A/N: I HAVE RETURNED!
That's right everybody, I'm back again. Back to mess with your minds about when I could possibly be uploading next!
Bwahahahahaha!
But in all seriousness, Sorry for not updating in so long. I've been SWAMPED with school recently, and I just haven't had the time for writing recently. (Like, this is pitiful at this point. I've got to make sure you guys don't think I'm dead or something.)
Well, here's the next chapter, and starting from here, we're going to be breaking away from the plot of the Son of Neptune. FINALLY.
I can't actually describe how long I've been waiting for this chapter to get released, so I can write ORIGINAL content.
As usual, all credit goes to Rick Riordan for characters, rights, and most of the plot thus far.
Enjoy! :D
Chapter 17: Now it's Time for Witty Back-and-Forth Banter!
Aside from the army of black ghosts with pointy swords surrounding us, I was immediately drawn to the cloaked and hooded figure in the middle of the crossroads. The god of Death himself, Thanatos, stood there, bound and shackled on each limb. The manacles and shackles binding him were coated with a frosty layer of ice, but there was something… else there, as well. I could sense energy flowing along the length of the chains. It felt old, and… powerful. Very powerful energy was flowing up and down the length of each icy chain, as if waiting for something to try and cut them.
"Thanatos," Hazel began, in a clear voice, "we're here to rescue you. If you control these shades, tell them—"
The hood fell from the god's head, and all three of us went silent as we stood there, somewhat shocked.
He was what one would expect if they were described as a 'Greek god'. Chiseled features and flawless skin. His eyes were deep and full of meaning. I glanced over at Hazel, seeing her wide-eyed expression.
"Oh," she said in a much smaller voice.
"It's Cupid," Frank agreed, also wide-eyed.
"A really buff Cupid," I added.
"You compliment me," Death said, grinning at us with a flawless little smirk. "I am frequently mistaken with the god of Love. Death has more in common with Love than you might imagine. But I am Death. I assure you."
Hazel cleared her throat and found her voice again, though it didn't sound as commanding as it had a moment before. "We're—we're here to save you. Where's Alcyoneus?"
Death began to muse over that for a minute or two, but my attention was diverted. I felt something approaching. It felt bigger, and older than anything in this clearing. More threatening than any of these shades who wielded Imperial Gold weapons and armor.
I knew who it was, too.
There was booming laughter behind us, and we turned. There at the gate stood the giant Alcyoneus. He looked like he was carved out of various precious metals; golden skin, armor that looked suspiciously like it was made of platinum… His hair had gems of all kinds stuck in his long locks, and he wielded a huge iron staff.
I hefted Riptide, preparing myself for the fight as Alcyoneus began speaking.
"Ah, my friends!" he said, grinning widely as though we were old buddies. "I've waited so long!"
He strode forward, glancing at Hazel. "Ah, Hazel Levesque. You cost me dearly! If not for you, this world would have already been Gaia's. But no matter!"
Then he turned to Frank and me, still grinning widely.
"Welcome, Percy Jackson! Welcome, Frank Zhang! I am Alcyoneus, the bane of Pluto! The new master of Death! And this is your new legion."
First brilliant response to come out of my mouth? That's right, you guessed it.
"I don't think so," I said, raising Riptide.
"Hazel," Frank said, his voice somewhat shaky. "You know that package I asked you to keep for me? I need it."
Hazel glanced at Frank with a look like worry in her eyes. "Frank, no. There has to be another way."
"There is no other way. Please," Frank said, holding out his hand.
Hazel looked reluctant to hand it over again, but she did so.
"What package is this you speak of, Frank Zhang? Have you brought me a gift?" Alcyoneus said, looking amused.
"Nothing for you, Golden Boy," Frank snarled. "Except a whole lot of pain."
Frank brandished his firewood, slowly backing up towards Death with a frightened look in his eye. But he wasn't focusing on the giant, or even the army of shadows around us. If anything, I'd say he was frightened of spending his lifeline up. I knew what had to be done. I almost wanted to scream at the sky, at the Fates themselves if necessary, 'Of course you made him have to pull that thing out! You disturbed—' The rant probably would've gone on longer, but I knew that it had to be done. There was no other way to free Death.
The giant laughed. "Spoken like a true son of Mars! Too bad I have to kill you… And this one… my, my, I've been waiting to meet the famous Percy Jackson. I've followed your progress, Son of Neptune. Your fight with Kronos? Nicely done."
Lucky me, I have an immortal stalker with snake feet. Yaaaay.
The giant continued.
"Gaia hates you above all others… well, except for that upstart Jason Grace. I'm sorry I can't kill you right away, but my brother Polybotes wishes to keep you as a pet. He thinks it will be amusing when he destroys Neptune to have the god's favorite son on a leash. After that, of course, Gaia has plans for you."
"Yeah, flattering," I said. I felt mad now. "But actually I'm the son of Poseidon. I'm from Camp Half-Blood."
At the mention of the Greek camp, the roman ghosts looked like a mix between anger and fear. I could sense whispers among their ranks about their shock. A Greek! Here?
"Greek, Roman, it doesn't matter," the giant boasted. "We will crush both camps underfoot."
Ah, the monologue. I'll spare you all the details of the next five minutes as the giant boasted of what he would do to us. We just got tired of it by the end.
"Frank, you free Death. Percy, can you protect him?" Hazel said, eyeing the giant with fire in her eyes.
"Against a small army?" I asked. We both knew that the ghosts actually didn't stand a chance in this scenario. I was still surprised that the illusion that I was a normal demigod was still holding up against the detection of every monster I've faced so far. "Sure, no problem."
"Then I've got Golden Boy," Hazel said, atop Arion, who whinnied angrily, causing the nearest shades to back up in apprehension. They knew something was about to happen, something that would not be great.
With that, Arion darted forward, as his rider began jabbing at the giant. The shades around us all charged forward at once, but the hissing of Riptide in the snow was enough to slow them down for a moment in dread. I slashed through the shadowy specters, drinking in their essences as Frank knelt down, his lifeline catching fire despite the freezing weather instantly. I watched carefully as he went from chain to chain, somehow managing to melt through the metal much easier than the small candle-flame should've been able to generate enough heat for.
The shades tried to get past me to get to Frank, darting to my side and pushing past me as they raised their weapons. They were all a little more than surprised though when I immediately appeared right in front of them again, drinking in more souls with the celestial bronze blade. Water began swirling around me like it had when I had fought Ares. The water strengthened me, and hindered the ghosts. The simply ring of water began to expand and blow faster, turning into the micro-hurricane I had used to fight Hyperion with. I felt unstoppable as I tore through the ghostly ranks. Suddenly I knew exactly how to keep the ghosts' attention off of Frank.
The legion-bearer. I charged towards him, surprising him and all the other ghosts as I reached out, snatching the golden eagle from the hands of the ghost who might have once been Michael Varus. I knocked over a ghost, which I wasn't sure I'd be able to do or not, but evidently I could.
This, of course, was an act of war. And despite the giant having commanded them to keep Death chained, their old Roman minds were still ingrained with one principle; protect the eagle.
Suddenly the shades were mobbing me, shadowy hands grasping for the golden staff that held their precious eagle. Electricity crackled across the wings and beak of the eagle, and I felt even more power flow through me.
"You want it back?" I asked, before turning and jumping, easily clearing twenty feet in a bound. I turned back again, and scowled. "Come and get it!"
The ghosts seemed to take this challenge personally, and leapt forward like I did. None of them managed to clear all twenty feet at once, but they did line up nicely for me. Still, I didn't even feel tired yet for maintaining this hurricane around myself, but I knew that by demigod standards I would've already felt quite fatigued.
More than that, unlike the other monsters who would at least stay dead for a few minutes, the ghosts didn't even dissolve into the golden powder I knew and loved. They just got right back up, and continued the fight. It was getting quite tedious, but what else could I do? Frank and Hazel were still very much mortal. I couldn't let these monsters attack them.
I risked a glance over at Frank and saw that He was on the last shackle, and his lifeline looked dangerously close to being used up. I wished more than ever I could do something to fix it, but I knew that nothing could be done from my side for right now.
I glanced at Hazel, and saw that her efforts to kill the giant were not doing so well. Arion carried her nimbly around the giant, as if trying to get him so dizzy he couldn't even stand up. Arion's speed was probably the only thing keeping them both alive right now. Without it, the giant would've just stomped them into two large pancakes.
I heard a metallic ringing, and glanced at Frank again. The dark god of Death stood up, stretching his hands and grinning. Frank said something, Death said something back which seemed to upset Frank somehow, and Frank turned to me.
"Percy, they can die now!" he said.
I grinned and nodded to show I had heard him. I swiped my sword again, backing up instinctively as the ghosts pressed forward. I noted I was getting close to the cliffs now, though it probably didn't matter much.
Frank began running towards me, but a sudden scream of equestrian pain rippled across the ice, and we both tore our gazes from our enemies to glance at Hazel. The giant had gotten a lucky shot in, and Arion was thrown away, sending his rider crashing to the ground.
'NOOOOO' Arion thought as he struggled to get back up on his feet to rescue Hazel. But his legs buckled under him. He was off-balance.
"Hazel!" Frank shouted, looking torn between saving me from the mob of ghosts and saving Hazel.
"Go! I've got these guys!" I said, secretly grinning to the ghosts. Just this small act seemed to inspire new fear in the shadowy forms around me, as they seemed to realize I wasn't even half done yet.
Frank seemed torn for another moment, before rushing to Hazel. I watched as he ran, giving him what support I could with my power. But I was more than surprised to see I didn't need it.
Frank charged forward, and I knew that he realized that he couldn't get there in time. Anybody else would've tried calling out to some god to help us, or maybe using some item they had at their disposal. Frank still had his bow…
No, what Frank did was more amazing. As I watched, his body began to distort, as though his skin was actually just a blanket, thrown over some more semipermeable substance. He shortened, and grew more horizontally. His whole body sprouted feathers, and his clothes merged with his skin and turned into the body of a bald eagle. With a pound of his wings, he was in the air, hurtling with deadly speed and talons raised at the Giant. He slashed his talons across the giant's face, clearly doing some damage. The giant roared and backed off, as Frank stood between the giant and Hazel, who was struggling to get up from under a pile of snow-bricks.
"Frank?" Hazel said incredulously. "What just—How did you—"
"Fool!" the giant thundered. "I am immortal in my homeland, Frank Zhang! And thanks to your friend Hazel, my new homeland is Alaska. You cannot kill me here!"
"We'll see," Frank coolly returned. He seemed confident. Much more than he had seemed for much of the time I had known the guy. He also seemed to ripple, his form fluid from whatever he had done a moment ago. He radiated an aura of power suddenly, though I knew he was no god. But in that moment, at first glance, I might've thought he was an immortal in disguise, like me.
The giant roared and charged Frank again, but it seemed Frank had another trick up his sleeve. As the giant came to meet him, Frank morphed again, turning into a massive grizzly bear, his body swelling with tons of hard muscle.
He was still smaller than the giant, but those grizzly bears can pack a punch. Frank dashed forward, slamming into the giant with enough momentum on the ice that the giant went sprawling into an icy tower, which promptly collapsed on him.
This whole time, I can't help but notice that Death seemingly takes no part in this fight. Sure, when I slash Riptide through a ghost they dissolve again, but he's really just standing there. I feel disgusted, almost, that a god would honestly just stand there and watch as two mortals fought tooth and nail to survive against a foe they obviously needed help with.
The giant was nothing if not persistent. Again, he leapt up and charged, not seeming to know any other sort of strategy in war. Frank swept his massive paws, slamming them into the giant like a champion prizefighter again and again, battering the golden face of the giant.
I heard the giant make a particularly unmanly gurgle as Frank stepped back, shifting into his normal form again. Hazel was atop Arion by now, but her eyes were still wide. Frank rummaged in his backpack like a madman, before pulling out the rope.
"Hazel, here!" he said, tossing her one end, before tying a noose and looping it around Alcyoneus's scaly foot.
The giant muttered something else Frank didn't seem to appreciate, and Frank rushed over, grabbing a large square shield off the ground and began slamming it into the giant's face again, until all that came back were unintelligible gurgles.
"How far can Arion pull this thing?"
'Far enough, shifter,' Arion snorted.
"You—you were a bird. Then a bear. And—" Hazel said, in something like a stupor.
"I'll explain later," Frank said. "We need to drag this guy inland, as fast and as far as we can."
"But Percy!" Hazel said.
Frank looked back at me, and I nodded.
"Go!" I said over the ice, slamming Riptide up to the hilt in the ice.
The ghosts all froze as the ominous sound of cracking ice was heard all around us. I found it ironic that even after death, ghosts are still afraid of dying.
Large cracks split, and ice groaned as it began to buckle, falling off of the face of the cliff. The ghosts seemed to unfreeze and began moving back towards the solid ground, but they moved sluggishly, as though they couldn't remember why they needed to run.
The ice cascaded off of the cliff face as I fell towards the water. Even as I plummeted toward the icy water below, I felt like I could still see everything happening above.
Alcyoneus was still spread out on the ground as Frank and Hazel worked furiously, attaching lines to Arion. They also seemed to be chatting with Death about something. Asking him about the Doors of Death, it sounded like.
The ghosts around me tried anything to escape the fate, but it appeared that gravity worked the same for ghosts as it did for mortals. In other words; ker-splat.
We hit the icy water. I was not affected in the least, it was impossible for a son of Poseidon to belly-flop evidently. The ghosts were not so lucky, and suddenly the whole harbor looked like somebody had sprinkled pixie dust in the water. Golden powder littered the entire surroundings.
I knew Frank and Hazel still needed my help. To defeat a giant, it took a god and a demigod, working together. I knew that I was the specified god to help them out of this predicament.
I summoned my strength around me, preparing to teleport up to the top of the glacier again. But I realized Frank, Hazel, and Alcyoneus were no longer on Hubbard Glacier.
Sending my senses out as far as I could, I just barely detected them leaving Alaska before they seemed to hit the state border into Canada. My senses were blocked like a wall was separating the land beyond the gods. But I knew where I had to go.
Instantly I teleported to the border, and stepped confidently over the line. Frank and Hazel were only a couple hundred feet away, still too far to intentionally see me. Alcyoneus began to rise, and I knew that without the help of some immortal, they would still die. Alcyoneus was saying something.
"You dare to take me for a sleigh ride?" he roared, pounding a nearby boulder to pieces. "That smell… like snuffed-out souls. Thanatos is free, eh? Bah! It doesn't matter. Gaea still controls the Doors of Death. Now, why have you brought me here, son of Mars?"
"To kill you," Frank said. I admired his bravery in the face of this enemy. "Next question?"
The giant narrowed his eyes at Frank. "I've never known a child of Mars who can change his form, but that doesn't mean you can defeat me. Do you think your stupid soldier of a father gave you the strength to face me in one-on-one combat?"
Hazel drew her sword as well, Arion trotting boldly to Frank's side. "How about two-on-one?"
"How about three-on-one?" I shouted, and everyone stopped, looking at me with surprise.
"Percy?" Frank shouted, looking as though he couldn't believe he was seeing this.
The giant looked as incredulous as Frank. "Impossible. I saw you fall off the edge. There should be no way you could've moved so fast that—"
Understanding dawned in the giant's eyes and he backed up a step. Understanding that looked suspiciously like Ma Gasket had, long ago.
"You—you—who are you?"
"I am Percy Jackson, the same I've always been. But you missed one fact. It seems Gaea doesn't know as much as she thought she does."
I strode forward, shocking Frank and the giant even more as I seemed to defy logic, clearing over six hundred feet with three steps while walking at a leisurely pace.
"I am Percy Jackson; demigod of the Battle of Manhattan, favored son of Poseidon. I am Percy Jackson; recently discovered god of the Unclaimed." I said, and I felt myself begin to grow to match the giant's height. He looked kinda runty now, as I matched his proportions to mine. "And you've messed with the wrong demigods, Golden Boy."
Frank was gaping at me like a fish, as I stormed (not literally) up to Alcyoneus and punched him, providing a large dent in his face. His nose was virtually nonexistent now as I crumpled the golden metal under my fist, and he backed up, oil oozing out of where his nose once had been.
"Guugh! Moo jasedac mewp!" the giant said, and as far as I could understand, he had meant to say, "You pathetic whelp." Not having a nose was bound to impair his speech though. "Id gumma mill moo!" (Most likely, 'I'm gonna kill you'. That, or he wanted to open a dairy farm.)
He charged forward, and I sidestepped, causing him to fly right by me. Frank was behind me, but he seemed to have it covered.
Shaking off his shock, he immediately responded to the incoming threat. His form shifted again, and his body began to grow. It took only a second, but suddenly a ten-ton elephant slammed into the giant, knocking him completely backwards about seventy feet. The giant, laying pathetically on the ground, made another unmanly gurgle as Frank and I stomped over to him. Hazel marched over as well, her sword matching her expression by hissing in the snow defiantly.
"You—can't—kill—me," the giant gurgled, evidently completely delirious.
Frank changed back to his normal form, and leaned over the giant's face, scowling. "Here's a tip, Alcyoneus. Next time you choose the biggest state for you home, don't set up base in the part that's only ten miles wide. Welcome to Canada, idiot."
I reached out my hand as Hazel plunged her sword downward, slashing into the giant's neck. I blasted him with a burst of light, and the giant disintegrated into a pile of very expensive-looking gems.*
The three of us just stood there for a minute, staring at the remains of Alcyoneus.
'I can't even believe you,' Hera suddenly said into my head. 'You're the most completely irresponsible, thick-headed, luckiest, loyal fool I've EVER known, in all my millennia!'
I caught the word she probably had hoped I wouldn't. 'Luckiest?'
'I saw your determination to kill the giant, godling. So in glee I went to check on your precious Athena girl. Do you know what I found?'
'A perfect plan to solve Frank's curse?'
'Of all the stupidly lucky mortals in immortals alike, I couldn't believe it! There, sitting on her bunk in her ratty little cabin, she had JUST finished constructing her plan! Of all the low-down tricks— You HELPED her, didn't you?!'
'Are you kidding? I wouldn't know remotely where to begin. Looks like you lost a bet, your majesty.'
This was followed by a frustrated scream, before I heard the queen of the gods' voice click off in my head.
Frank began to turn to face me, but Hazel turned to Frank first.
"An elephant?" Hazel asked.
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking somewhat sheepish. "It seemed like a good idea at the time…"
Hazel stared at him for a few moments more, her expression unreadable. Then she leaned in, and kissed Frank, full on the lips.
It wasn't my place to watch this, so I turned around to let them have their privacy.
But, um, it began to become a little too private for me after nearly ten seconds.
"Um, anytime you guys are finished," I said, shrinking back down to my normal size again.
Hazel chuckled, which I took as a cue to turn around again. Frank was glaring at me, though he also looked to be on an emotional high from the kiss Hazel had given him. Like he couldn't decide whether to be mad at me, goofily happy at Hazel, or just sit down and be confused at the whole world.
"A god, Jackson?" Frank said, deciding on angry at me for the moment. Last name basis. This wasn't good.
"Yeesss…" I said, nervously. Despite that I was a god and had literally just punched a giant in the nose, there were some types of people that should not be messed with in life. And Frank was certainly looking like one of those people right now. The guy was massive, and could evidently be part-time pachyderm.
"Don't blame Percy, he wasn't allowed to tell us," Hazel said, stepping in for me. Frank glanced at her.
"How did you know about it?" Frank said, raising an eyebrow. He had a point.
"I guessed it correctly," Hazel replied. "It was obvious; he helped us with his powers throughout the whole trip. The chariot was when it really hit me though. I asked Percy about it, and he confirmed it. But he wasn't allowed to tell us afterwards, because Juno wouldn't let him. They made a bet that if he won, he could tell us."
"And if he lost?" Frank asked.
"He'd, um," Hazel said, glancing at me with an apologetic half-smile, "have to wipe our memories."
"Are you kidding me?"
"Juno would've made him do it!" Hazel said defensively. "He's had no other option!"
Frank glanced at me now, and I stepped back automatically, showing him I wasn't a threat.
"And now that I do know…" he said, glancing at me somewhat fearfully. "Are you going to wipe our memories now?"
Hazel glanced at me warily too, biting her lower lip in anticipation and apprehension.
"No," I said, breathing out in relief. "I won the bet just before you guys figured it out. You guys are safe."
Frank still eyed me warily, and I didn't blame him a smidge. Usually, it was like any minor god or goddess a demigod came across was always so jealous or angry about something that they wanted to just smite everything non-mortal. Which was always fun for us demigods to have to deal with…
"And… are you sure we can trust him?" Frank asked, turning to Hazel like I wasn't there. Again, though, I understood. Seriously, in fact I probably would've been concerned as well, if it wasn't me that they were talking about.
And of course, I naturally couldn't help but feel a smidge of annoyance at this. I mean, I was standing right there.
"We can trust Percy," Hazel reaffirmed. "You can ask him yourself. He's free to tell us answers now."
And an idea came to me, just like that. I smiled.
"In fact, I'm allowed to do more than that," I said, remembering part of my bet with the queen. "Frank, Hazel, will you guys trust me to give you a part of my gift?"
Obviously not sure as to what I was talking about, but not as crazy as to refuse a gift from a god or goddess, they slowly nodded. It was like an automatic reaction.
"You guys are gonna love this," I said, cracking my knuckles. For a quick moment, I was definitely distracted by my ADHD that I could seemingly crack my knuckles as long as I wanted. But after I focused again, I held out my hands, which began to glow.
Frank began to back up apprehensively, Hazel mimicking him, as two beams of light shot out from my hand. They panicked as the light streamed into them, pushing them back a few paces. Frank landed in the snow, looking like I'd just given him and electrocuted charge, and Hazel was feeling her skin with wide eyes.
"Tingling," she whispered quietly, "like tiny bolts of lightning…"
I stepped forward, helping Frank to his feet. He looked like he wasn't prepared for the new sensations of moving as I backed up a pace.
"You can trust me," I reaffirmed. "Or why else would I want you guys with me for eternity? Welcome to godling-hood, guys."
Arion pranced over to Hazel, nickering lightly.
'Hey, congrats girly!' Arion said. 'Didn't think Sea-son was ever gonna get to it!'
'Hey!' I said, grinning at Arion's thought. Arion just shrugged at me, in a very horse-ish way.
"Percy," Hazel said, slowly, as she pet Arion's muzzle. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
I grinned at her. "Absolutely. Now, who's ready to go home and fight another crazy giant?"
Through their obvious lingering shock, surprise, and disorientation, Frank and Hazel slowly grinned a little.