(Chapter uploaded: October 22, 2022)

Chapter 32: Falling from the stars

(Author's Note)

Hey guys, gals and non-binary pals! Welcome back to chapter 32 of Daughters of Olympus Book 1! This is the SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER of book 1! I still cannot believe we actually made it, my friends. It is completely insane. I'll stop talking now and just get this chapter started already. You can't even imagine the grin on my face right now.

Y'all aren't ready… for the stars to fall.

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Chapter 32: Falling from the stars

Gilgamesh stepped out of the cloud of dust, grinning like a predator who had cornered their dinner. "You have incredible strength, I will admit, but you are nowhere near strong enough to be able to defeat me. I am Gilgamesh, King of Great Walled Uruk. Slayer of the fearsome monster Humbaba. Rightful ruler of the universe! The man who overcame the fate of mankind! Do you understand, child?! I am immortal. You cannot kill me!"

Astraea said nothing, for she had no breath in her lungs. She didn't stand to face him, for she had no more strength. She had nothing left. She could feel nothing but pain and a low, slow, pounding beat in her head.

Nothing.

Head forcibly twisted to the side in pain, Astraea found herself looking up into the pure, untainted black sky above her, seeing countless stars and constellations dancing in the blackness. But she wasn't filled with the same sense of awe and wonder like she had every time before.

But hope.

Her hazy vision snapped onto the outline of a constellation dancing freely above her, unbothered by the happenings on the world below them.

Lifting nothing but her unbroken hand, Astraea reached her fingers to the constellation. "H-help me, please."

The stag constellation froze in the sky like a puppet whose strings had been grabbed, its shimmering head looking down right at Astraea.

Right into her eyes.

"P-please…" She croaked, her voice and spirit broken.

The constellation ran off without looking back.

Astraea's hand dropped to the ground, the very last of her strength used up. She knew, knew that she was all alone, that she would die here, but still, for the briefest of moments, that constellation had given her hope.

But now it was gone.

"Who are you talking to?" Gilgamesh asked with a laugh, before kicking her hard in the gut and sending her rolling back. He laughed again. "No one is there. No one is coming. No one wants or cares for you, don't you understand!" He sauntered up to her, looking down at her bleeding form like a wild animal. "You are, and always will be, alone."

As Astraea lay there, accepting and expecting death, she thought of Sacniete. Of the girl who was now no longer just her best friend, but someone she cared for more than her own life. And, if it wasn't a pain-induced hallucination, Sacniete had told Astraea she loved her…

Astraea would have given anything to hear that before, but now, seconds from death, it only brought her a sense of being robbed of love by the Fates.

But, Astraea thought, knowing Sacniete loved her would be enough to console her on her boat ride down to the Underworld. She was content and at peace, if it weren't for that slow pounding in her head. The low, slow, rhythmic pounding that was steadily increasing, and that she could feel throughout her entire being. A beat… like a drum.

No, she thought, like an Ancient Greek wardrum. Despite not knowing how she knew that.

The steady drum beat increased in speed.

It was like there was something, something deep down, down in her blood, that knew what was coming, but Astraea couldn't tell what it was.

The beat grew faster still.

Was it death? Was her body coming to terms with her dying like her mind already was? Or… was it something else?

Faster.

The very heavens were vibrating from the force of the beating drums now, drums that were now striking with the speed of a train. And, far above her in the only direction her hazy eyes could look, Astraea could see the countless stars swirling around like they were caught in a hurricane. And…

Gilgamesh raised his fist for one last attack-

…Were the stars falling?

-Gilgamesh threw his arm down at her, it was only a second away-

A bellow shook the cosmos.

"BWWRROOOAAARRR!"

Something clad in the night sky and stars burst from the swirling heavens and struck the earth with the power of a crashing planet. The earth shook with every drum beat, the sky vibrated as a man rose to his towering height. The very world trembled with every step the giant man took towards them. Then, like the increasing speed of the Ancient Greek war drums that deafened the heavens, he ran at them.

The star-clad brobdingnagian beast of a man struck Gilgamesh with a mighty fist, sending him flying out of Astraea's field of vision.

Through swollen and bloody eyes, Astraea stared up to the giant man above her. Her heart stopped. With the very last of her strength, she whispered.

"...Dad… you were listening to me…"

Then, everything went black as the starless sky above them.

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[Percy POV]

Percy knew something was wrong.

After a lifetime of Quests and fights and end-of-the-world prophecies, he had a sense when something was just… wrong.

And he had that feeling now.

Annabeth sat down on the couch next to him. "Babe?" She asked him. "Are you alright?" It was pitch black outside other than the wild lightning bolts that crackled in the air. They didn't help Percy's nerves.

Percy's eyes trailed up to the wall-mount that held the broken remains of Riptide, a feeling of dread deep in his gut. "...Something's wrong, Beth. I just don't know what."

Annabeth studied him. "Do you think something went wrong on the Quest?"

Percy stood. "I don't know, but I'm going to ask the gods-"

Their entire house shook.

"What the Hades!"

Percy was just about to ask Annabeth what happened when the air in front of him exploded with lightning, making him shield his eyes. "What-"

"Percy! Annabeth!" Thalia in the blinding light, clad in her Hunters' cloak and lightning. She jumped off of her chariot and held a hand out for them. "You need to come, now!"

Percy and Annabeth didn't hesitate. They jumped on the goddess' chariot and, in a second, they were shooting through the cool night air.

"Thalia?" Percy yelled over the wind. "What's going on? What happened?"

Thalia bit her lip, using her reigns to command her golden stags to go faster.

"Thalia?" Percy all but demanded. "Are Astraea and Aurora-"

"We're going to them now," she cut him off. Her face hard with worry and rage. "Apollo went on ahead, but he's not nearly as fast at night, so we'll meet up with him on the way."

"What happened?" Annabeth asked. "Are they alright?"

"Artemis and I were at her palace on Olympus when a stag constellation appeared and told us what happened," she said, still talking around what happened. "She sent Apollo ahead while she went to assemble the gods-"

"But what happened?" Percy demanded. "Are Astraea and Aurora… alive?"

Thalia's face went dark. "Aurora is unconscious, but otherwise safe a hundred feet underground." She said slowly, her voice low. "But Astraea… I pray to the Fates that we get there in time."

"What happened?" Annabeth asked. "Were they attacked by a Monster or Titan on their Quest? Do we need more gods? Did Artemis get my mom or Jason?"

"No," Thalia said slowly. "Not just them. If the constellation was right, we'll need the entire council… because the first and greatest hero has been reborn, and he has the potential to destroy the entire pantheon."

"Who's that?" Percy asked, gripping his trident with a deathgrip. "Who could be so powerful?"

Thalia commanded her stags to fly even faster. In a low voice, barely audible over the screaming wind, she said, "...Gilgamesh."

The three of them united with Artemis and Apollo on their way, each clad in full armor and each riding their own chariot at top speed across the country. Percy was sure the mortals had to see something, but in the moment, he didn't care. His girls were in danger, and he'd rather Olympus fall than to see them killed.

They reached Zion National Park in Utah within minutes, and without being told, Percy knew this is where they were.

It was like Gaea had awoken again, the earth was in shatters, the rivers flooding, and the sky above crackled with electricity. But it was the black sky above them that worried Percy the most, there wasn't a single star in the sky. And that, he knew, only spelled disaster.

And far below them in a massive crater, lay his little girl, Astraea. She was surrounded by swirling stars and hard to make out, but still, he'd be able to recognize her anywhere.

Percy jumped off the chariot before they even touched down. He ignored the thirty foot fall, ignored the slight pain in his feet, and ignored the typhoon of stars and darkness that swirled around his daughter. Too determined to get to her to be stopped.

He broke through the cyclone of heavens, eyes landing on the bloody, broken form of his eldest daughter. He tried to call out to her, but his voice died in his throat.

Someone was there with her.

"Leonidas."

It was impossible. His old friend was dead— had been killed by Zeus fifteen years ago— but there he was before Percy. Leonidas was adorned in the darkness of the night sky, speckled with starlight. A constellation made alive.

Leonidas was sitting in the dirt, cradling Astraea like a baby as his fingers slowly and ever so gently combed through her hair in a paternal way. He looked up at Percy, a sad smile on his face. "Hello, brother."

"Leonidas," Percy said, unable to believe what he was seeing. "What- How- Is Astraea-"

Leonidas held up a linger to his lips, silencing him. "Astraea is alive."

Those three words seemed to lift the world off Percy's shoulders, and he felt himself breathe for the first time since Thalia appeared before him.

Percy opened his mouth again, but Leonidas stopped him with a single finger pointed into the eastern sky. Following him, Percy saw the heavens alight with light and power and the entire Olympian council blazed towards them like an early dawn. They couldn't be more than a minute away.

Beckoning him forward, Leonidas gently placed Astraea into Percy's shaking arms, before lightly kissing her bleeding forward. Standing up, he looked Percy right in the eyes.

"Thank you, my brother. For taking care of our little girl." He said, a sad smile on his face as he petted Astraea's blood-matted hair. "I would stay longer, but the heavens are calling my name and I cannot afford the other gods seeing me."

He began to fade into starlight, taking a step back, but his hands stayed on Astraea until the last moment. "Tell her, tell Astraea that her mother and father love her… that we wish we could be there for her… and that we are proud of her…" He was nothing but an outline in the starlight now as he ascended into the heavens.

"Please, tell her."

Then, he was gone.

Percy stared up at the now star filled night sky, watching as Leonidas and Eos' constellation now hung motionless and lifeless above them. Astraea stirred in his arms, and Percy's focus went to her.

"It's okay, Astraea." He cooed softly. "I'm here. You're okay, you're okay. I'm here…"

The heavens trembled as the entire Olympian council burst into light like a second sun. Gods began running around looking for wounded or Gilgamesh, but Percy didn't pay them any mind. Apollo and Will took Astraea from his arms after Annabeth convinced him to let her go. He heard something about Asclepius and his godly children finding Aurora and Sacniete, but everything was like a blur.

He watched hazily as Sherman, Athena, Nico and Heracles went off in search of the unseen Gilgamesh. Hera appeared by his side at some point, wrapping him and Annabeth in crushing hugs as she reassured them their girls would live, but Percy didn't retain a single word.

Sometime later, Percy found himself flying back to Olympus on Thalia's chariot, he didn't even remember climbing on. All that mattered was that his girls were going to live. He pulled Annabeth a little closer, trying to comfort her as she weeped into his shoulder.

~Follow and Favorite~

As Percy, Annabeth and the gods were doing everything they could to help Astraea, Aurora and Sacniete and find Gilgamesh, two people stepped out of a portal on an onlooking clifftop.

Alexander Lieber, son of Tyche and leader of the Half-Blood Fellowship, was adorned in full enchanted armor covered in runes, a golden helmet on his head, and a shimmering greatsword in his hand. He was transfigured by runes, symbols and magic, appearing more monster than man. He took stock of the area, and, seeing the fight over, seemed to relax slightly.

"Zone in on Olympia and Takako's GPS location, we'll make sure they're okay first." he told her. "Then, take me to Olympia's body, we'll ensure she receives a proper burial." With that, he stepped through the portal. "Then, we'll hunt down the man who did this to our family."

"Yes, Alexander." Jacquelyn, following him through the portal.

To be continued

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(Author's Note:)

Well, the final fight is now over, and holy crap, was it both hard and fun to write. It hurt to write my beloved characters in those situations, but hey, that's being a writer, folks.

How did you like how I split up sentences in the last two chapters, specifically when I would use … or - to separate different thoughts or actions? I used them in both Sacniete and Astraea's fights. Lemme know, they could use some work.

Speaking of Sacniete and Astraea's fights, holy crap, I've been waiting to get here for over a year and a half. What did you think of Sacniete's insane speed/power boost in the last chapter? What about her telling Astraea she loved her? Or vice versa? What about Astraea standing up to Gilgamesh and giving it everything she had, even if it proved pretty much meaningless? He's the most OP character I've put in this series(COO included), and you haven't seen ANYTHING yet, trust me!

And then, my boy, my favorite character I've ever created: Leonidas Dione Reed himself stepped in at the last moment to save his daughter. Not gonna lie, I've been wanting to write that section since I came up with this story, I just love it. Gilgamesh thought he was hot shit until Leonidas burst out of the heavens, clad in stars, and beat him with one punch and made him run away like a little b*tch. That moment where the heavens are beating like a drum and Leonidas bellows with that classic "BWWRROOOAAARRR!" gives me chills when I read it while editing. I made sure to copy it exactly from his most meaningful bellows in COO too. Man, if I could draw better, or, heck, animate, I'd love to make something for it. Maybe I should commission artwork of Leonidas coming down from the heavens clad in stars? I think it'd be my favorite commission art ever.

Lastly, speaking of artwork, just yesterday(at the time of writing this) I put out a colored artwork of Rana Muhammad, daughter of Ta-Bitjet, and leader of the Xenos bunkhouses. Go check it out on my Twitter(hephaestusbuild) or Instagram(hephaestusbuilds). Follow me over there as well to see artwork, concept art, commissions, and writing updates.

Fun Fact: One of the Runes that Alexander used to transform himself was the 'Ur' or 'Wild Ox' rune from the Magnus Chase series. The 'Ur' rune transforms the holder into a 'Berserker-like' form of themselves, increasing their physical strength, stamina and durability. Despite being a Greek half-blood, Alexander loves Norse history and magic. While he has no special abilities of his own other than incredible luck and intelligence, he could, as Isolde said in the last chapter, Invade Asgard if he were so motivated.

Question of the Day: What did you think of the final fight of last and this chapter? Lemme know!

Next time: I get blessed by the Starbucks of the Ancient Greek world