A/N: Hey, everyone, much quicker update than normal for this chapter. Unfortunately, finals week is just around the corner for me at uni so I was worried about not writing a chapter on the same schedule as normal and thought I'd write one early. I'm going to try my best to have the next chapter out by December 8th at the absolute latest, but I may finish studying early and still post on my regular schedule. But anyways, hope you guys enjoy this chapter :) As always, please let me know what you think.
Chapter 13: I Learn to See in the Dark
The weary demigods were transfixed by the phoenix-like creature tearing through the air throwing what looked like small burning axes at the dangerous lineup of enemies. Percy had hurled his first hammer purely in his rage, but quickly discovered that they caused a fiery explosion on impact before reappearing in his hands. He released one after another at the group as he closed the distance, the explosive projectiles lighting up the dark night and forcing the five apart. The titans and giants stumbled back from the onslaught, leaving Crota alone in the epicenter when the flaming demigod crashed downwards at blinding speeds, his lowered shoulder striking the monstrous lobster's chest.
The collision lit up the sky as Percy flattened Crota against the dirt. He got a closer look at the monster that had escaped from him more than two years ago. Instead of his former blood red color, the monster's skin seemed to have a blackened tint likely due to the master he now served. Crota measured nearly ten feet tall with his muscle-bound form and massive pincers seemingly larger than before. But Percy didn't care; he fought to his feet before his opponent could, the burning demigod swinging his flaming hammers wildly on the pinned sea creature.
As Percy continued his violent assault, with Crota doing everything in his power to use his wide pincers as shields, the other four assailants closed in on the demigod. The hammers continued their explosive releases, but the titans and giants could handle the heat. Polybotes neared Percy the quickest, the thirty-foot giant not caring about the fire licking at his scaly legs. The Bane of Poseidon reared back his trident, glaring excitedly as he struck downwards at the rageful demigod's turned back.
A silver figure dashed in at imperceptible speeds, dual hunting knives drawn to block the giant's fatal attack. Artemis stood between Polybotes and Percy, her knives crossed against the trident and a murderous look in her eyes. The goddess, now at her divine height of fifteen feet, and the giant struggled against each other with their blades locked. Artemis knew she couldn't hold out long against the giant in a measure of brute strength, and hinged to sidestep when she noticed Hippolytus to her side, already mid-swing.
Artemis grimaced, bracing for an impact to her side. It never came and, instead, she felt a slight increase in the temperature that she knew wasn't coming from Percy's burning form. She quickly glanced to her left and a quick feeling of relief washed over her, though she rolled her eyes. Apollo flashed his signature smile at his twin sister, hiding the exertion it was taking him to hold back the second giant's staff with his bow.
The demigod onlookers snapped out of their stupor after seeing two Olympian gods appear alongside what they realized was Percy Jackson. Most of them were too exhausted to be of any help to the trio against the caliber of enemies they were facing, but the titans still had no opponents.
Dismounting from Pegasus, Reyna was still in peak condition to fight. Frank, unwilling to let his fellow Praetor challenge the titans alone, pulled himself to his feet in his human form and ran alongside her towards the enemy. They made a beeline towards Krios, who was circling towards Apollo's blindside, but were both beaten to the punch by a feminine figure that leapt over their heads. She intercepted the Titan of the Stars, thrusting a spear over her head and ripping down a bolt of lightning. Thalia's attack forced the tall monster to convulse and stumble backwards, giving the three demigods enough time to encircle him and draw him away from the ones already locked in battle.
Hyperion laughed as he strode haughtily towards Percy, his golden armor glowing brightly as the demigod's flames danced across it. He had realized how easy it would be to run a distracted Percy through with his spear, finally getting revenge for his embarrassing defeat in New York. But the Titan of Light was pulled out of both his fantasy and right off of the ground by a trio of fire-breathing dragons.
Hyperion roared as the bronze dragons tugged on his limbs as they flew into the air, like dogs fighting over a chew toy. The golden titan disappeared into the sky, fighting to get free as the battles on the ground worsened. The twin archers fought tooth and nail, doing everything in their power to block the flurrying strikes of their enhanced giant opponents. Artemis had unfortunately discovered from the black streaks running up Polybotes' legs that giants and titans as well could be blessed by the malevolent primordial.
The three demigods continued their onslaught of Krios, using their numbers advantage to keep the raging titan's attention divided. Frank had taken the form of a massive cyclops, trying to be the primary target of Krios' deadly sword swings. He did his best to catch the slashes on Ultor, the legendary spear stopping the sword from cleaving him in two. Thalia moved at nearly invisible speeds, fitting for the second in command of the hunters, darting in and out of Krios' effective range and jabbing him with her electric spear. Reyna attacked side by side with Frank, stabbing with her golden gladius to whittle down the titan.
Percy and Crota hadn't moved from their respective positions, the flaming demigod still whaling on the struggling lobster. He was only holding one hammer now, wielding it with both hands as he struck downwards blow after blow on the wheezing monster. Crota's chest, even with Erebus' blessing, was on the verge of caving in and he couldn't move from his pinned position. As Percy reared back for the swing that they both knew would pierce his chest, another laugh rolled across the battlefield.
"Enough."
Percy and Crota were enveloped in a black dome, all sound and light cut off from the battles they knew were raging around them. It was only the fire that enveloped the demigod that allowed either of the two to see their surroundings. The shocking change pulled Percy out of his anger for a moment, standing up off of the monster that was fighting to stay conscious.
"The Hammers of Sol; so you do have the powers of another universe. What a shame that my mother chose you as a champion. But I will enjoy watching you die, vermin."
Erebus' voice seemed to come from all directions, which made sense to Percy since he was the literal darkness. But he felt a second powerful presence alongside the primordial, watching the events unfold inside the dome. He swore it exuded some level of sadness, though he had no idea why or who it could be. Percy didn't have much time to dwell on it; the darkness around him released a wave of power, snuffing out his flames and causing his hammers to vanish.
Percy looked around in a frenzy, plunged into absolute darkness. He felt like he was in one of his Blackouts, but he could at least feel the ground beneath him. Percy drew Riptide and slashed at where he knew Crota's body was, only to pierce dirt and find the spot empty. His heart started to race as he swung wildly, not hitting anything. He turned to swipe again when a massive object rammed into his face, one of Crota's pincers landing a perfect punch on Percy's jaw. He realized with near-certainty that the blessed lobster could see through the blackness.
Percy laid flattened against the ground, Crota reversing their earlier positions and pinning the demigod. Percy was able to deflect some of the monster's punches, but his counterattacks never seemed to land against the invisible enemy. He felt his consciousness start to slip under the brutal onslaught of attacks when an unfamiliar voice spoke one word inside his head: Water.
Outside of the dome, Artemis and Apollo struggled heavily against the two giants. Golden ichor dripped from the side of the moon goddess' head, a heavy strike from Polybotes' trident opening the wound. She had made dozens of deep cuts against the giant, but they had all healed immediately. Apollo was in a similar boat; he had riddled the Bane of Hermes with arrows but the only existing wounds between the combatants were glowing bruises down the sun god's arm.
The demigods were having much better luck against their titan opponent. Thalia's spear was impaled all the way through the titan's right shoulder, and she had switched to her bow after taking half of Frank's arrows. Frank rammed the titan in his cyclops form, forcing Krios to stumble back. He lifted Ultor over his head and sliced down towards Thalia's spear. He tore into the titans shoulder and cut further down, using the sharpness of both spears to sever the titan's arm.
Krios roared in pain, momentarily sheathing his sword to clutch his shoulder. The open wound glowed black before closing over, leaving a stump where the titan's arm used to be. The demigods used the time to regroup and take in the situation around them. They noticed the dome around where Percy had been, collectively worried about what was going on inside. But they knew breaking through a primordial barrier would need the help of gods, instead turning to the twin archers.
"Oh gods, they're in bad shape," Reyna said, watching as both gods again landed attacks that closed immediately.
"They're giants; they still need the help of demigods to kill them, and Erebus' enhancement probably makes it even harder," Frank replied.
"I'm going to go help Lady Artemis. Can you two handle that idiot titan and get to Apollo?" Thalia asked.
Frank nodded but Reyna shook her head.
"No, I'll handle Krios myself. Frank, assist Lord Apollo," she commanded.
Frank knew better than to fight against the firm look of determination plastered across her face. He nodded and the three split to their respective duties. Reyna rushed the titan as he again drew his sword. She closed her eyes, praying to her mother for strength, as she swung her gladius to block his strike. Their blades met in a rattling clash, but Reyna gave away no ground against the far stronger titan. She opened her eyes and saw herself enveloped in a soft red hue, feeling the power of Bellona coursing through her body.
The Praetor shoved harder against the titan's weapon, her body rid of any apprehensiveness against her opponent. Krios bared his teeth and swung again in a downwards arc. Reyna slid under the attack, raising her sword to block and jumping to her feet inside the titan's guard. Not used to only having one arm, he had nothing to block against her violent stabs into his chest. He shouted in pain at the relentless daughter of the war goddess, who roared in reply as her gladius pierced his heart. She didn't stop, stabbing until the titan fell silent and her arm became too heavy to carry the sword, falling to her knees as her mother's blessing and the titan's aura faded into nothing.
Artemis and Polybotes were locked in another clash when Thalia ripped down a massive bolt of lightning against the giant. He stumbled back, allowing Artemis a moment of freedom where she pressed on and buried her knives in the giant's stomach. He grunted in pain as sludge poured from the wound, but it didn't close immediately. The goddess and her lieutenant both noticed, realizing that they'd need to attack in tandem to kill him.
"Good work, Thalia. We need to handle him quickly and then move to that dark dome," she said, her murderous glare never leaving the giant.
"It's cute that you're worried about Percy, but he's definitely just taking his time against that disgusting lobster that killed Sally," Thalia replied, her confidence in her cousin unwavering.
Artemis didn't respond, instead smirking as she rushed Polybotes again. She caught his trident against her knives again as Thalia shot a dozen arrows into his eyes. The daughter of Zeus released a shock of electricity up his trident and Artemis dropped back, pulling out her bow and shooting a dozen of her own arrows into his eyes faster than even Thalia could track. The blinded giant clawed at his darkened eyes before angrily stomping in a rampage, determined to crush his attackers under his feet.
Unfortunately, the massive monster had no chance of matching the speed of hunters. Thalia zipped between his legs, slicing madly with her spear at his ankles and shins. Artemis moved like a blur around the giant, her form too large to comfortably fit under him, tearing at his chest and arms with her knives. The blind giant swung his trident in a full circle and stamped his feet, desperate to strike either one of his assailants. Eventually his blood loss became too great and he fell to his knees.
Thalia and Artemis continued to attack him, but the giant refused to die as his body continued to recover, just much more slowly than before. They both knew Polybotes was already beaten, just needing to be pushed over the edge. Artemis nocked an arrow on her bow, closing her eyes and drawing on more of her divine strength. Next to her, Thalia closed her eyes and lifted her arms towards the heavens.
"Dad, help me out with this one," she whispered, straining her body as her gut tensed.
Artemis released her glowing silver arrow, ripping a hole through the giant that was now lying flat on his face. Thalia brought her arms down in Polybotes' direction, and a massive tendril of lightning rivaling the Master Bolt arced down from the sky into the giant's back. Polybotes let out a weak groan as he dissolved into muck.
Frank and Apollo worked unsuspectingly well together as they fought to finish off their bleeding opponent. Frank had again taken the form of the Minotaur, swapping between his spear and bow dealing blow after blow against Hippolytus. Apollo had watched Artemis and Thalia blind their opponent and emulated it, flaming arrows sticking out of the giant's eyes. Frank continued to brawl with the monster, spearing him repeatedly with Ultor before dropping back and unleashing a volley of arrows alongside the sun god.
Apollo's hands didn't stop moving even while Frank stood point-blank against the giant, the god's handiwork apparent in the hundreds of arrows sticking out of Hippolytus while Frank remained unscathed. Frank lowered his horns and stabbed them into the giant's stomach, eliciting a scream, and impaled his spear through one of his knees, sending him into a kneeling position.
"Alright, back up Frank!" The sun god shouted as he aimed a massive flaming arrow at the giant.
Frank ducked away from Hippolytus and arrived at Apollo's side. Apollo whispered a Greek incantation that Frank could very loosely translate as calling to the sun's power. The god's arrow grew bright enough that Frank had to cover his eyes as Apollo released it. Instead of an arrow, the projectile became a dense, glowing beam that Frank could only describe as being hit by the sun itself. His jaw dropped as the beam of light made contact with the giant's lulling head and eviscerated it completely, forcing Hippolytus' body to vanish.
"Man, it would've been so awesome if you were my son instead," Apollo sighed as he patted Frank's back for a job well done.
Frank's eyes widened at the sun god talking to him as if they've been best friends forever. Apollo's smile shifted to serious for a moment.
"I heard all of your prayers before you were claimed, Frank. I'm sorry I couldn't answer them the way you wanted," he started before returning to his signature grin, "and now Mars doesn't shut up about you, so I guess it all worked out well."
"Th-thank you, Lord Apollo," Frank said, still shocked.
"Come on, we just killed a super-giant together! Just Apollo," the god replied as they regrouped with Artemis and the other two demigods.
They all turned towards the black dome, ready to attack when they heard shouting in the sky as the clouds parted above them. Hyperion roared from the back of the unmanned Celestial Bronze dragon, his glowing hands wrapped around its head as he melted the metal. The dragon's eyes went dark as it crashed into the ground. Leo and Calypso followed closely behind, both of their dragons heavily dented and dripping liquid bronze.
Hyperion angrily tore through the wreckage, excited to return and wreak havoc on the gods and demigods. But first, he turned to Leo who was already running at him with his hands ablaze. Hyperion grinned as he raised his red-hot spear to intercept the boy. Leo threw fireballs at him, which Hyperion laughed off as they were absorbed by his armor. The titan thrust his weapon but was stopped in his tracks by the force of dozens of arrows striking him simultaneously.
He turned in the direction they came from, seeing the united line of gods and demigods for a split second before more arrows found his eyes and a spear jutted from his stomach. Leo released a stream of fire into the splintered armor of the titan, burning his skin, as Calypso threw a knife from the back of her dragon that buried itself in Hyperion's head. It took only a few seconds of this overwhelming onslaught to turn the Titan of Light into nothing.
Back inside the dome, Percy needed room to breathe or he knew he'd die soon. His mind cleared for a moment as he remembered his abilities. Percy summoned his strength and thrust his arms out to the side. His bubble took shape around him, and the force of it forming threw Crota against the far side of the dome. Percy struggled to his feet, his hands on his knees as he tried to recover as quickly as he could. The glow of the purple shield around him gave off barely any light, actively being stifled by the dome.
He took a second to think about the feminine voice that he was certain he had never heard before. Water. Percy's mind raced as he came up with an idea. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on the only other entity in the dome. In his mind, he imagined sending out his senses in search of a water source. In the dome, he should come up empty on anything traditional, instead identifying… Bingo.
Percy watched a mental image take shape, the lucid form of a massive creature pulling itself upright. He silently thanked the unknown voice for his newly discovered technique, and took another deep breath as he cautiously allowed his bubble to disappear. Crota watched the barrier vanish and charged the demigod with a newfound fervor. The monster grinned evilly as the demigod he was just pummeling took a defensive stance, wishfully trying to protect himself.
Crota unguardedly brought both arms down from overhead, ready to definitively end the fight, only to find Riptide buried to the hilt in his chest. The blade had run directly through his heart, the organ identified in Percy's mind by aiming where the presence of water was densest. Black blood poured from the kneeling lobster's wound and his mouth, choking him. Percy worsened it, wrapping a hand around Crota's throat as he stared murderously into where he knew the monster's eyes were.
Percy's free hand closed into a first and burst alive with blue electricity. His gaze didn't leave Crota as the light in his fist glowed brighter and brighter. The demigod felt his arm grow heavy from the arcing power, the increasingly blinding light fighting the darkness and illuminating the pair. Percy got to see the fear in Crota's eyes before he gritted his teeth and swung his fist into the head of his mother's killer. The power released from the impact left nothing behind of the servant of Oceanus, and sent Percy flying back against the wall of darkness.
"You have impressed me, insect; I had no expectation that you would survive the bout. Still, you will not survive the battle, regardless of the help you received from my traitorous niece," Erebus said, followed by a booming laugh.
Percy was already badly battered, but the mention of Mnemosyne forced another burst of adrenaline through him. He bared his teeth at the overarching darkness.
"Where is she?!" he shouted.
He thought she may have been the whispering voice, just disguising herself. But if she'd already been discovered, Percy feared the worst. He had never met the Titaness, but she was the reason he'd uncovered Oceanus' deception and she had saved hundreds of lives by warning him about this battle. He prayed for her safety as the primordial spoke again.
"I will leave her body behind as well as yours. Your paltry friends are outside trying their hardest to breach my simple barrier. They would be done soon, but it would not be fast enough to save you."
Percy steeled his nerves against the threat. He reached into his belt and pulled out the dagger Chaos had gifted him. Behind him, there was a spot in the darkness just barely lighter than its surroundings. Without Artemis' constant training, there was no chance Percy would've noticed, figuring that must be where his friends were targeting their attack. Percy looked around defiantly before using the strength he had left to stab the spot with his Void Ether weapon. Erebus roared in anger as the dome dissipated, the power in his voice leaving cracks in the ground.
"Mother even gifted you a weapon…" he whispered, which still sounded like thunder, before regaining his arrogant tone and laughing, "As if even that would be enough. But you have surprised me, demigod. Enjoy your temporary victory. Revel in your success with these spoils: a taste of what is to come by standing against me."
The valley felt Erebus' malevolent presence vanish, the place where it was centered replaced by a new collapsed form. Percy was immediately embraced less than softly by Thalia. He hugged her back before asking for her help to reach the new figure. Artemis appeared beside the pair and lifted Percy's other arm over her to help. The goddess was nearly teary-eyed, both thankful that Percy was alive and horrified at how badly he was bloodied. Percy's expression reflected hers when he saw the ichor still lightly flowing from her head.
"Oh gods, are you alright?" he asked as he stopped walking.
He stood upright and cupped the bleeding side of her face with his hand. Artemis held his wrist as Percy closed his eyes and his hand glowed orange. He realized this was something his adoptive mother would want him using his new powers on, instead of it probably playing a part with his flaming hammers. Artemis' wound began to close as the ichor disappeared from her face. Percy's forehead erupted in sweat and his legs gave out as his hand stopped glowing.
Artemis caught him before he could fall, and put his arm over her shoulder again. She both adored and absolutely couldn't stand the fact that he'd strain himself like that to patch up a minor wound of hers or anyone else he cared about. Apollo raised an eyebrow at the scene, taking a mental note, but hustled towards the body at the top of the hill while followed closely by Frank and Reyna.
"Gods, you guys are so cute but Apollo just saw that," Thalia whispered while supporting Percy's other arm.
"Let him see it. He has no say in the matter," Artemis replied.
The group huddled around the figure left behind. Apollo kneeled down and closed the terrified eyes that stared back at him. He looked at the rest of the group sadly before confirming that it was Mnemosyne.
"She's dead."
A/N: I only planned to write 2,000 words for this fight but got a bit carried away, as you can tell, and doubled it into a full chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed! I wonder who the strange voice is. Also I have no idea if water is actually densest where the heart is, that may be something I just made up because it made sense to me. Anyways, thank you for reading and for all of the reviews so far :)
arata7kasuga: but this story isn't listed as a crossover?
Yes. I don't think I really pull enough from the other verse to list it as one, as the only extent is the three abilities that I've all shown. In my original story, Broken and Renewed, I rely much more on ideas from the Destiny verse and probably should've listed it as one. Please feel free to go read that one and see, thought I'm not sure why anyone would as it is comparatively not very well written or formatted, and the plot has deviated very heavily so there's no secrets or foreshadows about Divergent Path to be found in that one :)
Kyt Lestrange: Hello there! I'm so glad I found your story (Stumbled on it today )! I love what you have done thus far :) I wasn't aware that Pertemis was something readers and fans of the saga were looking for ? (Sorry if it seems silly of me to ask) Nonetheless I'm digging it :) Regarding the story as a whole, I find it to be in the continuity of the main books (PJATO & HOO) and kuddos for your job. I can't to read from you soon! Huge respects from a French reader. Kyt
Thank you so much for the incredibly kind review, I'm so glad you're liking the story. Pertemis might be the most popular ship in fanfiction behind Percabeth if I'm not wrong (I very easily could be). I don't really know what caused it to come about but I read my first fanfic when I was 11 or 12 and it was Pertemis, which was kind of why I was inspired to write my own. I would guess that that's what also caused so many other people to love reading/writing it.
PokemonAndPJOFanboy: Dude, that bit at the end reminds me of a scene in Thor Ragnarok, lol love it! So fire powers from Hestia? Either way you really know how to catch a reader's eye. Can't wait for the next one!
I loved this review because I know exactly what scene you're talking about and it's what I took inspiration from when writing that part. About the fire powers, I touched on it for a moment in this chapter but you'll have to wait and see for a little longer ;)
I wasn't able to get to everyone but I've PM'd a few of you directly regarding some questions you've asked. Thank you so much for asking, I'm always happy to clarify anything you need. See you guys next time and good luck for any of you that also have finals coming up.