why am I telling you this?
The bottom line, moral of the story, lesson, whatever you want to call it- is that I could theoretically superheat one of the bulbs and blast it down the Chimera's throat. That was the only real choice I stood, really.
Back to the fight. I dodged a few more of the lunges from the beast, and snapped my fist through the light fixture, wincing slightly as the shards of glass cut deep into my skin.
Ugh, what a pain. I held the dimmed-out bulb in my hand, my fingers twisting around the copper filament. "Come get some, you big bitch!"
The next time the Chimera came rushing towards me, I ran towards it as fast as I could. It opened its maw, ready to chomp down on me, and I threw the now molten lightbulb right down its gullet.
Chyaw!
The Chimera started heaving and choking on the filament.
I blasted a column of red-hot fire into the mouth of the Chimera, focusing all of my power into activating the light-bulb.
The Chimera opened its mouth and tried to breathe its own fire, but it only succeeded in inhaling the light bulb further when it tried to garner enough energy for a jet of flame.
The fire dropped back down, sizzling as it churned and crashed in the Chimera's gut. I could see its chest glowing an ominous red as the filament activated fully in its stomach, blasting noxious fumes into the Chimera.
|| Critical Hit! ||
-20,000 [HP]!
|| Poison Afflicted! ||
-1000 [HP] PER SECOND!
My victorious grin died instantly. J-just 20,000? That meant...
The Chimera eventually stopped struggling, standing back up and fixing a murderous stare on me. I could see that it was hurt, but if anything, that seemed to make the beast look even scarier.
"Oh, come on, now, boy," Echidna chuckled, incessantly loud. Her inhuman eyes glared at me balefully. "Did you really think your bastardized version of Bellerophon's trick was going to work? Pitiful."
The Chimera blindly rushed forward, and I tensed my legs again, vaulting over its snout and onto its back. I readied Riptide and-
Crunch!
"Argh!" I screamed in pain. The second my legs landed on its back, the blasted serpent tail whipped around and sank its fangs into my calf.
My whole leg was on fire. Sticking to my plan, I tried to jab Riptide into the Chimera's mouth, but the serpent tail wrapped around my ankles and pulled me off balance, and my blade flew out of my hand, spinning out of the hole in the Arch and down toward the Mississippi River.
I was slammed back onto the ground by the Chimera, hard enough to cause spiderweb cracks in the floor, crisscrossing from my point of impact.
-5000 [HP]!
|| You have been severely poisoned! ||
-10,000 [HP] every minute!
Fuck me. A minute of this poison and I'd be sleeping with the fishes- not in a good way, either.
I managed to get to my feet somehow, but I knew I had lost at this point. I was weaponless. I could feel deadly poison racing up to my chest.
Through my haze of pain, I remembered Chiron saying that Anaklusmos would always return to me, but there was no pen in my pocket. Maybe it had fallen too far away. Maybe it only returned when it was in pen form. I didn't know, and I wasn't going to live long enough to figure it out.
I backed into the hole in the wall.
The Chimera advanced, growling, smoke curling from its lips.
The snake lady, Echidna, cackled. "They don't make heroes like they used to, eh, son?"
The monster growled. It seemed in no hurry to finish me off now that I was beaten. I glanced at the elevator, on its way back up. Soon, there would be innocent people up here. Maybe it would be just the guard, coming to get me, or maybe it was Piper, forcing her way back up here.
Fuck. She was stubborn enough to pull a stunt like that.
I couldn't just…die. I tried to think, but my whole body was on fire. {GAMER'S MIND} was dulling some of the sensations, but my head still felt way too dizzy for me to even move.
I had no sword. I was facing a massive, fire-breathing monster and its mother. And you know what? I was scared. Yeah. Fucking scared.
I've been trying to hold it in this whole time, but I just can't anymore. I don't want to die! I have so much left to do!
There was no place else to go, so I stepped to the edge of the hole. Far, far below, the river glittered. Around the same time, the elevator door dinged open. There was one option...but I didn't know if I had enough health and mana to use it.
Damn it.
I knew my body wouldn't be able to handle it, but at this point, I didn't care. Those people coming up here right now couldn't be put in danger. Saving my mother was important, but I doubted she'd be truly comfortable with being saved if it meant that innocent people had to die for her. I couldn't put that sort of weight on her.
Mind hazy, I made my decision. I ripped off the linen around my left eye and opened it.
I felt a deep pool of mana well up in my eye. White-hot bolts of pain exploded in my eye, and I started to see spots dancing across my vision. If I couldn't defeat the Chimera...I was simply going to unplug it.
Echidna's eyes widened, and she started to scream. Before any sound left her mouth, her body stiffened and hardened. A gray color spread throughout her body and cracks began to form on her face.
The Chimera tried to lunge at me, but I flipped it off and slipped backward. Without Echidna, he started transforming again, slowly turning back into his little dog form.
Unluckily, before it could transform all the way, the Chimera got a lucky jab in with one of his claws, and I watched in fascination as my own blood splattered on the floor, covering the steel in a maroon shade.
I couldn't even make out the health I'd lost- the numbers looked like squiggly lines to me.
I had pushed my body too far. My eye felt like it was on fire. Poison was coursing through my crushed leg and body. My chest was torn open, my shirt in smithereens. I turned around and lost all feeling in my limbs as I plummeted toward the river, my last thought- a prayer to my father to keep me alive.
[STORY] Quest Complete!
{Prove Your Worth!}
|| You've been cornered by Echidna and the Chimera. Escape with your life and show the gods of Olympus that you mean business! ||
{Optional Objectives:}
- Kill the Chimera (0/1)
- Kill Echidna (0/1)
{Rewards:}
- 1000 REP with Piper!
- 1000 REP with Hades!
- 1000 REP with Zeus!
- 1000 REP with Aphrodite!
- 1000 REP with Poseidon!
- 20,000 EXP!
- [ECHIDNA'S BANE] title!
- Enhanced Water Healing!
AN: Interesting chapter, huh. The pairing, as you can tell, has been decided. I realized, from a reviewer, Posatain, that Aphrodite is just as unused as, if not more unused than Hera. I can't recall the last time I've seen a serious Aphrodite pairing, so I took it upon myself to bend the story.
This story is already incredibly AU, so might as well have some fun, you know? I've got a ton of great things planned, don't worry.
To that one Guest, I like your reasoning, but sorry, Aphro is the wave. Also- I love SMITE!
CharneX: SP is directly related to stamina, as in, how much Percy can fight and carry, etc. It doesn't play a huge role yet since he doesn't have any armor that requires SP, but don't worry, it'll all come in due time.
Ryunogame: Right in one, my friend. He's going to be rid of the eye patch by the summer, no worries.
Also, several reviewers mentioned the number of inconsistencies- sorry. Keeping track of numbers is harder than I thought, but I'll try to be better from here on out.
Let me know your thoughts as usual!
EDIT (4/17/21): I changed the game visuals, and I severely changed the backstory of Aphrodite and Percy. The last one, admittedly, didn't feel as organic as I would've liked, so this time, I'm going to let Aphrodite go through and actually develop feelings for Percy, rather than make them come seemingly out of nowhere like last time. I also made her seem less helpless and damsel-like and tried to characterize her as a bit more smart and deliberate with her power, picking and choosing scenarios that benefit her.
Percy, again, rather than acting irrationally and making a dumb promise, gets over his thoughts of Gabe and makes a deal to guarantee his mother's protection. All around good changes, I think.
Another thing I tried to alter a bit was Piper. She's still acting the same, with some new things thrown in there, yeah, but Percy's doing a little bit of a better job of sympathizing with her, which, in turn, makes it a bit easier for the reader to see Piper as something except for just annoying.
Finally, I also reworked the Chimera fight. No inventory trick, no OP Percy somehow killing both. My main goal with the fight was to show you guys, the reader, the differences between Canon!Percy and my version of him. That loyalty, that desire to protect the innocent is still there, but, as many of us would, he weighs that desire against the desire to save his mother, ultimately deciding that the innocent people mattered more.
He also takes a more tactical and smarter approach to the fight, looking to use his surroundings, and science to his advantage. Clearly, he still can't defeat the Chimera outright, but still finds a way to save people, even at the risk of his own death. I'd say at this point, he's a bit better than canon, for sure. He's smarter, faster, stronger, and of course, has a slew of new powers.
However, naturally, he hasn't mastered these powers. He hasn't mastered his tactical mind. His inexperience with the battle, and inability to fully use everything at his disposal effectively highlights his own inexperience at being a demigod. Again, all good changes, I'd say. See you guys in the next chapter.
EDIT (2/3/22): Visuals.
