Chapter One
The Rise And Fall Of Percy Jackson
Hollow…
A feeling, a sensation. Something that enshrouded a certain Demigod in their entirety. He felt… Nothing. Nothing at all.
The son of Poseidon sat at the end of the old wooden dock, stained with mould from where the water had lapped up at it, building up over centuries where no child of Poseidon had been there to look after it.
Staring at the water, the son contemplated why it had to happen to him. He wasn't a bad person, not by any margin. He'd even gone so far as to risk his life time and time again to try and stave off an invading force assembled by a particularly evil Titan.
He'd saved Olympus from certain destruction, falling right into his role as the child of prophecy, so why… Why did it have to be him?
Betrayal.
Even the word left a sour taste in his mouth, rolling off of his tongue. His throat tightened up whenever his mind would return to his current profile of thoughts.
Bitterness…
He'd been cycling through the motions for days now, each time gradually leaving him colder and colder after he'd come to the same conclusion.
It was all his brother's fault. Their world had changed when he'd come on the scene, disrupting everything. For some reason, everyone had looked towards the younger brother to be the next big hero.
He'd fallen into his own brother's shadow, despite the fact that he'd saved Olympus, despite the fact that he'd become such an incredibly powerful Demigod, far stronger than anyone had ever seen before.
But that was exactly the problem.
Percy Jackson was too strong, even for his own good.
The jealous younger brother, ever envious of the spotlight Perseus had earned, had begun the makings of a grand coup, waiting until the estranged brothers had been alone in the Poseidon Cabin, waiting until the often watchful presence of their father had faded, all before launching his attack, taking a rusty razor blade to Percy's arm and slicing straight up.
Percy was no stranger to war wounds, but he hadn't been expecting this new Demigod to come straight for him, to go so far as to try to murder him in cold blood.
In a moment of severe misjudgement, Percy's battle hardened senses had flared to life, making the waters around the cabin rise and flood the place. The power Percy held was far too much for the new Demigod to handle, it had left him seriously injured and barely clinging to life.
"Maybe I should have let him die…" Percy whispered as he stared down into the waters. He hadn't particularly been talking to anyone and yet he knew that he'd get an answer.
'Maybe you should. It would have been horrible for a child of the sea to drown.' the dark little voice in the back of his mind had come forth to answer him.
It had been with him longer than he'd realized, but only recently had he let his guard down, just long enough for the voice to slip through. That was all it had taken, once it was free, it was there to stay.
After everything that had happened to him in his life, the pain, the anguish, the triumph and victory. All the battles that she'd stood by his side for, why after all of that had she fallen so low as to betray him to such a grand degree?
She hadn't listened to his words, ignored the certainty of his voice when he'd pleaded his innocence, and instead she'd chosen to stand by the side of the treacherous brother, falling away from Percy completely.
It was a betrayal of the highest degree, one that Percy would never forget, and never forgive.
"Percy." the voice called out to him. Soft yet cold. A voice that had given him so much reason to live, all before taking it all away, shattering his world.
'She's here.' That little voice called out to him, pointing out the excruciatingly obvious fact that Annabeth was approaching him. Her footsteps were marked as the old wooden boards creaked underneath the pressure of her feet, edging their way closer to him with a timid approach.
Percy's eyes flared, causing a geyser to erupt a few hundred meters away from where they were along the pier. The water roamed high, trying to explore the air before gravity pulled it all back down, returning the water to the once smooth waves.
The waters became rough and choppy as the mood changed within the son of Poseidon.
As he turned around she could see his eyes shining with a raw and violent power that swirled within. A power that everyone had watched grow immensely since the war for Olympus.
'The other Demigods fear us, they've seen what we've become. They, along with the Gods themselves, have all watches as we've become stronger than any before us, yet none are willing to ask how. Maybe they are right to fear us.' the voice spoke out, bringing more anger and rage to Percy's mind, giving him a reason not to be calm about the approaching daughter of Athena.
"I'm sorry." Annabeth's voice cut through the sound of the waves that were becoming more aggressive as they rammed against the beach surrounding Camp Half-Blood.
Her voice alone reached his ears, her words estranged considering the actions she'd committed when she'd left him for his brother, the cause and origin to all of his pain.
"I'm sorry that it's come to this, it's just… When you did those things, it showed me just how different we really are. We're not good for each other and I don't think we ever were, we were just…" Annabeth's stormy grey eyes had been searching for anything to look at except for the one person that deserved her attention at that moment.
"We were just caught up in the moment." she almost whispered. The words hit Percy's mind like a hammer to a voice.
'There's nothing left here for us. We need to become the monster they've tried to make. No ties left for us in this all too mortal world of immortals.' the voice told him, the tone full of heartache. Wherever that voice came from, it was just as in touch with his heart as anything else.
Percy remained silent, any sign of emotional trauma on his face had slowly faded until he looked just as cold and emotionless as Annabeth had made him feel.
Dead inside. Hollow…
"Please say something, say anything!?" Annabeth bellowed desperately. She needed some kind of justification, just a small glimpse that she'd been right, that Percy was just a monster in disguise. That would have made it all so much easier to deal with.
The guilt was starting to build within her, leaving a solid lump in her throat, making her words painful to usher out.
"What more do you want from me? What could I possibly still have that you haven't taken away? All my friends think I tried to smite that little shit through jealousy, the woman I thought I loved threw me away, all I have left is my power, and if you try to take that away…" Percy slowly looked up, their eyes connecting in a terrifying show of overwhelming pressure that made Annabeth's heart skip a few beats.
"Then you will die, just like every other monster that has stood in my way." his voice sent a cold chill down her spine that she simply couldn't shake off.
"And if the boy decides to throw any of this in my face then it will be the last thing he ever does." Percy announced before turning his back on her, returning his gaze to the activity of the waves. He held no care for stopping their rage.
'Our nature has been on the path of change for some time now, but this wench has accelerated everything. The path laid before us now is an uncertain one, but one that I'm certain will be filled with bloodshed.' The voice was right. Wherever he went from here on, there would always be a trail of monsters left in his wake. He couldn't stay in Camp Half-Blood, not now, not after everything that had happened.
He couldn't wake up everyday knowing that he would see the woman he'd once loved, gallivanting around with his younger brother, the boy that had tried to kill him.
"Jack." Annabeth's voice cut through Percy's reverie, reminding him that she was still there, seemingly not content with simply leaving him alone.
"His name is Jack and you know it. You can't dismiss your problems with us by simply referring to him as 'boy', you're not Lady Artemis." Annabeth argued, striking a chord with Percy.
Annabeth's worry gained more weight with each passing moment. The two sons of Poseidon couldn't be more different from one another if they'd tried.
Jack was the extremely laid back one, never seeing the danger for what it was, but now… Now Percy was the danger, the most dangerous thing to exist after everything that had happened. He was more dangerous than the Gods because of the freedom that he now held.
Demigod's lives were often dictated by where they could go, where they would be relentlessly hunted down and killed by monsters, but Percy was the one that monsters ran from. He had slowly become the Guardian of the Demigod world.
"You don't have to worry about any of that, not anymore. I'm leaving this place and all of you behind." he told her as he started to walk towards the edge of the pier.
"You can't go, you'll be hunted down and killed!" Annabeth argued, spurting her fears for Percy to hear.
"No I won't, nobody is that stupid, and if they are then I'm just carrying out a satirical case of natural selection." Percy told her before stepping over the edge of the pier, being welcomed by the waves that beckoned him at all times.
He didn't know where he would go or what he would do, all he knew was that he needed to be away from her and the Camp. The rest of his life was laid out ahead of him and he wasn't about to let her ruin whatever else he had in store for him.
Ignorant to the passage of time, Percy spent the next six months isolated away from the world and its inhabitants, alone save for the voice inside his head, and a few other notable exceptions.
He'd thought for a while that he'd gone crazy, that insanity from trauma and post traumatic stress disorder had set in and rid his brain of all sense that he'd once held.
He'd quickly realized that he was too strong, that his mental fortitude was simply too great for him to fall down that path, which meant that he really did have a voice niggling at the back of his head, pressing him to do particular things, things that only seemed to serve the strength of the voice, growing the presence within him.
On several occasions he'd had run-ins with the Hunters of Artemis and their patron Goddess herself. Artemis had given express orders that none of her Hunters were to lay a finger on the rogue son of Poseidon.
Part of her knew that if any of them crossed the line too far, if any of them would be unlucky enough to make the boy snap then they would die a gruesome and horrible death before she would be able to intervene.
That aside she knew heartbreak when she saw it. She was certainly not as in touch as Aphrodite but she knew that he'd been driven away from his peers from the jealousy and machinations of a much lesser Demigod.
To the esteemed senses of the Hunter Goddess, Percy Jackson was a broken man at his very core. She didn't expect him to last that much longer on his detrimental and self destructive path that he'd seemed so set on walking.
He'd been aimlessly walking through a forest, a blindfold draped across his eyes. He often robbed himself of a particular sense in an attempt to train the others. This was his way of strengthening his ability to sense living creatures, feeling the essence of life that ebbed and flowed through everything that breathed, from the trees to the creatures.
'We have become exceptionally powerful. A difficult task lies ahead of us, a seemingly insurmountable foe designed to destroy us at our very core, a beast that only we could ever hope to defeat.' The voice inside his head called out, breaking Percy's concentration.
The Demigod sighed, removing the blindfold so that he could see where he was. He didn't particularly recognize it any more than it simply being a forest.
"What are you talking about now?" Percy asked with a dull tone. He didn't enjoy the cryptic words the inner voice often gave him.
"Something new, a monster created to kill us. I've been sensing for a little while now that your desire to continue has dwindled, falling to a near suicidal state of mind. I'm warning you, if that monster finds us, I will not let us die like a rabid animal.' The voice responded, sparking a modicum of interest in the Demigod.
"Do you think that qualifies us as being a celebrity?" Percy asked sarcastically as he sat down at the base of a tall tree, the canopy stretching far above the forest floor.
The darkness of the night sky had cast shadows down where the moonlight failed to filter through. From what little he could see through the tiny gaps, the moon itself was strong, looming over the world like an unbelievably powerful entity.
'More so than defeating Kronos? Yeah, I'm sure that having a monster all for yourself is where being a celebrity is defined.' the voice responded dryly.
There was a long moment of suspense where Percy's body froze up, all of his senses flaring at the same time. "Do you hear that?" he asked in a hushed voice.
'Nothing at all. Looks like we've got company.' the inner voice agreed as the Demigod stood and drew Anaklusmos from the pen that always found its place in his pocket.
The small rays of moonlight glinted beautifully off of the celestial bronze blade.
"You can come out now, the forest of all places is never this quiet unless someone is trying to hide!" Percy's voice echoed all around the deafeningly silent greenery.
He couldn't feel the presence of anything and yet he knew he was being stalked. The voice was right, there was definitely something out there, something that had been created with his strengths in mind, something that he couldn't sense.
The presence of the creature appeared to his senses all at once, an overwhelming pressure inside his head that told him danger was upon him.
He barreled out of the way just as a huge Hellhound paw came hurtling out of the darkness, striking down where he'd been standing only a second before.
Slowly but surely this abomination of a creature came into Percy's sight, snarling from a blood red discoloured fur that looked more like skin that had been scratched raw.
It looked mostly just like an extremely aggressive Hellhound, with the ferocious head of a massive wolf upon the bulky body. The power behind the strikes was immense, even from where Percy had dodged to.
"This doesn't seem like much of a problem." Percy muttered quietly. The rain began to drop onto the canopy above them, filling the air with sound.
The creature shuddered, its whole body emanating a strange kind of pale mist that began to bend the light around it.
'That's new.' the voice added with just as much surprise as Percy.
"Yeah, no thanks." Percy agreed as he turned to strike at the half visible paw that had come thundering towards him at the speed of light.
There was no way that Percy had been able to gauge the strength behind the attack but he'd never expected it to take him clean off his feet. His body rocked against a tree, forcing him to the ground.
'Charge it!'
Percy sucked his teeth in response to the inner voice, knowing full well that it was about to go on an annoying mid-fight tangent.
'Drop kick him!'
"I'm not drop kicking a ten foot Hellhound!" the Demigod argued, re-evaluating his combat stance, waiting for any sign of attack.
The beast was wicked fast and proving even to this point to be a hard target to even match. They were too far away from any decent source of water so using his power was completely out of the question.
'Kill that motherfucker!' the voice screamed inside Percy's head, gaining more weight. His vision began to blur the longer that he looked at the beast, the natural effects of a Bane beginning to take it's toll on him.
"I'm trying, it's just… Too… Heavy…" he stuttered, struggling to keep any strength in his hands.
'This is Sparta!' the voice bellowed it's last as the Hellhound looking beast roared in pre-emptive triumph, lifting a huge razor-clad claw to strike down and end Percy's life.
The blow never landed, instead all Percy saw was a flash of silver and the scent of cinnamon and pine infiltrated his mind. Darkness began to take over as the depth of exhaustion had hit him like a freight train.
He'd only been exposed to the creature for no longer than a minute and it had totally wiped him out.
He forced his eyes open with the last remainders of his strength, just enough to see the most divine form of Lady Artemis with a sword and shield, holding back the enormous creature with a snarl of her own.
Artemis whistled loudly and a second later more flashes of silver appeared all around the forest as the Hunters of Artemis joined the fight, hailing down platinum arrows on the creature, causing it to retreat back into the dark vista of the forest, far away from the downed Demigod that it had been created to kill.
The damage was already done, his exposure to the monster had been great enough that the wounds would prove fatal if he wasn't treated immediately.
His vision and hearing had faded badly and his breathing was shallow from the blood that was slowly filtering into his lungs.
He'd already accepted his fate, living far longer than he'd expected. He was ready to take solace in the fact that it had taken a specially created Bane to kill him.
His body fell limp to the ground, his mind welcoming the dark embrace of unconsciousness that had flittered over his body.
"Thank you, my l-lady." Percy managed to force out before the last of his strength disappeared completely, leaving the Demigod falling into a cold state that he could do nothing about.
That was the end of the line for him. His last moments filled with the sight of a beautiful Goddess.
The Goddess of the Hunt however was not ready to let a Hero die in vain.
Dreamless sleep had held a firm grasp over his mind and body. For how long, he didn't know.
His senses came back one at a time, first his acute mental awareness, then his sense of smell. He could feel a cold breeze on his skin, one that brought in the fresh scent of pine trees, coming straight through his nose. It carried a sweet hint of cinnamon, the type that reminded him of a certain silver deity.
His eyes were the next thing to come alive. The thick treeline surrounding Camp Half-Blood registered in his brain.
"The Camp?" he ushered out as he tried to sit up only for his abs to immediately scream at him, lashing his core with fresh lines of pain from where his body was completely exhausted.
"Ow." he muttered as he fell back down to the ground.
He was surprised just to be alive. The last thing he remembered was watching that creature's Hellhound-like paw reach up, ready to kill him at the moment he was ready to die.
Then the Goddess intervened. He couldn't remember ever seeing her divine form so close, in such great detail.
For all it was worth, she was staggeringly beautiful. It didn't matter, there wasn't much for him to gain from knowing what her true form looked like, not anymore.
He'd come to terms with death, despite whatever the little voice in his head had been planning to prevent it. He'd already achieved more in his life than most others could do in several lifetimes.
Few would ever be able to brag the victories he'd reveled in, and none could ever say that they declined Godhood when it was offered.
He could have sworn that he'd only closed his eyes for a moment, trying to gain the strength before opening them up but when he did he saw that he was no longer on the outskirts of the Camp but rather in the Infirmary, a much older part that he'd only ever seen once before. No one was ever brought back here anymore, there was never a need for it.
He could feel the ache in his muscles, his bones creaking under the weight of his body as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, pulling himself up into a sitting position.
There were a few candles lazily sprawled across the room, casting a dull warm light around. A solitary bowl of sea water had been placed right underneath where his hand had fallen away from the bed.
That explained how he felt much better than he had on the outskirts of the Camp. The water had done a lot to revitalize him but there was still much healing for him to do before he'd be in any shape to evaluate his battle with the creature and see where he needed to improve.
'We got our ass handed to us, big time.' the voice came to life, sounding weaker than it ever had before. That confirmed that Percy's energy levels clearly affected them both.
"Thanks, I hadn't noticed." Percy shot back dryly with a groan of discomfort.
One shaky step turned into another as he gathered his equipment that had been laid out beside the bed, and made his way to the pavilion of the Camp. He could already tell without seeing that there were masses of campers all gathered in the courtyard, no doubt gathered from rumours of Percy's return.
He pushed the grand doors open, walking out into the daylight that seared his eyes before they strengthened to the point where he could see all of the familiar faces of the campers that had come to investigate.
Rounds of whispers erupted all throughout the crowd as the legendary son of Poseidon walked out among them. All he cared about right now was seeing if Artemis was still in the Camp.
He needed to thank her for saving his life, even if it felt fruitless in that moment, she still deserved praise.
He could feel the presence of a God on the other side of the Camp but it could just as easily have been Dionysus.
He stalked his way towards the source of the power, only realizing half way through his march that he was heading straight for the pier than he'd spent his last day on.
There she was, standing in a league of her own at the waters edge, her perfect aura reflecting incredibly off of the waves in a beautiful synergy that he couldn't help but stare at in awe.
The Goddess of the Hunt that he now owed his life to. She was now the sole living being that he considered owing anything to in any regard.
He was determined to make it up to her, whether she chose to accept his debt or not, he would repay her before his death reached him.
As he neared the edge of the pier, an arrogant voice called out to him, grating on his every last nerve as it spoke.
"What makes you think that you can just come strolling back here like you never left?" the voice asked, reaching him at the worst possible time.
If this encounter had happened just before Percy had left the Camp half a year ago then maybe the outcome would be different, maybe they wouldn't have fallen to violence, but this time…
He could feel the blood tingling urge calling out to him, pulling him in closer than ever before.
His footsteps stopped just shy of the pier. He'd been so eager to catch up with Artemis that he'd completely missed his younger brother's presence approaching him.
'Oh? You're approaching me? Instead of running away, you're coming right to me?' the inner voice laughed in an overly dramatic tone.
Percy would have cursed it but he knew that any response had to be directed at Jack otherwise their entire exchange would become far too complicated.
"If you value your life, you'll walk away, right now." Percy warned, his voice a truly dreadful thing that promised pain and suffering.
It was so heavy with the threat that Jack was stunned for a moment, unsure on how to react.
When there was no retreat, Percy finally turned on his heel, ready to face off against the younger brother.
He wasn't as tall as Percy, nor was he as naturally easy on the eyes. He always had a flustered complexion that marred the rough sandy blonde hair that never seemed to have any real direction to it.
He had dull green eyes that were ironically an eye-sore compared to the sheerly powerful emeralds that dazzled from Percy's face.
He was entirely too dislikeable in Percy's opinion, but he knew that he was biased from everything that happened between them.
'I have the greatest feeling that this is going to be far more enjoyable for me than for you. If you wish, I could take control, the results may be far worse though.' the voice offered, a mischievous weight falling throughout.
"Jack, leave it, you shouldn't push him." They both heard Annabeth's voice as the daughter of Athena followed them to the edge of the pier.
He could feel a godly set of eyes on his back, the burning stare of Artemis falling upon them as their exchange developed. He wondered if the Goddess would intervene. He knew from their occasional meeting that Artemis knew the reasons behind his leaving Camp Half-Blood and becoming a rogue Demigod.
"You should listen to her. You're certainly not in the same league as Kronos and I'm in a terrible mood right now." Percy warned him, knowing that it was likely not going to work.
"What!? Why are you defending him? He's the scum of the sea, he doesn't deserve any sympathy from you or this camp, and I'll prove just how much of a coward he is. Jackson, you have five minutes to leave this camp forever before I run you through myself." Jack sneered, pulling a dull bronze blade from his belt as if that was going to be the line that made Percy take his words seriously.
'Dickarus is flying way too close to the sun.' the voice laughed immaturely.
"Why wait? Why don't we have our battle right now? We can see who will be the one left standing." Percy told him before turning his back to the younger brother and stepping onto the old pier, the boards creaking under his feet just like they always had.
A few dozen feet away stood the silver Goddess, her frame poised as she watched with an intense interest into what was going on. Their eyes connected just in time for Percy to see them widen.
He realized that Jack had no doubt tried to strike him when his back was turned, his suspicions only confirmed when he heard the boards of the pier groan under his weight.
With a swift movement, Anaklusmos was unleashed, sliding against the cold bronze as the two swords found purchase against one another.
"How dare you try to come back into our lives!? Everything was better off when you were gone, we were all happy knowing that you'd probably been chewed up and shit out!" Jack shouted, anger flushing his face more than the usual red tints to his cheeks.
Percy shoved the hilt of his sword hard against Jack's, forcing the younger brother back a few feet as he realigned himself.
"I'm not angry that you're a coward, I'm not even angry that you tried to strike me down while my back was turned, but I am angry that you dared to say something like that in the presence of a Goddess." Percy told him with a voice as calm as dead waters, his body cold and calculated as he analyzed every last minuscule muscle movement of his opponent.
Through the eyes of Athena's daughter, she could see then and there why Percy Jackson was the most dangerous man alive.
Because he had nothing left, he had no reason to continue living and that made him the strongest.
Percy casually tossed Anaklusmos into the water, knowing that it would return to his pocket at some point. He instead pulled the waters up from beneath the pier, solidifying in his hands as it formed a long trident that fit his grip perfectly.
With a snap of his fingers the water erupted outwards as solid metal replaced it, shining like a thousand polished emeralds that glinted in the light, topped by sharp obsidian tips that promised to impale even the toughest opponents.
"How did an urchin like you get a trident!?" Jack screamed with incredulity, unable to grasp the concept that someone like Percy of all people would be gifted with a weapon as grand as the shimmering vision of destruction in his hands.
"Is it really not obvious?" Percy asked as he turned on his foot and paced from the sides of the pier, never once taking his eyes away from his new-found prey.
He registered the fleeting flash of silver in the corner of his eye, the sign that Artemis had left the pier, instead opting to watch from the shadows of the tree line near the waters.
"I fought tooth and claw for Olympus, in the trenches alongside the Gods themselves like all of my true brothers and sisters, I walked through the Styx, enduring all of that pain and suffering just so that I could be the one to fight Kronos himself! You can't even comprehend the things I've done and felt, all of it, all in the name of the Gods, my friends, my loved ones, all to be betrayed." Percy sneered, finally breaking and showing the barely holding dam of emotion that was at the cusp of exploding outwards.
"This trident was fathers way of showing the world of the things I've done, the things I've sacrificed in the name of a life that I no longer even believe in." Percy stopped, continuing to watch Jack through the eyes of a true Demon.
He slowly raised his trident towards the younger brother, accepting the challenge for it was. He quickly slammed his foot against the old wood of the pier, sending it all flying into splinters the entire way down.
Annabeth was launched clear of the pier, landing in the soft sand of the beach and far away from where the fight was about to take place.
The water level immediately rose up where the pier had once been, forming a perfectly aligned water bridge under their feet. How it was a fight that none could intervene in, one that only the children of the sea could even participate in.
'You've kept me caged for far too long, whether you know it or not. My strength grows with yours and soon it will be too much to stay hidden in the depths of your mind. This fight will mark the point where I approach that level, where I will be the one to finally hold the reigns.' the inner voice told him. It wasn't even remotely sinister, yet he seriously needed to work on his timing, this was not the right place to mention something like that.
The younger son of Poseidon nervously lurched forwards, wildly swinging his sword in an attempt to cut Percy down as quickly as he could. He must have realized at some point or another that the combat prowess that Percy held was so far above his own skill level, the sheer power that it required to wield a trident of all weapons was phenomenal.
'I know you probably don't need me to tell you this but our father would be hurting more than anything if he lost another child. I personally think we should waste the little shit, but you probably shouldn't listen to me on this one.' the voice offered up, reinforcing the decision that Percy had already made about it.
He was cold, bitter, and felt nothing but a burning desire to instill his rage on Jack but there wouldn't be any way for him to keep what little sense of morality he had left if he killed him here and now.
"This fight isn't even worth having, you really are a pathetic example of a person." Percy spat as he moved in close, ducking under a strike with ease, grasping Jack's throat with his empty hand and lifting him clean off of his feet.
"You know it would be easy for me to kill you, to take away from you what you took from me?" Percy's tone had turned dark, a pulsating power of malice emanating from him.
"I won't do that because I'm better than you, but I am going to put you through a world of pain. I'll shatter all of your bones and leave you feeling truly helpless." Percy told him before letting go of his throat, turning around with gale-force speed and slamming the blunt end of his trident into Jack's chest.
He'd imbued all of his strength into the power he held over creating earthquakes, following through with his word and sending bone shattering waves of pressure running all through the young Demigod's body.
Jack was thrown clear of the water, landing with a harsh thud in the sand near where Annabeth had been watching with hitched breath.
Percy had held out with his promise, leaving the younger brother with every bone in his body now broken and ruptured.
The Demigods of Camp Half-Blood had always known that if there was one person you did not want to meet in battle then it was Percy Jackson, and that was on a good day.
Percy calmly walked over to Annabeth who was in shock and tears, the fight firmly ended within seconds.
"I'm glad that you at least cried for one of us." he told her, completely devoid of emotion as he began to trek back towards the forest that would lead away from the Camp.
He was done here, and now he had some other business to attend to, namely trying to figure out how he was going to find and kill the abomination before it found and ended him.
"Perseus wait." he heard the voice of the Goddess Artemis calling him out, almost completely freezing him in his tracks.
He'd not heard that kind of power in a voice in a long time. It held a magnificent degree of divinely alluring promise.
Percy turned and fell into a kneel, his eyes cast down and only a matter of inches away from the Goddess as he saw her feet stop shy of his kneeling form.
"My lady…" he began with a tone so soft that it betrayed his immediate disposition towards her.
"I've been meaning to speak with you to thank you for saving my life. It might not be worth much to you but I fully intend to repay this life debt." he said, never once lifting his head.
"You may stand Perseus, I think you've earned the right to stand tall in the presence of the Gods." she told him with a slight shuffle.
He'd thought that he'd be standing taller than her but at some point in the last few months she must have made the decision to alter her physical form because here she was looking much closer to his physical age than to that which he was used to.
'Looking back at our joint memories, and… Nope, never seen her look quite like this. I would literally kill every monster alive back to back if it meant I could plow her.' Percy managed to deftly ignore the voice in his head. For him that one could quite easily have been the difference between life or death if Artemis had ever found out.
"I didn't save your life just for you to be indebted to me." the Goddess told him plainly, watching him through eyes more analytical than Athena's.
"Perseus, I can see how much you've gone through, I see a truly broken man inside when I look at you. You have tremendous power at your disposal, why did you succumb to that creature when I found you?" she asked, once again folding her arms.
Percy sighed briefly, his shoulders slumping as he tried to find the best words to describe it.
"To be honest, I don't really know. There was a point where I welcomed death. I'd come to terms with dying, feeling like it was the best thing for everyone." he shrugged slightly, struggling to look her in the eyes just from the sheer disapproval of his words.
"As for the creature, we-I, think that it's been created specifically to weaken me enough to kill me, or, if you like, the Bane of Percy Jackson." his voice had faltered to almost a whisper. It wasn't for fear of Artemis this time but for anyone that might be lingering around.
"That is certainly alarming. If you've become enough of a threat to someone for this creature to be made then it means they're likely gearing up for war against Olympus. This needs to be heard by the council, will you accompany me?" Artemis asked bluntly, catching Percy off guard.
'We would accompany you anywhere.' the voice nearly mirrored what Percy was feeling, closer than he wanted to admit by any accounts.
"I honestly can't imagine a worse place to go right now but if that is your wish then I'll go." Percy agreed, motioning towards her with severe hesitation that was almost tangible.
Artemis took a second longer to simply watch him, a one great Demigod that had done more for Olympus than any before him, now the empty shell, a shadow of what he once was.
"Very well." Artemis nodded as she grabbed him by the shoulder and gave him a gentle tug towards her. He hadn't expected the movement but by the time that his foot had reached the ground they were no longer in the forest lining Camp Half-Blood but rather standing at the peak of thousands of steps that lined the side of Olympus, falling all the way to the vast open Pavilion at the bottom.
Scenes of glistening gold and polished marble reached his eyes as the familiar and unforgettable architecture registered in his brain. They stood outside the throne room that housed many arguments between the Olympians.
"Well, it looks better than when everything was on fire." Percy nodded slightly, turning to face the grand open doors of the throne room. There was very little activity going on inside but he knew that was soon going to change.
'I'd do some monstrous things if it meant I could fuck Aphrodite.' Percy knew that if the inner voice had a face, it would be showing a wicked grin right about now.
"Well he's certainly become a dark horse since the last time I saw him." Aphrodite grinned, placing a single elegant finger against her tooth as she eyed the legendary Demigod up and down, vastly enjoying what she was seeing.
"Eyes to yourself Aphrodite, we're here to discuss something that actually holds gravity to our well-being, so as the most unimportant Olympian feel free to leave at any time." Artemis told her without missing a beat, shocking the few attendees of the throne room into silence at the savageness that she'd not withheld.
'Fuck me, that was savage…', was all the voice said before falling silent once again. The overtones of divinity coming from the Gods was temporarily bearing down on the voice inside Percy's head, making it much easier for him to suppress it.
He wasn't even sure if he wanted to, that little voice had been a single source of comfort when he'd been alone in the world, he didn't exactly consider himself to be among friends even now.
The Goddess of Love had deftly held her tongue, instead waiting to see what the meeting was about and why Percy Jackson of all people had returned to Olympus after half a year of silence on their collective radars.
Within moments all of the Olympians had gathered, each in their thrones save for Poseidon who had embraced his son in a bone crunching hug.
"Thank you for not killing your younger brother. I know everything that happened, I will be taking him to my kingdom soon to show him the error of his ways, we'll try to get some sense into him before returning him to the Camp." Poseidon explained with a proud smile on show.
"I'd give it a few months if I were you. I totally shattered all of his bones, but he's alive and I seriously doubt that he's going to try anything like that again." Percy responded in kind, feeling a kindled bond of warmth between him and his father that had never been doused.
There were few Gods in this room that he felt any kind of relation with, not for the lack of trying from certain Goddesses.
He silently watched Poseidon return to his throne, not expecting Athena to be the one standing in front of him, her divine form shrunk to be on his eye level just as his father had done.
"Perseus, I know we haven't ever really seen eye to eye but I want you to know here and now that all of us, we…" Athena trailed off as she crossed her arms and her gaze fell somewhere behind him.
He could tell that she was already struggling with this.
"We found out about what had happened. I firmly disagree with the decision my daughter made, and I'm ashamed that it happened to you. I shan't apologize on her behalf but you should know that I'm sorry for the cold way I've treated you in the past." the Goddess of wisdom informed him, stunning him slightly as she returned to her throne.
"Thank you, I appreciate your honesty." he nodded curtly towards the Goddess as she sat down, a small smile appeared on her face due to the small degree of mutual respect beginning to build between them.
"Let us begin." Zeus waved as he motioned for Percy to come towards them.
"My lord,-" he began as he fell into a kneel, as was customary for any visitors or guests towards the King of the Gods.
"You need not kneel, Perseus, nor do we ask that you treat us with formalities, we're quite beyond that." Zeus told him before he'd fully gone to the ground.
Percy hesitantly lifted his head before he returned to full height, standing tall in a throne room of Gods that were all at least double his height.
He could feel a sense of power that he never had before.
Recognition.
The Olympians, the most powerful Gods to walk their world all unanimously recognized him as a man that deserved their respect enough not to bow to them.
"Very well." Percy nodded as he stood and awaited their judgement on whatever real reason that Artemis had brought him back.
He knew that the Gods had all been eager for his return, likely for their own personal gain.
"I'd offer you a throne of your own but I think we all know that you are uninterested in accepting Godhood." Zeus raised a brow, almost laughing at the instant look of chagrin that fell upon the Demigod.
"It only took half a God to defeat Kronos, if I accepted Godhood and something else came along, something that the next generation of Demigods can't handle… Well, I suppose that we're at that next stage already, aren't we?" Percy asked with a dark smile appearing, realizing that Artemis had already given the purpose of their meeting away when she'd spoke of it before.
The beast.
"Indeed. We received a preliminary report from Artemis when she was taking you to Camp Half-Blood but we'd really like for you to tell us here and now what we're really dealing with." Zeus motioned to him.
He, like all of the Olympians, had subconsciously twitched in their thrones, some leaner closer, some simply adjusting for comfort, yet all of them were moving for better focus on the Demigod.
"I encountered a creature, basically a Hellhound with the head of a wolf. Gigantic proportions and it's power was off the scale. The worst part was that it's presence made me… Weak, it was created specifically with me in mind, tailored to my weaknesses." Percy explained as he watched the reactions around the room.
"The Bane of Percy Jackson, that's badass kid." Ares laughed with a massive grin of approval.
"Well, that's where I touched down on it. I believe that if something like this has been created then it's been done so in order to kill me before the next big thing can happen. Could be other Titans under Kronos' banner, could be someone else I've pissed off, really the list is quite endless." Percy mused as he trailed off and zoned out for a moment.
"Could it not potentially be a scorned ex-lover's partner?" Apollo asked with what was a shocking decorum of weight to his question.
"No, I'm not a scum-bag." Percy answered immediately. He could hear a hum of approval emanate from Artemis somewhere behind him.
"No lovers at all?" Aphrodite chimed in with a wicked grin.
"If you're asking me if I'm a virgin then you should-" Percy started with a refreshed fire in his eyes.
'Dude, Athena, not now.' the voice warned him, catching him right before chaos struck and sent the throne room into a battleground.
Percy coughed before correcting himself, "It's hardly prevalent to the reason we're gathered here today." he added, refusing to look anywhere in Athena's direction. He could already feel her eyes burning a hole in his skull.
"So we know that a creature has been made up just to kill you and we know that it's almost managed to do that. If this creature had faced off with any others then they'd have died as well, whoever created this monster has just had confirmation that they can basically steam roll over the fighting force of our children." Poseidon started the conversation, trying to move away from Percy's extremely close blunder.
"If it's just a Hellhound then I can deal with this problem right now." Hades shrugged, seemingly unaware of the problems the rest of them were facing.
"No, I said it looked like a Hellhound. It was composed of a few other parts and I could sense a lot of different monster DNA packed inside that thing." Percy immediately jumped in.
"You can sense monster DNA?" Apollo asked with a concerned look in his eyes.
"Well, not DNA, but I can sense monsters. The range depends on how strong they are but it's something I've been developing for a while now. The feeling of a living thing. I've even been able to differentiate things based on the individual, for instance, I can sense the see from father, I can sense blood-lust from Ares, I can sense a pulsing urge of creation from Hephaestus… Warmth from Hestia." Percy slowed down as he watched the Goddess of the Hearth, happily tending to the flames, reacting to her favorite Demigod with a bright smile that matched her eyes.
"And what exactly was it that you sensed from this creature?" Zeus asked, more intrigued by this council meeting than just about any other.
"Thanatos calling my name." Percy told him instantly, "And the unshackling of chains, the freedom of the worst part of me, a side that's been firmly hidden away for my whole life." Percy felt weird even speaking about it out loud, let alone telling the whole of the council but he knew that he would have to sooner or later.
'Aw, you're talking about me, that's adorable.' the voice laughed in faux sweetness.
"How long have you been feeling this 'other side'?" Apollo asked, almost falling out of his throne from how close he was to the brim of his seat. He'd slowly removed his sunglasses and was staring so intently at Percy that he could feel the sun itself bearing down on him.
"Since my fight with Kronos. The blood-lust, the sheer survival mechanism built into me awakened this thing, this dark and violent thing. It got strong enough to speak a few days before I left Camp Half-Blood and it's been stronger than ever since then." Percy admitted.
It wasn't like he wanted to outright silence the voice, exterminate the source, but he did want answers. He wanted to know who had been stoking the flame of wrath in his heart.
"Is it here, right now?" Apollo asked, never losing his intensity at any point. Everyone else remained silent while the doctor asked his questions.
'I am, and if you like, I can take over and show them my face.' the voice offered, knowing that Percy wasn't likely to agree.
"He is. He said, if you want then he can take over and show you all his face." Percy almost whispered, feeling the shimmer of power grow within him. The voice had become accustomed to the divinity around him, no longer feeling the burden at all.
"Do it, we've got a full council here to suppress you if we need to. You're strong but together I think we can do it." Apollo told him, feeling reassured with the collective power between them.
"You want me to let this voice take over?" Percy asked incredulously.
"Yes, I think that's the best way for us to understand the nature of your dark side, let it come to the surface and give us all a good look at it." Apollo told him matter-of-factly.
"Fine." Percy sighed heavily, feeling the defeat.
'You want me to really take over? This won't feel nice for you.' the voice asked, eagerness brimming through.
"Yes." Percy said, gritting his teeth irately.
'And you understand that once I take over you can't control any of my actions?' the voice asked, the power welling within him.
"Don't push your fucking luck." Percy growled under his breath.
'Brace, you'll feel this more on the other side.' That was the last warning that Percy had before he felt the sensation of fire brutally ripping away at the seams.
It was over before it had begun, a small scream of agony cut off by the switching of sides where the other side had taken control.
He'd fallen down to one knee, a pulsing red aura taking over before that too had disappeared.
"I'm not strong enough to change the body yet, oh well." he said, his voice smooth and relaxed, knowing and sure of himself.
He slowly stood back up, his stance already far removed from that of what Percy normally held himself in. This one was laid back and completely unphased by the divine bodies of raw power that surrounded him in the room.
He opened his eyes revealing iris' of the deepest blood red that conveyed a pure lazy confidence that had sent more whispers around the room.
"I can't stay like this long so ask your dumbass questions now while I'm here." he told them with all of the authority in the world. There was a very real image that he wouldn't be restrained even by the combined might of the Olympians, and they were all thinking that.
"What are you?" Apollo asked, analyzing him through intensely critical eyes.
"I'm a Demon, born of the fires of Hell. I've been with Percy since we were born, but just dormant in this world. The fight with Kronos awakened me here and tore me away from the realms of darkness where I grew up." he answered them with an easy going shrug.
"The boy defeated that Titan, how much of that did you have a hand in?" Ares asked, more interested in stoking the fires of war.
"All of it, but that was him, I merely goaded the blood-lust in the heat of the moment. He saved you all of his own volition." the Demon smiled. "Who's next?"
"Would you-" Aphrodite began before almost immediately being cut off.
"Yes, I would plow you for hours on end and I would be the greatest you've ever had. The rest of your immortal life would pale in comparison." he said without losing a single bit of confidence.
"Oh my Gods." Aphrodite fell into a whimper in her throne, basically melting from the heat in her face.
"I know right? Hilariously though,-" the Demon locked eyes with the Goddess of Love. There was a tension in the throne room that was almost tangible, "You will never experience that, with me or him." he said. Aphrodite had tears welling up in her eyes, the emotions she'd felt were unfathomable to her.
She'd felt the cold sting of rejection from Percy Jackson before but this was a new level she was experiencing.
"How exactly do you even exist?" Poseidon asked. He was more curious about this than the others expected him to be.
"Our grandfather on our mothers side was a Demon. It never manifested in her and it would have gone unchecked in Percy if you hadn't put his life in danger time and time again." the Demon laughed sadistically.
"Time's nearly up, any other questions?" the Demon prompted.
"What's your name?" Artemis asked from her throne, getting his attention.
His body turned in an odd way as he looked over his shoulder at her, trying to register her features, knowing who it was within moments.
"Ah, the silver Goddess. For the record, you're far better looking that this one." he smiled lazily as he hooked a thumb over his shoulder towards Aphrodite who was utterly defeated in her throne.
"Your misplaced flattery won't work on me, nor will your blatant lack of disrespect. We can beat that into you within a few months." Artemis told him flatly, wrinkling her nose towards him.
"Ooh, don't threaten me with a good time, I've thrown down with all of the big names in the torture game, there's nothing you can do to me that I haven't already gone through in Hell." the Demon laughed at her attempt to discourage him.
"Your name." Artemis pressed on through gritted teeth.
"Mephistopheles, the King of Hell." the Demon said, maintaining his grin as he continued to look Artemis in the eyes.
The tension in the room had only risen but the silence had become palpable. At any moment he could feel at least three of them ready to launch attacks on him.
"Fucking Hell guys, chill out I'm messing with you. My name is just Perseus, but unlike this guy, I don't hate the name." He shrugged with a playful laugh.
"Just Perseus or Perseus King of Hell?" Hermes asked, clarifying for unknown reasons as he hadn't taken his eyes away from his phone for the entire meeting.
"The former. I mostly traveled the realms fighting and killing other Demons. I do kind of have this whole tiff with the Sin of Wrath but that's a story for another time as my strength is gone and the boring one is back in charge. Have fun kiddos." he laughed again this time fading as Percy came into control once again.
"Oh my Gods that hurt so much!" he shouted as he fell to his knees in a cold sweat.
'Yeah, I told you it would hurt more on this side.' Perseus laughed.
"I saw everything that you just said, you… Dick." Percy muttered before immediately turning to one side, still firmly on the floor.
"Lady Artemis, I'm so sorry for the way he spoke to you." Percy told her in such a way that she believed that he would never have treated her like that.
"Her!? What about me, I was the one that was basically attacked!" Aphrodite bellowed from her throne.
"Yeah you deserve to be spoken to like that after everything that you've ever done. You brought that one on yourself." Percy answered with a scowl, crossing his arms after pulling himself off the floor.
"Do you feel that you're more in control of this?" Apollo asked, bringing the conversation back on track.
"Letting him out seems to have satiated his blood lust." Percy admitted as he wiped his brow, shedding the heavy beads of sweat that had formed from the pain alone.
"This is indeed a very curious development." Apollo mused, thinking to himself about every little angle of Percy's now even more unique existence.
"Unfortunately there's no way to split you from a side of yourself, it would be as if we were to abandon our Roman sides, it's just impossible." Apollo announced, causing the majority of the Gods to briefly flicker in showers of golden light at the mere mention of their alternate identities.
"So I have to live with it, fine, I've managed for six months, it doesn't seem like there's much time left on my particular clock now that I have a Bane." Percy mused in response, crossing his arms as his strength began to return to him.
"This Bane business is extremely bad. I'll put some agents in play to try and figure out who it is that is sending this creature after you, I urge you all to do the same." Zeus told them in what sounded more like an order than a suggestion, especially coming from him.
"In the meantime, I have to ask you not to continue travelling alone. I understand that you don't want to return to the Camp, so what would you say to accompanying Artemis and her Hunters?" Zeus asked, leaning back into his throne now that the more interesting part of the meeting had concluded.
"Father?" Artemis asked in surprise with a raised brow, mirroring the shock written across Percy's face.
"So to prevent my death at the hands of this creature you're sentencing me to death by the Hunt?" Percy asked with a raised brow, failing to see Zeus' logic in the matter.
"Artemis, how many of your Hunters do you think are capable of killing Perseus?" Zeus asked, already rubbing his temples from the ensuing headache.
"Probably none of them, likely not even together." Artemis answered slowly, unsure of why the question was warranted.
"There you go, you're stronger than the entirety of the Hunters, and besides, Artemis will make it evidently clear that you are not to be harmed." Zeus explained quickly.
"From this moment onward you are to assist Artemis in whatever way she see's fit, you're both being charged with the joint operation of eliminating the Bane of Percy Jackson." Zeus added, giving them a true heading for their future venture together.
Percy couldn't even rightly argue, he owed Artemis for saving his life against the Bane previously, he couldn't now go against what Zeus was ordering him to do.
"Perseus Jackson, until you are relieved of duty by Artemis' given word, you are to remain at your station as the Guardian of the Hunt, best of luck to you." Zeus announced with one final nod.
Percy had never received the chance to argue as the moment he'd opened his mouth he felt a hand on his shoulder and then he was gone, elsewhere entirely as the lavish golden hues of the collective thrones left his vision altogether.
Before his eyes could even have the chance to adjust to the difference in light, he heard the whistle of an arrow piercing the air as it hurtled towards him, thudding into the side of his thigh with horrifying proximity to his crotch.
The pain from the arrow shot through his body, being much more than a simple arrow should have been. There was the sensation of a burning cold working its way through the arteries in his leg where the arrow had pierced him.
"Poison?" Percy whispered under his breath as his newly refreshed sight already began to go fuzzy and distant.
'Well... Shit. That was fast. Perhaps this time will be our end? Tragic, we've gone through so much, our monster kill count is probably higher than anyone else's and here we are, having been killed off by a group of immortal pre-teens. That would be quite funny if it wasn't for the fact that we had so much potential.' Perseus laughed from within the cage that held him back inside the Demigod's mind.
Gods, Percy was ordering an exorcism on himself the very first chance he got. There was no way in all of Hades that his own mind was this annoying. It was only made worse by the fact that so far, out of the countless times it had spoken to him, he had only been wrong a single time.
"Well, your plan went well didn't it Artemis?" Percy sarcastically scorned her.
"I'm made the Guardian of the Hunt only to be murdered within the first second. Fuck it, I've given up on life anyway." Percy shouted at the air as he collapsed, his injuries sending him over the edge of unconsciousness and into the black depths beyond.
Was he dead? No.
Did he think he was about to die? Yes, yes he did.
So naturally when he awoke with bandages on in a beautiful silver bath with only a set of underwear on, he had to wonder what the Hell had happened.
'OK, couple of things. Firstly, this is becoming an annoying habit of ours, not knowing whether or not we're going to be alive when we wake up, and secondly, do they not realize that it doesn't matter if you're wearing clothes while you're in the water? They didn't need to strip us down for us to heal. Be very weary Perseus, these girls might have an ulterior motive to sell us on as a slave. A sexy slave.' Perseus said with a muffled laugh.
Now that one started fine, but got weird to the point that Percy actually had to question whether or not it was really himself in there. He'd never really found himself to be the witty type, but this was starting to develop against him.
"Lady Artemis, I sense that he is coming around. Another hour in the water should heal him at this rate." a feminine voice called out. He recognized it, Atalanta, a daughter of Apollo, was an excellent healer and also one of the greatest archer's he had ever had the pleasure of being so totally beaten by.
So once all was said and done they'd put him in a bath? He noticed that the bath was filled literally to the brim and he was submerged completely. The water doing a nice job of healing his sore arrow protrusions. The black abyss came back for a second round and he decided that sleep would help, unable to keep himself awake much longer.
It had been a fleeting grasp at consciousness but at least he knew that he wasn't dead, not yet.
'I must say, and I do believe that I speak for the both of us on this one. I'm going to get used to this, even if we end up having to take a submersed healing process every now and then due to slippery bow strings." Perseus' voice echoed around his head, being the only source of sound anymore.
'They are actually taking care of us, and not one of them has said anything bad behind our back. They're no doubt all waiting to insult us to our face, but still, it's the little things that count, right?' Right, Percy agreed completely. It was the honor that they had, it was something completely missing from Camp Half-Blood.
Time had marched on within the blink of an eye for the Demigod that had been slowly soaking in the gleaming silver bath, using every last second to his advantage to repair his body to it's peak.
His eyes shot open, matching the lurching movement that he'd unconsciously made as he lept free of the constraints of the tub. The water willed itself to push his body further as he gently eased himself down to the ground, standing tall in the tent that no doubt belonged to none other than Artemis herself.
Ever since the farce six months ago on the pier of Camp Half-Blood when he had unknowingly erected the lake completely, he'd found his power over water was almost absolute, and he'd never felt strained or fatigued since then.
It was only when he was facing off against the abomination did he fail to call anything to his aid, rendering himself to solely swordsmanship, which had not worked quite so well against the Bane of Percy Jackson.
'Rise and shine sleeping beauty, we've got an appointment with the silver Goddess, best not to keep her waiting too long, it's probably already been an entire day since we were felled by a number of bastard arrows.' Perseus announced his presence as Percy took stock of the tent, seemingly missing the key component.
The Goddess herself.
"Well." Artemis snorted from the other side of the room, wiping a patch of water that had somehow gotten her silver dress.
"At least you're not dead. You're no good to me if you're disposed of on the first day." she told him casually.
He quickly acknowledged her with a slight nod before noticing the pile of folded clothes on the table, deciding that being fully clothed in her presence was only going to help him not die a horrible painful and premature death at the hands of an offended Hunter Goddess.
It was only after getting his own clothes in order than he'd noticed the path of water that had started to soak into Artemis' top.
"Mind where your eyes are staring Perseus, the girls will only finish the job if you're caught looking at me like that." Artemis warned him with a glare.
'Get off your high horse silver Goddess, we're doing you a favor.' Perseus snorted.
"Actually milady. I was drying your clothes." he told her. She looked back to where the big patch of water had been and it was just gone. She hummed something to herself as she considered her miss-judging him. Perhaps he was far more than simply a broken man, but at his very core, a genuinely decent one.
"Oh. Thank you Perseus. Now the Hunt has been informed of your reasons for being here, but they're still going to try and throw you through Tartarus, so Percy?" Artemis caught his attention sharply as his eyes began to wander around the tent.
"Yes milady?" he responded, giving her the small pleasures of locking eyes once again. She was starting to notice just how powerful his eyes were, they seemed to speak volumes about his hardships just from the way that it looked like he had the light of the sun shining through a pair of emeralds.
"Don't give them any reasons. Go and speak to Thalia, she'll give you your first duties for tonight, after that you're free to do as you please until nightfall." Artemis waved him away. She wasn't expecting it, but Percy bowed to her immediately before leaving and not saying anything else.
He hadn't needed to go far to find Thalia, she was instructing a few of the younger Hunters on how to identify and then humiliate an 'Apollo' Demigod.
"Seeing as we have our own Guardian-" Percy heard Thalia's voice peak as he approached, knowing that she'd meant for him to hear her.
"-he can be a demonstration and you girls can try your hardest without having to worry about holding back, he can take it, trust me." Thalia told them, standing aside and waiting for the inevitable conflict to fall upon the group.
'Oh, look at that, joy of joys, she's given them a free pass to destroy our body however they like. Looks like the only time we get to rest, we're going to have to find a lake and just sleep there permanently. Hey, that might actually work.' Perseus laughed to himself somewhat before going silent.
Percy got a very vivid image in his mind. No words were necessary, but it almost made him laugh aloud as well.
"But, Thalia, he's only a measly Demigod boy, what if we break him?" one of the girls asked. Percy heard this and raised an eyebrow, they must have assumed that he was well out of earshot, but his senses were far above even their own.
The girl upon first sight seemed to be around fourteen, quite short for that age though, but her aura, it was distinctively war like. She couldn't have been a child of anyone other than Ares, and this girl looked mean, like, even Clarisse would have been proud of this little monster.
"Oh you won't, and I know you won't because even Lady Artemis would struggle to completely destroy him. That's Percy Jackson." Thalia told her, silencing the daughter of Ares immediately.
"Hey, seaweed brain, get your behind over here!" Thalia told him. He unwillingly moved his rock solid stature and walked over to the small group.
"Of course Lady Thalia." he walked over to them, realizing that eventually one of the hunters was going to kill him, either that or the abomination would come back to finish what it started.
He no longer cared, not after what he'd been put through, he would welcome the underworld, thought that inner voice would surely have something to say about that though, so his chances of actually dying now that he was surrounded by the Hunt, was very minimal.
"What's up with the formalities?" Thalia asked him with a raised eyebrow.
'Uh, we're trying our best not to die right now, it's called taking precautions Thalia.' He hated to admit it, but Percy was slowly starting to become accustomed to the very selective type of humor that Perseus had.
"Your dad hates me, quite clearly. I thought I'd try to redeem myself by treating all of his children like royalty." he explained glumly.
'Because, that's of course the quickest way to stroke Zeus' ego. Treat his family like they're above everyone else, because what does that make the head of the family? The top-dog, Zeus.'
"My dad doesn't hate you, why would you say that?" Thalia turned to Percy completely, ignoring the younger hunters temporarily.
The older ones knew of the relationship between Percy and Thalia, all things aside, they were closer than ever, especially after Annabeth's betrayal.
Thalia had been furious with the hunters after they had dared to fire on him. She only went easy on them after the realization that they didn't actually know who he was, had dawned on her.
"I didn't come here by choice Thalia. I know what these girls have been through, the last thing they want is a male joining the hunt. Your dad forced me to and look at what happened. Five seconds here and I was shot three times and nearly killed." Percy told them.
'Not to mention we were stripped down, no doubt so that they could all oggle at us, and our divinely sculpted body... Sorry, couldn't help myself.' Perseus apologized, probably after realizing that if he had a physical body and had said that to Percy, then the son of Poseidon would have more than likely punched him.
"Hmm. Whatever, I know for a fact that all those arrows did to you was put you to sleep." Thalia skirted around the truth very skillfully but it wasn't done subtly enough for Percy not to notice.
'She for real?'
"Unconsciousness?" he asked her very slowly, unbelieving that she might actually be mistaking it for something benign.
"Yeah, that." she nodded, already turning away from him. He hadn't picked up on the fact that she was emotionally hurt because of the way he'd gotten injured. How could he not have noticed it, was he really that dense? Or maybe...
Maybe he just never understood her, at least, never understood why it was that she got that way.
"Anyone shot three times will fall unconscious." Percy told her with a frown.
'Not me, I was just too weak to take over. You probably wouldn't have either, if you weren't so acceptant of death as soon as the prospect comes your way.' Perseus said, chucking the snide comment in when Percy couldn't possibly argue.
"Sure sure, anyway, I need an example. Please let me throw you around." Thalia told him. The younger hunters all frowned. Atalanta and Phoebe were sat not far behind the group being taught by Thalia, just as eager to watch what would happen next.
"Why would you need to ask him? It's not like he can stop you." Tanya asked her leader with a frown of her own. Tanya was the daughter of Ares that had just moments before decided to compare Percy to the average Demigod.
"Right, let's set the record straight. It'll help if you pass this along to everyone else in the Hunt to avoid further confusion and confrontations," Phoebe started to explain.
'She's the one defending us? Her? Phoebe? The one that used to take every opportunity to hurt us with a smile on her face!? OK then, that's new.' Perseus said without any trace of sarcasm or humour, just simply surprise.
"There are very few exceptions in the world to the conceptions we hunters have about males. Aside from Percy being above that, truly worthy of our respect, he is also undoubtedly the strongest Demigod to have ever lived and if any of you were to attack him like yesterday when he is actually aware of our presence, he would wipe the floor with all of us." Phoebe explained casually, looking on at the hunter's shared looks of shock incredulity through bemused eyes.
'At the same time. Go on, admit it, tell them exactly how powerful you really are. Even better, get them all to attack you, Hades, just bring Artemis out and show the Gods our true power. I know you want to.' Arrogance. Percy decided that arrogance was what Perseus was fueled on. Apt for a Demon in his eyes.
"Hang on, you just stuck up for me but you were one of the ones who shot me." Percy pointed out with a quizzical frown.
"I shot you in the hand, and truthfully I didn't recognize you all healed up. It's been a long time since we've last seen you Percy. Your battered and bruised body from your encounter with the abomination was not much in the way of you looking like this." Phoebe explained.
That was actually a fair excuse, but it didn't change the fact that an arrow through the hand hurt like Hades.
"You still shot me though. I thought you were one of the more level headed hunters." Percy actually smiled for the first time since leaving Camp Half-Blood six months ago.
"My reflexes are sharp, what can I say. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt Jackson, Lady Artemis told a strict reserve of us what happened to you. Don't make me regret it, sea spawn." Phoebe told him as she turned around to go off and do her duties.
Atalanta just shrugged. "I like Percy anyway. I quested with him alongside Zoe and Thalia." Atlanta explained to the younger ones. Percy heard some of them hush the name of the fallen hunter, suddenly realizing that the stories that they'd heard about the famed Percy Jackson had really happened.
"I heard he has a master weapon." a very young one told them, making her voice known among the group.
"Who told you that?" Lady Artemis' sweet voice called out next to them. She saw him holding what looked like a trident when he fought against his brother, but she thought it had been made out of the water they were fighting on. Could it have been possible that it had actually been a real trident?
She should have recognized a master weapon in its owners hands, but then again Percy had always felt powerful when she'd been in his proximity, it was possible that the Goddess could miss that detail.
"My father." the young hunter explained. Atalanta frowned, the girl in question was a sister of hers, and their father, Apollo, was bound to the truth.
"I'm sorry little one, but our father does like to exaggerate sometimes, but it does beg the question… Lady Artemis, Apollo is incapable of outright lying." Atlanta explained with a frown once again.
"Her father is my idiotic brother? Perseus, is it true?" Artemis turned to Percy with wide eyes. She saw this as the perfect opportunity to find out. Surely Percy wouldn't lie to her face, especially not about a master weapon.
"Yes Lady Artemis. Would you all like to see?" he asked casually. They all nodded quickly. He took a few seconds before water solidified into a glowing emerald green trident that emanated pure power.
'I didn't know we could do that? I thought we could only pull the trident out of the pen. How did you do that?'
It was relatively simple, he just focused his power on the water in the surrounding, and formed a trident, then he forced it to turn into his trident. It was all about how their power over water had become absolute.
'I see, well, we can add that to the list of 'new tricks' that we've been discovering since our fight with Kronos.'
"Percy it's… It's beautiful!" Artemis exclaimed, her breath hitched at the raw majesty of the trident in his powerful hands.
"I bet I can make you say that twice." he grinned slightly before waving his hand over the trident before it turned into a silver just as brilliant as her own eyes. Artemis' hands clasped over her mouth. Her eyes were extremely wide as she stared at the silver master weapon.
"Only Olympian Gods have master weapons, Percy. To wield your own means that you have the power of an Olympian." Artemis explained why her shock had run so deep. The power of an Olympian?
'Well, she's not exactly wrong. Are you going to tell her, or should I? Or perhaps that was the last little push you needed, to hear it in black and white. So what are you going to do Percy, face it like the warrior you are, or run away from it like you've been ingrained to do?' Perseus teased, knowing all of Percy's secrets from living inside his head.
The immortal was rising once again.