Chapter 13
Greetings viewers! I hope that all of you enjoyed the previous chapter!
In response to MysteryTrident14's review, I am glad to hear that you liked the previous chapter! The Fates will make an appearance eventually but suffice to say, Percy dislikes them. Basically he has a history with them. That's mainly because in this Alternate universe, fate itself is karmic rather than being decided by the Fates. They can only give rise to an individual through a string but their weaving of a person's fate depends on their choices.
In this series, Percy's string of fate was initially crafted by the Fates to oppose the Gigantes and bring back some order to the world as well as to ensure that the gods didn't turn into the Titans. But he fulfilled his purpose pretty quickly through a series of choices that were morally right, but hurt him personally. So he feels like the Fates didn't give him anything for doing the right thing. It's a complex relationship that I will expand more as this story progresses. And I hope enjoyed the reread! Thank you for your continued support!
In response to the guest reviewer, I am glad to be back to uploading chapters on a weekly basis! It feels great to be able to write again and to utilize all the creativity that I can muster. And don't worry, I don't plan to quit writing anytime soon. Thank you for your support!
Responding to J's review, this new darker persona is not really the same as the one you read in the first story. Back then, he was ruthless in the sense that he was willing to risk everything to win, without a single care about the collateral of his actions. Now, he's more interested in protecting his family but he's darker in the sense that he doesn't show any mercy to those who deems as his enemies. I'll elaborate more on this in the chapter. Thank you for your continued support!
I would like to thank Nice for your continued support!
I would like to thank John for your continued support! It's great to be back to writing and updating regularly!
I would like to thank SonGoku76 for your continued support! I am happy to hear that you like this edgier portrayal of Percy!
In response to the guest reviewer (the one who reviews frequently), the warning was to just prepare the readers for the darker and more violent turn in the previous chapter as it may sometimes come as a bit of shock if I just spring that. So a warning allows them to know what to expect and I'm glad that helped! Yes, I wanted to show that even Percy has a dark, violent side to him just like the seas and I am thrilled to hear that you enjoyed that portrayal!
Magnus has power over fire primarily due to him being a son of Theia, who herself is the Titaness of Illumination. But since he also Hyperion's champion, his powers over fire are vastly magnified making him a walking wildfire. Who is knocking on Athena's door? You'll find out very, very soon :) It was very important for me to make a distinction between this Percy and the Percy from the first book.
Even though Percy is not the same knight in shining armour that he was in the second book, he's still not as ruthless as he was in the first book. I will elaborate more on this in the footnote! It is really helpful, in terms of feedback, for me to interact with you as I can gain better understanding of what makes the story better! So thank you very much for your continued support as well as your valuable feedback!
In response to HellRaiderS' review, I am glad that you enjoyed the previous chapter! Yes, Percy will definitely get some screen time (book time?) with Styx and his nieces in the coming chapters as soon as the opportunity presents itself! Thank you for your continued support!
In response to Ryan Fowler's review, thank you for your concern! I am very happy to hear that you enjoyed the previous chapter and I hope that you enjoy this one as well! I really think that the idea of Percy being involved in Japanese mythology is a great one! Normally you have Percy going into Egyptian or Norse mythology but very rarely do we see him in Japanese mythology. It could be a great project to work upon once I'm done with this and the crossover! Thank you for your continued and for your great ideas!
I would like to thank MegaRayquaza8121 for your continued support!
In response to Jubby1905's review, I am thrilled to know that you liked this badass version of Percy! You definitely will be seeing Hestia very soon! I have already come up with a scene that will include Hestia in the next chapter! And I really am enjoying writing that bit! So thank you for the great idea! I am happy to hear that you liked the previous chapter! I hope that you like one as well! Thank you for your continued support!
Finally, coming to Arden2709's review, I am glad that you enjoyed the previous chapter! I hope you like this one as well! And believe me, I have no intent to stop updating! Thank you for your continued support!
All credit for the characters goes exclusively to Rick Riordan.
A twinge of worry creeped had creeped its way into Athena's expression. As soon as Nico and Thalia had confirmed her suspicions that they were outnumbered by Phoebe's forces, her initial plan had been to hide from Phoebe's forces, regroup with Artemis and her hunters and then attack the Titaness of Healing and her forces along with the Hunters of Artemis. But it looked like that would no longer be possible.
As Athena's protective energy dome dissolved, she and the rest of the demigods were standing on the cratered ground where a magnificent hotel once stood and she saw that they were surrounded by Phoebe and her army.
"Athena, my dear grand-niece, did you really think that I would not be able to anticipate your tactics of trying to prevent us from getting the Golden Fleece? After countless millennia of being married to Koios, I have a learnt a thing or two when it comes to strategic foresight." Phoebe stated with a condescending smirk as she rested her spear on the ground.
Phoebe had taken the appearance of a woman in her thirties and was almost a splitting image of her daughter and granddaughter. She had the same auburn coloured and the silver-yellow eyes as Leto and Artemis but in stark contrast to the kindness in Leto's eyes and the proud determination in Artemis', Phoebe's eyes held a dark malevolence. And she was wielding a spear and shield that were as equally fearsome as Athena's.
"Foolish of you to assume that I got outfoxed by you, Grandaunt Phoebe. You are sorely mistaken and are only flattering yourself if you think that you were our target. We didn't care about capturing you because we knew that today or tomorrow, we will throw all the Titans back to Tartarus. Our target was always that weasel Caligula. We were just here to distract you." Athena boldly announced her partial lie with a snug smile.
While their main purpose for coming to New Orleans had been to defeat Phoebe's army and capture the Titaness, their mission would still be deemed a success even if they just inflicted heavy losses on the Othryian Forces and kept Phoebe occupied while Percy destroyed Caligula's armada and retrieved the Golden Fleece. Plus, if this small bluff helped get inside Phoebe's head and forced her to make strategic errors, that was just icing on the cake.
"You underestimate the sheer power of Caligula's armada. He has enough manpower aboard his super yachts to counteract even Diaboles." Phoebe confidently rebuffed.
"Look around, Athena. You are surrounded. It is you and these four strong but young and inexperienced demigods against me, two experienced and powerful demititans along with an army of more than a hundred monsters. And to compound your woes, I have set up a metaphysical barrier around this city which is powerful enough to prevent any god, including even your father, from teleporting to your rescue. Understand that you are in a hopeless situation and surrender peacefully, then you may expect some mercy. Or else, your current physical form will meet a gruesome end." Phoebe threatened as she pointed her spear at Athena.
However, that's when Athena received a much needed mental message from her sister, which meant that the Hunters had gotten inside the city before Phoebe had erected a metaphysical barrier.
"That's fine. I don't need my father's help when I have my sister and her hunters." Athena shot back with a victorious smirk on her face.
Phoebe's face registered some confusion before one of panic replaced it when she heard the howl of wolves that could only belong to one group – the Hunters of Artemis. And the demigods took that as their cue and charged.
Leo woke up and was a bit disoriented and confused when he found himself in the back seat of the Ferrari Roma form of Percy's flying warship, which was currently cruising through the sky. And a moment later, Annabeth stirred as well and they saw Percy driving the car with a stony expression on his face.
"Where are we?" Leo groggily questioned.
"On our way to New Orleans. We should be there in about half an hour. You were asleep for the better part of the past hour." Percy calmly replied.
"How did we fall asleep? What happened to Caligula?" Annabeth confusedly questioned.
The most recent thing she remembered was being smacked away by Caligula and Percy showing up to stop the former Roman emperor from impaling her. She didn't remember anything after that.
"Once all the helicopters had been destroyed, I fought with Caligula and had to persuade him to give me the Golden Fleece. It took some time but he eventually complied. After I had secured the Golden Fleece, I sent it to my father to safeguard. With the Golden Fleece secured, Caligula had outlived his usefulness so I sent him to join his friend Commodus in Tartarus." Percy revealed in a neutral tone.
"Why did you put us to sleep?" Annabeth asked in a quiet voice.
She had a very vague idea of what Percy had done and now that she remembered Percy's Ichor soaked form when he had initially materialised in front of them, she realised that Percy had also cleaned himself up as he looked squeaky clean.
"Kid, some things are better left unsaid and unseen. You probably have an idea of how I had to get the information out of Caligula and let me tell you, it wasn't a pretty sight. But it is what it is. This is the darker aspect of our job which is often ignored and hopefully, you never have to explore this aspect. Because for all your strength and maturity, both of you are still only fifteen years old. Be it while dealing with the river gods or with Caligula, there things that I did today which no young teenager should ever see." Percy stated with a resigned sigh as he solemnly looked at his brother and his pseudo step daughter through the rear view mirror.
"Oh." Leo replied without much eloquence as he realised what Percy was talking about. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Annabeth broke the ice.
"Do you regret having to do that?" Annabeth cautiously probed.
"No." Percy swiftly and decisively answered before elaborating.
"I only did what I wanted to do. Maybe my emotions and rage did get the better of me when I saw the man who played a major part in the death of my nephew. Maybe it was the fact that since this was the first time since I came out of my coma that I could fight at full power without facing constant power deration, I threw restraint out of the window. But I have no regrets. I made my bed. I will sleep in it." Percy answered with his clarity of thought on full display.
Annabeth was about to say something but bit her tongue when she realised who she was talking to. However, this did not go unnoticed by Percy who smiled at her in a pained yet nostalgic way.
"Annabeth, sometimes, you remind me so much of your late uncle – Achilles. You have Athena's intellect and wisdom but those fierce and uncompromising ideals are trademark characteristics of the members of the House of Poseidon. When he was your age, like you, even your uncle disagreed with me on quite a few things but out of respect, chose not to say anything. In fact he was so respectful that he refused to even verbally disagree with me when he was a young teenager." Percy recollected with a faraway look in his eyes.
"I didn't mean to-" Annabeth started but she was cut off by Percy.
"Relax kid. I can be very intimidating at times but you don't need to be afraid around me. And you don't need to hide your differences in opinion either. It's good to have some difference in opinion, always makes for a healthy level of mutual growth. I used to enjoy Achilles' unquestioning loyalty initially but then I realised that in trying to enforce my views on him, I indirectly created the circumstances of his death." Percy stated with a sombre expression on his face.
"I am just a bit confused, Percy. Aren't you the one who said excessive brutality and bloodlust is a bad thing? Yet, you insinuate that you involved yourself in plenty of such actions today. And you are telling that you wanted to do this. This doesn't feel right to me. We are supposed to be heroes. If we ourselves act like this, how are we any better than the Titans?" Annabeth voiced her thoughts.
"My dear, the answer to that is very simple. You need to worry about doing the morally right thing only if you want to be the hero. Today, I came face to face with the man who played a big part in the death of Achilles. And along with him were a bunch of river gods who had done a bunch of nasty things. Now, a hero would have done only what was absolutely necessary and would have destroyed their physical forms without engaging in excessive bloodshed. But I am not a hero and neither do I want to be one. I proudly embrace the meaning of my name. I am the destroyer who brings damnation on his enemies." Percy stated in a deep, serious voice.
"Just because you got angry once doesn't mean you don't deserve to be called a hero. We all make mistakes. You told us that the important thing was that we learn from our mistakes. And you were, are and will always be the greatest hero to ever walk the Earth." Leo strongly defended.
"I don't believe I made any mistake today. In my eyes, I delivered justice. History has always been written by winners, brother. And I have been very fortunate to fight on the side of winners. So history has been kind to me. Perhaps, in my second incarnation, the one which came after a great personal loss during the Gigantomachy, I was the closest to what you could call an actual hero. I was calm, collected, benevolent and arguably, even virtuous back then. However, the incarnation of mine which preceded that was a ruthless, single-minded one. It was the persona of a battle hardened general. And I did much worse things back during then out of pure hate for the gods' enemies. So those things would be the farthest from being classified as heroic." Percy paused to think before continuing.
"Now, I am more pragmatic and less obsessed on doing what is morally right. It has come at the cost of some of the virtues I was known for but I don't need to be the hero anymore. I don't need to lead by example. The world doesn't need Perseus Diaboles the Hero because according to these pesky mortals, the gods don't exist, so I don't need to be the paragon of virtue. Neither does it need Perseus Diaboles the General who was once willing to flood an entire city as collateral damage if that allowed him to defeat a few Gigantes. In fact, the world does not need Perseus Diaboles at all." Percy soberly concluded as he shared information about the change in his personality with them.
"That's not true. You managed to turn the tide of the war in the gods' favour. You have given us a new and directed approach to this war. You are saving the world from falling into the clutches of the Titans who will indubitably reverse all the progress that has taken place under the gods. The world still needs Perseus Diaboles to keep the forces of evil in check." Leo hotly argued.
He refused to believe that his brother, the man who had saved his life twice and given it a new meaning, a new purpose and a man who had given him a new family which he could always rely on, had now become redundant.
"Brother, as much as it warms my heart to see how much respect you have for me, the reality is that the world doesn't need me. It never did. The world will not stop functioning if it falls into the hands of the Titans. Mortals won't be driven to extinction. Sure, they will be made to live like animals but I am not fighting to save them from that fate. I don't fight for these ignorant mortals. I fight only because my family wants me to. And I have definitely not single-handedly turned the tide of this war. I am nothing but a burned-out killer now. My days of glory are now behind me. I am a man from a different era brought into this to fight for his family. And I will do my level best to defeat our enemies. But this is it. After this is over, I will retire to some remote island in the Aegean along with the woman of my dreams and live a blissful life of peace there." Percy replied with a look of longing in his eyes.
"So, you'll just leave?" Annabeth asked in shock, unable to process this bit of information.
"Yes. The past three millennia are proof of the fact that my family does not need me to do any minesweeping for them on a daily basis. Mortals don't need me to guide them. They'll do what they want to do anyway. There's no point in me staying on as the General of the Divine Forces." Percy answered in a calm, clear voice as he took a gentle right to avoid a storm cloud. And an uneasy silence enveloped all of them.
"See, this is why you are never supposed to meet your heroes. More often than not, they turn out to not be the saints you envisioned them to be. When we idolize someone, we often forget that they have flaws and instead expect them to be perfect. But reality is disappointing." Percy broke the silence with a weary sigh as he smiled at them sympathetically.
He had also been in such a position a long, long time ago when he had been unquestionably loyal to the gods, ignoring some of their most jarring flaws.
"Anyway, push that conversation to the back of your mind. We still have a long and arduous journey to achieving victory over the Titans in this war and the next step in realising that goal is by obliterating Phoebe's army." Percy revitalized them with his words as he sought to change the topic. The road to his life of uninterrupted peace was a long way ahead. But after avenging Achilles, he felt like he was one step closer to that dream.
Phoebe knew that with the arrival of the Hunters of Artemis, she and her army were now on the back foot. And that was evident by the way in which the hunters had torn into her army while the demigods dealt with her demititan nephew and niece. Which left her to deal with Athena and Artemis. All alone.
"Hello grandmother. This must be my lucky day. I get the opportunity of capturing you." Artemis declared as she took a battle stance in front of Phoebe, holding her hunting knives in opposing directions.
"Let's see you try, granddaughter." Phoebe replied with an angry hiss as she charged at Artemis.
However, her spear was blocked by Athena's shield and Artemis jumped and delivered a roundhouse kick to Phoebe's face, sending her straight into a building. Phoebe shook off the debris just in time to intercept a ferocious barrage of slashes from her granddaughter but was swiftly overpowered when Athena joined the fight and smashed her shield into the Titaness' face, sending her skidding backwards.
Elsewhere, Jason and Nico found themselves fighting against the son of Theia who was literally a walking wildfire. Nico blocked a pillar of fire from the demititan with a wall of shadows while Jason blasted him backwards with a sizzling bolt of lightning, which Magnus redirected with his sword, but he suffered some mild electrical shocks as a result of that.
Nico then took advantage of Magnus' temporary disorientation to charge at him with his Stygian Iron sword and Jason soon followed him with his Imperial Gold Gladius in tow as they teamed up on the Champion of Hyperion.
A few dozen feet away from them, Thalia and Reyna were fighting against Spatha, the daughter of Themis and a group of monsters along side a certain Zoe Nightshade.
Reyna masterfully blocked a horizontal slash from Spatha with her shield before retaliating with a spear thrust. However, the daughter of Themis was proving to be faster than expected and evaded Reyna's attack.
Unfortunately for her, she was peppered by a volley of arrows fired by Zoe out of which, two managed to embed themselves into the chink of her armour, causing her to hiss in pain. She was not given any respite as Thalia vapourized all monsters in a ten foot radius, severely burning Spatha in the process.
Things were starting to look even worse for Phoebe as she had been bombarded with unending assaults by both Artemis as well as Athena, resulting in her being riddled in wounds and bruises.
She groaned in pain as her granddaughter impaled her shoulder and then Athena fired a beam of grey energy at her which sent her flying before bringing her to a rough landing a few dozen feet away.
Phoebe shakily stood up and was filled with more anxiety when she saw that the Hunters had wiped out nearly half of her army, without suffering any casualties. And both her niece as well as nephew were on their last ropes, due to the sheer number of demigods ganging up on them.
"Even if you capture me today, you won't win this war. There are a dozen other Titans who are as or more powerful than me. Not to mention, you will not be able to stop the assault of my husband, brothers and my nephew Atlas when they all recover completely." Phoebe wheezed out as she tried shaking off the cobwebs in her vision.
"Arrogance goes on horseback but comes back on foot. You are no different from all the other enemies of the gods, Phoebe. And just like them, when you and the Titans are defeated, your abode for all eternity will be the miserable plane of existence known as Tartarus." Athena declared with a cold yet regal expression on her face as she hefted her spear and charged at Phoebe. But she was intercepted by someone she didn't expect would be here.
In front of her and protecting his mother was Lelantos, the Titan of the Hunter's Skill of Stalking Prey and Artemis' uncle. Lelantos had managed to block her spear with one of his hunting knives and kicked Athena away before taking a protective stance in front of his mother.
"Not so fast, goddess." Lelantos spat out venomously as he glared at Athena and Artemis.
"Lelantos." Artemis greeted with a grim expression on her face.
She did not expect to come face to face with the man who had thought her the art of hunting as well as the skill of wielding hunting knives. But she quickly pushed any lingering affection towards him to the back of her mind. He was an enemy now and would meet the same fate as the other Titans.
"Son, what are you doing here?" Phoebe asked with relief evident in her voice as she used her spear to stand up.
"The General and father had asked me to tail you and aid you in case the Hunters of Artemis came here to reinforce Athena. And their insight turned out to be prophetic." Lelantos calmly replied, without taking his eyes off either Artemis or Athena.
"It's still two goddesses against one and a half Titans. This is your chance to surrender, Lelantos. And maybe, you can expect some mercy from us. If you walk away right now, you can go scot-free." Artemis offered. While she would not hesitate to fight her uncle, she would give him one chance. For the sake of old times.
"And be hunted down by that damned Diaboles once again? Not a single chance. I am back and I am back for revenge." Lelantos darkly declared with simmering rage burning in his icy blue eyes as charged at Artemis.
Artemis met his change midway and the two of them, formerly master and student, duelled viciously at such incredible speeds that everyone but Athena and Phoebe could only see a blur of silver and bronze.
Next to them, Athena took the initiative and went on the offensive, thrusting her spear at Phoebe, aiming for the Titaness' forehead. Phoebe managed to block the spear with her shield and fired a beam of silver-yellow energy at Athena who deflected it with her shield, vapourizing an entire line of monsters.
Undeterred, Phoebe hurled her spear at Athena who bent downwards and rushed towards Phoebe. The Titaness of Healing managed to call her spear back in time but hissed in pain when Athena feinted a blow at Phoebe's shoulder with her shield but actually hit her in the side, knocking her off balance.
Athena immediately pounced on the opportunity in front of her and impaled Phoebe's leg, through her meshed combat pants, causing Phoebe to scream in pain before releasing a burst of Titanic energy that blew Athena back.
Meanwhile, a few intense minutes of non stop dueling had been taking place between Artemis and Lelantos as they traded, evaded and intercepted each other's blows. Their fighting styles were nearly identical and so were their power levels but as time passed, it seemed like Artemis had started to gain the upper hand.
While Lelantos was extremely fast and unnaturally agile, even for a deity, Artemis was marginally ahead in those attributes which allowed her to capitalise more on his openings. But Lelantos did seem to have the slightest edge in strength which allowed him to land more punishing hits.
Artemis groaned in pain when Lelantos head-butted her in the middle of a deadlock between them but she quickly recovered to kick him in the chest and flipped into the air to evade a slash from one of his hunting knives before diving down with both her hunting knives aimed at either side of his neck.
Lelantos managed to block her knives in the nick of time but the momentum behind the attack forced him down onto one knee, allowing Artemis to carry forward and break his nose with a hard knee and she followed that up by slamming his head on the ground beneath them with enough force to create a small crater.
To his credit, Lelantos retaliated only a fraction of second later with a powerful kick from both his legs aimed at her back which sent her tumbling along the ground in a rough and painful way.
He followed up on his attack with both his hunting knives aimed at her sides but Artemis regained her footing with enough time to stop her uncle in his tracks. And just like before, the two of them found themselves in a dead lock as they glared at each other.
"I idolized you when I was younger. You were the best hunter the world had ever seen and your fiercely independent nature was what inspired me to live like this. But now, you are nothing more than a pawn of the slimy Titan King." Artemis insulted with her face scrunched up in disgust.
"Three thousand years ago, I was just living a peaceful, independent life when Tartarus started to influence me. While I had been neutral in the First Titanomachy, I always had held resentment against the gods for the way they had treated father and Leto. And Tartarus used that to make me interfere in the blasted Trojan War. But that's not what you thought. Olympus, especially Perseus Diaboles thought I was an enemy of Olympus and brutally punished me." Lelantos angrily replied as he used his slightly superior strength to push against Artemis. But Artemis managed to push back and they returned to a stalemate.
"You are lying." Artemis stated through gritted teeth.
"I am not. I disliked the gods but I did nothing because I knew you and Apollo were one of them. I had not done anything wrong until the Trojan War. But one manipulation from a primordial was all it took for the noble General Perseus Diaboles to declare that I was a threat to Olympus before he vengefully destroyed my physical form without thinking twice. That was my reward for turning my back on my father." Lelantos bitterly answered as he remembered the night where Perseus Diaboles had mercilessly destroyed his physical form.
"Tartarus could only manipulate you because you held resentment against us. And he wasn't even controlling you. He only provoked you. But you played a hand in Achilles' death, a man who was like a son to Perseus Diaboles. You should have been grateful that the gods had not given you the same fate as your father. Maybe then, you wouldn't have even been manipulated in the first place." Artemis shot back with her eyes narrowing dangerously.
"I will show my gratitude by destroying every existing record of Diaboles, one by one. I don't care about the Titans winning. All I care about is getting my revenge. And I will do anything in order to make Diaboles suffer." Lelantos roared in rage as he managed to overpower Artemis and slam into her, forcing her on her back.
Artemis rolled to the side to avoid being impaled by Lelantos' hunting knives before punting him in the face with her elbow and then promptly following that up with a hard kick to his chest that sent him skidding.
"You disgust me." Artemis scornfully iterated as she fired a beam of silver energy at Lelantos, engulfing him in a fiery explosion.
Even Phoebe was on her last ropes as she had sustained too much damage, from when Athena and Artemis had teamed up on her, to fight back at full power against Athena. Though she had managed to inflict some wounds on the goddess of wisdom, it wasn't nearly enough to slow Athena down significantly.
In normal times, she would have been marginally stronger than Athena but as the goddess of wisdom impaled her left shoulder, Phoebe collapsed to her knees and a feeling of hopelessness set into her when she saw that Hunters had wiped out almost all the monsters while Magnus and Spatha were battered and bloodied. Lelantos also looked like he was slowly losing the battle to Artemis.
"This is what happens to those who oppose the gods, Phoebe. No matter how much foresight you think you have, no matter how much more firepower you think you have, we will always be one step ahead of you. And all of them will meet the fate of you and your army." Athena announced in a steely voice as she prepared to impale Phoebe through the forehead. However, her attention was diverted momentarily when Reyna screamed in pain upon being hit by a fireball.
Jason quickly knocked Magnus out in rage as he fried the demititan in a large thunderbolt but this momentary distraction on Athena's part allowed Phoebe to dissolve the metaphysical barrier she had imposed and take her divine form, forcing Athena and Artemis to protect themselves, the demigods and hunters in spheres of energy. Phoebe then used this opportunity to teleport herself, her son and the two unconscious demititans next to her to one of their bases.
In this process, she had obliterated the remaining monsters in her army but it was a small price to pay. Once the dust had settled and the rays of the rising sun had emerged, all that was left of an entire city block were pieces of rubble.
A moment later, Percy, Leo and Annabeth materialised next to Athena, fully armoured with their weapons drawn out and they looked like they were ready to pounce on someone but looked confused when they didn't see any enemies.
"We came here as soon as the metaphysical barrier around the city dissolved. Where are Phoebe and Lelantos?" Percy questioned as his gaze fell upon Athena, noticing that she had picked up quite a few wounds and bruises.
"They escaped." Athena answered with a frustrated sigh.
Percy understood where her frustration was coming from but when he sensed that none of the demigods or hunters were dead or fatally wounded, he felt like that was a small victory in itself considering the fact that they had fought against a larger than expected battalion of the Othryian Forces.
"Artemis, girls, kids." Percy greeted everyone present there with a small nod.
"I assume that you got the Golden Fleece." Artemis presumed while raising an eyebrow at Percy. The Hunters sent tired yet excited smiles at him while the demigods just sighed in relief upon seeing him.
"Yes, I retrieved it after convincing Caligula to give it to me and then, I sent it to my father to safeguard. Plus, Delphin just informed me that what was left of Caligula's armada has now been destroyed." Percy coolly replied, his eyes darkening the slightest bit when he remembered how he had managed to convince Caligula.
"Percy, the winds around you are picking up. Are you okay?" Zoe asked with a concerned expression on her face when she pointed out that the air around Percy had started to swirl around in a violent way.
"Relax Zoey. It's just a side effect of being forced to maintain a hurricane for well over half an hour." Percy brushed her concerns aside but the nasty purple bruise on the base of his neck and the slightly feral look in the edge of his eyes didn't go unnoticed by Athena.
"We will let the Council fix this using the Mist. All of you must be tired. Let us all retire to Olympus for today in order to recuperate and regain our energy. All of you would not have slept for a few days. Go back, visit Apollo, sleep in and take the rest of the day off. We will all reconvene tomorrow to discuss what happened." Percy stated as he addressed the demigods and transported them to Apollo's palace.
"Sister, thank you for helping us out, this wouldn't have been possible without your and the Hunters' support." Athena stated with a grateful smile.
"We only did our duty, sister. After all, we are united in fighting against this threat to our family." Artemis replied with a small smile.
"Arty, I think you and the Hunters should take some time off in Olympus. You must have stretched yourselves thin covering all this distance in just a few days." Percy advised as his sea green eyes twinkled with concern.
"Don't call me Arty." Artemis huffed in annoyance, prompting a few chuckles from everyone, but she did as advised. Percy was right, her hunters deserved some time off.
Percy felt a small smile make its way into into his face as he realised that even though he was in a different era, some things would never change and that was not a bad thing. That was not a bad thing at all.
Percy woke up with a beaming smile on his face as he woke up to the sight of a mess of raven hair on his uncovered chest. He didn't want to be one of those people who had a compulsion to always be close to their lovers but after being apart for a few thousand years, he felt like he was entitled to be a bit needy.
As he gently stroked the hair of the radiant goddess laying on top of him, he realised how lucky he truly was. Not many people would have stayed attached to him after a separation of three thousand years but Athena somehow loved him more now than she had three thousand years ago. That was surreal. As he was engrossed in his thoughts for the better part of a quarter of an hour, he noticed that had Athena finally stirred.
"Good evening sweetheart." Percy greeted with a kiss on Athena's head.
"Good evening Percy." Athena mumbled as she gave Percy a sleepy smile with her eyes still half closed.
"You must have been very tired. You haven't slept that long for a very long time. You were flat out once we came back from Apollo's palace." Percy stated as played with Athena's long and luscious hair.
"Not everyone is a freak of nature like you." Athena grumbled.
Being an Olympian goddess meant that there were very few beings in the world who were superior than Athena when it came to durability but she had never seen anyone heal from their injuries as quickly as Percy did.
His invulnerability itself meant that he never suffered from wounds that were very deep and at worst suffered a slightly cracked bone. Most of the time, he only suffered from internal injuries that resulted in ruptured blood vessels or damaged nerves which healed relatively quickly for immortals.
He could heal from all his injuries from an all out fight in a matter of weeks which usually would take her and most other immortals months and came away from beatings severe enough to destroy an immortal's physical form with just being unconscious for a few months and entering a state of deep rejuvenation. Then he would awaken, recondition his body for a month or two and be back to full power. As if reading her mind, Percy responded to her thoughts.
"I know what you are thinking. Don't be disappointed. It is hard to compare your own durability with mine. After all, I am invincible." Percy gloated with a foxy smirk on his face.
"You're invulnerable. There's a difference." Athena corrected.
"Eh, potay-to, potah-to." Percy dismissed with a toothy grin that flashed his pearly whites.
"I liked you more when you were humble. Now you sound like Apollo after he recites one of his stupid haikus." Athena stated in a faux disappointed voice but she was unable to hide the fond smile on her face, prompting Percy to chuckle.
A few palaces away, a certain god of poetry and medicine sneezed, getting the odd feeling that someone was making fun of his recitation of his beloved haikus.
"Scamander was one of the river gods who you fought against, right?" Athena asked with a knowing twinkle in her eyes, after a few minutes of comfortable silence had enveloped them.
"It was that easy to find out, huh?" Percy rhetorically asked as he stared at the ceiling.
"You have never been capable of hiding your emotions from me, Percy. The moment I saw that pained, angry look at the edge of your eyes, I knew that you had gone through a painful stroll down the memory lane. I know that it couldn't have been easy facing him." Athena replied with a sympathetic smile.
"It was horrible. He reminded me of how I let my beloved nephew die. He reminded me of how Achilles died in my arms, still being grateful to his hypocritical uncle. I will never forget that day. The sight of Achilles' left heel spurting copious amounts of blood is a sight that will haunt me for the rest of eternity." Percy whispered in a hollow voice as he absentmindedly traced circles on Athena's back.
"That anger, it spilled over to your fights, didn't it?" Athena asked in a soft voice.
"Yes. That anger, along with the sea powering me to full power, allowed me to avenge Achilles. Some of my actions today may have not been morally right but I did what I felt was right. I delivered my own brand of justice – destructive justice." Percy unhesitatingly replied in a dark voice.
"That is a dark path, Percy. I know you are tired of the hero gig but if you start feeding your destructive instincts, you will once again turn into the ruthless general you swore you would never be." Athena warned with concern as she sat up to stare into Percy's eyes.
"Athena, I will never turn into the ruthless general I once was. Because I learnt the hard way what happens when you start disregarding the cost of mortal lives and adopt an approach that focuses only on defeating enemies, without thinking about collateral damage. But, unlike before, I will not show mercy to any enemy immortals. I will not give them second chances. All immortals who oppose us, will face the wrath of the destroyer who brings damnation." Percy promised with a steely edge to his voice.
"But promise me you won't lose yourself to your rage." Athena pressured him as she sat on his lap and grabbed a hold of Percy's hand, sandwiching his bigger calloused hand in between her smaller and more slender ones.
"I don't know, Athena. When I fought in an uninhibited fashion today, purely focused on destroying my enemies, I felt liberated. I felt powerful. I didn't feel helpless. I felt like I had what it took to fight for my family." Percy revealed as he stared back into Athena's stormy grey pools.
"Percy, you can fight for us and win this war with us without devolving into a state of rage. Rage leads to mental instability which could really end up damaging your psyche. And at the end, you will end up suffering even more. I don't want to see you suffer. Not anymore. So if not for yourself, at least for my sake, promise me that you won't lose yourself to anger again." Athena asked with love and concern shining in her eyes.
Ever since Mnemosyne had messed with his mind, she had seen him suffer from nightmares every night he was on Olympus. She had seen him gradually getting more and more unhinged as he started to behave more erratically. And she was worried that this destructive form of his rage was a manifestation of that mental trauma.
"Alright, I will do my best to maintain restraint, in my future battles." Percy finally agreed, albeit a bit hesitantly, after a lengthy pause.
He wanted to show his enemies what he was really capable of but as soon he had woken up from his three thousand year long coma, he had promised himself that he would never do anything that upset Athena ever again. And he would stick to that promise. It was the least he could do for her. And his decision was validated by an effulgent smile from Athena.
"Forget all that. Right now, you have a score to settle with me elsewhere." Athena changed the topic with a sly smile.
"Don't worry my lady, the bill comes due." Percy replied with an elvish smile before pulling in Athena for a passionate kiss. The night was still young and they had plenty of time for other activities.
Hey guys! So, this chapter has a little bit of everything. Initially it was supposed to be full of only action but I didn't want to overload all of you with two consecutive chapters of pure action so I rewrote this chapter which extended the update time by a day.
However it was worth it because as much as I love pure action, it doesn't work without a good backdrop. So this chapters contains plot progression, character development, plenty of action and some good old fluff.
In this chapter, I have mainly focused on the difference Percy's character alignment. And to explain this change in the best possible, I'm going to use the moral alignment chart.
In the first book, until he makes the hard choice of leaving Calypso, Percy is more of a Lawful Neutral character, his main goal was to uphold the rule of Olympus which meant he wasn't always doing the morally right thing.
After that and in the second book, he's a Neutral Good character. He doesn't explicitly break rules but doesn't mind exploiting a few loopholes if it means he can help people. Basically he's most interested in doing the morally right thing.
In this book, Percy transitions to more of a Chaotic Good character, albeit not extremely chaotic. He is not immoral and still is a good guy but his primary concern is his family and when it comes to dealing with enemies, he takes a gloves are off approach. I know this is a very geeky explanation but I hope this gives some more clarity!
Read and review, I hope that all of you enjoyed this chapter! Have a fantastic day!
