Chapter 2
Greetings viewers! I hope that all of you enjoyed the previous chapter! Let me respond to your reviews!
I would like to thank picking-up-story-from-abadoned for your support!
I would like to thank Pjofan for your continued support!
I would like to thank HellRaiderS for your continued support!
I would like to thank Nice for your continued support!
Responding to Kronosbluehairbrush's review, I agree, Kymopoleia fit the bill to be the traitor. Is it Moros? Is Luke evil? All will be revealed in due time. Thank you for your continued support!
Responding to ItsYaboi325's review, I am thrilled to have you on board for the final installment of this series! And I am very glad that you think that this is your best story on this site! Thank you for your continued support!
I would like to thank Diabolicales for your continued support!
In response to LoneNobles's review, I am very happy to hear that you liked my stories! And believe me, I have no intent to stop anytime soon because I just enjoy writing. And just like I promised that I would finish the previous stories, I will finish this one as well! And feel free to give me any constructive feedback! Thank you for your support!
I would like to thank the Guest reviewer for your support!
Responding to PPK's review, Curtainfall is something like a synonym of Endgame. However, it's not used that much so I used it for the sake of originality and, I liked the way it sounded :) Thank you for your support!
In response to Disco's review, glad you liked the way this story is going because that is exactly what is going to be – fast-paced, explosive and wild :) Thank you for your continued support!
I would like to thank John for your continued support!
I would like to thank SonGoku76 for your continued support! Yes, from this point onwards, it's no holds barred :)
In response to AVWPD5033B's review, I don't think I can keep the real Leo or even Piper and Hazel. Since I am not going to be going down the HoO route, the only Roman demigods that I think I can keep are Jason, Reyna and Frank and these three will be very important later on. Nonetheless, thank you for your support!
In response to Thatguy's review, I had the first chapter ready only five days after the last one-shot but I released it on 26th July because it marked exactly one year since I started this trilogy. Well, I love cliffhangers and I am just getting started :) I am only happy to respond to reviews! Thank you for your continued support!
In response to Shadowhunter2077's reviews, exactly, I wanted to show that the Olympians are much more united this time around which also means that I'll need more united opponents. And no, no more protogenoi will be directly involved. It will just gods and Titans slugging it out. Yes, most fanfics nerf the Olympians and Rick Riordan himself always found ways to keep the gods away from the conflicts which showed that he was afraid that getting them too involved would mean a stomp. So rather than following that route, I have beefed up the villains. Thank you for your continued support!
Responding to the Guest reviewer(the one who reviews without fail ), I am thrilled to be able to finally respond to your reviews! You are right, the Theseus name has been used a billion times and honestly, it has gotten unoriginal. While Leonidas isn't entirely original either, it's at least better than Theseus. All your questions will be answered in due time, some, even in this chapter :) I am thrilled that you are going to be a part of this journey as well! Thank you for your continued support!
In response to Walter Ha's review, what would happen if Kronos possessed Percy? You may find out soon :) Thank you for your continued support!
I would like to thank Hunter for your continued support!
In response to DaoGodPrimus' reviews, I am sold on the New Greece idea! This hadn't even occurred to me so thanks so much for pointing it out! I worked out a way to include it into the story as soon as I read your review and I am thrilled to say that I am going to introduce it as soon as possible in a relevant way! Thank you so much for this amazing idea!
I will be updating every five or six days and in rare cases, seven days. I don't think I will do mass updates because it's harder for me to shift the chapters based on the feedback I receive. No, neither Gaia nor the Gigantes will make an appearance in this story. It's just going to be gods and Titans slugging it out. And I will also not be covering the Second Gigantomachy because I have already covered the First Gigantomachy in great detail and I don't want the plot and action to become repetitive. Thank you for your continued support!
I would like to thank MegaRayquaza8121 for your continued support!
Responding to TheForeThought's review, I know that these stories aren't perfect and that from a third person perspective, Percy does seem a lot like Gary Sue character. But if I don't show the hero worship Percy has gotten due to what he has done, there isn't any proof that his existence has made any changes. If the Olympians were still douchebags and didn't give him due credit, then this entire alternate universe falls apart. And to be honest, I am not trying to portray Percy as a hero who attained immortality.
I am portraying him as an immortal who is partially mortal, which is where his empathy stems from. But apart from that, he's a full blown god. And while he does have a few flaws, the entire point of his character existing is to inspire others. And that cannot happen without him being very strong morally. I respectfully disagree that Percy took out Tartarus on his own. That sacrifice of his only worked due to a myriad of reasons, the most important one being that Tartarus was on his last ropes and had also been charmspoken to sleep. And I have already calibrated the villains in this story for Percy's inclusion. As for using state, I don't really see the problem there but I guess you have your opinion and I respect that. Nonetheless, thank you for laying out your criticisms in a civil manner. I understand where you are coming and I thank you for your input!
I would like to thank bring the money for your continued support!
I would like to thank Romeslayer for your support! Enjoy the prequels!
In response to Ryan Fowler's review, I am glad you liked the way this story started! I got the idea of Percy's swords judging its wielders from one of your ideas a long time ago so thanks for that! Thank you for your continued support!
In response to IceFire99's review, I am glad that I didn't disappoint :) I initially had similar reservations about plunging into one-shots but once I started writing them, I felt that they were a good way to expand the AU but of course, nothing beats the traditional story format. There definitely will be an interaction between Percy and Ananke and Chronos in this story! Thank you for your continued support!
In response to Callum Runchman's review, well, Kymopoleia was the perfect candidate for the traitor role and I felt like this was also a good way to show that everyone in the House of Poseidon isn't perfect. Glad you liked the modern era AU! Thank you for your continued support!
Responding to asterix.dk98's review, that's an interesting theory! Thank you for your continued support!
In response to DKay37's review, yes, Percy will be sitting out most of this act but he'll play a central role in all the other acts. Actually, I loved the title and that gave me the idea to name each act! Thank you so much for that! Thank you for your continued support!
Responding to DeadDredd's, oh yeah, Percy is going to be fighting a lot of Titans. Finally, we get to see some evenly matched action :) Thank you for your continued support!
In response to lukiiee321's review, over-protective would be an understatement. Thank you for your continued support!
Responding to Gibson1014's review, even I am a bit sad that this trilogy, a dream project of mine is going to come to an end but I am determined to finish it with a bang! Thank you for your continued support!
In response to PowerSeeker7545's review, no, there is no Big Three pact. Honestly, that would be redundant in this alternate universe and would be a mess to work with so I just discarded it. Thank you for your continued support!
Responding to JokerGames1999's review, that was rather embarrassing, I had actually forgotten that but I corrected it as soon as I read the review. Thank you for your input!
Finally, coming to Gabe1234's review, I am thrilled to have you back! It's fine! You don't need to apologize at all! Yes, the guy is Nero, I mean there's no point in denying it because of how obvious it was. I have big plans that involve him. Who the woman is, you will find out in this chapter. Ah Luke, I have plans for him as well. There will be some similarities with his canonical counterpart but also a lot of differences. Annabeth won't have many elemental powers because Achilles himself didn't have any but maybe she will have a few other abilities.
I did say Leo was not as much of a prodigy with swords as Percy but I don't know about equipping him with a trident. Well I am probably going to go with a Leo X Annabeth pairing and a Jason X Reyna pairing, because Piper most probably won't exist in this universe. Other than that, I am not entirely sure about other pairings and there will be quite a bit of main-ish side characters. I'll figure those out later. Even the pairings that I have decided on will develop in a slow way. They will get attention but the focal point will be the Percy X Athena pairing. Your theories are good and I can confirm that one of them is right but I can't confirm which one it is :) It's great to have you on this journey as well! Thank you for your continued support!
All credit for the characters goes exclusively to Rick Riordan.
Poseidon was equal parts terrified as well as furious. The estranged daughter that he had given another chance had betrayed him and had kidnapped his recovering son, her own brother.
A few centuries ago, Kymopoleia had approached them with what had seemed to be a sincere apology and they had foolishly believed that her intentions had been genuine, thus, letting her back into the palace. And they had thought that she had actually changed for the better. But they could not have been more wrong.
Poseidon should have known that the violent, power-hungry and bloodthirsty goddess that he had once banished could never change but they had given her a second chance because that was what Percy would have done. He was always willing to forgive the mistakes of his family.
What had just happened was cruel irony. The thought that Kymopoleia could betray them and Percy had never crossed his head. And none of them had suspected anything when she had offered to stay back and guard Percy while the rest of the Atlantean Royal Family searched for the thief who had stolen Percy's swords.
That brought him to his current predicament as his hollow gaze fell upon the shattered tank. His other family members materialised next to him a moment later. For a few seconds, no one spoke.
"She really did betray all of us and kidnapped Percy." Amphitrite whispered in a broken voice. Triton roared and wall of energy slammed into all of them.
"I will tear her limb by limb when I find her. She can run but she cannot hide." Triton darkly stated.
"Amphitrite and I need to go to Olympus and inform the gods about this development. Spread the word Triton. Any river god or even Naiad who spots Kymopoleia and relays the information to us shall be given a place in the Court of Atlantis. And set the sea serpents on her tail." Poseidon ordered with his eyes darkening and a moment later, he and Amphitrite disappeared in a blue mist. They had a traitor to hunt and a son to find.
Hestia observed with a façade of calmness as a heated argument took place in the Olympian Council meeting. When Poseidon had called an emergency meeting, they had all thought that he had found the swords but instead of being relieved, they were now in a state of petrified terror because Percy had just been kidnapped.
"How could you not even think that the traitor would try to harm Percy? This is the same person who took pleasure in tormenting him by prematurely revealing his heritage p to him when he was a child. How in the name of Chaos did you not only forgive her transgressions but also let her guard Percy?" Athena furiously questioned. She was gripping her spear so tight that her knuckles were turning white. She really hated the Fates.
She had eagerly waited for past three thousand years for the day when Percy would wake up. And just when she was so close to feeling his warm embrace, her uncle had thrown away everything by granting a traitor access to Percy.
"We didn't think she was savage enough to turn her back on her own family. Clearly, we were wrong." Amphitrite morosely stated.
"Rest assured, when I get my hands on this traitorous daughter of mine, I will bestow the wrath of the seven seas on her." Poseidon promised with his eyes dangerously hardening.
"That's nothing compared to what I will do when I hunt her down. I will let my wolves feed on her." Artemis darkly stated.
"We can think of ways to make this traitor's life miserable once we track her down. But first, we need to find her." Zeus strictly stated.
"The swords being stolen and Kymopoleia kidnapping Percy cannot be isolated events. No, this plot is far more nefarious and dangerous than we believed it was. We are not looking at some rogue immortal. We are looking at a full scale war." Demeter deduced.
"Their reason for kidnapping Percy and his swords cannot be good, that's for sure. Do you think they are trying to force someone else's essence into his body?" Hephaestus questioned and everyone's face paled when they envisioned that possibility.
Before anyone said anything, Hestia received a message from Chiron through their emergency mental link. A message that was highly relevant to what they were now discussing.
"Chiron has just informed me that Leonidas Jackson, Thalia Grace and Annabeth Chase have received visions. Visions of Percy's kidnapping as well as visions of those who are a part of the group that have stolen Percy's swords. And they have apparently also received information about something that could revive Percy from a mysterious immortal." Hestia informed and there was pin drop silence for a moment.
"I will bring them here." Hermes stated and disappeared in a white light. It looked like they had found at least one lead.
Leo nearly jumped when Hermes showed up in front of them just a minute or so after Chiron had reached out to Hestia. As soon as the three demigods had informed him of their vision, the centaur had tried to frantically reach out to the gods. And he had finally succeeded in contacting Hestia.
"Lord Hermes." The four of them bowed.
"You three are coming with me to Olympus. The Council wants to know everything." Hermes stated in a no-nonsense voice before waving his hand.
The three of them were covered by a bright white light a moment later and when they could see again, they saw fourteen pairs of eyes staring at them. Not knowing what to say, Leo just bowed down, mimicking Annabeth's and Thalia's movements.
"My lords and ladies-" Annabeth respectfully started but was cut off by Zeus.
"This is no time for useless formalities demigod. Tell us everything. And let us start with you, Leonidas Jackson. Because it seems like you know more than the others." Zeus strictly stated and Leo immediately stood and retold everything he had seen from all his visions.
"Golden hair, silver eyes, that immortal is most certainly Theia, the Titaness of Illumination and Hyperion's consort. If she is plotting something then it can only mean one thing – the Titan King is rising." Hera grimly stated. Leo, Thalia and Annabeth were terrified but managed to steady themselves.
"Yes, it looks like we are set for another Divine War. This time, it will be a rematch with our old foes – the Titans. This may possibly be the strongest resistance to Olympian rule." Demeter added with a resigned sigh.
"You already beat the Titans once right. And if you could defeat two primordial level threats, Titans should not be too much of a problem. You are the unbeatable Olympian gods." Thalia stated with complete conviction.
"Daughter, I am touched by the confidence you have in us but we are not infallible. While we did fight two very powerful divine foes after the Titans, it would be foolish to deny the pivotal role Perseus played. While we were stronger than the Gigantes hands down, Perseus' inclusion all but ensured victory. And we would have never won against Tartarus if it weren't for Percy's sacrifice." Zeus wearily stated.
"To this date, the Titans are the strongest enemies we ever faced. And we only won the First Titanomachy because of the Titan King underestimating us the entire war. He only realised how dangerous we were when we cut him into little pieces." Poseidon admitted.
"But father, aren't all of you much stronger now? And you have so many more allies." Leo stated.
"Nephew, our aunts stayed out of the battle then. If Theia has decided to participate, Phoebe and Mnemosyne would have definitely joined them. Our mother and Tethys would not have taken part. As for Themis, even she may have taken part. And if they managed to get Kymopoleia to work for her, there are definitely many minor gods with them as well. It's possible that we may even be fighting more Titans who were neutral in the First Titanomachy. To make matters worse, the Titans are very similar to us in terms of biology, unlike the Gigantes, so we will be going up against foes that are very evenly matched with us." Hestia explained.
"We can worry about this later. First, let us focus at the matter at hand. We need to not only rescue Percy but also revive him." Amphitrite stated.
"What is the last shard of the essence of the Sea?" Apollo asked.
"Thalassa, is one of the two Protogenoi of the Sea and was known as the Spirit of the Sea while her consort Pontus was known as the Protector of the Sea. They are the personifications of the Sea and ruled it before Oceanus and Tethys took over. Once Oceanus and Tethys was born, they trained him and diffused their physical forms into the Sea, giving it a degree of sentience. But I have not heard of anything called a shard of the essence of the sea." Poseidon admitted.
"I have gone through the entire Royal Atlantean Library and have never heard any such thing either. Who could know about this?" Athena asked.
"My grandparents Oceanus and Tethys may know something about it but Oceanus may have joined his siblings this time. He resented having to give up ruling the seas and only agreed because Rhea convinced grandmother. And no one knows where Grandmother Tethys really is. So that's ruled out." Amphitrite deduced.
"What about Nereus? He is Pontus' son, so he may know something about this." Poseidon stated.
"Let me contact him." Amphitrite answered and mentally messaged her father and informed him what they needed his help with.
A few moments later, Nereus materialised in the middle of the throne room. He had taken the appearance of a man in his early forties, wearing a simple navy blue floral pattern shirt that matched the colour of his eyes and beach shorts. He nodded his head at the Olympians and Leo stepped up to explain his dream in detail.
"First of all, the person who gave you this information is not just any god or Titan, you have been visited by Moros, the Protogenos of Impending Doom." Nereus revealed. And everyone's faces registered some shock at this.
"He had been one of the three protogenoi to give Percy a vision of his own sacrifice three millennia ago so he may have foreseen a bad future." Athena revealed.
"Moros always showed mortals a glimpse of their own impending dooms and sometimes, on the behest of his siblings, he even showed them ways to avoid it. And since the three protogenoi cannot get involved directly, this is their way of helping us out." Nereus answered.
"We have three protogenoi in our side." Hermes stated with relief.
"Not really. From the look of it, they are more worried about my grandson rather than the rest of you. And don't expect too much help from them. They will not get too involved, they have an oath to keep." Nereus shot down all their relief with his statement.
He knew the oath that many of the protogenoi had sworn tens of millennia ago and he knew that they must have already exploited every loophole to even warn these demigods.
"We digress. Father, what is the shard of the essence of the Sea?" Amphitrite questioned.
"Long ago, when Oceanus gained control of the seas, my father and Thalassa voluntarily gave up their physical forms and diffused completely into their domain. However, they left a very small fraction of their essences inside shards of undersea, volcanic glass." Nereus revealed.
"Why did they leave a part of their essences behind?" Hestia curiously questioned.
"They told me it was to be used to rejuvenate a fading sea deity if required. And they entrusted me with location of the shards. However, after tens of millennia, only one is left." Nereus answered and everyone brightened up.
"Where is it?" Athena eagerly questioned. For once, it looked like fate was on their side.
"Ironically, it's in a desert west of the place where Olympus is currently situated. In the past, it was in the north-western part of the Great Desert. And now, it is in the place that mortals call Death Valley." Nereus informed.
"Then what are we waiting for? Athena and I will get it immediately." Ares stated as he got up.
"No. Only those who are with the children of the sea have entry to the temple. And the Guardian of the shard is an immortal sea serpent who is my half brother and the son of Pontus and Thalassa." Nereus stated.
"Then Poseidon and I will go." Amphitrite determinedly stated.
"I am afraid even that is not possible. Originally, there had been two such shards. But once, an overzealous son of Oceanus and Tethys tricked me into giving him the location of the shards. Trusting my judgment, the Guardian allowed him to take a shard. But unfortunately, the Potamos used the additional power to try and wrest control of the seas from his father which led to a long and bloody civil war. Ever since then, the Guardian has held a grudge against me and is especially critical of any and all sea gods. If he senses any sea gods approaching, he will set up an unbreakable barrier of metaphysical energy." Nereus answered and the gods visibly deflated.
"Lord Moros told me that this was something that the three of us had to do if we wanted to avoid impending doom." Leo revealed in unsure voice and he nearly took a step back when he fourteen pairs of eyes turned at him.
"Leonidas Jackson, I remember you not having a very favourable opinion of your elder brother. I find it suspicious that you are suddenly volunteering to go on such a dangerous mission to save him." Amphitrite stated with narrowed eyes and Leo almost covered under her scrutinizing gaze.
"Amphitrite, he was just bitter. Once he got to know the entire story, the bitterness was gone. And you saw how concerned he was when he saw Percy being kidnapped." Poseidon defended and Amphitrite's gaze softened a little.
"I have nothing but respect for my elder brother, Lady Amphitrite. All other negative feelings about him were in the past and they never truly contained any malice. And if I can help him in any way, I will." Leo stated with a flash of determination.
"Kid is telling the truth. He is bit unconvinced about himself but I don't get any traitorous vibes from him." Apollo gave his seal of approval.
"The three of them are strong. Stronger than most demigods. Their skills could use a lot of development but a tiny knowledge sharing touch from their parents could make them sufficiently proficient. Besides, we have no other choice." Ares gruffly stated. And the rest of the gods reluctantly nodded at him.
"If you manage to prove yourself to the Guardian, he will give you the shard. But you will need to get to one of the gods as soon as you get the shard because it will attract every sea deity in a hundred leagues once it is in your possession." Nereus stated.
"Lord Nereus, if only children of the sea have entry into the temple, how can I get in?" Thalia respectfully asked.
"You can get in because you are a demigod. Even though this temple is on land, it houses the essence of the sea. Hence, only sea deities have access there due to the Ancient Laws. However, as you know, these Ancient Laws do not affect mortals." Nereus calmly explained.
"I have a question, how can we use the shard without finding Percy's body?" Hermes asked.
"To infuse him with the essences of Pontus and Thalassa, the shard must be crushed by his symbol of power – his swords. Once that happens, the essences will fill his swords, which being a gateway to his immortal essence means that wherever he is, he will instantly awaken due to the raw influx of energy." Nereus expounded.
"They will be keeping his swords and his body in the same place. As his swords are the gateway to his immortal essence, they are the only way in which they could force the Titan King's essence into him." Athena concluded.
"So in short, we find his swords, we find him." Artemis summarized.
"That settles it, the demigods will get the shard. And we will not be idle during that time. I want those who were originally searching for Perseus' swords to double down on it. Even if the demigods find the shard, it will be pointless if we don't find Perseus. There must be some way to track him down. Work it out." Zeus addressed his children, Aphrodite and the demigods before turning his attention on his wife and siblings.
"Wife, sisters, get into contact with mother and try finding who will be fighting against us. Hades, if the Titan King is rising then the Titan Lords will be rising with him as well. Keep a watch on any Titans popping out of Tartarus. I will work with the wind gods to search for any congregations of monsters or immortals." Zeus ordered.
"Poseidon, Amphitrite, I doubt that Kymopoleia will be hiding Percy somewhere in the sea. It would be more productive if you found out Oceanus' status in this war. The two of you are far too powerful to be stealthy. Perhaps you could send Triton to the surface world to aid the search while the rest of you scout the seas for potential enemies, thus even accounting for the offshoot possibility of Percy being hidden somewhere in the sea." Zeus cautiously suggested.
"As much as I would like to search for Percy myself, I trust my first son, nephews and nieces. I will instruct Pallas and Rhode to search the sea for enemies and traitors while Amphitrite and I will keep things stable and try to get into contact with Tethys." Poseidon stated with a resigned sigh.
"We have our missions. And I know that we will succeed in them. This meeting is dismissed." Zeus boomed and disappeared in a brilliant shower of sparks. A moment later, a small compass with a blue compass needle materialised in Leo's hands.
"That compass will lead you to the shard. It is in a temple dedicated to Pontus and Thalassa. Once you get in, you will receive the shard only if the Guardian deems you worthy." Nereus explained.
"What if he thinks we are unworthy?" Leo questioned with some fear.
"Then you will not be alive to see the next sunrise. But for the sake of my grandson, I hope you are worthy." Nereus flatly stated before disappearing in a pale blue mist. And most of the gods flashed out after that. But Poseidon and Athena stayed behind.
"Leo, before you go on this mission, let me remove a few of your mental blocks. I will give you the knowledge of effectively utilizing your abilities. This should give you some proficiency in your elemental powers. Apart from that, I will also give you the knowledge of a few of your brother's greatest swordsmanship maneuvers. However, none of this is a substitute for training." Poseidon stated and shot a beam of teal blue light at Leo.
Instantly, Leo was flooded with knowledge and skills far beyond what he had once imagined was possible. Leo smiled gratefully at his father who smiled back at him.
"I know that you will succeed Leo. I have full faith in you." Poseidon reassured and disappeared in a blue mist.
"The three of you, come with me. You are going to need advanced machinery and cutting edge weaponry if you want to succeed in this dangerous mission." Athena strictly stated and all of them disappeared in a grey flash of light. They had mission to complete and a hero to revive.
Along with Athena, the trio of demigods materialised in Athena's armory. And it was by far the best armory any of them had ever seen. The one in Camp Half-Blood could not hold a candle to this one. Athena led them to a fearsome looking war chariot and turned to them.
"You will need to some very effective transportation if you want to stand any chance of getting to one of us safely once you get the shard. And since you also have to follow a compass, a war chariot will be the best way for you to travel across the country." Athena stated and with a snap of her fingers, the war chariot turned into a sleek blue BMW M8. And Leo had to hold back a shout of excitement.
"This war chariot has been modelled after Percy's flying warship. It can race across the sky at a third of the speed of sound and reaches half that speed on land. It also is designed such that it conceals your energy signatures. Fitted with a manual RADAR, the original one, not the replicas produced by mortals, which should let you hone in on any targets and fire smaller versions of the missiles that protect Olympus. You have eight missiles. Each one of them of them are capable of wiping out four normal monsters. Use them wisely. And if you ever find yourself surrounded, use the sea pearls Uncle Poseidon has given Leonidas to transport yourselves to a safe place and press the self-destruct button." Athena instructed.
"None of us know how to drive." Leo awkwardly stated.
Athena snapped her fingers and even that knowledge made its way to their minds. She snapped her fingers again and three smartphones materialised in their hands.
"Now you know how to drive. Besides, it has a very efficient autopilot, so you shouldn't have any problems. And these phones are linked to mine and the other Olympians' energy signatures, developed by mine, Iris' and Hephaestus' combined efforts. They will let you get into contact with us even when we are not answering prayers or responding to Iris message. Use it to contact me once you get the shard. You can use this as a normal smartphone as well." Athena explained.
"Mother, won't this attract monsters?" Annabeth asked.
"No. These smartphones have been designed in a way such that they do not attract any monsters." Athena answered.
She then searched her armory for suitable weapons. And requested her father and Uncle Poseidon to send in special weapons for their children. A moment later, a baseball cap, wristwatch and bracelet materialised in Annabeth's hands while a pen and wristwatch materialised in Leo's hands. And Thalia got a wristwatch as well but she also got a platinum ring.
"Annabeth, as soon as you wear the cap, you will turn invisible. However, just because your opponents can't see or smell you does not mean that they cannot harm you. In fact, if you are close enough, some of your enemies can sense your energy signature. The wristwatch turns into a shield if you press the timer. And when you tug on the bracelet, a Celestial Bronze dagger will materialise in your hands. It will be the perfect weapon in your hands." Athena stated with a small smile before turning to Thalia.
"Thalia, the wristwatch turns into a replica of my shield Aegis. It will strike terror into the hearts of your opponents. And the platinum ring morphs into a spear, one that is enchanted by your father to augment and aid your electrokinetic abilities." Athena informed before finally turning towards Leo.
"Leonidas, the pen turns into a Greek xiphos once you uncap it, one I assume you will be proficient with. It's a famous sword. It once belonged to the current lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis, but she gave it to Percy long ago because she found that she had no use for it. Percy used it as a backup but Uncle Poseidon has held it for the past three millennia and he believes you deserve it. It's contains a very special connection to the sea and should help you channel your powers better. The wristwatch morphs into a light Celestial Bronze shield. And all your weapons are perfectly balanced." Athena explained.
Leo uncapped the pen and instantly, a leaf shaped sword materialised in his hands. He felt a sense of power and familiarity course through him and he marveled at how perfectly balanced it was. It felt right to be holding it. He saw the name engraved on its side - Anaklusmos and his dyslexic mind immediately translated it - Riptide.
Athena then snapped her hands once more and the demigods were enveloped by lightweight black armours consisting of a horseplume helmet, breastplate, shoulder guards, vambraces and greaves. Instead of a waistguard and sandals, they had black combat pants and boots. And the breastplate had the symbol of an owl with swords crossed in front of it.
"These are armours that I have designed to have the perfect balance between protection and agility. If you press the emblem on your breastplates, the armour will dissolve into comfortable clothes of your choice. Press on the emblem again and you will once again be protected by your armour. The armour also has an adaptive camouflage mechanism which combined with the your boots not leaving behind any footprints means that this armour has been designed to provide maximum stealth." Athena expounded with a proud smile. It was good to finally put all this advanced machinery to good use.
The three teens did what she said and found themselves back their old clothes, the only difference being the emblem on their shirts.
"This is amazing! I feel like some spy working for a secret intelligence agency." Leo excitedly stated, forgetting that he was in the presence of a goddess and sheepishly smiled at her when she raised an eyebrow at him.
"You are not wrong. The three of you are now part of the elite group of field agents of the temporarily reinstituted Divine Secret Service, the oldest and most efficient intelligence agency in history. Normally, we used to send our agents on field duty only after vigorous tests, intense training and when they were twenty one years old but extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary actions. And all this weaponry and machinery your that you have been given used to be standard issue. That brings me to the final thing I have for you." Athena calmly replied.
If the Divine Secret Service had still been active, they would have detected this problem years ago. But the other gods had foolishly voted to shut it down and they were paying the price for it now. Athena then snapped her fingers once more as three Celestial Bronze handguns materials in their hands.
"These are nine millimetre semi-automatic handguns that fire bullets made of an alloy of Celestial Bronze and Steel. While they lack the range and power of a bow, if used effectively, they can be very deadly. They are already loaded but you will have more than enough ammunition in the pockets of your combat pants if you ever need it. They'll turn into rings on your index fingers and you just have to twist the ring if you need them." Athena stated.
"Why are the bullets made of an alloy of steel and Celestial Bronze?" Thalia questioned.
"Because the alloy makes the bullets very deadly to all kinds of enemies. Mortals, demigods, spirits and monsters. It can even harm immortals, albeit not as much as the other groups. It's good for a quick getaway or for a surprise attack." Athena answered.
"Wait, will we have to kill mortals and other demigods?" Leo questioned with an aghast expression.
Killing monsters was fine, Chiron told him that they would only be destroying the physical forms of the monsters and force them to reform. And Annabeth told him that spirits did not have souls and if they were killed, they would reincarnate as a part of nature. So to an extent, putting down an evil nature spirit was fine.
However, killing mortals felt like an immoral thing to do. It felt like an abuse of power and a total disregard for the value of a life. And killing demigods, his own brethren, made Leo feel even more nauseous.
"Leonidas, in this line of work, you do not know who will be your enemy. It may be anybody. Monsters, spirits, immortals, mortals, other traitorous demigods or for that matter, even demititans. It's a ruthless world. It's either kill or die." Athena coldly stated.
"But what if the demigod was mislead by someone else? Can't we give them a second chance?" Leo pleaded.
"You can't afford to give anybody a second chance, Leonidas. Because they can spell the end of your own life on a later date. Or even worse, they can cause the death of someone close to you. Do you really want that to happen?" Athena firmly questioned.
Looking at his conflicted expression, Athena realised that she was talking only to a fourteen year old boy and not a battle hardened soldier and her eyes softened when Leonidas averted his eyes.
"Leonidas, I know that it is unfair on our part to burden mere teenagers to with such great responsibility and force such harsh choices upon you. But fate does not care about preserving someone's naivety. Fate may seem cruel at times but it is our own lofty ideals that makes its impartiality look like cruelty." Athena stated in a softer, gentler voice. And that was when they heard Selene's voice.
"Athena speaks the truth. Sometimes, fate forces us to make uncomfortable decisions. Decisions where all the choices seem to be the wrong ones. But we have to remember that ultimately, these are the choices that will decide whether you live or whether you die. And that unfortunately, is every hero's destiny." Selene stated with a sigh of sorrow.
"Lady Selene." The three demigods stated with a bow.
"Rise demigods. The road ahead of you will be harsh but never lose hope as you are fighting for a cause that is much more virtuous than what the Titans are fighting for. Trust me, I have seen the rule of the Titans and all they know is carnage and bloodshed. The world is a much better place without their thirst for violence and lust for power. In stark contrast, we are fighting for the sake of protecting our family and for the noble ideals that the first rulers of this world represented. And in the end, I have no doubt that time and destiny will be kind to all of us." Selene wisely stated, filling the trio of demigods with motivation.
"Milady, we will bring the shard back and revive General Perseus." Annabeth stated with determination.
"I know you will my dear. The three of you remind me of younger versions of your parents. And when you awaken Percy, he will be ecstatic to meet members of his family that share the same values as him." Selene kindly stated.
"The three of you will be going on an extremely important mission. You must be aware of how much Percy means to me and if it were up to me, I would have done this myself. But I am trusting you to do this right and I have complete faith in all of you. Annabeth, my daughter, I know you will utilize the unparalleled intelligence you have inherited from me and Thalia, my sister, I have no doubt in your prodigal skill." Athena stated as she directed her attention at Leo .
"Leonidas Jackson, others may have a few doubts about you but I don't. You are in fact very much like your elder brother. Filled with lofty ideals and loyal to a fault. But your lofty ideals may not always be in tune with reality. You may be strong but your skills need much finesse and you are a complete novice, lacking any combat experience. While you show flashes of determination, your willpower is hampered by a severe lack of confidence. You are of the belief that whatever you do, you will never be able to match your elder brother. But I believe that you will eventually overcome those vices. After all, sons of Poseidon do have a knack of doing the impossible." Athena stated with a fond smile.
"We will not let you down milady." Leo determinedly stated.
He didn't know why but it felt very reassuring to hear that Athena had faith in him. Annabeth and Thalia nodded their heads with similar determined expressions.
"I know you won't." Athena stated with a reassuring smile and snapped her fingers one last time, this time, she gave them her plethora of combat experience.
"This should make you proficient enough in combat to not be killed. However, now that you are DSS field agents, you will be trained officially and rigorously once this mission is over. May the Fates be with you." Athena stated with a small smile.
The three teens nodded at her and Selene one last time before getting into the BMW. And after a short discussion, it was decided that Leo would take the wheel. With a wave of Athena's hands, the car disappeared and materialised near the edge of Olympus.
"Are you ready to do this?" Leo asked Annabeth who was sitting next to him and Thalia who was sitting behind.
"I really don't want to answer that question." Thalia stated with a nervous laugh.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Annabeth asked with an excited smile.
Leo gave her a wolfish grin while even Thalia managed to muster a smile. Leo gazed at the high tech steering wheel in front of him and slammed his foot on the accelerator. Instantly, they flew into sky, away from Olympus as the car's engine let out a massive roar. They were finally going to do something heroic.
Back in Athena's armory, Selene observed the calm goddess of wisdom in front of her. She had rushed to meet Athena as soon as she could when she had found out that Percy had been kidnapped, in order to calm Athena down if required. But she had been pleasantly surprised by the maturity Athena had shown while handling this situation.
"You are taking this surprisingly well niece. If I were you, I definitely would have panicked." Selene commented.
"Oh, I am terrified Aunt Selene. But I could not let the kids see that. They have already been burdened with so much responsibility. The least I could do was a put up a strong front for them. But in reality, I'm terrified of what may happen to Percy if we fail. The horrifying possibility of the Titan King using Percy's body makes me nauseous. I would rather fade than see something than go through that trauma." Athena confessed in a small voice. And in return, Selene gently hugged Athena.
"These demigods are strong my dear. Much stronger than they look. They will succeed. And so will you and the rest of our family. We will be reunited with Percy. There is no doubt about that." Selene reassured.
"But is it right to put such young demigods into danger? When did we become so indifferent to suffering that now, we are resorting to using child soldiers? These three are only fourteen year olds but we have stripped them of their carefree life and innocence. We never sent even the most experienced field agents on such dangerous missions." Athena stated with a frustrated sigh after pulling away.
"Niece, destiny has the unfortunate effect of forcing maturity upon us. Look at the effect it had on Percy. He gained centuries of maturity and wisdom only in a matter of years. However, it came at a great cost. One that was nearly unbearable. And even now, he faces unforeseen hurdles. But I am confident that eventually, both of you will get the life you deserve. Sometimes, life is like a dark tunnel, at times, the situation may seem hopeless but as long as we have the willpower and determination to power through, we will eventually see a ray of light." Selene softly stated.
After hearing her aunt's inspiring speech, Athena felt herself being filled with hope. She flashed out in a grey light as a fierce determination to be reunited with Percy filled her. The demigods would get the shard and she would find Percy. That was a solemn oath.
Hey guys! So the length of the chapters of this story is going to be approximately the same as that of the previous one, some of them may be less or more depending on the chapter. And of course, while my answers to your reviews may have gotten shorter, that is only due to the number of reviews and I am so stoked because the response has just been fantastic and unbelievable! And I am thrilled to be able to finally respond to your raving reviews!
This chapters predominantly deals with the gods planning to get Percy back and not acting like arrogant douche bags by leaving the demigods to fend on their own. I felt like this was a good way to show the stark contrast between these gods and their canonical counterparts.
Also, I have interwoven the mentions of some primordials and have introduced this shard to give more depth to the story. However, Protogenoi will never take a very involved role in this story. It's going to only be about the Titans and gods. I have also kept Selene and Helios. Originally, I wanted to let them fade but I liked Selene's character way too much to let her go so I kept her.
After scaling back the techno-pop in the last story for obvious reasons, I am reintroducing it with a bang in this story and I am definitely just getting started. Like I said, this story is going to be wild and will cover practically every genre that can be covered :) And, of course, you'll see a lot of deadly supercars :)
Read and review, I hope that all of you enjoyed this chapter! Have a fantastic day!
