Here we are, back again with chapter ten. I'm going to respond to a couple of reviews, haven't done this in a while.
GNA348: "Tartarus is like the Terry Silver to Ouranos's Kreese. Great villain, even though he doesn't have that many scenes, every part he's in is creepy and impactful."
Response: That's actually a really good comparison, I like that. It's pretty accurate, since Ouranos hasn't been in this book at all really, and instead the antagonist is a close friend of his, in this case, even his brother, who is pretty much insane and sadistic, loves to torture the main character. Just like Kreese and Terry Silver in Karate Kid Part Three. Only difference I'd make is that with the recent season of Cobra Kai, Kreese has become a bit more redeemable and grayer, whereas Ouranos isn't really as much. You kind of understand where he's coming from, but at the end of the day, he's pretty much pure evil.
While we're making Karate Kid comparisons, does that make Matt Daniel? Heh, I kind of like that too.
SuAvE ViPeR:"What a chapter! Talking about everything will just spoil it for someone, so I won't go in depth, but man Harper is really stepping up power wise! She might be even stronger than Matt (for now at least) which is unreal! Her fight was amazingly written. Not drawn out, and described to the best detail. And I swear, every part with Matt and Tartarus is terrifying, he really knows how to mess with Matt, and I can tell it's going to get even worse in the next chapter. Is the last fight with him close? If so this is going to be a pretty short book. No problem with that though, the pacing has been amazing."
Response: Yeah, Harper is actually a bit stronger than Matt right now, which is insane to say. The Blade of Eros really gave her a boost. A much needed one though, in my opinion. She's a great character, and so fun to write, I really wanted to find an interesting way for her to stay in the game, power wise. I know I can get pretty ridiculous with all of it, and the characters just seem to get more powerful by the chapter, so I thought why not? I hope the readers can recognize that I embrace the silliness of it, and I know it's a bit ridiculous. But come on, it's a fanfiction, and it's fun. Sue me. Anyway, glad you like the pacing and the chapter, yes, this book will be a bit short, but I hope it's impact carries through.
RedX316: "Epic chapter, I honestly hate Tartarus. Can't wait to see him get a Red Beam Cannon to the face.
Response: Me either. He'll get what's coming to him soon.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except the OC's) Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes Of Olympus, or Trials Of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.
On with the tenth chapter.
10. I Take A Painful Trip Down Memory Lane
Harper
Our reaction to Malachi jumping in the Styx was…stiff.
There was no immediate shift in the air, a spike in aura, or any flashy stage performance. It was just like jumping into a pool. Malachi's body disappeared below the black water, and there was a splash.
We sat there, just staring at it. I think we were still trying to believe that it actually happened.
And then Sera made a noise, "S-Shit!"
I was very surprised, "Sera?" I don't think I've ever heard Sera curse before. Frankly, wasn't sure if she even knew the difference between them and normal words.
Talon practically dipped his head in the water, "Where'd he go?! Anybody see him?!"
With my hand still on the sword, I realized I could probably find him with aura sensing. Even though I still had no idea how all of that worked, I just two handed the sword's hilt as tight as I could and closed my eyes. It's sort of like how a snake's thermal sight works, only you…feel it. Like a radar inside your head, a tingle on the back of your neck, and you just somehow know where the person is. Determining how strong they are is actually a bit easier, it's literally as simple as how strong the feeling is. If they're strong enough, like with Hades, you might feel a little pain at the sensation.
So when I felt the faint lifeforce of Malachi floating rapidly downstream, heading towards the waterfall that Hades talked about, I opened my eyes quickly and immediately made them aware.
"He's downriver! Heading straight towards the waterfall!"
"What?!"
We all looked past the bow and down the river. A hundred feet away, Malachi was quickly speeding ahead of us, the small of his back the only thing we could see.
"There!" Sera shouted, "We must catch up to him!"
I had no idea on what to do. For a second, jumping out and leaping after him crossed my mind, but then that would be stupid. Unless I want the curse too…
No, I don't. Besides, from what I've heard, you basically can't do anything while you're under the process, so it would be useless either way.
But Talon, on the other hand…
"Talon, can you jump after him?"
His eyes were hidden of course, but just by his lip curl, I could tell he was looking at me like I was crazy. "Sorry kid, I skipped my swimming lessons."
"This isn't the time to make jokes! Your invulnerable already, so what's the Styx gonna do to you?!"
Talon looked out and thought about it, but shook his head. "No, there's another way." He then stepped to the stern and snapped his fingers. Golden light flickered in his hand and out of it, came a rather large item. It fell over and plopped on the bottom of the boat with a loud, hard thud.
So hard that it vibrated the entire boat and nearly threw Sera and I off balance.
"What is going on?!" Sera said, looking over her shoulder, "We need to speed up!"
"That's what I'm workin' on!" Talon barked back, "Look at what I've got!"
Below him, the thing that he spawned out of his powers, was a motor. A boat motor.
I deadpanned at him, "You can't be serious. What the hell?!"
"You want us to speed up, this'll help!"
"Don't make stupid jokes!"
"This ain't a joke! Now help me get this thing set up!"
"It's a wooden boat, Talon! There's no power to connect the motor too!"
Talon growled at me, "I know that, idiot! I'm gonna use my energy to power it!"
That caught me off guard and made me shut up. That's…not too bad of an idea.
"But…wait, do you even know how to do that?"
He hefted the motor over the back of the boat, just enough so that the propellers sunk under the Styx, "We're about to find out."
"H-He's getting too far!" Sera warned, "Hurry!"
Talon held the motor in place with one hand, and with the other, aimed his palm at the motor and concentrated. It only took a few seconds before his fingers gave off a golden hue.
I didn't really expect it to work, because…c'mon, science doesn't exactly support such a thing. I mean, aura as energy? But then again, didn't Greybeard do the same thing with his boat back when we were travelling to Camp Asgard? Who am I kidding, science has no place in our weird world.
And to prove my point, the motor actually whirred and made noise. It shook a few times, and then the sound became constant, the water behind the propellers started kicking up and splashing everywhere. Our little boat gained speed immediately.
I couldn't believe it, "It's working!"
Talon smirked, "Told you. Now, let's kick it up a notch."
He pushed the golden light to get brighter, which made the motor get louder, and the of course, made our boat go a lot faster, at least as fast as a muscle car. But that somehow still wasn't enough. As fast as we were gaining on Malachi, the Styx had already taken him at such a distance, I knew we wouldn't catch up. We would need an instant, one-shot boost.
I leaned over the bow next to Sera and saw that he was really close to the waterfall now. I could tell where the dip started and where the fall began. It was near.
"Still not enough!" I looked back desperately at Talon, "Can't it go any faster?!"
Talon grimaced and tried to push further, but this time it didn't work. "Damn, it won't do it!"
My mind went into overdrive. What could I do to speed us up? Suggest that we attach another motor? No, by that time he'll already be out of reach. Should we just wait and let him fall? I mean, the Curse should be in effect by then, shouldn't it? But then what about us? I don't know how far that distance is from here to Tartarus.
So like I've been doing ever since I got it, I turned to the sword.
"Man, I really hope this works." I mumbled, and quickly, without warning, I turned around and slashed at the air behind us, using all of the energy I could muster out of the weapon. Thankfully, it didn't fail me this time either. A thick, long pink line of energy morphed out of the blade and sped through the air behind us. I silently hoped it didn't hit anything, because that wasn't the point of it, I just wanted the momentum.
And it proved to be helpful. The force behind the blow was enough to push us forward so hard, that we completely left the Styx for one long, breath of a moment, and became airborne.
All of us fell to the floor and grabbed on to the wood for dear life, because we knew what was coming next. It didn't take long for the boat to come back down and fall towards the Styx again. None of us, even with our powers, didn't have the courage to push up and look over to see how far we were from Malachi.
But out of nowhere, what should've been a huge impact, never came. Instead, we were stopped completely by some foreign opposing force.
It came quickly, we were sent tumbling forwards out of our sitting position and all three of our heads hit the boat and bounced off like basketballs.
"Agh!" I winced, "What the hell…"
Talon of course, didn't feel the throb on his forehead that I did, but he was just as surprised. "Why'd we stop?"
Sera was the first to peek over the bow, and when she did, her head darted back down just as quick. "O-Oh no. Oh no, oh no." She was trembling with fear.
"What's wrong?"
"It's…him."
Him?
Talon and I exchanged a look and at the same time, stood straight up on the now somewhat even boat.
The sight below us, was a horrifying one. It came much sooner than I expected, seeing that voided face again.
It was Tartarus's form. He stood on the edge of the cliff, right next to the beginning of the waterfall, with his arm stretched across the distance between us and him. His hand had enlarged itself to a size able to hold our boat up and completely cover it. He'd caught us in mid-air.
Somehow his voice sounded inches away, "What? Didn't expect to see me again?"
I scowled and without hesitation, aimed to slice the air with the blade, just like before. But he was much faster. Before I could even twitch a muscle, he knew what was coming. A black tendril, that must've been one of his fingers, reached up and snatched the sword out of my hand. It was faster than anything I'd ever seen, or couldn't see. One nanosecond it was in my grip, and the next it was gone. Just as fast, he not only disarmed me, he sent our boat flying.
I may have gotten whiplash in my neck. It was worse than any roller coaster I could imagine. We were sent spearing forward over the side of the waterfall, Malachi was probably long gone, already down in Tartarus, and we were going with him.
The boat turned over slowly in the air, and detached itself from us like a band-aid, peeling and veering off in the air beside us.
Now we were in freefall, with Tartarus still standing on the patch of rock in between the flowing Styx water, watching us.
Sera's back was turned to the ground, Talon was spinning and flipping all over the place, while I fell in a straight line, face first. I was able to see that the distance…wasn't very vast. Granted, it was probably the tallest waterfall I'd ever seen, in school or in person or whatever, but I was thinking of something like Mount Everest. Thousands of meters of distance. But really, it may have been a few hundred.
The point is, we don't have long to figure something out and not get pancaked. And I didn't even have the sword now, I'm…powerless.
There was only red, jagged rock, coated in an oily, sickly grass only a few shades lighter in color than the Styx. After the waterfall, there was little of the Styx to be seen. This was the end of it. The waterfall only fell into a small lake, it's entire circumference foreseeable from one end to the other if you stood on it.
So now that I'm done sightseeing, I think I'm going to start screaming in my head. Or no, maybe audibly.
"SHIT!" I looked for an invisible parachute, "SHIT! SHIT!"
Sera, surprisingly was more composed than I was, at least now. She managed to turn herself around enough to thrust her hand towards our trajectory point. Instead of ice, a blanket of snow materialized in the air and fell in front of us, it was huge, several feet thick. It might've been enough to save us…if we weren't so high up in the air. Or well, let me just say this, enough to save me. I forget that Sera is a super powered snow goddess, and Talon can't take damage, at all. I'm not going to be ignorant, I know that without that sword, I have no chance of surviving an impact at this falling height.
"KID!" Talon shouted, towards me, "GRAB MY HAND!"
At first it was blurry, the wind rushing in my eyes made it hard to see. But I could see the shape of his hand right there in my face, only inches elevated above my descent.
Time seemed to slow down, even for only a second when I lifted my hand to reach him. It was surreal, maybe all in my head, but for one second…it seemed like I considered not grabbing it.
It could be over. All over, in one moment. I…wouldn't even feel it.
But as quickly as the horrible thought came, it was pushed away. No, I'm not that stupid, that was a trick of the wind, a trick from Tartarus.
So I reached up, and as soon as my fingers touched his, he grabbed my wrist firmly and yanked me towards him. It all happened so fast, and we were so close to the ground, he had only seconds to put me in front of him and face his back to the ground.
Once Talon hit the ground, I hit his chest, and bounced off his body into the newly formed crater. He didn't even have time to protect me with his arms or anything, it was just like I used him as a landing pad, or a trampoline. It hurt, I mean, I won't lie, it felt like hitting a concrete wall, but it didn't kill me, and that was the only thing that mattered. Talon had actually…saved me.
The debris settled and I found myself on rocks, literally. Talon lay fifteen feet away, at the very bottom of the crater, with what looked like a combination of dust and steam coming off his body.
As soon as I saw him, he looked lifeless. I couldn't see his face, and I thought maybe this time…it didn't work. He didn't make it.
"Talon!" I scrambled and crawled over to him through the field of pebbles, "Talon, are you okay?!"
I skidded up to him on my knees, "C'mon, say something!" I shoved his shoulders and squeezed them firmly, trying to get some sort of reaction.
Almost instantly, he stopped me with his own hand, clamping down on mine. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Take it easy."
I sighed with relief, although I really shouldn't have doubted it. I've seen him take harder hits and come out without a scratch. But…you never know. He risked it to save me, so I feel sort of obligated to be worried.
"Thanks…for that."
"Don't get sappy. Where's Sera?"
My head spun around like a top, trying to spot white hair above the crater. Where is she?
"Here, get up." I grabbed his hand and pulled him up, both of us climbed up the side of the hole and managed to push each other up over the top. When we raised our heads up, Sera was standing there, right in front of us, but she was looking at something else.
"Sera!"
Talon groaned as he threw his leg over the side of the crater, "Is she alright?"
I couldn't respond. Sera was like a deer in headlights, she stood tall, among the snow blanket that she had formed, all sprawled out, melting fast. But she looked like she was in a trance, staring at the truth of the universe.
"Sera! Sera, can you hear me?!" I shouted, desperately trying to get to my feet and run to her.
But in my peripheral, I saw exactly what she was looking at.
I froze in my place. The black shape of Tartarus was standing right there, in front of the Styx lake, staring directly at Sera.
"Get out of the way!" I screamed, my legs acted on their own, I moved as fast as I could to do something. Not sure what yet, but I intended to break her out of whatever she was in. He was looking to kill her, I just knew it.
But Tartarus must've saw me, or didn't, and decided now was the time to act. He disappeared completely from his position and reappeared behind Sera in a burst of dark smoke. For a moment, that's all he was, without shape, just a plume of darkness, stalking above her skin.
"A precious flower with a thorn deep inside the root." Tartarus commented, "You'll be fun to play with."
"No!"
Sera shook with fear, but she couldn't move. Tartarus hadn't trapped her, but she had been paralyzed.
"Come join me…"
From the darkness, a hand took form and reached to touch Sera's forehead. Once contact was made, I knew it was over. Sera's back arched, like her soul had been taken out of her body, and then suddenly, she blipped out of thin air.
As in, not there anymore. No blood, no shining light, just a quick pop and that was it. She was gone.
I couldn't even yell. Just as she vanished, I caught up to where she was. My hand touched nothing, and I tripped over one of the snow clumps she had formed.
I fell hard on my elbows, but I ignored any scrapes I'd received. I wasn't focused on that. Sera…she just disappeared.
I should've been afraid, I should've ran away or did something different than what I actually did. But I'm pretty impulsive, and that's my best fucking friend he just did that to.
I knew he was looming above me, so I glared up at him, "What did you do with her?"
Upon hearing no answer, I got up close, chest to chest with the Primordial of Darkness.
"What did you do with her?!"
He only sneered down at me, somehow without even having a mouth. But I could tell by the way his eyes squinted. "To my special place. Where you'll be going soon."
He was much taller than me, by an entire two feet at least, with long arms, sharp claws for fingers on the end. With one flick, he could cut my head off and kick it around like a soccer ball. But I didn't give a shit. I couldn't care less. I was angry, and I wanted to beat him into the ground.
"And how will you do that? With your little sword?"
He waved his hand, and the sword came flying down from the top of the waterfall, crashing into the ground next to us, handle up, metal in the dirt.
I wanted so badly to jump and grab it, but I knew that would be stupid. I continued to glare at him.
He chuckled, "Go ahead, grab it." And gestured to it welcomingly.
No movement was made on both ends. I was forced to create scenarios in my head, and all of them had negative outcomes. The thing about having no face, is that it makes you incredibly hard to read. Tartarus was hard to read. He seemed perfectly fine with me casually walking over and pulling the sword out of the rocks, but on the other hand, it seemed just as reasonable for him to kill me on the first step.
But then I thought about Sera. The unknown of what happened to her made me decide what to do.
I didn't even make eye contact with it, and I jumped sideways after the sword's handle. But long before my fingers could even brush it, Tartarus snatched me up by the throat and held me above him.
His hand was rough, the leathery skin of a shark, or the tongue of a cat. He wasn't trying to choke me, but it was clear that I wasn't going anywhere. His lanky appearance did little to reveal the truly monstrous strength he possessed. I smashed against his arm and fist, and it was nothing but wasted effort.
He twisted his head to admire the blade, "My brother Eros did indeed have a sword, long ago. More of a showpiece than a weapon for him, but I'm glad to see that someone came around to using it." The ink dots came reeling back towards me, and they widened for a moment, almost out of disgust. "Even if that someone is nothing without it."
Everything started fading to black, slowly, the air was being siphoned out of my lungs, my nervous system had been turned off. All things were becoming numb, an endless sleep was approaching fast.
Then, everything brightened again.
Tartarus was pushed back by an unknown force. He didn't make a noise, even a grunt, but his shoulder moved backward ever so slightly, and his hold on my neck softened a little.
I managed to spot Talon behind us, his arm straight out in front of him, something at the end of his fingers was…steaming, wisping smoke.
It was only after a few more seconds of regaining vision, that I saw it was a gun. He had fired off a round from his revolver, and I hadn't even heard the blast, that's how close I was to checking out.
Tartarus's eyes grew to the size of large paint splotches, which I'm guessing means that he's angry. "Do you wish to die sooner than her?"
Talon was showing off a wicked grin, almost of enjoyment. But I'd learned enough by now about the guy to know that he's furious. The grin is him imagining the enemy's head full of bullet holes.
"Only one dying here is you, freakshow."
Tartarus stared blankly at him, squinting whatever could be called eyebrows. "Oh, a comedian. Well, if you insist…" He lowered his head an inch and hardened his gaze at my friend.
"T-Talon…" I choked, trying to warn him. "Move…"
But it was too late. Whatever influence Tartarus was trying to put over on Talon had already taken effect. There was a tangible shift in the air, a release of energy, and all of it was aimed at Talon. I wanted to do something to help him, to push him out of the way. I couldn't have him disappear like Sera did. At this point, he was all I had. My only source of support.
But what happened next shocked all of us. Whatever mind trick, or spell the Primordial cast on Talon, was negated. Yes, negated and deflected right out of thin air. Talon's grin turned into a downright mirror of what I imagine Tartarus's to look like. Sheer delight at messing with his opponents. He removed his sunglasses, and his eyes flashed a dangerous, bright golden color and stayed that way for several seconds.
Tartarus's pupils shrunk back to tiny pin dots, and he stepped back in shock, as if having an epiphany. "You're…him…"
For the first time since the conflict began, I noticed that Tartarus seemed almost…on edge. Afraid isn't the right word, I wouldn't say he was afraid, but he was wary. Apparently, he saw something in Talon that shook him.
"No, that's impossible. You're supposed to be…"
Talon gave him no time to finish his sentence. In a quick flash, Talon's entire arm outlined itself with a golden glow. It reached all the way down his arm and permeated his hand. What resulted of it, came a sword.
A blade made of light, nearly as long as Talon himself. It brightened up the entire area, and even without my own sword, I could tell that it was radiating power. No aura sense needed to know that Talon had entered a state he's only entered a few times before.
With his eyes still glowing, sword in hand, and a confident smirk on his lips, I found myself in awe, hardly recognizing the dumbass that drunk an entire bottle of whiskey only last night. The same dumbass that I argue with constantly. The same dumbass that used a boat motor on a wooden vessel. No, I felt like I was looking at…a god.
But he still kept his usual voice, and taunted the god of the pit. "That's right, motherfucker. Nobody messes with my mind."
His movement was unseen, but he completely disappeared from view, far faster than anything I could keep up with. Tartarus saw it though, and expected an oncoming attack from the front. What he didn't expect, was an attack from behind.
Talon appeared behind him and slashed at his back. Tartarus made no noise, yet again, but the force of the blow was enough to make the god arch his back and stumble forward. Enough for his grip to loosen on my neck.
I doubt my strength had anything to do with it, but I slammed both of my hands into Tartarus's wrist, removed his hand completely from me, and fell back to the ground.
I coughed a few times and steadied my breathing. Caught up in my own little world, I nearly missed Talon holding out the Blade of Eros for me to take.
I looked over at him, and those golden eyes were staring back at me, not losing their shine for a moment. I could hardly keep myself standing at the intensity, the fact that he was looking at me with his own eyes, instead of a plastic lens.
"Talon…"
He didn't respond, stone faced. I wasn't sure if it was still him in there anymore. Had the small part in his head that was Nikandreos taken over? Did that part of him know me?
But finally, he smirked. "It's me, kid. Take the sword."
I wanted to smile, but in doing so, Talon would probably tease me about it later. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction, so I quickly yanked the sword out of his hand, trying to put on a demeanor.
I scoffed, "Obviously. Just surprised, that's all. Been a while since you've used that golden sword stuff."
"Yeah, happens when someone I care about is in danger."
Care about?
My mouth parted, and I felt a little warmness envelop my cheeks.
"What are you-"
"Not you. I was talking about Sera." He chuckled, "Don't get your hopes up. You and I are definitely not on the 'caring about each other' basis. Got it?"
I scowled at him; any fuzziness long gone. But I still knew what kind of game he was playing. He was so worried that I was gonna die, and I knew it.
"Strictly business," I said, "That's how it works with us." I squeezed the sword, and the pink energy surrounded me easily now, filling me with that same amazing feeling again, like I could conquer the world.
Talon nodded, "Yeah. Now Whaddya say we bring this bastard to his knees?"
"All for it."
Tartarus hadn't attacked us during our little conversation, he opted to rub his back and look at his hand, surprised that he had even been touched by one of us.
He moved his head around, as if popping it. "Very well, I suppose I can warm up with inflicting some physical pain before we move on to the fun stuff." He lifted his finger and gestured at us to charge him, "Come."
Talon and I moved at the same time. With the blade reacquired, I could keep up with him.
Both of us slashed down at Tartarus from equal sides, aimed at the Primordial's head.
But Tartarus was quick, and stronger than we could've anticipated. Even with these new levels of power, he was still able to stop our attacks. He grabbed the tips of both swords, pink and gold, and held them with his hands.
There was a bit of a shaky struggle. Both of us pushed down with all our might, but Tartarus remained firm, and began laughing in excitement.
As the shockwaves of our blasts echoed around us, he sighed. "How long it's been since I've moved this way, since my strength and prowess has been tested." He lifted our swords slowly, overpowering our push with seemingly no effort, and standing up tall.
He breathed in through a non-existent nose, and closed his eyes. "A long time. I suppose I've gotten a bit rusty at the whole…fighting thing."
As soon as he said the last word, he lifted his leg and speared Talon in the chest with it, letting go of his hold on the golden sword. Talon went flying back, and Tartarus quickly shifted his position to attack me next.
His fist was against my gut, the force behind it was bone crushing, world breaking, even. I felt like my internal organs had been forced out of my back, all of the wind taken out of me. I was surprised to see that my body was even intact after such a blow.
The world temporarily rushed past me as I soared backward. I could've gone for miles had I not slammed the sword into the ground. Without even looking, I took a desperate shot, and it sunk it's teeth below me. I held firmly and eventually skidded to a stop, far away from where I began.
Tartarus's voice was right in my ears. "But rest assured, you will die trying. I'm going to show you what real pain is, in every shape and form it can take."
I tried to get up, but a throbbing wave of agony overtook my torso, and I was forced back down to my knees. He really hit harder than I thought he would.
But still, I managed to ignore it somehow and pick the sword up from the ground. It poured more energy into me, and I leapt off the ground, covering the distance between us like it was nothing.
Next thing I knew, my arm was making the same motion as before, I swung at Tartarus's head, above him now, so it was a downward strike…that he saw coming.
Like a contortionist, Tartarus had no problem bending his back in a near C-shape to avoid the attack. His head was nearly to the ground, and he dodged it completely.
Talon ran up behind him, and sliced at the air, delivering a long-range attack that consisted of an avatar, an avatar of golden light that shot out of the sword, similar to the way mine did when we sped up the boat.
But it had no chance to even test itself against Tartarus. The god created a barrier behind him without even moving his hands. A black wall of what looked like floating goo materialized and took the brunt of the slash in stride. Talon's momentum, and the shock on his face kept him from seeing that he was right in Tartarus's bubble.
First, he grabbed my arm and slammed me to the ground, using me as a whip almost, he casually picked me up and flung me in front of him.
It was Talon's turn next. The goo barrier that had blocked his attack became a sentient being of it's own. It straightened and took shape of a pillar that forced itself on the side of Talon's face, like a punch. Talon seemingly didn't feel anything from it, but the force behind it caused him to recoil and fall out of his charge.
Tartarus immediately stepped in and appeared right above Talon, without even moving his legs. It was strange, like the invisible hand of a supreme being had grabbed Tartarus and moved him on a chess board. Was that just how fast he was?
Either way, Talon was in trouble. Tartarus raised his right hand and straightened his fingers. It came down on Talon's back in a chop, which instantly sent my friend into the ground front first, his body making a curved shape as it did so.
Instead of the attack putting Talon in a deep crater, he only bounced back up in Tartarus's strike zone. Around this time I had just tumbled and rolled on the ground, feeling stings of pain all over my bone structure. Every attack from Tartarus felt like the worst thing I'd ever experienced…times two. When he hit you, it was going to take something from you, no matter what. It had to be few and far between for us to survive.
In the same way that he threw me, Tartarus tossed Talon with accuracy towards my left. He landed right on his head and flipped over until he remained dormant on his stomach, face turned away from me.
We were both on the ground within a matter of a minute, maybe two. That's how long we lasted against him, even in the states we were in. It was just too much.
"Yes, it is." Tartarus said, reading my mind. "Even with your bright little swords and taunts, you stand no chance." He chuckled, "Combat isn't even my specialty."
I winced every time I moved. It only seemed to get worse and worse, his hits had a rising effect that couldn't be countered.
"We need to…" I coughed, and had to clear my throat of something. Was that blood? "…Come up with a plan."
Talon groaned and pushed himself up enough to look at me, his golden eyes were dimming. "Bastard's faster than us in every way, how do we combat that?"
I thought back on every fight I had ever experienced, and Tartarus was unlike all of them. He was more of a mental opponent. Up until now, we'd considered him an external force that couldn't even be hit, more so than Ouranos in a way. He has no imprint on history, in terms of fighting, or battles. There's no tale, like Ouranos, where he fought nearly all of his titan children, including Kronos, and got cut up into a million pieces. There's no guidebook, or tell of a weakness, how he fights, nothing. It was just…here, we're throwing you into the lion's den.
But then I remembered Atlas, and how we combated him. He was overwhelmingly strong and skilled, but with enough people…we were able to attack from so many points that eventually…it gave, and he went down.
"We need more…" I said, "More of us."
We need Matt. We need Malachi, Sera, Percy, Annabeth, all of them. If only...
"It doesn't matter how many of you there are," Tartarus said, "You will fail. My brother's fire has been ignited in me, and I see the world for what it can be now. In which we stand above it all, and the pests like you grovel beneath us." He shook his head, almost unable to believe the prospect. "So many minds to explore, so many strings to pull. The possibilities are endless. Even my will overpowers yours."
He pointed his finger at us, condensing a sphere of black energy down to the size of a baseball. It charged up, much like Matt's Red Beam Cannon, I knew a blast of energy was coming. But unlike the cannon, it only seemed to get smaller with the amount of energy it kept gaining. Red lightning collected around it and crackled in every direction, destroying the very air around it. Steam popped at the end of every lightning whip; the heat was starting to melt reality itself.
But behind him, erupted an even greater mass of energy. The Styx Lake, which had been dormant this entire time, save for the occasional ripple from a shockwave, now shot up like a geyser. The entirety of it was sent flying into the air, a wide, giant pillar of black water. The noise was that of a wave in the ocean, multiplied by ten thousand. All attention was directed towards it, even Tartarus's. His finger didn't leave our direction, but he turned his head like an owl to see what was going on.
First, my good eye started at the top, where the Styx water was falling like a fountain, the shape of a flower, evaporating off into steam. It fell down the shaft of the water and landed at the stem, where a figure stood, surrounded by a different type of color, foreign to really anything I've ever seen.
It was a strange, enchanting mixture of gray and blue. It wasn't really bright, and it actually looked kind of evil, in a way. But it was very powerful. It skyrocketed, and only kept rising with time. The hair on the back of my neck stood up high, the sensation was so intense. I had no time to compare it's energy with anyone else, but I can say for sure that the aura was even more intense than that of Hades.
"What is this?" Tartarus said, curious more than anything.
The figure began to move out of the Styx water tree, and floated in the air. It got to a point where even with one eye, I was able to identify the thing that caused such an eruption.
It was…Malachi.
"Malachi?"
I looked over to Talon, who was on his hands and knees, mouth nearly to the ground. He was speechless.
Malachi was shadowed by his new appearance. I couldn't see his skin, or even his face, but I could see the outline of his lean, tall figure, his thick, medium length blonde hair. I knew it was him. He's the only one that fell into that lake, he's the only one that could achieve this kind of power right now. He took the Curse, and it had an obvious effect.
But never, not in a million years could I imagine that he would get this strong. He was almost as strong as me with the sword, at full power! Hell, he might even be equal to it. It was a tremendously huge change from earlier, when he was practically on his death bed. I would even go as far as to say that it's miles ahead of him in his prime, because it is. Malachi at his best is nothing compared to the figure slowly descending in front of us.
He landed softly on the ground behind Tartarus, maybe twenty feet away from all of us. His posture was straight, his fists were clenched, he throbbed with sheer, raw power. His normal aura color was darkened a bit, the normal lightning blue was now an almost turquoise color. And the gray was completely new. It was less abundant than the blue, but it was there, and that must've been the Curse's aura.
Finally, it cleared up enough to where we could see his face. He was scowling at Tartarus, his eyes alive and hungry, a far cry from what they were earlier. I felt like I was looking at the old Malachi, the one that we fought on that first quest, only much, much stronger.
He spoke, "Your will, Tartarus…is nothing compared to ours."
Tartarus didn't regard Malachi with the caution he did Talon. In fact, he looked rather confused.
"Ah, I remember now. There were four of you. My nephew." It was as casual as greeting a stranger, and Tartarus, just as casually, changed the direction of his blast towards Malachi, the red lightning now giving his form some illumination.
Myself, and Talon I'm sure, wanted to scream at him to get out of the way, but something kept our mouths closed. Perhaps it was the way Malachi didn't even flinch when he saw that Tartarus changed his attack trajectory. He was ready to take it head on.
Tartarus fired the blast. It became a dragon of swirling darkness, surrounded by sparks of red. It slithered around in the air until it hit Malachi, dwarfing him under its size.
He never even moved out of the way. He was sent back into the waterfall, causing an eruption of both darkness and water, falling everywhere, barely missing us in its reach.
"Fool."
But when quiet came, the impossible happened. A hand appeared out of the Styx Lake, and Malachi came with it. Quickly pulling himself onto the shore and stood upright, unphased from the massive attack.
And he smirked, "Is that it?"
Tartarus cocked his head, seemingly lost on what was going on, but Talon and I knew. The curse had taken effect. No matter what attack Tartarus threw at him, no matter how strong, it wouldn't work. The only time it would, is if he hit his weak spot, his 'Achilles heel.' But only Malachi knew where that was.
It finally seemed to dawn on the Primordial. "The Styx has blessed you, hasn't it? Well, that makes things far more interesting."
Malachi raised his chin in triumph, "How is this for interesting?" He made a strange action, like he was about to vomit something up. He puffed out his cheeks and broadened his shoulders, as if collecting something deep from his gut. The gray energy that was the curse collected from his chest down to his arm, and stopped at his fingertips. It created it's own little sphere of darkness to match Tartarus's attack.
And then Malachi fired it, and the same thing as before appeared in the air, a black dragon like attack that snaked around in the air until it hit Tartarus head on, no time to prepare or even react. It was shockingly identical, the exact same size and speed. Malachi had just performed a…mirror attack? What else do you call it?
Tartarus lifted his arms up to take the brunt of it, and it was the first time we saw some actual struggle out of him. He seemed to be straining under the pressure of the energy, his heels skidding back in the dirt. It lasted for a few seconds, and with a roar of effort, he managed to dispel it with only a few embers left to show for it.
But Malachi was collected, his finger still in the air, smirk still on his face.
Tartarus gave an almost nervous laugh, "A mirror defense? Now, where did you learn to do such a thing, nephew?"
Malachi shrugged, "Something extra, I suppose."
Something extra? I'd never heard Percy talk about such a thing. The curse was pretty simple, it gives you a tremendous boost on what you already have, makes you nearly invulnerable, but you get tired pretty quick. That's it, nothing about being able to take an attack and return it to sender. That was completely new.
Tartarus took his time to look at us, then back at Malachi. "My, this is getting quite interesting. Unfortunately, I'm a rather impatient type. So what do you say we cut to the chase and get to the fun part?"
"What's the matter uncle?" Malachi spat, "Afraid?"
Tartarus didn't speak for a moment, then he started laughing. Hysterically. He even leaned back and held his chest to keep it from getting out of control, while Malachi just glared at him.
"Me, afraid of you?" His tone became dangerous and gravelly, "Boy, you're in my house, and the doors are locked. There is no escape for you, and once I prod at your mind…you will be very afraid."
Out of his back, tendrils sprouted and shot into the ground, digging through easily and popping back up right in front of the three of us.
Talon, myself, and Malachi all reacted the same with a poorly timed jump. These weren't meant to attack us, only to touch us.
And they did. Our respective tentacles tapped our foreheads, and it changed the entire scene. Instantly, I was sucked into another world, a world without Talon or Malachi, or even Tartarus, but nothing around me. Just pure…nothingness.
I knew this was where he took Sera. This was his trap, his way of rounding us all together…like cattle right before a slaughter.
Matt
"After all, they say you see the events of your life before you die."
Tartarus's words brought chills to my skin, and I backed up to get away from him. He was creepy, definitely the most of anybody I'd faced so far. If Ouranos is a power-hungry warlord, and Atlas was an old war veteran…then Tartarus is a serial killer, with a hefty body count under his belt. Just the way he looks at you, you expect a devilish smile to be there, but the fact that he only shows his eyes seems to be far scarier.
"You're fucking crazy," I said, "Why not just fight me, huh? What's the point of all of this anyway?"
He stared at me, as blank as a board. Then his eyes drooped in mock sadness. "Come on Matthias, I thought you knew me better than that." He stalked towards me with his hands behind his back, "How many times do I have to tell you? I. Don't. Fight." He snorted, a horrible noise that sounded like a bull breathing in dirt. "Such a barbaric thing."
"If you want to kill me, that's the way to do it!" I had no idea what I was saying, maybe I was trying to stall, but the words spilled out of me, and even I'm not dense enough to know that a part of it is giving him satisfaction. But what am I supposed to do?
"Matthias," he laughed, "I have to admit, if you were a bit older and wiser, this would be no fun. Haven't you learned by now that there are things worse than death?"
As he got closer, I only stepped further backwards. "Of course I know that."
"Then why kill, when you can inflict something so much stronger?" He looked around at the nothingness and threw his arms up, like he couldn't believe he had to explain such a thing. "Why do I do this? Well, let me be the first to teach you this little fact. In any existence, any reality, only the strong survive. It is nature. It has been this way since the beginning. And I should know, because I was there when everything began."
He faked a lunge at me, and I reacted involuntarily, falling on my rear. He laughed and continued to advance, as I backed up on my hands, looking up at him with wide eyes.
"Fear and pain are the greatest weapons known to man. I am the first to utilize them, and they have proven to be useful. I mean look at you, you're afraid of me. You have no idea what's going to happen next. I could kill you with a simple movement, and you don't know when it will happen, or even if it will happen, but that terrifies you."
I started to retort, but he cut me off. "Don't even think about lying to me. I can smell your fear. I know your thoughts, your memories, everything that you've ever known or ever will know is at my disposal." He shook his head, "You're helpless."
I began to panic, and did the first thing that my body told me to do. Also a pointless thing. I ran.
I scrambled up to my feet and started sprinting in the opposite direction, my heartbeat pounding away in my ears. Tartarus did nothing to stop me, he only cackled in every direction, his voice as loud as train horn.
"Yes, run! Run as far as you think you can go! Run from your fear!"
For some reason, my stamina was already running dry. I should be able to run nonstop for days, but all of a sudden, after running maybe half a mile, my legs turned to jelly, my side started hurting, and I was out of breath. I stopped and put my hands on my knees, breathing hard to try and catch some air.
I could only think about home at that moment. I could only think about how much I would prefer to be fighting literally anyone else. This was a nightmare. I was trapped, without my friends, without Yuri, without Harper. I had nobody. I was in a cage with a psychotic, all-powerful, all-knowing entity of evil. And he was the torturing type.
I just wanted to be back in my cabin. Hell, I'd take the shitty parts of New York, infested with drug dealers and gangsters over this any day as a mortal. I'd do anything to get out of here.
Run! My mind screamed, keep running!
I started again. With a huff, I put my legs in front of me and ran as fast as I could. I quickly glanced behind me and saw that Tartarus was long gone, and I was running in an infinite void of fog and nothingness. But at least he was gone.
And then when I turned back around, I was back in the same place I started.
I skidded to a stop. In front of me, was the same setting as before. That giant brain suspended above me, and Tartarus, with his arms folded behind his back, staring at me.
"What's the matter?" He said, "Running in circles?"
My face contorted, a mix of sadness, frustration, and rage. I shook and trembled, unsure of what to do with my hands. What could I even do? I was alone. I stood no chance here.
But if I died, then I would die fighting. I've said it before, and I'm not going back on it now.
So I yelled, louder than I've ever yelled, and ignited the red glow around me. It should've been bright, but in the nothingness, it was overshadowed, which delivered a good stab to my confidence.
I didn't shrink. I charged the Primordial and swung at him several times, never hitting anything, or even coming close. Tartarus kept eye contact with me and easily sidestepped every attack, his hands still behind his back. He wasn't even moving his legs from what I could tell. He was just…moving, standing straight, like a chess piece. He was incredibly fast.
I continued to punch rapidly at him, even though nothing had worked yet, I had so much anger built up, this was the only way to possibly let it out.
Finally he stopped me, like a parent controlling their child's tantrum. My fist slammed hard against his index finger, dead in it's tracks. I pushed against it, but it wouldn't budge. He was strong too.
"You know, this reminds me of something." He tilted his head, his black pupils shrunk down to the size of little marbles. "Shall we take a look?"
Without even seeing a movement, his hand wrapped itself around my jaw and he picked me up. I left the ground for only a second before he slammed me into it.
I went through the fog like it was…well, fog. What was once solid became gassy, and I passed through in a freefall, directly into a completely different place, much like before when I fell into the Acheron River.
Only this was different. I recognized this place. Those…trees, and that schoolyard. This was my middle school. And I just realized this as I was falling.
I did the only reasonable thing I could think of, and braced myself for impact. But it never came. I didn't even stop gradually or abruptly, I just felt the wind cease its craziness, and everything was…tranquil.
I slowly uncovered my face with my arms and opened my eyes. What the hell? Hold on, no, not again, we are not doing this again!
"But we are."
I nearly fell over on my side and my neck almost popped off my head at how quickly I turned it. Tartarus was standing right above me, looking out at something.
"What are you? What is-"
"Recognize it?"
I didn't obey him, I only looked around out of sheer curiosity. I saw that the sky was moderately cloudy, not thunderclouds, but big, white, balls of fluff that took the shape of a slew of things I'm sure anyone could put an image on. Under it, to my right, sat an empty playground, a swing set with its swings swaying lightly to the wind. Judging by the colors of the trees, it was Autumn. Leaves danced and rustled up to twirl on the concrete every now and then.
Then there was the sound of a door being thrown open. To my left, sat a narrow, open hallway, no walls, only a roof and some pillars to shield the kids from the rain. It connected the school and the gymnasium both. A class, maybe thirty or so kids all ran in a straight line and piled into the gym, a teacher, and a boy, following close behind.
My mouth parted when I spotted the boy. Far from the group, he was alone, even the teacher seemed to be trying her best to ignore him, but she walked somewhat close to him out of obligation. He had chocolate brown hair, an ivy league cut fluff in the front mixed with a fade on the sides. He had an innocent, sad face, drooped down to the ground, his hands in his pockets as he shuffled along slowly.
"That's…me." I whispered.
"Indeed. Nine years old."
I ignored him and followed the class, not caring or knowing if they could even see me or not. Likely not, if we're reliving a memory.
I walked in the open gym doors and looked on to what I guessed to be a time jump of twenty or thirty minutes, because the kids were all playing now in their own little groups, some of them even sweating. You had the athletic kids that played whatever thing they could think of, whether it be basketball or football. Anything to use as an excuse to get rough with each other. And then you had the girls, who well, did their own thing, which I never really paid attention to or understood. Most of it just consisted of them cheering on the boys and giggling at them.
Then you had the weird kids. I was one of them. There were a couple of others, but at least they were friends with each other, playing weird card games and talking about their favorite cartoons.
I sat alone, in silence. My younger self was on the wooden bleachers, with no one even close to him. He fiddled with his own fingers, and looked at them, not paying attention to anyone else.
He looked dead in the eyes. There was no joy, no life in them. He was going through the motions, just waiting for the day to end.
I knew, because it was me. I remembered this. Not this particular day, because there were so many like it. I had no friends now, because I knew what I was. A monster that only brought trouble to anyone he came in contact with. At the time, the monsters kept following me, smelling me. So I stayed away.
This was also after the whole Hera/Joshua thing, where I put his family in danger, and she had their memory erased. I was basically forbidden from human interaction.
I walked over to him, taking probably an hour or so to get there, it felt like, and I never took my eyes off him. It hit me to my core to see this, to remember the loneliness.
"No friends. No one to confide in." Tartarus mocked, peering at the little me. "How sad."
I turned on him, suddenly unafraid. "You don't know a damn thing about him or what he was going through." I growled; my fists clenched so tight I thought the fingernails would dig all the way to the bone. "Take me somewhere else. Anywhere but here."
Tartarus was grinning, I knew he was. He gestured his head over to the other side of the gym, the other half of the court. I turned and looked at what he was pointing out.
And I knew immediately. It was my old best friend, Joshua.
He wore a basketball jersey, with black shorts and high-top sneakers. He was in the middle of a game with the other kids, only focused on that. Not a year prior he was my best friend. We did everything together.
My gaze went back to my young self, and I saw that he too, was watching Josh. I already knew what he was thinking. Ten thousand different things at once, the main one being I should say something. What if he remembers me?
And then from the air, out of view, the basketball somehow came flying and hit little Matt in the forehead.
It knocked him back on the bleachers, completely flat with his hands flying up in the air. The ball itself bounced up and off the wall, back near his feet.
He stayed like that for a moment, putting his hand to his head. I knew it didn't hurt, but he had to put on a show. Always be convincing, that was what I used to tell myself. Never let them know that you're different.
But they knew anyway. I was a good enough looking kid, with some potential to be a strong, fast athlete, just like the rest of them. They could never understand why I didn't interact with them. That's why they thought I was a freak.
After a long enough time had passed, one kid called out to me. "Come on, freak! Give it back!"
He sat up and hesitantly picked up their ball. For a moment, his eyes caught Joshua's, and when he saw that there was no recollection, and that he had the same exact annoyed look on his face…my younger self sighed and threw the ball back.
The kids caught it and mumbled under their breath, going right back to their game.
I shook my head and looked down at the ground. I couldn't watch that.
Tartarus nearly put his chin on my shoulder to taunt me. "A freak. That's what they thought you were, a freak."
"If it meant them staying alive, then I didn't care," I croaked, sounding weaker than I intended.
"That doesn't anger you? I know some small part of you was thinking about killing them all. You had the power to do so, you knew who your father was, the kind of strength you possess, so why didn't you?"
He was right. Often, I thought that, but never acted on it.
"That's not me. I had better self-control than that." I thought of another defense, but I couldn't think of one. What if…they pushed me too far? Would there have been a point where I would've snapped? I shook my head one single time, "They were just dumb kids being dumb kids. I knew they would change."
"How do you know they would? They're mortals, Matthias. The pests that beings like me walk on. The original ant. They lie, they steal, they cheat, and they kill for something they desire. Whether it be sex or money."
"Not all of them."
Tartarus took his head away and circled around me to face me, all the meanwhile the same scene played out in the background. "You only defend them because you want to justify your cause. You want all of this pointless fighting and struggle to mean something." He snickered, "Doesn't mean much when you're protecting a bunch of degenerates."
This time, I remained silent.
"You think the other humans would react differently, if they knew the truth? They would be afraid of your power. They too, would call you a freak. Just like they would call me a freak."
I glared up at him, "I don't care what they would call me, or if they even know. It's not about glory. It's never been about glory."
"My patience is running thin with your constant lying, Matthias. Everyone wants recognition. Even a selfless idiot like you."
"It's welcome, sure. But not the main purpose."
"Don't you ever wonder how things would've been if you were normal?" He gestured again to Joshua, and I thought about all the good times we had together, the memories.
I looked away, "Stop."
He waved his hand, and the scenery changed. Now, we stood inside a college classroom, with rows and rows of seats being filled by the second, all aimed downward at a platform with a middle-aged man to the side, preparing his lesson on his computer.
A tall, dark-skinned, good-looking guy about my age came into view, giving a bro hug to another guy, and conversing with several of his classmates. He sat down and took out his laptop, a permanent smile on his face.
"Graduated high school early due to high achievement. IQ, One hundred and thirty-five. He is quite smart. Ivy League school, in an engineering program. Joshua, your old friend. Without a memory of you, he is happy. Even if you never came along, he would've always been the same."
I knew it had to be real. Joshua always was a smart kid. I smiled for a moment at the image, and felt happy for my old friend, but then Tartarus's words sank in, and I knew that yeah…without me, his life turned out for the better.
I turned away and started to storm off, "You think I don't know that?!"
He chased after me and closed the distance to grab a fistful of my hair, pulling me back to meet his eyes.
I winced and slapped at his arm to get it to stop, but he had an iron grip.
"I can read you like a book. You're afraid of everyone thinking you're a monster. Of being lonely again."
"Agh…let…go!"
He only held it tighter, nearly pulling me down with the force he was using. "But what are you most afraid of?"
He let go of my hair and palmed the back of my skull to push me. I fell on my knees and nearly on my face, but managed to catch myself with my hands. Above me, I knew another scene was playing out.
I saw the same picture I'd seen a thousand times in my nightmares. Him getting killed by Ouranos.
Somehow this was different than a dream, this felt more real. I could smell the snow, I could almost feel little droplets of Ichor hitting my skin as the spear went through his body.
I looked away, but the invisible hand of Tartarus forced me to look at it, my head was turned against my will.
A new one played over it, a recent one, one that was still fresh.
The motion was like that of a play, where only a small portion of the memory was shown, not the entirety of its space. So I only saw a small patch of jungle, myself, and Harper. I had just killed her.
This one I hadn't seen before, unlike with dad, I had nightmares about that often. This was new, and the first time seeing it from an angle. As an outsider.
I could clearly see the shock on her face, she believed I did that. Or at least had some part in doing so. She knew me to be one that would resist to the very end. And I failed. I wasn't strong enough to resist Tartarus's influence.
So I shook my head violently, unable to bear watching it anymore than a few seconds. It kept replaying and replaying, it's volume only getting louder.
I gritted my teeth and writhed in his firm grip. My eyes wouldn't even close, he was somehow forcing them to stay open too.
"Look at it, Matthias. You'd better get used to it, because that's only step one in watching everything you love burn to the ground."
I wasn't sad anymore. Suddenly, I started to feel overwhelmingly angry. Why am I blaming myself for this? It's all his fault! He's manipulated every little thing, every emotion felt so far, it's been him! It's like his little stage production, and I'm just reading my lines, a good little actor.
But I'm not acting anymore. I need some payback. Something!
I noticed that he had only my head in his reach, and I could still move the lower parts of my limbs, the tips. I thought of only one thing to do, it was reckless, maybe, but it was instinct, and I knew it was probably the only chance I had of catching him off his guard.
Quickly, undetected, I clamped my hand down on the Master Bolt watch, only for a moment, and ignited its power. All of my energy came bursting out in one single wave, Red Aura included. It was a concentrated burst that, thanks to my natural talent for aura control, I was able to do. If I had even been slightly less skilled in that department, something would've went wrong.
It was enough to break Tartarus's grip on me. I heard him audibly grunt in surprise, and I turned around, even with him hiding his aura from me, I knew where he was.
I threw a haymaker at his static nose, putting everything I had into it, a Universe destroying punch that could've obliterated chunks of several realities as we know it. I felt the adrenaline behind it, nothing but brunt, raw force.
His eyes widened, femtoseconds before the punch actually hit him. I saw his pin dots for pupils bleed out and become wide. I almost smirked in satisfaction.
Then I hit him. As soon as my fist planted against the center of his face, there was a break in reality it seemed.
The image that he showed me flickered and died, the entirety of the nucleus did too even, it's infinite strand of nothingness shifted once, all at my control. It seemed like I quite literally rocked Tartarus's world, and broke all concentration he had on torturing me.
Another strange thing happened. The instant after I felt the start of the rumbling, I was shown an image. Now I don't know exactly how much time passed in the real "world" from me watching this, but it felt like only a few seconds.
I wasn't there, like I normally feel in visions. This was literally watching a recording of something captured on film. I felt my body where it should be, in the position it should be in, but my eyes were somewhere else entirely.
It was a wide shot of the Nucleus, exactly where we were now, only it was vacant. No Tartarus, none of his victims, only fog, the giant brain, and infinity.
But then a figure stepped into view, from the edge of all of it, out of the shadows. At first when I saw it, I thought it was Malachi, strangely enough. The silhouette had the exact same build and features.
But I already put the dots together that there was no way it could be him. It had to be...another familiar face.
Just as I corrected myself, he came into view. Ouranos, in all of his Primordial glory.
After the chill left my skin, I became puzzled. He didn't look any older than when I last saw him at Mount Othrys, which I found odd, since it had been two months, and his aging has a rapid increase. The guy can progress ten years in a few weeks, due to his old power returning to him.
But then I remembered this was most likely a memory, and if I'm right, judging on where he is...this most likely took place right after he escaped me. When he got sucked into the ground, replaced by that weird symbol that I now know to be Tartarus's.
Ouranos walked casually, looking around the Nucleus like he was attending an open house. I imagined if he had pockets he would have both hands shoved in them, strutting merrily without a care in the world.
My blood boiled. Having not seen him since, it was surging, the hatred. Every reason I had for feeling the way I do bubbled back up every time I saw him. I don't even feel guilty feeling that way, even though Malachi is his splitting image. I can tell the difference between the two from a mile away. Ouranos has a constant sneer plastered to his mouth, and a hungry look in his eye. A look that shows a multitude of greed.
He walked up until he was just feet away from the stem of one of the brain's fleshy cords. He waited for a moment, patiently.
And then he made a little scoffing noise, but held his smug smirk. "Come on out, brother. I know you're here."
Immediately, a shape of darkness rose up from the ground and took the form of a taller, ghoulish, lanky man. The same Tartarus I had been struggling against. He took no other form for his brother than he did for me. I was honestly curious if he once had a more human like form, with a skin tone that wasn't the black of cosmic space, or a visible mouth. But no, guess not.
However, if he did, I imagined he'd be smiling broadly right now at Ouranos. He looked at him with something akin to...happiness. It wasn't much, but it was noticeable enough for me to catch. Probably the only time I'd ever see such a thing in a context where he's not torturing anybody or causing some kind of harm.
"Ouranos..." He almost whispered.
Ouranos mocked offense, "What, did you not think I would make it?"
Tartarus snorted, and even made a joke. "Time has not been kind to you. You've actually reverted in maturity."
Instead of Ouranos reacting like he normally would, either killing the person that joked about his childlike appearance, or making them wish they were never born, Ouranos just hissed and regarded himself in disgust.
"Don't remind me. I knew it would happen once I regained my natural power." He had to crane his neck to look up at Tartarus, "A small price to pay though, for what is to come."
Tartarus tilted his head and gave my nemesis a once over. "How long has it been? Since we stood face to face like this?"
Ouranos pondered, "Cant have been too long. A hundred years, maybe?"
Tartarus nodded, "And you are still as smart as ever. Your plan proved successful."
Ouranos's lip twitched, and he averted his gaze. "It did, as I knew it would. But...there were times that it came close to not being so."
Tartarus knew what it was, "The titan?"
"I depended on him too much." Ouranos did a double take, and shrugged, "Then again, I never expected the boy to obtain the Master Bolt. I'll admit, good move on his part, however he did it. But I was still one step ahead..." He smirked again at Tartarus, gratefully. "We had our failsafe."
Tartarus backtracked, "The bolt? Did Zeus grant him his?"
Ouranos shook his head, "No, nothing like that. I'm familiar enough with Zeus to know that he would never part with his precious weapon. No, the boy obtained it another way. That of which won't matter in the long run. Soon, I'll be strong enough to overpower even its attacks."
"How much more time do you need?"
Ouranos thought about it, "Another six months before I reach my prime, I'd say. But even then, that is not the end goal."
Tartarus raised one of his eyes, like he was curious. "Don't tell me you're still planning on using the Adam Tree..."
Ouranos rolled his eyes, like they'd had this argument before. "It is the correct way, brother, I promise. Merging with the tree will allow me to become far, far more powerful. It is the only way to kill Zeus for good."
"We could always work together." Tartarus suggested, "Come on, you don't think the both of us could kill that brat?"
Ouranos looked up at him seriously, his ego probably suffering harshly from his next words. "Never underestimate him, Tartarus. You don't have as much experience with him as I do. He's a prodigy, unlike anything I've ever witnessed. Back when he was young, yes, we could defeat him handily. But now...I'm not so sure." He cocked his head, "He killed both of our sons. Two of the most powerful beings to ever live, who we thought unstoppable."
"I never claimed Typhon to be unstoppable." Tartarus said, "We are unstoppable, brother. I never left my prime, I never lost, not once. We can wait those six months, and when you are ready...we can slay the so-called king of the gods."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing, the conversation I was witnessing. I could never imagine these two talking normally, calmly over something, with an equal amount of respect towards each other. The idea that Ouranos was just using Tartarus was thrown out the window. No, he actually seemed to care about him, genuinely. It was...really weird to see. I mean granted, they were discussing taking over the world and killing Zeus, but that's normal for them.
Ouranos looked like he wanted to argue but settled for a chuckle. "You'd actually come up on the surface to fight Zeus with me? Heh, I thought you preferred it down here."
Tartarus looked at his home, "I do. But if it means fulfilling your cause, yes, I'll come up to the surface."
Ouranos smiled at his brother, almost happily. If this hadn't been such a quick experience, and if I had been as immersed as I usually am, I might've reared my head back or furrowed my eyebrows. I'd never seen Ouranos look at somebody like that. Ever. Not the Big Four, not the Sons of Thor, and not even Malachi.
"Well, that is the future. We'll worry about that when it comes." Ouranos started to walk past Tartarus.
The Primordial of the Pit had an extra question for him. "So, is that all for now? I transported you here, you got away from the boy, and now you're leaving. Will you contact me when the time is right?"
Ouranos stopped, right next to him. Their height difference was truly on display here, with Ouranos only coming up to Tartarus's stomach. An amusing thought must've come to his mind, because he grinned.
"Actually, I do have one small favor to ask of you. Although it isn't really a favor, I think you'll quite enjoy this."
"What is it?"
Ouranos looked up at him and smiled sadistically. "The boy will look for me while I am away. I need him to be...preoccupied."
"Preoccupied?"
"Yes. I know you like to...mess with the mind. You could have a lot of fun with him."
Tartarus was silent for several moments, and then I imagined he was matching Ouranos's wicked grin. His eyes shrunk back down to the size of little ink dots.
"Oh yes...I see what you mean now."
"I should warn you; he is a persistent, stubborn worm of a demigod. I almost respect it." He threw his head up and laughed, "but it should be child's play to you. I know you'll break him, probably enough to where he'll do anything you want at the prospect of keeping his life."
Little bloodshot cracks formed in Tartarus's white eyes, signaling that he was excited. "Oh, I'll do more than that. I'll have him begging for death. Anything specific I can use?"
Ouranos's response was immediate, "I killed the boy's father, Hercules, right in front of him. Use that. But give me your word that you won't kill him. I want that task given to myself, and myself only."
Tartarus nodded, "I give you my word." Then he laughed a low, rumbling like noise, like he was barely containing his joy. "But he may not be much of a fighter...or even a demigod once I'm done with him."
Ouranos laughed again, delighted. "Oh, I missed you, brother. I think we're going to have a lot of fun in a few months. But for now, goodbye."
The fog that covered the ground bended to Ouranos's will. It lifted up in the air and quickly formed storm clouds, darkening to a sickly gray. Once they collected and compacted, lightning stirred and shot out, hitting Ouranos square on the top of his head. His disappeared with the light and reappeared in front of the giant brain, high up in the air. What happened next, I paid close attention to.
Ouranos touched the brain with his palm, and instantly, faster than an attosecond, a quintillionth of one second, the light flashed again, and he actually merged with the brain. His lifeforce and his aura became one with it, and he was sent upwards, like going through a pipe, out through the rough ground and above the surface.
The vision ended abruptly there, and I was brought back to the real world. With time slowed down, my fist still in Tartarus's face, and my heart pounding in my ears, I thought through everything that I had seen. It was a lot, but I only focused on the last part. Ouranos and the brain.
I just found my way out of here.
(000)
I just love touching on backstories. And that conversation was so fun to write. I love it when villains interact.
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, the fight, everything. Plenty more to come and expect all the buildup to pay off pretty soon.
Until Next Time.