PERCY

I woke up in darkness, on soft, freshly mowed grass. After my eyes adjusted, I saw that I was in a graveyard, beside a vandalized grave which I soon found out belonged to me. So I had died. I looked at the gravestone to the right of mine and felt like dying all over again.

Sally Jackson-Blofis. Loving mother and wife.

I sat there in front of her grave, till the sun came up. I shuffled out of the graveyard and onto the busy road. I wandered New York City for hours. And just as the sun started to set, I ran into a god. I had never seen him before, but I felt a pull in my tug and the hair on my neck stood up. I started following him. The god was walking with a girl in hand, towards a fancy apartment building. When he was twenty feet away from the building, I stepped up and grabbed his hand.

'Wha-,' he turned around and looked at me, 'What do you want?'. I leaned forward and said, 'My name is Percy Jackson, I need to talk to you.' When he heard my name, he blanched. He turned to his companion and told her that they'll have to postpone their plans. She protested but the god refused to listen. He grabbed my arm and led me into the building, leaving his frustrated booty call outside.

'Take a seat,' the god told me once we were inside his massive apartment. I sat down on a sofa and he asked me, 'Everyone thought you were dead. There was a funeral and everything! Your demigod friends wanted to take your casket and burn it but your stepfather stopped them.' I nodded and he continued, 'The gods are furious over Apollo's death. They'll be glad to have you back so you could help them catch the killer.'

'Did they say anything about my mom's death?' I asked and he frowned. 'Your mother died? Sorry, I didn't know about that.' I gave him a quizzical look and asked, 'How's that even possible? My mom died alongside me!' The god shrugged, 'I don't know Percy. Apollo's death overshadowed your mom's.' Anger quickly rose through me as I heard this. Composing myself, I asked, 'What's your name again?' Eros, he said, the god of love. 'You're telling me that my mom's death is not important?' He nodded and replied, 'You know how it is, humans are expendable. Gods aren't, even when they're in mortal form.'

I sighed and then grabbed him by the neck. Picking him up, I smashed his head on a table that probably cost more than my car. Eros groaned in pain and I kicked him in the ribs, sending him flying. I drew Riptide and advanced towards him. He struggled to his feet and growled at me, 'You don't know what you've done,' and then he snapped his fingers. Nothing happened. He snapped his fingers again, with the same result. 'What's that supposed to do?', I asked. 'You should've been vaporized by now,' he replied and then lunged to the side. I ran towards him with Riptide drawn when he reappeared with a bow and a quiver of arrows and shot me in the chest. I stopped in my tracks as the missile struck me in the heart...then I realized that I felt no pain. I gently pulled the arrow out and my chest immediately started repairing itself.

'What are you..', Eros said and shot another arrow which I knocked aside. I charged towards him. He shot another arrow and again, I cut it out of the air. As he nocked the third arrow, I slashed Riptide sideways and sliced his bow in half. I swung and Eros sidestepped. I swung again, this time from the top and Eros caught the blade between his hands. He leaned in and said, 'You can't win against me Jackson, powerful as you are, you're still human. I am a god. And god trumps human.'

I punched him in the throat.

Riptide clattered to the ground and Eros staggered back in pain, clutching his throat. I jumped at him, slamming my knee straight into his ribcage. We fell to the ground but I was on my feet in a second. I grabbed the god by his hair and pulled him up. 'All you gods are the same,' I growled into his ear and then kneed him in the groin. He bent forward in pain and I pulled him up. 'Every single one of you!' I drove my forehead into his nose and heard a satisfying CRUNCH. 'We can talk, it doesn't have to be this way,' he muttered. In response, I slammed his head into the wall with every ounce of my strength, cracking the wall. Eros's head bounced to the other side and he fell to the floor.

With great effort, he stood up and took a pathetic fighting stance. He smiled, showing off his ichor-stained teeth. 'Is this how you want your story to end? After having fought for the gods, you now want to be their enemy? To let go of the light and fall into the dark side?' I threw an uppercut, which connected with his jaw, and threw him off his feet. But even now, he was defiant, 'You can't win, son of the sea god. You'll meet the same fate as Kronos and Gaia. You will never-'

I raised my foot and stomped on his face.

Eros's head burst open like a tomato and immediately I felt a surge of energy inside me. It was as if my insides were being rearranged. My bones and tendons and muscles were being taken apart and put together again. And when the feeling finally subsided, my body tingled and I felt power like I had never felt before.

And a voice spoke to me: Kill them all.

Hey! So that concludes part 2. I am sorry for taking so long. It's been quite busy for me.

Please be supportive. Review, favorite, and follow this story. I need all the help I can to make it as fun as I can!

And yes, the name of the chapter and Eros's dialogue are references to the Alan Walker song, Darkside.