Chapter 5 (Bryan POV)
I walked with Athena around Olympus, stopping to admire a well-designed building every once in a while. We had been doing this more and more often recently, and I found myself enjoying her company more and more the longer we spent together. She filled a gap that I never even knew I had. Percy was my brother and my closest friend. Something about this is different though. It feels like a different type of friendship.
"Bryan!" Athena said, "Hello? Olympus to Bryan?"
I shook my head, "Yeah?"
"You weren't even listening were you?" she smirked, her hands crossed in front of her,
"Uh, yeah, I was. You were talking about...Architecture." I said
She laughed, and a strange feeling erupted in my chest. She grabbed my hand and started running, letting her pull me forward, and I realized that I love her. I love her so much it hurts. I smiled as she pulled me forward, not even knowing my hand is not the only thing she's holding.
I took her to a restaurant that served delicious Italian food (hey, it's really good). We sat at a table for 2, overlooking the mortal world. You could see the ocean on the horizon. She smiled at me, holding my hand across the table. I smiled back.
"I like your hair, it looks good," she said
"Thanks, spent about 3 seconds on it," I said, and she laughed. I only had to think about a hairstyle and it would be on me. It was close-cropped, which is very very different from Percy's hair. His is messy and falls onto his forehead.
"Well, if we're going to start a thing, I like your eyes," I said, smiling,
She looked at me skeptically, and I looked at her confused, "I'm not lying, they are beautiful,"
She blushed, as the gold overtook her face. I stared into her grey eyes and smiled at the happiness that shone through them.
"Well, then, let's continue it, I like your eyes as well, the red is very haunting," she said
I grinned, that's the other way to see the difference between Percy and me. My eyes are bright red, while he is a darker red. Other than our hair and eyes, we're almost indistinguishable.
"Thanks," I said, grinning.
Our compliment session was ended by the arrival of our food. I had ordered ravioli, and she ordered spaghetti. We ate in silence, enjoying the food and the company.
After we finished, she turned to me and hugged me, "Thank you, Bryan,"
I smiled, "The pleasure was all mine," I said
She teleported out, and I teleported to my palace, to see a grinning Percy standing there.
"You sure you guys aren't dating bro?" he asked
"Yes," I said, not even arguing.
"Okay man, I know you like her," he said, not even asking anymore, just saying it to me, like he's sure of himself, which he probably is.
"Yeah, I do," I said, not even bothering to deny it anymore.
I expected him to tease me, but he didn't. He just put his hand on my shoulder, and said, "Well, good. She's good for you man."
I was surprised. I was so sure that he would make fun of me for liking her, but he didn't. I looked at him smiling.
"Artemis is good for you too dude. You need someone who will watch your back if I'm not there," I said
He groaned, "I'm not with Artemis dude,"
I laughed, "Okay man if you say so,"
He glared at me playfully, "I do say so,"
Then a thought went through me, "Hey, how did you know we were eating lunch together?" I asked, looking at him accusingly,
He laughed, "Didn't your server have red eyes?"
Realization went through me, and I jumped off of the couch and ran at Percy, who ran away laughing. I chased him, and we laughed together, trying to forget about the war we had to fight in a week.
Percy and I sat in our thrones, waiting for the other gods to show up for the war council meeting. Slowly, all of the gods flashed in, Aphrodite being the last one. Percy nodded at me, and I started,
"We have a few things we need to discuss," I started, "First off when Thalia exploded Mt. St. Helens with that lightning bolt, she almost woke Typhon out of his slumber. This helps Kronos's armies because he will be able to wake him up much easier and quicker."
"That means that we will all have to work together to beat him," Athena continued, "Using all of our domains, we might have a chance,"
"There's one problem," Percy said, "What about the demigods?"
"That is an issue, maybe you or Bryan could help them," Zeus said
"I may not be able to fight with the rest of you," Poseidon said
Sounds of protest rung out, as everyone started yelling over each other. Even I was confused because I didn't understand why he wouldn't fight with us.
I looked at Percy, and he looked as confused as me. Zeus shot a massive bolt of lighting at the sky, silencing everyone.
"Please explain, brother," Zeus asked in a controlled voice
"Oceanus has proclaimed war against Atlantis, and I must face him in battle," he said
Everyone looked at the ground, lost in thought. I strained to try and think of any logical way that we could figure this out, and fight Typhon, especially since Poseidon is one of the most powerful gods.
Zeus sighed, "I did not wish to do this, but sister Hestia, will you fight with us? We may require your help,"
Mom looked conflicted, "I do not wish to fight, however, if I see it necessary, then I shall join the fight with you," she said slowly
Zeus nodded, "I'm sorry sister, but times are tough." he said, and mother nodded.
"So it's settled, then," I said, "We shall fight Typhon, and Poseidon will fight for Atlantis."
"It appears we will have to put our trust in the demigods to stop Kronos's army," Zeus said
I nodded, even though I didn't like any of it, and I could tell Percy was thinking the same thing.
"Unfortunately, we must leave them to fight on their own, I suppose the best we can do is beat Typhon as quickly as possible and then join them, maybe we can get back in time to fight Kronos with them," Percy said, and I nodded in confirmation. Percy is smarter than we give him credit for.
"Alright! Let's beat Typhons ass!" Ares yelled, and I couldn't help the small smile that came on my face. As much as he is a jackass a lot of the time, he is a very good fighter, and he is also a good army general.
"We leave for battle tomorrow morning, council dismissed!" Zeus said, and we all teleported out. I teleported to Percy's palace, and he smiled when he saw me.
"We're in for the fight of our lives, aren't we," he said,
"Yeah, we are," I said, "You and me, we're the best tag-team out there."
He grinned, "Yes sir, we're gonna make Typhon our bitch,"
"Remember the first time we fought him?" I asked quietly
"Yeah, I do. Our worst loss ever. We were lucky we put him to sleep," he said, looking down, then he hardened and stood tall again, "we're stronger now, we won't lose again,"
I nodded, "I'm going to get myself ready," I said
He nodded, and I teleported to my palace. I fell onto my bed, and sighed, staring at the ceiling. The last time we fought Typhon, it didn't go well.
(start flashback)
I stood on my chariot, pulled by giant golden eagles, as we fought the massive beast that is Typhon. The wind whipped around me as thunder crackled from above. I saw Percy spraying him with fire, and I saw Zeus slamming Typhon with massive bolt after bolt. I sprung in and stabbed him with my spear, as I felt energy surrounding me. I drove my spear in deeper, then pulled out and stabbed him again.
Typhon roared and struck out. He hit Percy and me so hard we flew from the fight and got knocked out. I woke up and saw Percy standing over me. Typhon was a couple of miles ahead, thank god we weren't out long.
"C'mon! We gotta go catch up to them!" Percy yelled, then jumped back on his chariot that was pulled by phoenixes. I nodded and jumped onto my chariot and we flew straight into the battlefield again. I wreathed my body in fire and body-slammed Typhon. Percy did the same, and Typhon groaned as he jerked sideways. I grinned, but then Typhon stood again and hit us both out of the way. Then he knocked Athena, Artemis, Apollo, and Zeus out of the sky. We couldn't keep him down, then, an idea formed in my head.
"ZEUS! EVERYONE COME HERE!" I yelled
They all looked at me like I was crazy, but flew towards us. Typhon, seeing them leaving, started moving again.
"I'm sorry for calling you, but I have an idea. We won't win unless we do this." I said
They nodded, so I hurried, "We can't beat him, we have to put him to sleep. For that, we need Aphrodite," I turned to her, and she nodded, "She will need a lot of power for this, so we all have to lend her our strength," I said
Many of the gods looked like they wanted to disagree, and I don't blame them. I don't like the idea either, because it means we were unable to beat Typhon, and we lost to him. However, we have to do what we have to do. All of the god's unsure faces hardened into ones of determination.
"Aphrodite, are you ready?" Percy asked
She nodded, "I am,"
"Then let's put this monster to sleep," I said, and Percy nodded.
We all flew together, then formed a wall in front of Typhon. I nodded at everyone, and we all started sharing our power with Aphrodite. Pain flared through my body, as I felt my strength leave me and go into her. She started glowing with ethereal light, as power flooded through her, and when she spoke, it was powerful, but soft at the same time,
"Typhon, you are so tired of having to fight for Kronos, you know that even if you win, you will just be cast out because of your power." she started, as Typhon roared in anger, "You do not want to fight us, you want to sleep. You want to be done with these wars, done with the titans and their mistreatment, YOU. WANT. SLEEP."
That last statement was so powerful, all the gods and goddesses fell asleep, including the ones who are normally immune to charm speak. When we all woke, Aphrodite told us that Typhon roared in retaliation, but then fell to his side.
With help from Poseidon and Hephaestus, we were able to put him under Mt. St. Helens to sleep.
(end flashback)
That failure to stop him permanently still shames all the gods, even now. We swore after that fight to never lose that badly ever again, and we all prepared for another fight day and night. I sighed and got off my bed. I made sure my spear and daggers were perfectly sharp, then walked over to the training area, where I saw Percy sparring with Ares. Athena, Artemis, Apollo, and Zeus were in the stands, probably to spar next. I sat next to Athena and smiled at her, then turned back to watch the fight.
Percy jumped, spinning in the air over a swing from Ares that was aimed at his midsection. He rolled and used his momentum to land and immediately have his sword at Ares's neck. He grinned, "Yield?"
Ares grumbled a bit but then yielded. Percy walked over to us, sweating profusely.
"Glad you could join us," he said, "Artemis and Athena are fighting next, then Zeus is fighting Apollo," I snickered after hearing that, "But I'll spar with you after that if you want," he said
"Sure," I said, "I'm going to enjoy these next two,"
He laughed as he sat down next to me, taking a swig of water as Athena and Artemis stood off against each other. Athena had a spear, and Artemis had 2 hunting knives. Someone would think that Athena has a major advantage because of the weapons, but I know for a fact it won't be an easy win for either of them. Athena is amazing with her spear, and Artemis is amazing with her knives. I would know. I've been beaten by both of them.
Percy grinned as Athena ran forward, choosing to attack forward very quickly. If I hadn't practiced with her a lot, I would've thought she was going full offensive.
"Bad move," Percy commented, but I shook my head,
Percy frowned but continued watching. Athena jumped and Artemis got ready to block the attack, but instead of using the jump to push a hard attack into Artemis, she froze, pushing back on her foot to cancel all the momentum she had moving forward. Artemis froze for half a second, and that's when Athena finally jumped forward actually. She swung her spear around, and I thought the fight was over, just like that, but we all underestimated Artemis's hunting instincts. She jumped up, doing a backflip, and kicking Athena right in her face, landing gracefully, with 1 knife and a spear in her hands.
Percy had an impressed smile on his face, same as me. Athena stood up, weaponless, but continued squaring off with Artemis, who looked at her with a raised eyebrow but continued the fight. Artemis had put her daggers away, and now it was spear vs no weapon. Athena decided to play passive now, for obvious reasons. Artemis knew that Athena would not attack her, so she took a moment to figure out a way to beat her without risking anything. She ran forward with the spear raised as if she was going to swing it to stab Athena, and Athena prepared to block it, but Artemis did something none of us expected.
She brought the spear down 4 feet in front of Athena and used it as a pole vault, jumping over Athena's head, losing the spear in the process. That didn't matter though, because in her hand was her hunting knife again, pressed against the back of Athena's neck.
She grinned, "yield?"
Athena sighed and yielded. They talked their way back to where we were all sitting. I heard snippets of their conversation.
"That was a great move you pulled there, I didn't expect it," Athena said
"I could say the same to you, even I'm surprised I jumped over it, my hunter's instincts are on point," Artemis said "Honestly, that was a good fight. It was unfortunate that you had no weapon at the end,"
"Yeah, but good spar," Athena said
They both walked to us and sat down, instantly Percy was talking about how cool it was, what they just did, and how entertaining it was. I swear I saw Artemis blush a little when Percy complimented her, oh this is crazy man, my brother fell for a maiden goddess!
We were all brought out of our stupor as we saw Zeus standing off with Apollo. I love the guy like a brother but this is kind of stupid. This fight will probably be over in 5 seconds.
They were about to start, when a voice rang out, "Stop,"
I froze, I would know that voice anywhere, and I know Percy was thinking the same thing. We all turned and saw Hestia, in her battle armor, and a sword strapped at her side. She smiled,
"I haven't used this sword in millennia, so I need to train for tomorrow. Apollo, how about you let me spar against my little brother?" she said
Percy's eyes looked like they were going to bulge out of their sockets, and I honestly don't blame him. I have not seen my mother fight a single time in my entire life. Now we all leaned forward in interest, Zeus being the only one present who had seen Hestia fight.
They stood off with each other, and mom's usually soft eyes hardened, replaced with determination, "Don't go easy on me Zeus," she said, and he nodded.
They circled each other, my mother's sword lighting on fire, and Zeus's master bolt cracking with energy. Suddenly, Zeus jumped forward, blasting lightning at mom, who was a little slow to block it, and the lightning bolt was deflected to her side.
"Well, I need to warm up, don't I?" she smiled, not at all worried.
The fight continued, as Zeus struck again and again, and slowly, we could see mother starting to get comfortable. She fought with a grace and speed that rivaled any other god or goddess. My mouth dropped in shock, as Percy's was in a wide smile.
Suddenly Hestia was on the offensive. Her strikes were complimented by the fire that would spring up under Zeus. She delivered blow after blow and ended the fight by putting her sword at his neck after he jumped from yet another fire.
As soon as the fight ended, Percy and I jumped off the stands and ran to mom, throwing our arms around her.
"HOLY SHIT MOM!" Percy yelled, "WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO FIGHT LIKE THAT?"
"Language Percy!" she said, then smiled, "Many people mistaken the peaceful for the weak,"
"I never said I thought you were weak, but I just want to know where you learned to fight like that," he said
"Well...I learned from my mother, the Titaness Rhea," she said
"Wow, just wow," I said, "That was amazing, mom," I said
"Thank you, Bryan, I just want to be ready, in case I need to fight," she said, and I nodded, honestly, I was so surprised and happy because I had no idea my mother was such a strong fighter, even though she is a peaceful as they get.
"Hopefully you won't have to fight, mom," Percy said
Suddenly we all felt it, Demeter called another council meeting. We all teleported to the throne room for the meeting.
Once I got in, the first thing I was the three fates in the center of the throne room.
"Why are you three here?" Zeus asked, not in a hostile way, just confused,
"We are here because we realized that 2 gods here were not given all of their domains. Zeus, you forgot to give Bryan and Perseus their last domains." Atropos said
Zeus froze, and so did we. "More domains?" Percy asked
"I don't know man, I don't know," I said
The fates beckoned us forward, and we slowly walked up to them, kneeling in front of them.
"Bryan, you are the god of fire, battle strategy, loyalty, and gravity," Clotho said,
"Persues, you are the god of fire, close combat, loyalty, and time," Lachesis said
I left a wave of power run through me as I tried to understand what I just heard, the god of gravity? And Percy is the god of time? Holy shit those are powerful domains. I stood, and turned to Percy,
"Dude, you've got gold in your eye," I said, and I wasn't lying. His dark red eyes now had specks of gold in them.
"Dude, you've got some purple in yours, it looks sick," Percy said
Zeus cleared his throat, and we both blushed at went back to our thrones. I could feel unknown energy in me, and I decided I want to go test out what I can do now. Zeus dismissed the council, and instead of teleporting out, I ran outside, Percy close behind me. I thought of lowering the effect of gravity on myself and changed it to ΒΌ of normal gravity strength. I jumped and laughed in glee as I rose almost 100 feet in the air, spinning slowly. I started to gently float down, as I continued to laugh in joy. Then I stopped moving. Everything around me stopped moving. I tried to turn my head and I was moving sluggishly and slowly. I saw Percy's eyes glowing, and a smirk on his face.
"PERCY! UNFREEZE ME!" I yelled from my upside-down position.
Percy grinned, then unfroze time around me. I started floating down again. Once I got to Percy, I clapped his hand, as both of our excitement levels skyrocketed.
"Dude, our new powers are so cool!" I exclaimed
"Yeah man, they're insane!" he said
I heard laughter behind us and saw Artemis and Athena watching us with amused expressions on their faces.
"I didn't know my best friends were kids," Artemis said, laughing
"Hey!" Percy said, "I just got a new domain, and I was able to use it to freeze Bryan midair, I'm excited!"
"I'm not trying to ruin the mood," Athena said, "But you do realize that is the domain of Kronos, right?"
Percy frowned, "Of course I know that, why is it important though?"
"Nevermind," she said
Percy frowned, slightly miffed, but shook it off and smiled.
"Let's just enjoy our last night of peace, shall we?" Percy said, and we all nodded in agreement. I walked off with my three best friends, trying to ignore the growing pressure that was mounting on me.
In the morning, all of the gods were in their armor, ready with their weapons to leave to fight Typhon at a moment's notice. Mom kissed mine and Percy's forehead, and said,
"If my help is required, just pray to me, and I will come to help, stay safe my sons, " she said, and we nodded.
Percy petted the Phoenixes that pull his chariot, as they rubbed their heads against his hand,
"We must go to battle again, my friends," he said, and the Phoenixes screeched in approval.
I turned to my Eagles and stroked their feathers. "Are you guys ready to fight again?" I asked
"Yes, my lord," the eagles said
"What did I say about the lord?" I said, smiling
"Don't call you that, but you are our lord," they said
I sighed, "Alright, fine,"
"Let's kick his ass this time, lord,"
I nodded, then stood on my chariot, as all the gods teleported to Mt. St. Helens. Smoke was rising from the volcano, as a large roar came from inside, I looked at Percy and he gave me a nod of encouragement. Then Typhon broke out. He roared in anger, breaking the volcano as he shook himself out of it. He roared, then started moving, as we all got ready to face him.
Zeus roared, and a monstrous bolt of lighting hit Typhon, and our battle began, fighting Typhon once again. My eagles dived forward, and I pulled my spear out.
"Aim for his head!" I told my eagles
"Yes, my lord," they said
They dived toward his head, and I got ready. I pulled up on the reign, and we swooped past his face. I swiped across his eye, leaving it bloody.
Typhon roared in anger and swiped. My eagles jerked sideways, and the strike missed me.
I spun my spear in my hand and used it to throw a column of fire at Typhon. Percy saw me and helped me by throwing his own. Our fire combined and Typhon roared in pain. I was vaguely aware of Zeus throwing lightning, Artemis and Apollo shooting arrows, Athena swiping at Typhon's feet, and other gods fighting where they were needed.
However, just like last time, nothing had any lasting effect on Typhon, as he just kept moving forward.
I was trying to think of something we could do to stop him when he lurched forward and fell on his face. I saw his foot stuck in a massive crevice, probably opened from Hades. Suddenly an idea flooded my brain. I focused my energy and increased the power of gravity on Typhon. He tried to lift his foot, but his foot was shaking, then slammed back into the ground. Typhon fell to his knees, roaring in anger. Percy, noticing what I was doing, took advantage and shot a monstrous wave of fire at Typhon, burning his wings. Typhon roared in pain, and shook madly, hitting Percy right off of his chariot.
My concentration broke, "PERCY!" I yelled and turned my chariot to where he fell.
With my gravity spell on him now gone, Typhon got up again and continued moving, pushing through all the Olympians to get to Olympus.
I held my brother's unconscious form in my hand, screaming his name as pain coursed through my body.
"PERCY! WAKE UP, YOU GODSDAMNED IDIOT!" I screamed
Percy didn't respond. I felt the pain in my body convert into pure anger. I quickly prayed to mother, then slowly put his body on the ground. Mom appeared in front of me, and upon seeing Percy's body, instantly fell to her knees.
"Please heal him, mom," I said, then jumped back onto my chariot, making a beeline for Typhon. That blasted monster is going to pay for hurting my brother.
I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter!
Leave feedback in the reviews, they give me motivation, and I can put out chapters quicker for you guys :)
Bye! (thumbs up)
