A/N: Ladies and gentlemen… Demigods and Demigoddesses… I have the great pleasure of informing you that… I'M BACK, BITCHES!
It's been more than a year since I finished the first part of this story, 'The Origin of a Hero'. Now, it's time for the second part, 'The Return of the Hero'.
I know that the second half of the first part was not the same without Percy, but it was necessary not only for the development of the other characters, but it laid the foundation for the development of the story itself. Now, the time has come that you all waited for, you to read it and I to write it.
The protagonist is back.
(Insert crazy bitch scream!)
I hope you're as excited as I am because, like I said, things won't be the same now that Percy is back.
I hope you like the original twist that I have given to the beginning of the third book of the saga, 'The Curse of the Titan'.
And, without further ado… LET'S FUCKING GOOOO!
Chapter 1
The amnesiac son of Poseidon.
Darkness.
Absolute darkness as far as the eye could see.
That was all I could see.
It was a strange feeling. It was like being suspended in midair, drifting between the fine line between sleep and wakefulness. Between lucidity and unconsciousness. Between life and death...
It was like being in a nightmare, one where you were aware of it, but couldn't wake up.
Panic began to grow inside of me.
I wanted to move, but I felt nothing, not even my own body. The darkness that enveloped me was so thick and suffocating that I didn't even know if my eyes were open or closed.
I didn't feel anything.
I didn't hear anything.
I didn't see anything.
I wanted to speak, scream, but I had no voice.
I had nothing... There was nothing... And I was aware of it all.
The air felt heavy, suffocating, and strangely cold.
He didn't like to sleep very much because doing so meant only two things. The first was the darkness with which he was so intimately associated. And the second was the dreams of the demigods. Neither of them was very appetizing to him.
But still, when he went to sleep, he did so with a small hope that maybe, just maybe, he could get the answers he'd wanted so badly these past few months.
Now, in his dream, he was in what he assumed was a ship's cabin. Large curved windows in the far wall treated him to a view of the ship's stern, along with the sea and blue sky stretching to the horizon. There was a large Persian rug on the floor and two luxurious sofas in the center of the room.
But what caught his attention was that, on a velvet dais at the back of the room, was a ten-foot gold coffin. It was a sarcophagus with engravings where you could see the representations of burning cities and people suffering horrible deaths. Even if he knew it was a dream, he could still feel the frigid air emanating from that coffin.
Shadows swirled around the coffin, as if it were absorbing any light present while giving off a faint glow.
He could hear whispers coming from the darkness.
'He is reforming'
'Very little left'
'The Fire has not yet found a host'
'He has manipulated the only person who could take it'
'He tries to seize the Fire! He wants to extinguish it!'
A cold laugh echoed throughout the cabin, it seemed as if it came from a place far below the ship.
"My Lord, I have found and released him, as you requested."
The voice came from a black-haired teenage boy who stood with one knee bent, and his head bowed towards the coffin, as if he was paying his respects.
"Excellent," a voice came from the coffin, sounding slightly distorted and pleased. "With his free, the first step of my plan is done. The Olympians were stupid to imprison him with mere chains. But it doesn't matter. They arrogance will be their downfall."
"My Lord, what do we do with the Sons of the Big Three?" the boy asked. "Especially now that he's back... the illusions won't work on her anymore."
"Those illusions fulfilled its purpose. The seed is planted. Now all that remains is to water it. And with the Olympus bane coming soon, she will turn on us."
"And as for him...?"
The cold laugh rang out once more.
"He's fickle right now. Lost within himself. We don't need to do anything. He'll find out the truth himself, and when he does, Olympus will have someone else to worry about. They'll see the weapon they've created pointed at them."
The cabin door opened suddenly, and two people entered through it. One of them was a tall, skinny teenager with green eyes and brown hair. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt under Greek armor. Maybe it's because of the light, but on his armor you could almost see some strange symbols giving off a faint fluorescent glow.
"Torrington," said the previously kneeling boy in a reproachful tone. "How dare you enter Lord Kronos's quarters unannounced?"
"Don't use that tone with me, Nakamura. I don't answer to you." spat the boy identified as Torrington, returning his gaze.
"No. You do it to your dear master swordsman, don't you? Where is he now? In his cabin doing nothing like he's been doing these past two years?"
"Do you doubt him? He has shown on more than one occasion that he is committed to our cause. In our war against the Olympians."
"Just because he's engaged in our fight doesn't mean he's loyal to Lord Kronos," Nakamura replied, "We don't even know his name or what he looks like. He could be a spy for the Olympians."
That accusation didn't seem to please Torrington one bit, and he narrowed his eyes at him as he tightened his grip on the pommel of the sword at his waist.
"His name and appearance are irrelevant," he said. "His actions have more than shown that he wants to destroy Olympus as much as we do, maybe even more. His contributions to the cause have been greater than yours, Nakamura."
"His plans to try to weaken the Olympians have failed," Nakamura said. "And now, because of him, a son of the Big Three has returned. And one truly dangerous to our plans!"
"Don't try to blame him because you failed to execute his plans! If you weren't so incompetent, Olympus would have less than half their strength!"
"Enough," said the voice from the coffin.
He didn't even need to raise his voice to be heard. The atmosphere in the room became much heavier and the air even colder. Both teenagers turned pale and felt a shiver run down their spine. They felt as if they had the edge of a knife at their throats.
"What have you come for, boy?"
Knowing that Kronos was addressing him, Torrington quickly composed himself:
"Our guest is ready to speak with you, Lord Kronos."
He stepped aside to make way for a tall man dressed in an elegant tuxedo. He was two meters tall, with black hair pulled back in a ponytail and dark eyes. But the most outstanding thing about him were the multiple scars he had on his face.
"Prometheus," Nakamura acknowledged, with a slightly appreciative look. "You've taken your time getting ready to present yourself to Lord Kronos."
The tall man, now identified as Prometheus, shrugged slightly.
"What can I say? Being chained for centuries makes you take your time doing things and appreciate the freedom that comes with it," he said, with a relaxed smile.
"Don't forget who you owe that freedom to," Kronos growled, his voice coming from the coffin.
"Of course not. I saw that you would send Ethan Nakamura to free me from my chains. Although I hoped he could also take care of that eagle," Prometheus finished in a bitter tone and his features wrinkling, making his scars more noticeable.
"Then you will know the reason why you were released from your punishment. I have not forgotten your past transgressions in joining the Olympians last time, Prometheus." The air seemed to grow even tighter and colder as everyone heard the underlying disgust in the titan lord's voice. "Though, I am willing to forget that betrayal if you serve me from now on."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then the punishment the Olympians meted out to you will be lenient compared to what I will do to you."
Even with the clear threat expressed, Prometheus remained cool and relaxed, as if he was certain nothing bad would happen to him, even as Ethan placed his hand on the pommel of the sword at his waist.
"Very well. I accept," said Prometheus finally, breaking the tension in the air. "What do you need me to do?"
"I have a special task for you," Kronos announced, his voice taking on a pleased tone. "It should be easy for you. After all, you already stole something important from the Olympians once. First, you must find where it is."
"Ah, yes. The Fire of Olympus..." Prometheus reflected.
"And second, you must steal something extremely important to my plans. Once I have it in my hands, all of Olympus and humanity itself will bend to my will."
Kronos's cold laugh echoed throughout the cabin. Then, surprisingly, Prometheus turned over his shoulder and seemed to look directly at him with his eyes.
"You have to find it," Prometheus said, before he was abruptly roused from his sleep. "Only you can touch it without burning to ashes."
His eyes snapped open to stare at the ceiling looming above him. The room he was in was dark because the lights were off, but he could see the sunlight filtering through the window curtains.
He closed his eyes for a few seconds, trying to calm the heavy beating of his heart due to the dream he had had. He could still hear Kronos's cold laugh echoing in his mind, along with Prometheus's piercing eyes that rested on him before he woke up.
'The Fire of Olympus... What is that supposed to be?'
He knew that he would not find the answer by going back to sleep with the intention of dreaming. In addition, his body was already on alert and the strong beating of his heart told him that he would not go back to sleep.
With a resigned sigh, he got up from the comfortable bed he was in and went to the window to part the curtains. Winter sunlight bathed his body. He slid the sliding window open and stepped out onto the balcony, where the cold wind ruffled his dark hair as he took in the scenery spread out before him.
He was treated to the breathtaking view of New York City in all its glorious form in the morning light. It was winter, so the weather was cold, and snow was piling up on buildings, streets, and parked cars. He could hear the hustle and bustle of the city that never slept on as he watched the roads flooded with cars, and the people lining the sidewalk as they walked.
He watched them with a cool distant gaze, unfazed by the chilly weather, despite only wearing pajama bottoms and a loose-fitting tank top.
All these people were involved in their own lives, in their own worlds, unaware of the truth of what was happening. Not knowing the truth about the forces that held sway over them as they carelessly lived their lives...
He... in a way, envied them.
Not because they were just simple, mortal people who didn't have to worry about the dark, monster-infested world they lived in.
No, the reason why he envied them was simple; they knew who they were.
He didn't know. They had given him a name, but that name did nothing for him. He didn't feel anything when thinking about it or even saying it out loud, it was as far away for him as the same people he was watching from the seventh floor balcony where he was.
There was only one thing that made him feel something. That made him feel less empty than he did.
He turned and walked back into the room, turning his back on the city that, unknown to him, saw him born.
From the corner of his eye, he could see the reflection of the full-length mirror, showing him what he looked like. He came closer and looked at himself. His black hair, messy from his awakening, looked untamed, but still managed to look good. His eyes, green as the sea, had a distant and somewhat empty look.
Since he was only wearing a pair of pajama bottoms and a tank top to sleep, he could just barely see his body. He no longer looked as emaciated and malnourished as he had four months ago, the diet he had been on had helped him look much healthier, with even slight indications of muscle building. But what always caught his attention was the amount of scars that shaped his body. Some small and others a little more prominent.
He ran his fingers over the various scars, the most noticeable being the one on his right shoulder. A vertical line that started at his right shoulder and reached to the middle of his chest. He supposed that scar had a history, a reason why it was there, but he didn't know, and it left him feeling slightly frustrated and... longing. Feelings that had only grown in the last four months since he had woken up that stormy night.
He closed his eyes for a few seconds dejectedly before turning away from the mirror and going to the bathroom, ready to start his day.
Luke opened the door to what had become his room in the last nearly four months.
He had a towel over his head, drying his short blond hair as he headed for the living room. A pleasant scent caught his attention, and he turned to look past the living room to the kitchen, where a person was quietly moving about as he prepared what appeared to be lunch. And from the smell that hung in the air, it seemed to be quite good.
He went to the kitchen and saw that the food was almost ready. He could see some chicken breasts frying in a frying pan, a couple of potatoes being boiled in hot water along with a couple of eggs, a pot where rice was cooking and another where a sauce was simmering. It all looked really good and, along with the smell of the chicken and gravy, it made Luke's stomach growl with hunger.
"You really have become a very good cook, Percy," Luke commented, watching as said cook precisely cut a couple of tomatoes to prepare what would be a salad.
'It's amazing how skillful he is when it comes to handling a knife... even if it's a kitchen knife.'
"Cooking is kind of... relaxing," Percy said, not turning to look at Luke as he continued to chop up the vegetables.
"I never imagined you as one. Though, it shouldn't surprise me. You were always full of surprises."
Luke went to the fridge, where he took out a bottle of orange juice and poured some into two glasses, one for himself and one for Percy.
"Hey, would you mind making some of that to go?" Luke asked, taking a sip of the orange juice. "I'd like something to eat during my lunch break at work."
"Sure, I made enough for three people," Percy replied as he took out the boiled potatoes and began to chop them up to add to the salad. "I even made some hot chocolate to go. I know you and Thalia will be out all day, so I thought you could use something to keep them warm."
Luke looked at him gratefully and smiled at him.
"Thank you, Percy. That's very kind of you."
"You guys have been nice to me," Percy said, stopping cutting the potatoes with a distant look. "You and Thalia... have helped me a lot these months. And although I don't understand why you do it, I appreciate it."
Luke walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We did it because you're our friend. You haven't helped much in the past, now it's time for us to help you."
Percy frowned slightly.
"Yeah, that's what you guys have been telling me since that night," he said angrily, taking his hand off his shoulder and going back to cooking.
Luke looked at him slightly sadly. Since he had started living with Thalia and Percy in Thalia's apartment in New York three months ago, he did it with great enthusiasm. He would live with two of the people he came to consider his family, one of them being someone he thought he would never see again. He was really excited, and while Percy had initially been cold and indifferent to anyone other than Thalia, these past few weeks he's slowly started to be nicer to him. He still kept a lot to himself, though, and when they explained why they were so nice to him, the answer always seemed to annoy him.
'It's not his fault...' Luke reminded himself, frowning slightly with regret. 'He has no memories. He doesn't know who he is, who we are, or everything we've been through together.'
The Percy who had returned that rainy night when the camp was attacked was not the boy Luke remembered so fondly. He was not the kind, charismatic, and sarcastic boy that he had known. He was cold, distant, ruthless and, if he was honest with himself, terrifying. It was so different that it was somewhat disconcerting, sad and a little painful for him to see Percy that way. So indifferent to everything, so... empty.
But seeing him act nicer these last few weeks, he was hopeful that maybe Percy would remember everything eventually. Until then, he had to be patient and understanding.
He watched as Percy finished preparing the salad and then placed it in a small glass container, covered it and then put it in a lunch box.
Luke finished drinking his orange juice and placed the glass on the sink.
"Well, I'll go to work," he said, looking at the clock hung on the kitchen wall. "My shift starts at 10 am, and we have a lot of work ahead of us."
"I'll leave you your portion before we leave," Percy said.
"Thanks. Who would have thought that working as a laborer in a construction company would be so demanding? And even more so when it's so close to Christmas! They love to over exploit workers. Perhaps I should look for work elsewhere. A man with my great talents would surely be in demand."
"Being a thief isn't a job," Percy reminded him.
"But I'm pretty good at it," Luke replied. "I know the deadly cops won't catch me, and it wouldn't be the first time I robbed to survive. Hmm... I'll think about it later."
Luke left the kitchen while Percy continued cooking. When he finished serving the rice into another glass container, he looked at the glass of orange juice for a second before reaching for it. He glanced over his shoulder for a second to where Luke had gone, a contemplative look on his face, before drinking the glass and continuing to cook.
In the lecture hall of one of the most prestigious universities in New York, and in the United States itself, almost every seat was occupied by various groups of students from the same university who had come to listen to the words of a person who was not their teacher, but a special guest who was going to give them a special talk.
After all, the words of a well-known writer, even if she was someone a little young to give a talk and only a year older than them, could be a guide or an inspiration to those who were in the world of writing, cinema or theater, or who aspired to be part of that world in the future.
"You don't force a character to do something just because it's convenient for the plot or because it's easier for you as a writer," were the words of the person on a dais, her voice strong and clear. "The character always has priority, everything else comes after. Every plot twist, every line of dialogue. Each... tense and meaningful silence."
Some people took note of her words, while others listened intently. What was clear was that all those present paid special attention to her words.
"You can have a very interesting plot or plot, but it's no use if your character doesn't evolve with the plot itself, since the story is told through the characters. And even more so in stories told in the first person or by different characters. You can even have an uninteresting plot, but it's the characters that make the story shine. What makes it something unique. Something special. Something for which you deserve to be remembered... And, with it, something with which yourselves will be remembered. Thank you very much."
With those last words, the conference ended and the round of applause was immediate.
Once the applause died down, the woman behind the dais spoke once more.
"Any questions?"
There were several hands raised, and the speaker chose one of them.
"Could you tell us a bit about your writing process?" asked a young girl who was around the same age as the speaker. "Do you have any advice for those of us who are just starting out and have a hard time... ?"
The speaker took a few seconds to think before responding:
"I... I'm sorry to tell you that I've only been doing this for a couple of years... and I'm sure there are people here who have been here much longer than I have who will agree with me when I say... it doesn't get any easier."
Her words seemed to put off the girl a bit and also some people in the audience.
"But try not to get discouraged when it's hard," the speaker said, trying to encourage them, a smile on her face. "I started writing when I was only sixteen, and my first novel was rejected by seven publishers. Some said that I had no talent and that I should give up. Others said to write something different, and I did. I wrote another novel, which was also rejected by five publishers before it became a bestseller. Great successes are always preceded by great failures. The important thing is not to give up. Without commitment, you will never start. But more importantly, without consistency, you will never finish. Continue working. Keep working. Fall 7 times, get up 8. In my case, it was 12," she said, with a little joke that elicited a couple of laughs from the audience. "Remember, comfort is a greater threat to progress than difficulties. So keep going, keep moving, and keep learning."
The girl who had asked smiled hopefully upon hearing it, as did all the students. The applause again filled the auditorium, this time being much louder than before.
"Okay. That's all for today," the professor said, stepping forward, standing in front of the dais. "I hope you all paid attention to her words. It's not every day that a prominent writer comes to give you a talk. So I hope that you will make the most of the knowledge that she can give you. Don't let the fact that she is around the same age as you fool you. Moreover, she should serve as an inspiration for you. If she was able to do it at your age, that means you can too. With that last said, let's all give a round of farewell applause to Miss Grace."
A final round of applause was heard throughout the amphitheater before the conference finally came to an end.
Thalia left the classroom with a weary sigh as she unbuttoned the top button of her shirt. Having to dress up, wearing a jacket, a dress shirt and pants, and even shoes, was nothing new to her. But she still couldn't get used to the somewhat restrained feeling those clothes gave her, no matter how good it made her look.
"It was a very beautiful speech you gave there."
Thalia looked to the side to see a man approaching her. He was wearing a simple black shirt under a brown jacket and dress pants. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, with a few grays beginning to appear in his brown hair.
"Mr. Blofis" Thalia recognized her teacher.
Paul Blofis was her professor of literature at the university, the same university where she had given a special talk to freshmen as a favor for her professor. She had also done it as an extension project for her subject.
"Again, I want to thank you for agreeing to give this talk to my students, Miss Grace," Paul said, a friendly smile on his face. "You motivated them to keep trying, especially with those last words."
"I only told them what I wish one had told me when I was in their position," she answered, waving her hand slightly to play down the matter.
"Still, your words were honest and just what they needed. You gave them the most powerful weapon you can give a writer; inspiration." Paul chuckled. "You even inspired an adult like me."
Thalia gave him a slightly cheeky smile.
"Then I hope that this 'inspiration' is reflected as an A+ in the project of your subject."
Paul laughed with amusement.
"Definitely, you earned the 'A', but the '+' is still up for discussion."
Thalia clucked her tongue, disappointed and a little annoyed, much to her teacher's further amusement.
It was at that moment that someone approached both of them in a somewhat hesitant way. She was a student, shifting somewhat uncomfortably in her place as she cradled a book against her chest. Thalia recognized her as the same student had asked before.
"Uh, excuse me, Miss Grace..." she called, still hesitating.
"Yes? You need something?" Thalia asked.
The student hesitated for a few more seconds, although Thalia didn't get impatient, because she already had an idea about what the girl wanted.
"I... uh... I've read your book and... it was really an inspiration for me to start studying and become a writer like you one day. And when I found out that you were coming to give us a talk, I was really excited. What you told us, about continuing to push ourselves to meet our goals, really inspired me and I wanted to ask if... if it's not too much of a bother to you... Could you please sign it for me?!" Finally, the girl handed her the book, her face slightly flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and emotion.
Thalia felt surprised, and somewhat moved by her words. With a small smile, she pulled her pen out of the inside of her dress jacket.
"Sure. In whose name?"
"J-Jocelyn!" the girl exclaimed, excited.
Thalia thought for a few seconds what to write before finally deciding on:
'To my dear admirer, Jocelyn. May your smile, your dreams and your inspiration never fade.'
When Jocelyn read the dedication, she almost let out a euphoric cry. After a heated goodbye from her, she went to meet a group of girls who were waiting for her and who received her with emotion. Jocelyn quickly started bragging about the dedication she received as they walked away.
Thalia watched them go with a small smile. It was times like these where she felt that all the effort she had put into writing, in doing what she was so passionate about, was rewarded. It was always nice, satisfying and blissful to know that your work was not only recognized by someone else, but also an inspiration to others.
"An inspiration, huh...?" she mused aloud as she started to walk towards the exit.
"Every writer has one," Paul said, walking beside her. "It could be another writer's work, some kind of art, a song, a place, a memory, or even a person. I'm assuming you have one, Miss Grace. May I ask what it is?"
Thalia thought for a few seconds about her teacher's question. He was not wrong when he said that everyone was their inspired in something. As for her...
"I... I'm not entirely sure," she admitted.
Paul looked slightly confused by her response.
"Then, how is it that you can make a novel as good as 'Love in times of war'? Because I can say that it is an incredibly detailed novel. You created a truly unique world that won the hearts of both teenagers and adults. A work this good, this complex, must have an inspiration. A motivation."
"I write because I like to do it," Thalia declared. "Because I'm passionate about it. And, like any writer, I've had my blocks. But I've never had something that inspired me to write. I just had... I have... someone who motivated me to start doing it."
"I see. Is that person still in your life?"
Thalia took a few seconds before answering.
"There was a time when I thought I would never see him again, but... something happened a few months ago and he... came back. And when he came back, everything was... different. It was at that time that I started writing the sequel to my book."
Paul smiled.
"Then maybe that person is your inspiration."
Thalia reflected on those words for a few seconds, remembering that boy who inspired her to follow her dreams. That boy who died at her hands and, miraculously, had returned.
"Maybe..."
As she walked towards the exit, a bit lost in her own thoughts, giggles from a couple of students caught her attention. She looked to the side to watch as a group of female students giggled and commented under their breath, though Thalia managed to hear them.
"Did you see that boy waiting outside? He was very handsome!", commented one of them.
"He even had a dog with him! He looked so cute while he caressed it!" said another.
"I wonder if he's expecting someone, maybe his girlfriend?" asked a third.
"I don't know... he's a bit young to have a college girlfriend, he didn't look like he was more than sixteen. Maybe a family member or a friend?", the first girl said again.
"Why don't you go and ask him?"
The girl blushed slightly. It seems that the boy had caught her attention.
"Y-you think so?" she questioned, looking slightly flustered as she played with the curls of her brown hair.
"Of course! Go get him, girl!" Motivated her friend. "If you don't do it, I will."
Still looking a bit dubious, the girl got back on her feet and started heading for the exit.
Thalia watched everything with amused contemplation. These girls reminded them of Aphrodite's daughters at camp, more interested in boys and getting their makeup in perfect condition. Life at the university wasn't that different from life at Camp Half-Blood, aside from the obvious differences in training to fight monsters. And the ethically and morally questionable activities of teaching children to fight and sending them on life-threatening missions.
When she left the university building and said goodbye to Mr. Blofis, Thalia could see how the sun was already at the highest point in the sky, indicating that it was already around noon, lighting up the entire university campus that stretched out in front of her. Although the sun was at its highest point, the temperature was quite low, so she was forced to put on her coat to protect herself from the cold.
As she walked down the stairs, she could see the same girl she had seen earlier talking to someone sitting on one of the stone benches. Thalia couldn't see the boy, but she could see the dog sitting next to the boy, resting the head against his lap.
'Wait... That is...' Thalia thought, her eyes widening in surprise as she recognized the dog.
She got closer and could hear the girl talking to the boy.
"H-hi, are you expecting someone?" she asked, nervousness evident in her voice.
The boy answered after a few seconds, and when he did, Thalia recognized the voice.
"Yeah, she should be out any minute."
"She? Your girlfriend?"
"No."
"I see," the girl said, sounding relieved. "Any relatives, then?"
"Either."
The girl looked slightly confused.
"So who are you waiting for?"
"To me."
The girl jumped when she turned to see Thalia in surprise, who was looking at her with a slight frown, causing the girl to tremble in discomfort.
"I-I see... if he was waiting for you, then I'll be gone," she stammered before starting to walk away quickly, though she glanced slightly over her shoulder to look at the boy one last time and sighed with slight disappointment.
"What would she have wanted?"
Thalia turned to look at him and, although she knew very well why that girl had come to talk to him, she put that aside to express the question that was on her mind.
"What are you doing here, Percy?" she asked, not trying to hide the surprise in her voice, "And why did you bring Mrs. O'Leary with you?"
He just looked at her. His previously cool, disinterested green eyes softened noticeably as he watched Thalia as Mrs. O'Leary, who was the size of a normal adult Saint Bernard, continued to lay her head on his lap as Percy stroked her head.
"You told me you had a talk to give at your university and that it would take all morning," he said, before grabbing the lunch box he had brought with him and showing it to her. "I figured you'd be hungry when you finished, so I brought you lunch."
Mrs. O'Leary grunted slightly.
"Right, we brought you lunch," Percy corrected himself, stroking Mrs. O'Leary's head again.
Thalia grabbed the lunch box and looked at it for a few seconds, feeling moved by the gesture. She wanted to believe that the slight redness she felt on her cheeks was from the cold.
"I..." Her gaze wandered between the lunchbox and Percy, then finally focused on him and smiled. "Thank you, Percy."
Percy stared at her for a few seconds, as if he were studying something he didn't fully understand, before finally nodding.
"There's a park near here," Thalia mentioned. "Let's go have lunch there."
It didn't take them long to reach the park. Washington Square Park was quite a busy place, especially during midday. People used to pass by the place all the time. Tourists, street musicians, street vendors, both food and drug, joggers, chess players and many others.
The place was quiet and pleasant, but because winter had begun, and the snow had begun to fall, the number of people walking in the park was considerably fewer than on a hot day. The few people there were walking casually or just sitting and relaxing on the cement benches, which had a light layer of snow on them that they had to clean off before sitting down.
Thalia had decided to sit on one of those benches with the intention of enjoying her homemade lunch.
Since she had started attending New York University, she had frequented Washington Square Park countless times. And on all those occasions, she always sat in the same place, on a wooden bench under a leafy tree where she could see the fountain surrounded by ponds, followed by the Washington Square Arch and the buildings in the background that plagued the city from Manhattan.
"Damn, this is really good!" she exclaimed, after swallowing a mouthful of the food Percy had prepared.
In the past, she wouldn't have minded speaking with her mouth full. Mealtime manners seemed pointless and a waste of time. Now, she recognized more the importance of proper behavior, especially at mealtimes and even more so when she was in a public place. Also, she wanted to make sure she was eating the food Percy had made for her properly.
"Yes, it is," Percy acknowledged, eating his own portion of his lunch.
"Hey, the food is delicious, but... Was it necessary to add the salad?"
"I made it with boiled potatoes," he said, sounding almost offended. "I always see you eat chips, so I figured you'd like it."
"Of course, I like it." Thalia glanced at Percy. "And you? Do you like... potatoes, Percy?"
He looked down at his serving of potato salad with a contemplative look on his face.
"I... think I like them," he admitted, then frowned slightly. "But... it's strange. I always have this craving for potatoes, mainly chips. I actually bought one on my way here."
From inside his sweatshirt, Percy pulled out a small bag of chips.
"Tell me, Thalia, is being addicted to chips something for demigods? In the same way that a centaur like Chiron is addicted to chocolate?"
Thalia couldn't help it, and she burst out laughing.
"No, Percy, I think it's just you," she said between laughs.
'Even without memory, Percy is still a chips addict,' she thought, as she watched as Percy put the bag of chips back and continued eating his lunch. Then, her smile turned slightly sad, 'Some things never change...'
They both looked amused as Mrs. O'Leary had fun with the other dogs in the park. It was a surprise to Thalia when she found out that she could change size to look like an adult Saint Bernard instead of being the size of an adult lion, which was a good thing, because the hellhound kept growing. When Percy and Luke left camp at the end of summer vacation, Mrs. O'Leary had left Percy's tree for the first time in six years and followed them to Thalia's apartment in New York, not wanting to be separated from Percy that he had 'come back to life'.
She almost had a fit when the dog suddenly appeared out of the shadows one day and broke the glass table in her living room. Though, she couldn't get mad at her when she saw how happy she was to be by Percy's side again.
"But it's really amazing how you've become such a good cook," she said, picking up her lunch and giving Percy an appreciative look.
"Am I really that good?" he questioned.
"You are. Though now that I think about it, it's not something to be surprised about. You were always like a Jack in the Box toy, full of surprises. I didn't expect knowing how to cook was also in the package."
"Well, it's easy when you just have to follow the instructions they give you in the YouTube tutorials."
"Oh yeah, you spend a lot of time on my computer," Thalia mused.
"It's entertaining, I learn a lot of things. Like this."
He extended a finger to the side of the bench where there was a light layer of snow and began to trace a circle in the air. The snow stirred slightly until it began to follow the movements of his finger until it formed a miniature tornado.
"You... can you control the snow?" Thalia asked, amazed.
"Well, snow is just a bunch of little water droplets condensed and attached to each other. It's easy to control them, even change to their other states. I learned it by watching a chemistry class for kids on YouTube."
Thalia watched in amazement as Percy changed the state of the snow to water, then changed it to a small cloud of steam that rose into the air.
"It's... impressive. I didn't know you could do that."
Percy looked down at his own portion of food with a thoughtful expression.
Thalia arched an eyebrow, confused.
"Percy, what's wrong?"
"That's just... It seems that even you... don't know everything about me."
Frowning slightly at the way the conversation was turning a little sad, Thalia quickly tried to change the subject.
"Hey, if you learn so much with a computer, maybe you should get your own!" she said. "Not that I mind you using mine, but I'll need it now that I've started writing a sequel to my book."
"Are you sure? Spending money for me..." Percy asked, looking somewhat conflicted.
"Of course it's okay! Money means nothing to me!" She exclaimed, looking him directly in the eyes with a slight smile. "Percy, if there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask me."
Percy stopped eating and looked at his portion of food with a thoughtful expression.
"Why?" he questioned, in a low tone of voice. "Why are you doing all this for me, Thalia?"
"I could ask you the same thing," she replied, also stopping eating with a slight sigh, knowing that her attempt to change the conversation had failed. "Since you started living with me, you take care of all the household chores without I asked you. You cook, clean, wash and even iron. Damn, you're like a fucking househusband. And while I appreciate everything you do, I don't understand why you do it."
"I... I guess that's the least I can do." Percy looked up at the pine tree under the arch with a distant look in his eyes, as if he was seeing something that was much further away. Thalia wondered if he had some kind of connection to another pine tree. "Ever since I... woke up that night, you were always kind and considerate to me. You helped me... adapt, at least as much as possible in my situation. And you?" He turned to look at her, his green eyes piercing her. "Why are you like this with me?"
Thalia looked away from him as she pursed her lips a little. Even after more than four months since Percy had returned, it was still a little disconcerting to look him directly in his eyes and know that he was right in front of her.
"I... I do it because... because I owe you," she finally said.
Percy arched an eyebrow, looking confused.
"Because do you owe me? Just for that?"
His voice had a slight note of disappointment.
She sighed again before turning to meet his eyes. She knew that she had to be honest with Percy. He deserved it.
"Yes, it's because I owe you. Although that's not the only reason. If you ask me the main reason I help you, it's because you're my friend, Percy. Even if you don't remember it, you helped me countless times in the past. From the day I met you, you were always there for me when I needed you. You were always someone I could lean on. And now I want to do the same for you."
"So that's why..." Percy looked forward again, his eyes resting disinterestedly on the unlit water fountain. "I'm not that person, Thalia."
"What?" she whispered, truly confused.
"The person who helped you in the past. The one who was your friend. I'm not your 'Percy'. I am... I don't even know who I am..."
Percy lowered his head, looking really dejected as he said those words. Tentatively, Thalia placed a hand over his and gave him a light squeeze in an attempt to comfort him.
"You are Percy," she said softly. "Someone important to me, to Luke, Annabeth, and Grover."
Percy didn't answer as he was deep in thought of him with a conflicted look on his face, it was the same look that she had seen on him since the day he came back that stormy night.
When Thalia entered Chiron's office in the Big House, she could see Percy sitting across from him, who was in his wheelchair that hid his centaur form. He always did that so as not to cause discomfort for new campers who found out who they really were. Although this occasion was an unprecedented one, even for the legendary trainer of heroes.
"Thalia, did you bring her with you?" Chiron asked.
She nodded and stepped aside to make way for Silena Beuregard, captain of cabin ten.
Percy gave no sign of acknowledging her presence as he kept his head down, deep in thought of him.
He looked exactly the same as Thalia had last seen him six years ago, as if he hadn't aged a single day. His hair was still as black as night, disheveled and untamed, and for some reason it looked good on him. The same shirt, both of which had dried blood stains on it, and the same tattered pants. The only thing weird about Percy was that he was barefoot and had refused to wear any kind of slippers.
For Thalia, it seemed so unreal to have him in front of her, and that it wasn't one of the hallucinations that had tormented her these last few days.
"Percy, let me introduce Silena Beuregard," Chiron said, wheeling his wheelchair around the desk. "She is a daughter of Aphrodite and captain of cabin ten. Maybe she can help us understand what's going on in your mind."
Percy raised his head and looked closely at Silena, assessing her as if she were some kind of threat. He looked like a predator evaluating whether to pounce on prey.
Aphrodite's daughter shifted a little uncomfortably at the intensity of his gaze, but she quickly pulled herself together.
"H-hello... I'm Silena," she introduced herself, holding out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Percy. Maybe I can help you."
Percy looked at her outstretched hand for a few seconds before looking at her suspiciously.
"It's okay, Percy," Thalia said softly, moving closer to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "We just want to help you. We won't hurt you. You can trust us."
"I can do it?" he questioned, sounding slightly skeptical. "Can I trust them?"
"You can trust me."
Percy looked at her carefully, his eyes reflecting confusion and mistrust towards Chiron and Silena. But looking at Thalia, his eyes softened.
"And to show you can trust me, I'll give you this," Thalia said, reaching into the back of her jeans and pulling out the unmistakable hellhound fang knife.
Percy eyed the knife intrigued, for a few seconds there was a gleam of recognition in his eyes as he took the knife Thalia held out to him.
"This knife..." he murmured, studying the weapon. "It's something... familiar to me."
"It's yours. It was your weapon in the past. I've had it all these years, but now that you're here, it belongs to you."
Percy ran a finger along the edge of the knife and drew a little blood due to how sharp it was.
"I see... Thank you," he said, looking at Thalia before turning to look at Silena. "How can you help me?"
"I have an empathic ability," she said. "By touching a person, if I wish, I can feel their feelings."
"Do you read minds?" Percy asked, looking a little doubtful.
"No. That's what telepaths do, empaths feel emotions."
"In other words, she's like Mantis from Guardians of the Galaxy," Thalia chimed in, as if that explained everything. But all she saw were the confused faces of not only Percy, but Chiron and Silena as well. "Oh, right. You have no memories. Chiron is too old-fashioned to watch movies and Silena..."
"I don't like superhero movies," she clarified. "They all look the same to me."
"At any other time, you and I would have a heated argument about it."
"I don't see how feeling my emotions can help me," Percy said, looking at Silena. "I don't think that will help me get my memories back. To remember... who I am."
"If you give me your permission, I can know what you feel deep in your heart. Maybe there is an answer why you lost your memories" Silena explained, taking a step forward and extending her hands for Percy to take. "Besides, there are a lot of feelings in memories. Some produce happiness, sadness, fear, anger... If I feel what you feel, maybe I can stimulate that and recover the memories that produced those feelings."
"I see. That... makes some sense," Percy admitted, looking more open at the idea.
He walked over to Silena and, with a slight hesitation, he took it from her hands. Silena closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she concentrated.
A few seconds later, she opened her eyes and jerked her hands away from him as she took several steps back.
"Silena!" Thalia exclaimed, approaching her with concern. "Silena, what happened?"
Aphrodite's daughter's face had turned pale as she breathed erratically, and she looked at Percy in shock and confusion.
"I... I felt... so... cold," she said, bringing a hand to her chest where she could feel her heart beating rapidly. She looked at Percy sadly. "It was like... diving into a frozen lake in winter. I felt cold... I couldn't see the bottom, something was suffocating me and I couldn't breathe. I couldn't feel anything. There was nothing. I... I'm so sorry."
Silena turned and quickly left the room, leaving behind Chiron looking shocked and Thalia looking sadly at Percy, who looked disappointed and depressed at Silena's words.
Four months had passed since then. And though Percy had made great strides adapting to the life of a demigod, training his powers and swordsmanship, he still hadn't regained any memories of him. As time passed, he became more anxious, insecure and overwhelmed about it. Thalia and Luke could see that, but Percy refused to talk to them, even Thalia.
Percy was beginning to shut himself away and keep everything to himself, and that worried Thalia.
"Listen, Percy. I know it can't be easy for you..."
"No, it's not," Percy interrupted, slight frustration seeping into his voice. "Every time I go to sleep, I have weird dreams... Dreams that I don't even know if they're mine or one of those stupid demigod dreams. I don't understand anything. It's been like this ever since I woke up that night..."
Thalia looked at him with sadness and sorrow.
"Tell me, Percy, do you... do you want to know?" she asked softly. "Do you want to know who you are? Get your memories back?"
He was silent for a few seconds with a thoughtful and conflicted expression on his face.
"I..."
He was interrupted when they both heard the sound of people screaming in panic and alarm. They looked up to watch a car speed into the park as people stepped aside to avoid being hit.
What seemed curious to Percy and Thalia was that there were four men chasing the car on foot, holding what appeared to be a huge coffin through the long handles at either end. The men wore nothing but skirts and sandals, as if they didn't feel the cold winter wind on their fur, which seemed to reflect the sunlight with a metallic sheen.
As the car, a Lexus convertible carrying three people, headed toward the fountain, one of the men chasing them kicked it, causing the car to skid and lose control, heading straight for Thalia and Percy.
Thalia was the first to react. She grabbed Percy and, in a flash of electricity, they were both several meters from the path of the car, which ended up crashing with a loud crash against the tree where they had previously been sitting at its feet.
The hood of the car was dented due to the intensity of the blow, which began to smoke. People exclaimed in panic and quickly approached the car with the intention of checking if the people inside were alright. Some even started calling 911 for help.
The door to the driver's seat swung open and a short, dark-haired woman, lithe-looking, like a gymnast, got out. She had jet-colored hair pulled back in a ponytail and was wearing a tight leopard-print suit. Blood trickled down the side of her face, and she looked with slightly wide eyes at the group of people who gathered around the car.
"There's nothing to look at here. Go away!" she growled.
Surprisingly, the people who had gathered around the car had a confused look on their faces before they slowly began to walk away from the scene.
As the people left, the strange leopard-clad woman turned around and yelled at the other people still inside the car.
"Kids, we have to go! Now!"
The two kids, a boy and a girl, were dizzy and wide-eyed from the impact, muttering incomprehensibly.
The woman approached them with the intention of getting them out of the car, but it was at that moment that those men who were chasing them arrived with them. The four of them carefully lowered the coffin to the ground and looked at the woman. Then, in unison, they drew gold metal bats from their belts.
"This doesn't look good," Thalia muttered.
"Thalia, what the hell is going on?" Percy asked, watching as the woman unsheathed a pair of knives from her sleeve and held them up, ready to do battle with the men's.
"I have no idea, but those men definitely want to hurt that woman and those kids."
Then something happened that left them both wide-eyed. The woman's body began to glow in a greenish hue. An aura surrounded her and began to grow until she was enveloped in a bubble of energy that lifted her off the ground. The aura gradually took shape, and the woman was in the center of a holographic projection that was about four times her normal size. The projection had the image of a twenty-foot woman with the head of a cat.
"What the fuck..." Thalia murmured, her eyes wide open in surprise. It was the first time she had seen something like that. At least, in real life. "Is that woman a Stand user?"
"Should we help them?"
They both watched in surprise as the leopard-clad woman, who was floating in the center of the hologram, took a step forward and the huge figure moved at the same time, causing a slight tremor on the floor that Percy felt run through his entire body. The woman raised her hand and her figure followed suit, unsheathing claws as long and sharp as a sword.
The men in skirts were not intimidated by the strange hologram of the cat-woman and attacked with their metal bats. Two of them made a beeline for the kids still dazed inside the car, but the woman swept her hand away and the hologram followed suit, clawing at one of the men and tearing them apart. She then stepped on another one until he turned into what appeared to be a crushed can. The strange thing was that there was no spilled blood or organs scattered on the floor. The torn man looked like pieces of a disassembled Lego and the other looked like a crushed soda can, as if they weren't even human.
The other two men struck at the cat-woman's holographic legs, but their bats ricocheted off in a shower of sparks. They couldn't do anything when they were also sliced with the huge claws of the strange hologram.
"Which one of them?" Thalia asked, appreciatively seeing the ease with which the woman dealt with those men.
It was then that the four men begin to rebuild themselves. The one that was flattened like a soda extended like an accordion until he had a human figure again. Those who were shattered began to stick together piece by piece like magnets until they were newly formed, as if nothing had happened to them.
The cat-woman attacked with her claws again, but the men learned to keep their distance from her and use their advantage in numbers and their size to attack the hologram. Even though they couldn't reach the woman floating inside, it was obvious she couldn't hold the hologram for long if the strained expression on her face was any indication of it.
"Shit, this doesn't look good for her," Thalia commented, watching as the woman tore one of the men apart, but he quickly reassembled in a matter of seconds. "She won't be able to do that forever while protecting those kids."
"We have to help them."
Thalia turned to look at him, surprised that Percy suggested helping someone, but she quickly pulled herself together and nodded.
"I'll go help the furry-woman. You go get those kids to safety."
Percy arched an eyebrow.
"Are you sure you don't want me to help you fight those guys?"
An arrogant smile graced Thalia's lips.
"Please, who do you think you're talking to? They will face the most powerful demigoddess alive. Now, let's make some noise!"
Without saying another word, Thalia grabbed the can of whipped cream that she had inside her jacket and transformed it into its spear shape. She wasted no time attacking one of the men who seemed to be made of metal, suddenly appearing behind one and stabbing him in the back. The spear pierced the man's body and Thalia lifted him high into the air, then hurled him against one of the park benches, shattering it to pieces.
"More like the most arrogant demigoddess alive," Percy commented, though there was a small smile on his face.
Quickly, he went to the crashed car with the intention of helping the kids, but one of the men stepped in his way, ready to hit him with his metal bat. Percy reached into the back of his jeans, ready to pull the knife out. But he didn't need to do anything when a shadow swooped down on the man and knocked him down. Immediately, Percy recognized it as Mrs. O'Leary, who was in her true adult lion size and began to tear the man apart with her claws and teeth amid sounds of metal being torn apart.
As he pulled up to the wrecked car, Percy could see one of the passengers, a boy, unbuckle his seatbelt as he moved to help the passenger in the passenger seat, a girl. The boy wore baggy pants and wide white linen shirts. He had brown skin and short, messy brown hair. He looked up at Percy and immediately pointed what appeared to be a sword that had an odd curved crescent shape at him.
"D-don't get close," the boy warned.
His hands were shaking, and he seemed to be on the verge of unconsciousness, but he seemed determined to protect the girl in the passenger seat.
"Hey, easy, man, I'm not going to hurt you." Percy raised his hands in a calming gesture. "We're here to help you."
The boy raised an eyebrow slightly and looked over Percy's shoulder to see Thalia and the woman, still inside the cat-woman hologram, fighting with those men who seemed to be made of metal. Even Mrs. O'Leary had joined the fray.
"W-what? How come you..." the boy mused, but he was cut off when he heard the girl in the passenger seat groan in pain. "Sadie!"
The girl, Sadie, was wearing a similar pair of clothes, although she was wearing a pair of combat boots. Her skin was fair, and she had strands of her caramel-colored hair dyed red, which was quite similar to Thalia's blue-dyed strands, though Percy didn't know if those strands were from the hair dye or the blood that trickled down the girl's forehead.
"We have to get her out of here, it's not safe," Percy advised.
The boy looked conflicted for a few seconds, not knowing what to do as he lightly bit his lip.
Finally, he nodded at Percy, deciding to trust him.
Percy unbuckled the girl named Sadie's seatbelt and got her out of the car with no problem, then carried her into his arms. The boy got out of the car on his own, although he looked a bit dizzy from the crash, but he refused to move away from the girl, holding tightly to his curved sword, ready to use it if Percy made a weird move.
Sadie stirred in Percy's arms, then opened her eyes slightly.
"Sadie!" the boy exclaimed, concern evident in his voice. "Sadie, are you okay?"
"You..." the girl spoke under her breath, looking at Percy with narrowed eyes, where he could see they were blue as the sky. "Are you a god too?"
The boy rolled his eyes, but heaved a light sigh of relief.
"Yeah... she's fine."
They both took refuge behind a tree, where Percy gently leaned Sadie against the trunk, who was still dizzy from the blow and bordering on unconsciousness.
"I... thank you," the boy said, seeing that Sadie was fine.
"Don't worry," Percy replied before looking at the injured girl. "Is she going to be okay?"
"I think so. Maybe it's just a concussion, although I wish I had at least something for the bleeding..."
"Maybe I can help with that."
Percy knelt in front of Sadie and held out his hand. The boy watched in amazement as the snow began to swirl until it melted into water and collected on Percy's palm in a sphere of water. Percy brought the sphere of water close to Sadie's forehead. After a few seconds, the water had washed her blood away and closed the wound on her forehead.
With a wave of his hand, Percy spewed the bloody water. They both watched as Sadie gradually regained full consciousness and slowly opened her eyes to look at Percy.
"What... What happened?" she asked, still looking a little dazed.
"Sadie, are you okay?" the boy asked, approaching her.
"Carter... I... I just had a really weird dream," she said, putting a hand to her forehead. "Muffin turned into a woman who wore a leopard suit and fought a leopard who had a long neck snake and cat's head... then we were chased by some metal guys wearing skirts..."
"Well, unfortunately, it wasn't a dream. Muffin... I mean, Bast, she's fighting those skirt-clad guys right now using a weird twenty-foot cat-headed woman hologram along with a spear-wielding girl and a Saint Bernard as big as a lion. Oh, and the guy here turned snow into water and used it to heal you."
Sadie looked at him like he was crazy, but when she looked at the battle Thalia, Mrs. O'Leary, and the woman named Bast were having, she accepted it with a slow nod.
"I... thank you," she said, looking at Percy and then looking away from her shyly. "For healing me..."
"No problem."
"I'm Sadie... Sadie Kane. And the weird dressed guy next to you is my brother, Carter."
"You're dressed the same," Carter reminded her, but she ignored him.
"Are you siblings?" Percy asked, looking at them both without seeing any family resemblance.
"Yeah, unfortunately," Sadie said, receiving an annoyed look from Carter, but she again ignored him in favor of looking at the boy who had saved her. "Who are you?"
"My name is... Percy," he introduced himself before pointing his thumb in the direction of the battle. "The girl over there brandishing the spear with an expression like she's in an amusement park is Thalia, and the dog black the size of a full-grown lion is Mrs. O'Leary."
Sadie looked in the direction he pointed and watched as the three of them work together to hack the metal men to pieces.
"What are those things?" Percy questioned, watching the metal men get cut down, either by the twenty-foot cat-woman's claws or Mrs. O'Leary's and Thalia's spear.
"They're carriers," Carter answered, his voice a little somber. "From what I know of them, they beat you unconscious and then capture you and put you in the palanquin..."
"The what?"
"That big crate they carry with them," Sadie clarified.
"The point is, those guys won't stop until they find their victims," Carter continued. "Once they do, they capture you and then lead them back to their master. They never lose their prey, and they never give up."
"And let me guess," Percy said. "It's you they're after."
"Don't tell me," Sadie questioned, rolling her eyes. "What made you think that, genius?"
Percy arched an eyebrow at the girl's sarcasm, but he didn't hesitate to respond with his own.
"Mmm... I don't know. Maybe because you were attacked? What do you think? Or are you still stunned from the blow?"
"Basically, yes. Although I don't know why," Carter interjected, then arched an eyebrow at Percy. "What I don't understand is, how come you guys can see them?"
Sadie was also intrigued by this and glanced at Percy, who gave them a sidelong glance before turning back to the battle in front of them.
"Let's just say we're not exactly normal people."
Carter and Sadie were intrigued by his answer, knowing that what Percy did with the water wasn't normal, but decided not to probe further as they turned to watch as Thalia, Mrs. O'Leary, and Bast ripped the last man apart. With Thalia severing his legs with a swift sweep of her spear, Bast pinning him to the ground with her twenty-foot cat-woman hologram, and Mrs. O'Leary slicing him to pieces with her claws.
Bast smashed the palanquin in one blow before her twenty-foot cat-woman form began to fade and disappear. She landed on the floor, her face covered in sweat as she gasped for air. Thalia walked over to her and helped her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder for support and walking over to where Percy, Carter, and Sadie stood.
"Well, that was fun," Thalia commented, when she was close enough. "Nothing like a little exercise to warm up."
"This isn't over yet," Bast said, catching her breath and letting go of Thalia. "Sadie, Carter, are you okay?"
Her yellow, slanted eyes reminded Percy of a cat, but he was more disturbed by the look of concern on her face.
"Yeah... this guy helped us," Carter said, pointing to Percy. "His name is Percy and he... can control water."
"Control the water?" Bast glanced at Percy and gave him an uneasy, anxious look. "Oh no... this isn't good."
"What do you mean?" Sadie asked.
"Remember when Amos told you that Manhattan has its own gods and problems? Well, they're problems for us."
"Wow, is this how you thank the people who saved your furry ass?" Thalia asked, shooting the woman a pointed look.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. But it's better if we don't get involved."
"Bast," Carter called. "By 'their own gods and problems' you mean that they are..."
"No, the two of them aren't gods. At least, not totally. But they are, in a way, more dangerous than one."
Sadie and Carter looked a little warily at Percy and Thalia.
"So what the hell are you guys?" Sadie finally decided to ask.
Percy and Thalia looked at each other, unsure whether to reveal the truth to them. It was Thalia who ended up nodding when she decided to answer:
"We are demigods, sons of a god and a mortal. My name is Thalia Grace, I am a daughter of Zeus. And this is Percy, a son of Poseidon."
Carter's and Sadie's expressions were one of utter astonishment, but surprisingly, they pulled themselves together rather quickly.
"Yeah... I can see that..." Sadie commented appreciatively, looking Percy up and down, causing him to arch an eyebrow.
"By now, I shouldn't be surprised anymore, considering Bast is an Egyptian goddess," Carter commented. "But... damn, do Greek gods exist too?"
"Oh, trust me, they're very real," Thalia growled sulkily. "And the vast majority of them are nothing more than a pain in the ass."
"And the dog?" Sadie asked, looking at Mrs. O'Leary, who was sitting on her hind legs next to Percy. "That mutt is definitely not normal."
"She's a hellhound," Percy said, patting her head, causing her to wag her tail happily. "Her name is Mrs. O'Leary."
"Don't worry, she's harmless," Thalia added. "Unless you have a pack of beef jerky you don't want to share."
"If you say so..." She continued to look slightly warily at the dog. "I don't have beef jerky."
Mrs. O'Leary stopped wagging her tail and lowered her ears, looking dejected.
"By the way, are you an Egyptian goddess?" Percy asked, turning to look at Bast.
"The goddess of protection and the cats," she said in a proud tone, before a serious look settled on her face. "As much as I find it interesting to meet two of the children of the Big Three, we have to move. The carriers were just low caliber henchmen. Chances are the master they serve will get impatient and send someone far more dangerous."
"How dangerous?" Thalia questioned.
"Enough to make those men from before just boys with sticks. We need to get to Central Park before... Carter, watch out!"
Bast's scream alerted the young boy, who turned in alarm to watch as something landed on his shoulder. He wanted to scream in panic when he saw a black scorpion as big as a cat. The scorpion retracted its tail with the intention of stabbing Carter with its stinger, but the arachnid was jerked off his shoulder when an object hit it and ended up impaling it on the tree. The scorpion twitched for a few seconds before stopping moving.
"Thanks, Bast..." Carter sighed in relief, though he still looked pale enough to be visible even with his brown skin.
"It wasn't me..." Bast said, looking at the scorpion with growing concern.
Carter gave her a confused look before turning to look at the knife that was still embedded in the tree with the scorpion. He was surprised when he didn't see a knife, but what appeared to be some kind of fang attached to a wooden handle with leather straps.
They all turned to see Percy with his arm outstretched, implying that he had thrown the knife.
"Holy shit..." Sadie muttered, amazed at the feat. "Do that again! This time with an apple on Carter's head."
"Hell no!" exclaimed Carter, indignant and a little scared.
"I see your aim hasn't diminished, Percy," Thalia commented appreciatively.
Percy walked over to the tree and withdrew the knife from it.
"What the hell is a scorpion doing in here?" he questioned, cleaning his knife with the snow, "I'm not an expert on pests, but I know for a fact that there are more rats here than scorpions in New York."
"This isn't good..." Bast muttered, a grim, anxious expression on her face. "If a scorpion is here, that means she's here."
"She?" Sadie asked. "Who?"
She got the answer when she heard the bushes stir. Everyone turned in alarm, with Percy and Thalia readying their weapons as countless numbers of critters with claws and stingers began to appear. It was like a black river starting to trickle across the ground and heading straight for them.
Carter went even paler, his legs trembling slightly. Sadie watched the scorpions with growing dread. Even Bast looked worried when she saw the army of arachnids and a woman appear from the trees, walking among the scorpions without any fear. She wore a brown tunic, with glittering gold jewelry at her neck and wrists. Her hair was long and dark, cut in the ancient Egyptian style, with what looked like a chignon on her head, but a closer look revealed to the teens that it was not a chignon, but a scorpion as large as the one had tried to attack Carter. Scorpions swarmed around her, as if she were in the eye of a storm.
"Serqet," Bast growled, baring her teeth.
"The goddess of scorpions," Carter said, his voice trembling slightly as he saw the army of scorpions surrounding the goddess.
Thalia and Percy looked at the Egyptian goddess with different expressions. With Percy looking wary as he wielded his knife, Mrs. O'Leary baring her teeth at the goddess, and Thalia looking exasperated.
"Great, another fucking crazy god wanting to kill us," she muttered. "A typical Monday in the life of a demigod."
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..
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And that's all for now, my dear readers!
I know many are excited about this story to return, so I'll try to post the chapters as often as possible. I don't make any promises, though, because it's time for my last midterms and college, and then I'll start finals.
In this chapter, we were able to see a small introduction that indicates what lies ahead in the future of the story.
We have Ethan, who freed Prometheus under the orders of Kronos so that he would find out where the so-called 'The Fire of Olympus' is located and to steal something extremely important.
Next, we see the appearance of another demigod who is in league with the titans. Those who read 'The Diaries of a Demigod' will know that it is about Alabaster C. Torrington, a powerful son of Hecate who, although he did not appear in the main story, was a character that I found extremely interesting.
Also, Alabaster is revealed to be an apprentice to a mysterious swordsman. Remember that, because it will be a very important detail later in the story.
We see a Percy with no memories living in New York with Thalia and Luke and trying to live as someone he doesn't even know who he is. At first, I wanted to present Percy as someone cold and distant, but it didn't seem quite right. Instead, he is thoughtful and in constant conflict with himself due to his lack of his memories, which is understandable. Although, you can still see moments of his old personality as someone sarcastic and joking. He is also someone who has a much more varied range of powers compared to canon, where in this story he can control the states of water and use it to heal, similar to how waterbending would be in Avatar the Animated Series. He also has much finer control over earthquakes, where he can use it to deliver devastating blows.
What do you think of this kind of Percy?
And I decided to start this story with a slight crossover with The Kane Chronicles, I hope I did well.
Finally, I hope you liked it. I invite you to leave me a review about your opinion of the chapter, no matter how harsh it is. I've always had in mind that harsh reviews are what push you to polish what you're not good at, and positive reviews remind you that your work is appreciated and push you to continue your story.
For those interested, I invite you to join the 'Emerald Library' server, a community for lovers of writing, whether fanfics or original stories, where you can share your stories, find authors and chat with them. You can enter through this code:
/ disagree. gg/PD693JJWck
You can also find me on Discord as JkAlex#5083. Send me a message and let's talk, I always have a little time in the day to answer messages.
That's all for now, I hope you liked this first chapter and with nothing more to say... Until next time, handsome!
