AN: This chapter contains slight implications of violence and torture scenes. Skipped this chapter if it makes you feel uncomfortable. Besides that, thanks for all the favs, follows, and reviews. I hope people are still enjoying this story. Till next time.
Chapter 2-5: Interrogation
It all started out as admiration.
From a distance, he would watch on every single day, wishing he'd have to courage to do what others were too apprehensive to do.
But like many, he quietly became content with just watching too.
Averaged in nature, he convinced himself that there was no chance his dream would ever happen. It was all but a fantasy.
So when fate actually offered him an opportunity, he didn't know what to do with it. At first, it seemed like everything was going smoothly. However, life wasn't that kind…
Jealousy filled not his heart, but the hearts of others. He got to spend time with the most popular girl in school, so of course he'd be a target.
Those were miserable days, but he convinced himself of a new lie, a pretense for a delusional future that made everything bearable.
On the last day, he made up his mind and decided to just go for it regardless of the results. There was always a chance that things might not go according to plan. If he didn't take his chance, he thought he would regret it forever.
But life was cruel…
Despite her very gentle and kind rejection, something she said struck him more.
"But why… why do you like me so much? What is it about me that made you fall in love with me?"
He couldn't give her a straight answer.
Even to this day, he still couldn't give her a straight answer.
Obsession replaced his admiration.
The miseries never stopped. He was labeled, bullied, cast out all because he made a decision to put himself in a vulnerable position and confess.
But he convinced himself another lie. She was never interested in any boys nor dating anyone in the first place. It was the only thought that kept him from falling apart.
Then he came along…
A new transfer student. A boy who was even more inferior to him in every way possible, and yet, it took no time for him to steal her heart, the same heart that he, and many more others like him, had tried to win forever.
And thus, the truth was finally revealed: life was nothing but a joke, and he was the punchline.
So when fate offered him another opportunity, he swore he wouldn't let himself be vulnerable anymore. Filled with a new drive, he didn't resist his hatred and let it flow through his veins.
Whatever bidding they wanted him to do, he would gladly sell his body and soul away if he get to make her suffer the same humiliation and pain he went through.
Never did he imagine an opportunity would present itself so fast. To truly hurt her, he was going to hurt the boy she loves so much. It was truly a blessing from the Gods themselves.
"Last chance. Tell me who ordered you to kill Percy…"
Thankfully, his body was now infused with a power beyond his understanding. Despite suffering wounds all over the place, none of it seemed to hurt any more than a papercut. The knife wound on his right thigh, his bloodied face after being a punching bag, he didn't feel the slightest pain whatsoever. Turned inhuman, he spitted out the blood in his mouth.
"No one ordered me anything. I did what I did because I want her to suffer, and hurting him did exactly that, didn't it?" He grinned.
A fist landed in his gut and he stumbled back into the chair. He coughed up more blood, but chuckles left his mouth soon after.
"Is that all you've got? I swore he said you were one of the most powerful and formidable of your kind."
He egged him on, but the older boy restrained himself which was entirely unexpected.
"It's not me you have to worry about." He wiped his hand with a towel. His blood stained the fabric, "I am done with you. It was a good exercise, beating you to a pulp."
He made his way to leave the dimly lit room.
Left on his own without supervision, it was a golden opportunity to escape. Yet even with his newfound powers, the shackles that bind his hands wouldn't break free no matter how much he pulled on them.
"It's pointless. If you are familiar with this world, then you'd know they are made of celestial bronze which is unbreakable when restraining a Half-Blood."
The voice came instantaneously. He looked up and noticed a woman, her striking resemblance was so uncanny that he honestly thought it was her. A grimace found its way onto his face.
"Sorry, but I am not a Half-Blood."
"Evidently. If you were, I would have been able to tell who your Olympian parent was right away, Piper would have a hard time capturing you as well."
He scoffed at what happened tonight.
Ever since he lured Percy to his workshop where he tried to kill him; his plan fell apart because he didn't anticipate the son of Poseidon to have the ability to fight back. Since then, he's been watching over his shoulders every day. Luckily, blending in with the background was one of his many strong suits. It was enough to deter them for days without having a clue.
But in the end, he got sloppy. They caught him at a moment of vulnerability, and after witnessing their powers, he knew it was impossible to win. Instead, he chose to run.
Of course, Piper McLean, the school's beauty queen and also the daughter of Aphrodite, was unbelievably quick on her feet and nimble enough to catch up to him. It wasn't even a fair fight, and she pierced his right thigh by hauling her dagger with precision and accuracy.
That's how he found himself captured, put in a dark torture room, and ended up a prisoner.
"So you admit that you are just a regular mortal, and you were given extraordinary powers to fend off our detection for days. Am I correct?"
Her presence was getting increasingly uncomfortable for him, "I am not going to tell you why I did it even if you torture me."
"Oh, there is absolutely no need. I know your motives quite well already." Said the blonde woman radiating with absolute power, an unfathomable strength that easily crushed his.
"And I am not interested in that anyway." As she spoke, power emanated from her words alone and caused his heart to panic. Despite her calm demeanor, her presence alone made him want to squirm and escape, but he couldn't. Just standing in front of him was making it difficult to even breathe. "However, what I am interested in is the power you've obtained. I want to know who gave it to you."
He chuckled at the question.
"Like I would actually tell you…" After all, he swore to never betray the one he served, and no matter what these people would do to him, he was going to keep that secret until his grave.
Her disappointment was immeasurable, "I see. I guess I have no other choice then."
Without another word, her body exploded into a flash of brightness.
"Aaahhh!" He screamed in agony.
Terrified through some innate instinct, he tried to avoid his eyes to no avail, even after he shut them tightly and turned away, he was blinded.
"W-What did you do to me?"
The overpowering light died down, but he couldn't see. In fact, all he saw was darkness afterward.
"You might think yourself indestructible after receiving his powers, but that doesn't make you any less of a mortal. What I did was remove his presence from your body, you are no longer influenced by his strength. Now, you are back to being a regular human being."
As her words sank in, an unimaginable pain spread throughout his right leg. He couldn't contain his voice when it spread all over his body. It hurt so badly that he couldn't move, much less talk.
"Arghhh!"
Unable to think properly, she rendered him immobile with sheer pain he'd never felt before. The piercing stab into his right thigh hurt so much it was impossible to bear.
"Now, I can easily bandage you up and make the pain go away, but for me to do that, you first have to reveal the name of the person who taught you about us and gave you your powers."
"I- I can't see! It hurts so much! Make the pain go away!"
His loud cries seemed to bring joy to the woman, but he couldn't be certain when his eyes were blinded by darkness, and the screaming pain in his right legs numbed his entire body.
"I want his name." She repeated.
"Luke! Luke Castellan! His name is Luke Castellan!" He gave up, the agonizing pain overwhelmed him.
Despite the warning of consequences, he couldn't bear the burning sensation all over his body. He easily gave up the devil's name in exchange for any relief.
"I swore you said you will resist all efforts to reveal his name." The woman mocked with sneers, "But in any case, that's helpful information, so thank you."
"H-Hey-yy!" He heard her walk away, "Y-You promise to make the pain go away!"
The footsteps ended up behind him and a shiver ran down his back.
"I did." She said, "But I never said how I would make the pain go away."
Just then, the needle of a syringe stuck itself into his neck. He was being injected with something, and soon as his sensation faded, he lost his consciousness and everything went limp.
"Have a good sleep."
...
Athena sighed, throwing it into the bin and down to the incinerator.
"Owlfred,"
It was a vague command, but the advanced quasi-sentient AI understood perfectly. Without showing himself, the room corrected itself. Digital projections of a dimly lit torture room began to recede into a single connector point the wall. It brought them back to their white interrogation room with a one-way mirror facing her.
She looked into her reflection and subsequently at the mortal boy who sadly went down the wrong path and got caught up in all this nonsense.
"Make sure he's properly taken care of. I'll leave the rest to you."
"As you wish, Lady Athena." Owlfred said, "But are you sure you want to do that? There is a chance he might…"
Athena waved her hand dismissively, "He won't. I made sure."
Owlfred acknowledged.
"You sound tired, My Lady."
She smiled bitterly, "Because I am tired, Owlfred."
Living a life as long as hers would have repercussions even she couldn't see coming, and exhaustion was one of them. To continue her immortality would surely strain her soul past the point of no return, thus giving up her humanity like the other Olympians did.
Her choice to value her own humanity over immortality was still a belief she held dear, but the increase in headaches for the past few years wasn't something she particularly enjoyed.
It was ironic.
Truly, it was the ordinary life of a mortal, a life mixed with plenty of good and plenty of bad. Staring into the night sky when the moon was brightest reminded her of that.
"I'll make the proper arrangement for Ethan, but what are you going to do?"
For the first time, Athena didn't have a solid answer for what Owlfred was hinting.
They might be able to get away with Ethan because of his relatively unknown status, but with someone as high-profile as Luke Castellan, it was a different matter.
Luke was the head of a famous company that had received a lot of attention from the media. It would prove tricky to kidnap him away and provide forged evidence for his whereabouts. What's more, Athena had no clue how nor when the infusion took place. Perhaps Kronos had already imbued Luke with his full set of power. Even as she spoke, the acute sense of threat permeate through her soul like an endless dark cloud. Despite her wishes, she knew her blind optimism was misguided.
"We can't capture Luke. It's too risky for us to be in the spotlight. I am not even sure if my divinity would have any effect on him."
"You are worried because he's able to infuse someone like Ethan?"
"Yes." Athena replied, "It's not a matter I could handle by myself. I needed Lord Poseidon, but that's quite impossible as well."
Unable to leave Mount Olympus, the God of sea and earthquake would have no doubt run to her at the first sign she ask, but she couldn't risk their support and allies from the realm above. She'd have to make do with what she's got and hopefully find another way.
"If the situation is as bad as I think it is, then there's no way I could keep it from happening, their bonds will keep growing until Kronos takes over his physical body."
"That would be bad, wouldn't it?"
Athena nodded, "Owlfred, promise me you won't tell Poseidon about this."
"But…"
"I can't let him worry about this when he's dealing with trifling and the rigid pantheon all by himself. It would be easier if he didn't know about Luke."
There was a moment of short pause. Owlfred contemplated.
"Are you sure about this, My Lady?"
It seemed the AI she helped created saw right through her, the slight difference in his intonation gave him away. Athena smiled dryly at how far Owlfred had come.
"Yes. It's better this way. I'll figure out a way to deal with him." A recollection of a few years ago made her twist her eyebrows and lips in disgust.
Given the chance, Athena would have smite Luke with her own hands a long time ago. Poseidon would probably strangle the boy himself if not restrained by his immortality too. It's just cruel fate that their highest-priority enemy now turned out to be the same boy who tried to rape Annabeth.
And like before, he's coming after her daughter, and this time, he had the backing of the Titan king who wanted nothing more than to put their divided world into ruins.
It was going to be a tough battle, but she wasn't one to give up so easily.
Somehow, she was going to find a way to get rid of Luke Castellan for good and hopefully delay the inevitable just a little bit longer.
