(Chapter uploaded: October 22, 2022)
Chapter 31: So she ran
(Author's Note)
Hey guys, gals and non-binary pals! Welcome back to chapter 31 of Daughters of Olympus Book 1! There are only THREE chapters left! And, like last time, you just want to get into the action, so let the chapter begin…
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Chapter 31: So she ran
[Recap: "No offense," Astraea said, panting as she half-carried Sacniete who was still too injured to run by herself. "But how is a rich guy in a fancy suit supposed to help us? What is Alexander going to do, call his lawyer?"
Isolde gave a rare smile, turning to face Astraea for just a moment. "Do not underestimate Alexander, Astraea. That man has the strength to storm Asgard single handedly if he was so motivated."
Astraea deadpanned, "Wait? Are you sure we're talking about the same Alexander here? You mean Alexander Lieber? The richest man in the world and son of Tyche? That Alexander?"
"Ja." Isolde said, her cheeks red. Isolde couldn't tell if it was from running, or if she was blushing. "He did it for me."
Astraea, despite herself and the situation, blinked once, twice, then again. "What?"
"You will see." Was all Isolde said in explanation. "Stop here. There is a cave, we can hide out here."
The group stopped, trying their best to catch their breaths. Isolde kept watch again as Takeko gave Sacniete more Ambrosia. Looking around, Astraea saw that Isolde was right, there was a small cave here that was almost impossible to see. She was sure she wouldn't have noticed it if Isolde hadn't pointed it out. Wordlessly, Isolde and Takeko climbed into it. Sacniete had one foot on a rock to pull herself up when Isolde yelled, "Here's here! Seven o'clock!"
Spinning on the spot, Astraea saw Gilgamesh leap over a rocky cliff and land not a hundred feet away from them. He was too close, if Sacniete tried to climb into the cave, he'd see her. And then Isolde, Takeko and Sacniete would be helpless. So Astraea did the only thing she could, she grabbed Sacniete's blood and sweat stained shirt, and threw Sacniete as high into the air as she could. A good thirty feet up.
"Fly!" She barked, not waiting to check if Sacniete turned into a Black-and-white hawk-eagle or not. Without wasting a beat, she grabbed her sister, summoned her wings, and jumped into the air, flapping as frantically as she could, trying to gain as much altitude as fast as she could.
With a quick glance behind her, Astraea could see Gilgamesh run past the small cave opening that hid Isolde and Takeko without a second glance. Good, it was just what she was hoping for. He would be too preoccupied chasing after her to wonder about where they had gone.
"You could have at least warned me." Sacniete said, flying next to Astraea, their wings almost touching.
"Sorry." Astraea went red despite herself. "How fast can you fly?"
"Faster than you." Sacniete said, sounding insulted by the question.
"I'm sure you're right," Astraea admitted. "I'm not built for speed. And besides, I'm carrying extra weight." She said, looking down to her sister in her arms.
"I'M SCARED OF HEIGHTS!" Aurora screamed helpfully. Astraea and Sacniete ignored her.
"He's still chasing us." Sacniete said, looking back. Astraea looked back as well, finding him jumping over boulders and cliffs like a track and field star. "What's your plan?"
"Good question." Astraea said, having not thought that far ahead. "Aurora?"
"AAAHHHHH!"
"Noted." Astraea said, knowing Aurora wouldn't be any help at the moment. "Let's find the highest peak we can and fly over it, that should slow him down. Or, if we can find a big body of water, that should stop him."
"I haven't seen any water since we got here." Sacniete pointed out.
"AHHH!" Aurora added, helpfully.
"A peak it is." Astraea said, thinking if that failed, they could easily stay airborne long enough for Alexander to arrive with help. Gilgamesh, for all his strength, power and durability, couldn't fly, and had no way to attack them when they were so high up beyond throwing rocks. "Come on," she said, noticing a towering cliff far off to their right. "He shouldn't be able to follow us up there." ]
~Recap End~
[April 27, 2026]
[Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous, Illumination: 83% You'll learn why that's important later]
[Sacniete POV]
Sacniete had been flying with Astraea—and Aurora who was being carried— for just over half an hour, and she could see the flaw in their plan.
Astraea had assumed that their ability to fly would be enough to get away from the giant, bearded man who was chasing them. But no matter the speed they flew, the distance they traveled, or the obstacles they effortlessly soared over, the man who called himself Gilgamesh followed. Never slowing, never tiring, undaunting, unrelenting. It was like they were trying to escape the setting sun. It didn't matter how fast they went, the darkness would soon ensnare them.
Sacniete slowed slightly so as to not fly too far from Astraea. While the other girl was incredibly strong and easily able to carry Aurora, she lacked speed and endurance for a long, hard flight. While Sacniete had those in spades. She could have easily left them behind kilometers ago, but she was determined to not let her new friends face this threat alone.
But there was another issue: Not only was Gilgamesh steadily gaining on them minute after minute, sunset was just under an hour away, and Sacniete would no longer be able to hold onto her Hawk-Eagle form, as she could only transform into the bird during the day. And while her black jaguar form was incredibly useful, it could not fly. If the chase were to last until sundown, Sacniete would just have to land and travel on foot in her regular form, she was faster than her jaguar form anyway.
Eying the darkening heavens above her, Sacniete could see the Waxing Gibbous moon rising minute by minute, and she could feel the moon filing her with speed and power as it rose ever higher. She would have preferred to have a full moon— or even a lunar eclipse— but she would make due with what she had.
"I need to land soon." Astraea yelled over the rushing wind, the tiredness in her voice betraying her tough exterior. "I can't keep this up much longer. My wings and lungs are on fire."
"That's a good idea." Sacniete called over. "I only have forty or so minutes until sunset, and then I'll transform back and fall to my death."
Astraea looked rather alarmed. "Well why didn't you say something sooner?" She all but demanded. "You can't risk that!"
"I wasn't going to." She assured her best friend. "There's a bg canyon coming up, we can fly over it, land on the other side, and run on foot from there."
"I won't be much better on foot, I'm so tired," Astraea said, panting. "But I think if I fly anymore, I'll pass out."
"Don't!" Aurora yelled helpfully, eyes wrenched shut, terrified of heights.
"Running it is." Sacniete said, leading them down.
Landed, the three girls took their chance to quickly catch their breaths and calm their pounding hearts. Sacniete, who had the best senses, was acting as lookout and could barely make out Gilgamesh still running after them. It would take him a minute to reach the wide canyon, which he would have to climb down and then climb up, but they had started with a much larger lead. It worried Sacniete how fast and… unstoppable Gilgamesh was.
"Alright," Astraea said, standing up from where she was resting her hands on her knees. "Here's the plan: Aurora, you use your geokinesis and burrow deep underground, Bubba shouldn't be able to get to you there." She turned to face Sacniete without taking a breath. "Sacniete, you run as fast as you can away from here, he'll have no hope in Hades in catching you-"
"I'm sorry," Aurora cut in. "But it sounds to me like you're trying to get us to run away to leave you here to fight him alone."
Astraea's features went hard. "There's no other-"
"That's Minotaur shit and you know it." Aurora cut in again. "What happened to not leaving anyone behind?"
Sacniete watching Astraea look in the direction of their pursuer. "Look, Aurora, we don't have time for this. Bubba is going to be here any second, and I'm the only one who can stall him-"
"If Olympia couldn't stop him, what makes you think you can?" Aurora nearly yelled, startling them, the mention of their recently killed friend like a slap to the face. "Astraea, she was a Half-Giant with super strength and unbreakable skin, and you couldn't beat him at armwrestling, what are you going to do? Are you stupid?!"
Astraea's face went red with fury. "You think I don't know that?!" She yelled back, body tense with anger, anger at the situation, anger at Olympia dying, and, Sacniete suspected, not being strong enough to protect them. "I know I don't stand a chance against him, but I can slow him down long enough for you two to get somewhere safe. Besides, I can't fly anymore, and I couldn't run much either. You could hide a mile underground and Sacniete could run to Denver before morning-"
"That doesn't matter!" Aurora yelled. "We're family, we don't leave each other behind! You-" Thundering footsteps cut them off.
Astraea's face was pale now, and Sacniete could practically sense the fear coming off of her like waves. "We don't have time for this!" She yelled, grabbing the two of them and pushing them a few feet away. "Go!" She ordered. Waving her hand at them as her other clenched itself into a fist.
Sacniete looked to Aurora, who had tears in her eyes. "W-we'll stay and help you-"
"No! You two get somewhere safe. It's me who he wants, no one else!"
"But-"
"No time!" Astraea yelled, "Go!"
And, with a face wracked with pain, Aurora left, running into the shadows of the canyons, still visibly exhausted from using her geokinesis. Sacniete suspected she'd pass out before the hour was up. She only hoped to get somewhere safe.
Sacniete cleared the space between her and Astraea, looking up to the taller girl that was now much more than just a best friend to her. "I'll stay with you."
"No." Astraea said quickly. "You're the fastest, you're our best to get help. Find a phone in town, call Chiron. Or a nymph or dryad— someone. Find someone from the Greek world, tell them to contact Chiron and the gods, they're our only hope now."
"But-" Sacniete had so much to say, so much she wanted to say, but now, in the moment, she couldn't think of what to say first or how to say it. "But-"
Astraea grabbed Sacniete with speed she thought impossible, bringing them together so that her golden eyes looked into her own muddy brown ones. Astraea lifted Sacniete's chin with a finger, and Sacniete's breath caught, she knew what was going to happen, and, for the first time, she wasn't going to do anything to stop it.
Astraea leaned down and kissed her.
It was quick, far too quick, only a peck on the lips, but Sacniete felt it warm her up in the chill night air. And, all too soon, Astraea pulled away and faced towards the coming enemy who was only a hundred feet from the far side of the vast canyon.
"I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt," she said, her voice barely audible in the stinging winds. "Sacniete, I…" She trailed off, seemingly able to say those three little words. But Sacniete didn't need to hear them right then, because she knew how she felt about her. Just like she knew how she felt about Astraea.
"Astraea, I-"
Gilgamesh reached the opposite cliffside.
Astraea roughly pushed Sacniete away, causing her to stumble back.
Gilgamesh leaped over the canyon, eyes shimmering with golden power, staring right at Astraea, ignoring everything else.
"Run!"
Gilgamesh landed like a meteor, dust and rock flying in all directions.
"Sacniete, RUN!"
So she ran.
Sacniete exploded forward, clouds of dust and sand trailing behind her as she ran. Ran, away from the unstoppable enemy who called himself Gilgamesh, but also from the only girl she ever loved.
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[Astraea POV]
Astraea watched Sacniete run away at an incredible speed, clouds of dust like plumes of a rocket behind her. She wanted to make sure she got away, to make sure she was safe, to make sure she would live once she was killed, but Astraea didn't have the luxury to look back.
She had the fight of her life before her.
"So, I see you have finally decided to stop running and let me absorb your life force." Gilgamesh said, his golden eyes glowing in the dimming light around them. "A wise decision."
"Or maybe I just decided to kick your ass right now." Astraea said, feigning bravery. Outside, she portrayed a true granddaughter of Heracles, the god of Strength and Bravery, but inside, she felt like a helpless child.
Astraea shook her head, clearing her negative thoughts away. It didn't matter what happened to her, as long as Aurora and Sacniete got away. As long as they were safe, she'd gladly-
A fist impacting her nose broke her from her thoughts.
Tumbling backward like a plastic trash bag in the wind, Astraea slammed into a large boulder. She tried to suck a breath, but found all her air pulled from her lungs. Her head throbbed, her heart pounded, and her nose made an annoying whining sound whenever she tried to breathe, but she climbed to her feet anyway.
For she was not only a granddaughter of Heracles, but a daughter of Leonidas Dione Reed, the greatest hero to ever live. She was raised on stories of him risking his life for Olympus, the world, and his family, so to do anything but fight until her dying breath would be a disgrace to his life and memory.
"Lucky shot." Astraea panted, wiping the streaming blood from her nose with her good arm. "Try that again, I dare you."
"Stubborn child." Gilgamesh spat. "You are weak and fragile… and mortal, and yet I am the mighty ruler of the walled city of Uruk, God-King of the river valleys and conqueror of-"
"Blah, blah, blah." Astraea cut him off. Raising her fists into the flawless boxing stance her dad had taught her as a child. "Wake me up when I'm supposed to care."
It was stupid to bait him, she knew that, but the longer she kept him on her, the longer Aurora and Sacniete had to escape. She would no doubt be killed, but they would live.
And she was more than okay with that.
"You will lose that stubbornness once I drain you of your life force and strength, when you are naught but a lifeless husk of your former self. Like that foolish young woman named Hope that thought she could help me, to the stupid Saytr who thought he was protecting me. You will end up like both of them, a shell of your former self until your body, lacking any life force or energy, gives up and dies."
Astraea's eyes narrowed, anger and power coursing through her veins. "Wait, you killed Hope and Grover?"
A sick, cruel smile crept on his face, like he was proud of killing innocents. "Yes, I drained both of them-"
Astraea screamed with rage as she landed a heavy punch on his face-
-Only for him to shake it off. Unharmed.
"What was that?" He mocked, giddy as she jumped back to put more space between them. "Perhaps I should reconsider taking your strength for my own." He jumped at her, punching Astraea back and through the boulder she had hit earlier.
Rolling to a stop, Astraea clutched at her chest, feeling like it had caved in. She tried to breathe in, but found herself unable to breathe in. Climbing to a knee, Astraea held her broken ribs with one hand as she wiped the still running blood from her nose with the other.
She wasn't done yet.
Not even close.
She was a granddaughter of Heracles, a daughter of Leonidas and Eos, and adopted daughter of Percy and Annabeth Jackson.
She didn't fucking give up.
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Sacniete didn't know where she was running to, or how long she had been running, or what she was going to do, but she knew one thing: She had abandoned the only person she had cared for.
She had abandoned Astraea. Because she was weak and useless. It was like the Sisters always said, she was nothing more than a demon.
It was dark now, with only the thin wisps of sunlight still visible over the horizon. And as it grew closer to midnight, Sacniete's speed increased.
Her mind was frantic, unable to think, let alone perceive anything around her. The rocks and cacti were nothing but blurs in her peripheral vision as she ran past. Too fast to take in anything around her, too fast to look for anything familiar, too fast to notice if she was running in circles. It had only been a few minutes, but she must have ran several kilometers already.
"Useless." She berated herself as she ran. "Useless. Useless. Useless."
She increased her speed.
"Stupid."
Faster.
"Worthless."
Faster.
"Should have let yourself die."
Faster.
"No one wanted you."
Faster.
"No one cares about you."
Faster.
"Nothing but an ugly, skinny freak."
Faster.
"Nothing but a demon." She spat.
Faster.
"And now you're abandoning the only person you ever cared about." She bit out, tears streaming from her eyes.
Faster.
"Useless."
Faster.
Sacniete was now running faster than she ever had before, the surrounding nothing but blurs as she tried in vain to run away from her guilt of abandoning the girl she loved. Her heart ached, her muscles throbbed, and her head shook, but still, she ran. She wanted to run back towards Astraea, but she was too weak, too stupid, too useless to ever-
"But would you simply abandon her like that?" A voice said from inside her mind, yet far away. "Your first friend? Would you really leave her to die, daughter?"
Sacniete stopped on a dime, the cloud of dust blowing past her. "Mother?" She was going insane, she had to be. Her mother had never once spoken to her like this, not when she was imprisoned in the orphanage, not when she was weak and dying of starvation, not even when she was seconds away from ending the pain herself. But now? Now she decides to speak up?! Of all times?!
"Yes, Sacniete." The voice said inside her mind. "Our family does not run from things, we face them, head-on. So, go to her. Save her. Tell her."
"Why should I listen to you-"
"My time is short, our kind are not native to this country, and I fear the Olympians will find me, so I must leave."
"What?" Sacniete demanded. "But you just go here! You've said nothing for my entire life, and now you decide to show up?!"
"Goodbye, Sacniete." Her mother said, her voice fading into the night sky around Sacniete. And just like that, she was gone.
"Couldn't even be bothered to lie and say she loved me." Sacniete muttered, before cursing to herself in Mayan. But what did she expect? Goddesses of Death weren't known for their maternal instincts.
Realizing her location, Sacniete found herself facing towards where she left Astraea and Gilgamesh fighting. Odd, she thought. She was sure she hadn't turned around… She could have only been running for a few minutes based on the position of the moon, but she had to be a dozen kilometers away. Sacniete blanched and rechecked the moon, how had she run that fast? That was impossible, right?
Right?
"Alright, Sacniete." She said to herself with a nod. "You know what to do." She dropped down to the cold dirt, her stance like an Olympic sprinter. "Go to Astraea, save her, and tell her-" She exploded forward like a rocket, plumes of dirt and dust trailing behind her.
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Sacniete increased her speed, how could she have been so stupid to leave Astraea to die?
Shaking her head at herself, she poured on the speed even more.
She dodged rocks and cacti that were barely more than blurs in her vision. She didn't know how she was moving so fast, let alone how she was able to perceive anything at her speed, but she ignored it. That didn't matter. Nothing mattered but telling Astraea-
Faster.
"I'm coming, Astraea. Hold on, just hold on."
Faster.
"I'll be the one to protect you this time…"
A cone of air formed in front of Sacniete, and the air rushing past her was deafening, but she increased her speed none-the-less as she slipped into the darkness around her.
"Because I…"
She was running so fast now that she couldn't even feel her feet touching the ground, it was like she was gliding over the ground. Her legs begged her to stop, and her lungs threatened to fail, but she increased her speed anyway.
She could barely make out Gilgamesh now, he was over a half kilometer away and had his fist raised to strike Astraea-
-But Sacniete was there a heartbeat later, emerging from the shadows, and kicked his face with everything she had.
Gilgamesh flew a dozen meters back, rolling like a boulder going down a hill until he hit a cliff wall. Sacniete landed on all fours like a jaguar between Astraea and the giant, bearded man.
"You didn't let me finish," she said, keeping her yellow feline eyes on Gilgamesh as she rose from the dirt. "Astraea, I love you."
"S-Sacniete?" Sparing a glance, Sacniete looked behind her to see Astraea struggling to pull herself from the ground. She looked like she had been beaten within an inch of her life, but still, she had the strength to stand and face her foe.
"I'm sorry for running away." She said, drawing her obsidian axs as Gilgamesh began to run at her. "I'll never leave you again."
She dodged Gilgamesh's heavy strike with practiced ease, spinning through the air like an acrobat and slicing at his exposed flesh with her axs, only to find them chip and break.
Dammit, she thought. This would be harder than she thought.
He struck at her again, only for Sacniete to numbly dodge and counter strike with a useless series of kicks.
This fight wasn't going to end well, she knew that. While she could keep dodging and avoiding Gilgamesh all day, she couldn't lay a single scratch on him. She was no more than a momentary distraction until help could arrive, that is, if Jacquelyn was actually able to get any.
A giant fist grazed her side.
He had taken advantage of her lack of concentration and had nearly taken her out with a single strike. Sacniete spun and rolled, giving herself greater distance. It was almost like he was getting faster, stronger, more durable. And if he was, Sacniete knew, she and Astraea would be no match for him.
And they would die.
Sacniete dodged Gilgamesh for several more minutes, all the while avoiding Astraea's prone and nearly unconscious body, until the giant God-man changed tactics.
He went after Astraea.
"You are irritating me, child! But no more!" He yelled, running at Astraea's lying form, fist raised.
In that slit second, Sacniete knew what she had to do. She didn't have the strength to move Astraea out of the way, nor did she have the power to stop him. So she did the only thing she could-
-And jumped in the way of the punch.
Sacniete flew, and, before she hit the canyon wall, she saw everything go dark.
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[Astraea POV]
"SACNIETE!" Astraea screamed. She tackled Gilgamesh before she knew what was happening. Punching and attacking him with all her might, rage shredding her throat. She bellowed like an animal as she pummeled him, slamming his head into the dirt over and over, trying to knock him out, trying to bury him, trying to kill him, she didn't know. She was a long way from thinking anymore.
The only thing that remained in her mind was a pure animalistic, vicious desire to destroy everything and everyone around her, prisoner to her grandfathers' curse of rage.
"RAAAH!" She punched and pounded and snapped and broke his body, all the while bellowing like a beast of Hades.
Gilgamesh caught her fist.
Twisting his arm, Astraea felt her arm snap and dislocate, the bones inside surely shattered. "GAAAH!" She screamed out, the pain blinding.
A fist to her face sent her flying backwards once again.
But this time, she didn't get up.
"You… dare strike… a God?" He demanded, winded and panting. Standing on shaking feet, he rose to his full height, looking down at Astraea with a luck of pure, unfiltered fury. "I will teach you your place."
Astraea tried to pull herself to her feet, but found her limbs refusing to listen to her orders. She tried to suck a breath, but couldn't. She tried to look at her foe, but found her vision blinded by blood and dirt. She tried to gather her remaining strength, but, for once in her life, found herself unable. Her head was pounding like a drum.
"You are too valuable to kill outright," he said, like he was angry at her for it. "For you will surely gain more strength for me to take. So I will let you live, so that I can absorb your strength over time at my leisure." A sick, feral grin spread across his face. "But in order to teach you your place, I shall kill the ones you love… starting with that little girl right there."
Astraea's bloodshot eyes shot open, landing on the broken, motionless form of Sacniete lying unconscious on the cold dirt.
Gilgamesh stepped towards Sacniete, giant fist raised and a monstrous look of glee in his eyes. "Allow me to absorb your strength, or I shall kill her-"
"OVER MY DEAD BODY, YA FUCKER!" She roared, the earth quaking under her footsteps. Summoning the very last of her strength and courage, Astraea used everything she had in one final, continent-splitting punch. "I NEVER GIVE UP!"
Astraea punched him with everything she had, feeling the last of her strength go. He flew back into the cliffside with a titanic blow that shook the very mountain under them. Screaming out in pain, Astraea clutched her bloodied and broken arm, nearly fainting from the sight of her own bones.
Sucking a breath, Astraea collapsed to her knees, her useless and broken arm falling beside her. It had taken everything she had, but she had done it. She had beaten Gilgamesh and saved Aurora and Sacniete-
"Was that supposed to kill me?"
Astraea's blood went cold. No no nonononono! There- there was no way, was there? No! She had hit him with everything she had, summoned all of her strength from her Spartan ancestors, from her grandfather, and from her father, only for him to survive?
He walked out of the thick cloud, brushing dust from his shoulder. Looking unbothered despite being struck by enough power to snap Astraea's arm in two.
No. No, it couldn't be.
But it was.
And Astraea knew what that meant…
…She was going to die.
To be continued
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(Author's Note:)
Sorry for the cliffhanger, but the next chapter should be out right after this, if it isn't already. So you there!
All I'm gonna say is this: Y'all aren't ready… for the stars to fall.
Fun Fact: I've had the idea for this chapter in my head for (checks Docs; August 12, 2020) over two years now. That was the first instance of me writing it down, but I know I had the idea long before that). I came up with the chapter title around the same time, too, if I remember right. Sacniete coming to terms with her feelings for Astraea, fighting her fears and going all out, it's what I've wanted for well over a year. 'So she ran' is such a simple title, but I can't help but love it.
Question of the Day: What did you think of this chapter? What about Sacniete's power-up?
Next time: Falling from the stars