(A/N: Enjoy and stay safe! Warning: they'll be some violent descriptions later on, but I'll try not get too into detail because I hate gore and I honestly can't write it. Sorry if this chapter is kinda bad, I rushed it because I wanted to get it out to you guys as soon as possible. I've procrastinated too much on this chapter and sorry it's late.)
My head was pounding when I started waking up. I felt someone, or many multiple people carrying me.
Ugh... what happened? Brief flashes appeared in my mind, making me vaguely recall watching Silena die and getting knocked unconscious.
Who... realization dawned upon me, snapping me out of my daze and making me kick out at whoever was holding me.
I opened my eyes, flipping my body upwards and doing a roundhouse kick at whoever was holding my legs.
I looked around me, seeing Connor, Travis, and Jake Mason surrounding me with uneasy looks. I appeared to be in the lobby of the Empire State building, no one else was around, but I could tell people were going to trickle in soon.
"Why the hell did you kidnap me?" I spat, reaching for my sword but discovering it was gone.
"Well, Percy said-"
"You guys are idiots and completely naive!" I exclaimed, summoning my blades instead and brandishing them.
All three boys had armour on but their helmets were discarded. They all had swords too, but they were all still sheathed at their waists. As well, they all had cuts and bruises as well, probably due to the fact they were injured beforehand, which makes it easier for me to take them down.
"Pfft, says you, you're the one trusting the Titans," Connor remarked.
"Well, it's better than trusting the Olympians!" I countered.
I tried using my powers to get out of there, but for some reason, I couldn't. However, with a quick glance around the room, I noticed there weren't any shadows anywhere, which should be scientifically impossible.
"Quick fix courtesy of the Apollo cabin," Jake supplied, guessing what I was thinking.
I heard the door open, Percy, Chris, Annabeth, and Thalia appeared. One glance at me being surrounded by the three boys answered their question.
"How'd you manage to catch her?" Percy questioned as the rest of them circled me, destroying my chance of overpowering them.
Before he could answer, I attacked, spinning my blades around and connecting it to swords and daggers. Unfortunately, someone managed to knock it out of my hands so I resorted to fist fighting instead.
"Just- let- us- help you!" Annabeth yelled as I swiped her legs out from under her and backflipped into Chris.
"Yes, knocking me unconscious is just spectacular! I should be bowing and saying thanks!" I replied sarcastically, dodging a punch from Percy and jumping on top of Travis.
"Hey!" he exclaimed as I used my momentum and flipped him to the ground.
"Ugh, let me show you girls how's it done!"
I turned my head and saw Clarisse stomp in, grabbing on to my waist. I swung my elbow up, hitting her int he throat but she held on while the others grabbed a limb or body part of mine. Soon, all of my adversaries had managed to restrain a random body part of mine, holding me above the ground while walking towards the elevator.
It slowly dawned on me what they were going to do. They were going to change my memories.
"Let me go!" I screamed, trying to thrash around.
"Hold still!" Jake yelled as I kicked Connor in the collarbone.
"This is pointless! Just let the Titans take over!" I stated.
"I get that you're brainwashed and all-" Travis began.
"I'm not brainwashed!" I groaned in frustration, still trying to wiggle free.
"That's what a brainwashed person would say," Connor pointed out.
"That's what a soon-to-be-concussed person would say," I retorted.
"What?" A look of confusion crossed his face before being replaced with mild fear.
"Let me go and find out."
It continued on like this as we arrived at Olympus. They seemed to be carrying me to a certain spot and judging from all the buildings we passed, I assumed it was the throne room.
The closer we got to the throne room, the more impulsive and desperate I got. I felt the fear grow in my chest like when I first heard their plan about altering my memories. Now that I know the truth, are they gonna erase it all? Wipe my mind completely clean so I'll be compliant? Maybe they'll just alter the past year and the memories of my family's death.
They carried me onto a table, or maybe a bed, but it was hard to tell because it was like lying on a pile of rocks.
"Let her go now," a gentle, young voice said.
"But-" the other protested.
"It is fine, I can deal with her. You all can leave, but I recommend for Percy and Annabeth to stay for this to work."
I felt them loosen their grasps on me, but before I could attack, I felt a wave of calmness hit me. My body became less tense as a warm feeling entered my chest. Somehow, it felt like home with the warmth and calm. A feeling you get after a long day and you return home to your loved ones. It reminded me of nights sleeping with Ethan after a long day of work, cuddling up to his warm chest and breathing his scent in.
"Now, I'm sorry if this is going to hurt." An eight-year-old-looking good appeared above me before touching my forehead.
Everything went black.
I was lying on the ground when I came to. I looked around, puzzled by my surroundings. Everything looked familiar, but I couldn't place where until I saw the door up ahead.
My old apartment.
"No, no, no," I whispered as I felt my body pull me towards door number 67.
I had no control as my arm reached out and pushed the door open, revealing my mom and brother cowering in the centre of our living room surrounded by the Olympians.
I willed my body to move forward and stop them from hurting my family, but my feet were glued to the ground, my mouth sealed shut.
"Please!" my mom cried out as she held Dennis, my brother, close. Her auburn hair was all messed up and her face was stained with tears.
My brother was shaking and crying into my mom's shoulder, mumbling stuff that I couldn't quite catch.
My heart broke at the sight of them seconds before their deaths. How could the Olympians do this? My family had nothing to do with me being a half-blood, well, mainly my brother didn't have anything to do with it, but still.
How fucking heartless are they? I guess a lot, considering Zeus killed Nico's mom and Hermes abandoning Luke with his insane mother, and I learned all this from Kronos.
"There's no mercy for you or your son. You have sired a child with my brother, breaking the oath," Zeus declared.
The rest of the Olympians started saying something, but it all fuzzed out for some reason when I felt a headache hit me, making me crumble to the hardwood floors.
The headache faded just as Zeus ordered the strike to kill my family. Lightning, arrows, spears, and fire struck them all at once. Then, vines and a tree sprouted out right below, skewering them. Lastly, I saw Poseidon somehow control their blood, making it burst from their veins and cover the white walls of our old apartment.
However, instead of Athena and Hera turning and wiping my memory, everything disappeared into a white light and I reappeared several feet from the door once more.
"What the Hades..." I uttered, confused as my body pulled me towards the door again.
Everything repeated, the death of my family, the blood, it all felt like torture for me to watch it again. Then, it repeated itself a third time, fourth, fifth, and every time, I got closer and closer into the room until I was glued to the couch, watching them die right in front of me.
"Arina! Help us!" my mom screamed, looking at me with a wild look in her eyes.
I wanted to reach out, summon skeletons, but I was frozen, all I could do was watch in horror as it happened for possibly the hundredth time.
However, instead of restarting the memory again after it was over, the gods disappeared in a flash of light, leaving me alone in the room with my family's corpses.
I could move again, and I surged forward, collapsing at the foot of the tree that stabbed them both. I had no clue how long I sat there, tears streaming down my face as I broke down.
I couldn't stop the gods. I couldn't save my family. I can't do anything right.
"Arina..."
I curled up into a ball, trembling head-to-toe from the tears. My eyes were probably all red from the crying too as I began to dry sob.
"Arina!"
Someone grabbed me from behind and turned me around. To my surprise, it was Percy and Annabeth. They had looks of shock on their face and Annabeth seemed to be on the verge of tears as well.
"This isn't real, okay?" Percy kneeled down in front of me, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. "This is fake, okay? Kronos got some god to mess with your memories, this never happened."
I brush him off, still shaking. "N-no, you're l-l-lying."
"Arina, it's obvious this is fake." Annabeth sat down beside me, giving me a look of pity mixed with worry.
"H-how can you be sure?"
Annabeth gestured around her, pointing at a picture frame on the side before glancing at the corpses. "None of this makes sense, think about it."
My sadness quickly changed to anger at her accusation. "What do you mean? My family's death doesn't seem real enough to you?" I spat, glaring at her and Percy while backing away.
"No, it's plenty real," Percy stated, looking around uneasily.
"I meant, doesn't it seem odd that some stuff in here looks... off? Like it doesn't make sense?"
I paused, looking around the room and slowly noticing what she meant. The blood on the walls looked odd by the way they were splattered, now that I think about it. All of it was on the walls, but none of it touched the floor except for a small puddle around the bodies.
"And you can't hear what some of them say, don't you?" Annabeth guessed, making me feel uncomfortable.
"W-whatcha mean?"
"Well, when Zeus and the other gods were about to... were about to order the kill, you didn't hear anything did you?"
"It was a long time ago, of course it would be fuzzy," I stated.
"Then why is everything else crystal-clear?"
I was about to argue when I felt a spike of pain in my head as the room started to change. The walls and ceiling morphed into a clear blue sky, the floorboards turned into soft, warm sand, and all the furniture shaped into items you would find at the beach. Soon, my whole living room transformed into a bustling beachfront, kids running around and teens making out.
"Arina?" Percy grabbed me just before I fell, my legs feeling weak.
When the room changed, so did our positions. We were all sitting together, but now we were standing underneath a palm tree.
I held my head as the scenery blurred in and out of focus, remaining cloudy after my headache subsided. "Ugh... where... where are we?" I murmured drowsily.
"Um... is it just me, or is everything blurry except for us?" Percy asked, sliding one of my arms over his shoulder while Annabeth took the other.
"Yeah," Annabeth agreed, "I was right, this isn't normal at all. I guess whoever altered your memories didn't finish the job because it seems like there's a lot of holes and mistakes."
"How can..." I trailed off, seeing a familiar-looking blur chase another one around an ice cream cart.
Two girls, one with blonde, curly hair, and the other with straight, auburn hair. They were laughing and giggling as my vision sharpened, unblurring them but keeping everything else the same.
The two girls seemed to be the same age, the blonde wearing a grey swimsuit while the other wore an indigo one. They both had matching, oversized, floppy hats on, running into people because their vision was probably obscured.
"Is that- is that us?" Annabeth exclaimed in shock, staring at the two young girls.
I stared at them, but I couldn't remember when this happened. I recognized our younger selves, but I had no clue when we went to the beach together, like, ever.
Then something dawned on me. I had no clue where I was. Am I in my memories? Am I in my own mind? I was so confused.
"W-where are we, actually? In my memories?" I guessed.
I felt both of them tense up, so I assume my guess wasn't too far off.
"What the Hades are you guys doing in my memory?" I snapped, pushing them both away from me, turning around and looking at them.
"We're trying to help you," Annabeth stated defensively.
I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms. "Why are you here though?"
"Uh... that depends on what you remember last," Percy said.
I grabbed my head as brief flashes appeared in my mind. I saw myself being grabbed by several demigods, fighting against them, getting carried to Olympus, and then an eight-year-old girl doing something to me.
"You guys kidnapped me, dragged me against my will to Olympus, and somehow invaded my memories? How the fuck is that helping?" I exclaimed, stepping further away from them, reaching down to grab my sword but realizing my weapons weren't with me.
Annabeth sighed, shaking her head. "Arina, listen to me. Kronos, or whoever, altered your memories. We're trying to help you, Hestia told us we needed to go inside your head and-"
"And why should I believe you? Or Hestia? How do I know this isn't some sort of trick to get me back on your side? You could be lying to me right now," I spat.
"You're really trusting Kronos' word over ours?" Percy inquired, "Didn't one of his soldiers stabbed you? Didn't he order them to kidnap you too?"
He had a point, and I hated that. Gods, when did this Barnacle Boy get brain cells?
"Yeah, but what have the Olympians ever done for me? If my brother wasn't killed, what happened to him? They hate my dad, so subsequently me. Hephaestus automaton killed Bianca, Zeus murdered Nico and Bianca's mom, Hermes abandoned Luke-"
"What about the Titans? Atlas killed Zoë-" Annabeth began before I interrupted her.
"Yeah, o-one thing," I said as I felt a tinge of regret for brushing aside my friend's death so easily.
"Okay, what about Beckendorf? Silena? Michael Yew? Lee Fletcher?" Percy questioned in a rapid-fire session like Rachel did when we first met her.
My heart sank as I bit my bottom lip. I didn't have a comeback for that.
I finally gave in to their reasonings, but with a grain of salt. "I'll see what you mean by them altering my memories. But, you have to do A LOT of convincing." It felt odd not trusting my friends, but I knew it was the right choice. I can't blindly throw my trust around, it only gets me hurt anyway.
"Fine," Annabeth agreed.
Percy looked around the blurry beach, confusion still on his face. "Why are we here? Hestia said we'll be going to the memories that would help Arina figure out the Titans tricked her."
I gazed around, eyeing the two girls running around. "Maybe something with those two." I shrugged. "But I don't remember this day at all..."
Annabeth's eyes narrowed before widening. She gasped, covering her mouth. "I t-think I remember this day! It was a couple of weeks before I ran away..."
I stood there, trying to remember the day but it came out as blurry as the beach. "Annie, that was like, nine years ago, how the Hades am I supposed to remember this?"
"Well, it must be important," Percy insisted, "maybe we can follow the mini-yous and we'll find out?"
I shrugged again in response before following the two girls, Percy and Annabeth trailing behind me.
As we walked some figures' appearance started to sharpen, the fuzziness disappearing. I didn't recognize anybody at first sight, but I saw somethings that were familiar.
"Wait... is that Mr. Chase?" Percy asked, looking at a man that vaguely looked like Annabeth's dad, but younger, of course.
We stood there, watching the exchange between Annabeth's and my past selves with Mr. Chase and another woman beside him, which I think was Annabeth's step-mom.
"Can't we play a little longer?" Annabeth inquired, looking up to him.
"Sorry, sweetheart, but we need to go home now." Mr. Chase squatted down to his daughter's height.
Annabeth's younger self looked scared then, glancing around. "B-b-but what about the spiders?"
"There are no spiders," Annabeth's step-mom insisted.
Annabeth's younger self glared at her step-mom before looking to my past self.
My past self was looking around for someone, but I couldn't tell who. She kept on biting her lower lip nervously, fidgeting around.
"Where's your mom?" Mini-beth (yeah I'm gonna call her past self now) questioned.
"I don't know..." Mini-me replied, digging her foot into the ground and twisting it around.
Mr. Chase stood up, glancing around for my mom. "Huh, I could have sworn I saw her with Dennis a minute ago."
Mrs. Chase shook her head, putting her hand on Mr. Chase's shoulder. "I think I know where she went, I'll go get her." With that, Mrs. Chase turned and headed towards the women's washroom.
"Wait... I know what happens..." Annabeth stared at me, uncomfortable.
"What happens?" I asked.
Just then, the whole scene shifted. It didn't change, but a weird glimmer covered everything. As well, Mini-me was sitting and braiding some woman's hair. After watching them, I realized it was my mom.
My mom looked like the previous memory, well, not dead, of course. Her auburn hair was in waves, half of it resting on her shoulder while the other half was in a crudely made braid being done by Mini-me. She had a white, blue-striped, summer dress on and twisting a golden bracelet on one wrist, something she did often.
"T-that's your mom?" Percy gasped.
"What? Please don't tell me you find her hot," I groaned, shaking my head.
"What, no! I meant, well, you told me she didn't care about you at all or something," he defended himself.
I stared at Mini-me and my mom, savouring the moment. Everything about it seemed perfect, the way the wind blew, how we laughed, the crashing of the waves, it was-
"There's-there's something wrong about this," I realized, stepping back from the memory, shaking my head.
It felt like I was in a trance staring at my past self, it was hard to look away. It felt like a siren calling me, making me want to look at it forever, hypnotizing me.
"Yeah... where's your brother? If this is the same day, which I suspect, your brother should be here," Annabeth stated.
"Yeah... where is he..." I trailed off before turning around and seeing the whole beach was empty.
"Uh, yeah, there's something definitely wrong," Percy remarked.
Before we could investigate further, the whole place changed in a flash of white light.
It took me a couple of seconds for my eyes to adjust to the new lightning, which was my living room again, but the calendar on the wall said it was 1998, five years before my family's death.
There was a little girl sitting on the couch, drawing something in a colouring book. She looked like me, younger, with shorter auburn hair than the previous memory. She was wearing a blue sweater with a yellow duck on the front and light brown shorts.
"Arina? Honey? I'm home!"
Minier-me whipped her head around, grinning a toothy grin before vaulting over the couch and running up to my younger mom. "Mommy!"
"How are you sweetheart?" she inquired, bending down and kissing me on the forehead, her face obscured by her hair.
When she stood up, I could see the evident baby bump. Judging from the size, she was at least seven-nine months pregnant with Dennis.
I stared at her as she talked to my younger self, soaking in every word she said. It's been so long since I heard her voice... a calm voice, not one screaming for mercy. It reminded me of how life was before they were killed, when I was a toddler and my mom chased me around our old apartment.
Someone grabbed me, again, and turned me around. I stood face to face with Annabeth and Percy, who both looked concerned and worried.
"Arina, snap out of it, this isn't real, this memory's putting some sort of trance on you," Annabeth said.
"W-what? You've been saying that for a while now and I only saw one thing weird so far! Anyway, how could this memory be altered or fake? In my altered memories, she was addicted to drugs after Dennis was born, and this was before!" I exclaimed, trying to turn around and see my mom but Percy stopped me.
"Arina, when's Dennis' birthday?" he asked me.
"What?"
"When was he born," Annabeth rephrased.
I gave them a puzzled look. "I thought you knew, Annie."
"Yeah, just want to confirm though."
Before Annabeth ran away, I invited her to my brother's birthday. A couple of years back when I lived at camp, she asked me about how I felt now that my brother was gone on his birthday.
"July 7th," I responded, brushing Percy's hand off of me.
Annabeth narrowed her eyes, turning towards the calendar mounted on the wall. "Well, if that's true, your mom is four months late."
"What?" I looked at the calendar and saw the month was October. "No... that's-"
"Whoever altered your memories did a lousy job in my opinion," Percy commented.
I stumbled away from them, clutching my head as I felt another headache, but it was worse. It vaguely reminded me of one headache I had a while back that felt like someone had split my head open with a battle axe.
I was on the ground next, staring up at the ceiling as stars appeared in my vision. Then, Percy and Annabeth were above me, both of them swaying in my sight.
"Annabeth, what's happening?"
"I-I'm not sure... maybe her body's trying to reject the idea that her memories..." Annabeth's voice trailed off as my vision darkened.
I sat up, gasping for air. I looked around me and saw Percy and Annabeth have a similar reaction as me while an eight-year-old sat patiently by the fire, observing us.
"What..." I looked around, confused.
"Did it work?" Percy asked, turning to the girl.
I rubbed my throbbing head as I sat on a- table? Couch? Love seat? Whatever, I was lying on something that made my back sore.
My headache wasn't as bad as it was in my memories, but it was still bothering me. It was like a dull throb resonating throughout my body, weakening my senses. It was harder for me to focus on anything, which was already difficult considering I'm ADHD.
"Well, Arina?"
I winced when Annabeth said my name, the noise somehow causing me discomfort. "Y-yeah..."
"Uh, so, you remember that your family wasn't killed?" Percy inquired uncomfortably, probably not knowing how to word it.
Well, of course asking someone and trying to phrase it would be hard.
"Um..."
A brief glimpse of my memory appeared in my head.
It was six years ago, I had returned home from school. The front door of my apartment was opened a bit, and I could smell the tinge of weed in the air. I stepped into my apartment, covering my face and seeing my mom half passed out on the couch with a burned-out cigarette in hand.
I remember asking where my brother was after calling out for him, and that's when my mom told me he left for the park at 1 pm. It was four when I got home, and I rushed to the park and found it deserted before calling the police.
They questioned me, asking where I've been. I told them I was at school and arrived home to my mom on the couch. They questioned her next, asking her about who would take my brother. She answered everything quite easily, but they didn't believe her. Well, who would? Her eyes were bloodshot and she could barely get two words out without slurring them.
I snapped out of my memory, looking at the others as I felt a chill up my spine. "How do I know this isn't a trick? What if that was a fake memory?"
Annabeth sighed, shaking her head. "I wanted to do this first, but Lady Hestia thought it would be wiser for you to uncover on your own, no offence, Lady Hestia."
"It is fine, Annabeth, knowing how stubborn my brother is, it seems the apple has not fallen far from the tree," the eight-year-old said.
"W-wait, you're Hestia?" I exclaimed.
"Yes." The girl- no, goddess nodded.
I decided to let this thought slide considering gods could change into any form they pleased.
"What's your other plan then?" I turned to Annabeth, twitching my fingers nervously.
"Come with me." She stood up and walked outside of the room.
I looked around the room and saw we were in the throne room on Olympus, all the thrones empty while the Ophiotaurus swam in a giant water bubble.
"C'mon." Percy offered me a hand and I accepted it as he easily pulled me off the table.
I let go of his hand instantly after I got up, walking out of the door with him beside me.
"So uh... sorry about kidnapping you?" he apologized awkwardly.
"You need a new nickname, like, King of Awkwardness," I remarked, feeling on edge still.
We arrived in a garden not too far from the throne room and found Annabeth waiting beside a fountain.
"Huh, I'm surprised you didn't make a run for it yet," she commented.
I shrugged. "I don't think I'll be able to fight you guys back anyway, I'm still a bit... iffy from that whole memories thing."
"Uh, Wise Girl, what's the plan?" Percy inquired, "We don't really have a lot of-"
"Yeah, I know." She handed me a coin and gestured towards the fountain. "Iris Message your mom."
I blinked at her. "What?"
"You heard me. If you think your mom's dead, Iris Messaging her wouldn't be a problem, right?"
I nodded shakily, tossing the drachma into the fountain's mist. "Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me... show me, K-Katinka Mor-Morales, Pittsfield, Massachusetts."
The mist shimmered, revealing a dark-haired woman swallowing two pills before puffing on a cigarette. It may have been years, but I recognized the matted, faded auburn hair and the dark circles under my mom's eyes.
"No... no... she's- she's dead." I swiped my hand through the image before stumbling back, running into someone.
"Kronos tricked you, your mom's alive."
Fragments of my- real? Altered? I'm not sure anymore... Memories flashed in my mind, revealing how I forged my mom's signature for every school-related trip, stealing her wallet and getting a job as a newspaper delivery girl to make money for my brother and I to eat and live, going to meet-the-teacher events for my brother, lying about my mother, everything. The memories made me dizzy, causing me to nearly collapse out of shock.
"She's alive..." I stated, my shock quickly turning into hatred.
The Titans manipulated me, told me the Olympians were my enemies. They tricked me into attacking my friends, letting me lead them all to their deaths. They forced me to believe a lie for the past year.
Then the worst part hit me: did Ethan know? Is that why he started dating me, to keep an eye on me? Was everything we had together fake?
My tattoo on my shoulder ached at the thought, making my gut twist.
"Are you- are you gonna be alright?" Annabeth asked, placing her hand gently against my shoulder.
"Y-yes..." I managed to say.
Before the others could question me further, Thalia ran into the garden.
Her bow was snapped and her quiver was emptied, but she cast me a glare filled with hate. "What is she doing here?"
"She's on our side now..." Percy stated, glancing at me, "right?"
I steeled myself, channelling all my rage towards the Titans instead of my friends. "Yeah, and I ready to make Kronos regret doing this to me."
"Well, you might get your chance," Thalia began, "the enemies' advancing, and Kronos is leading them.
They eventually gave me back my armour and weapons, but the remaining campers were quite reluctant too, especially the ones I injured.
"It's good to have you back." Percy patted me on my back while I rolled my eyes.
"Hey, save the praises until after we kill this Titan," I responded.
I guess we both spoke too soon because, by the time we got back down to the ground, hunters and demigods were lying wounded everywhere. Things were smoking everywhere and I could feel death hanging in the air. The centaurs were gone as well, either dusted or ran off.
The Titan army's vanguard ringed the building, and the person- no, creature leading this was none other than the Titan Lord himself, the dracaena queen, two Hyperborean giants, and Ethan standing beside him.
I tensed when I saw my boyfriend. I felt betrayed by him, finally understanding why he was always so uncomfortable when he mentioned my memories. He knew, yet he kept on lying. How am I supposed to ever trust him again?
He looked distracted, his eyes going over the carnage before finally landing on me in my signature black armour. An expression crossed his face, but it was gone before I could decipher it. It could've been regret or maybe even anger, whatever it was, I didn't care at the moment.
There was a figure standing between the opposite army and the remaining few of ours; Chiron. He stood ready with an arrow notched, facing down his father.
Kronos spotted us, his golden eyes flaring when they landed on Percy and his expression turning into a cruel smirk when he saw me.
"Move aside, son," Kronos demanded to Chiron.
I tried moving, but I realized Kronos was using his powers against us, freezing us demigods and satyrs. All we could do was helplessly watch our camp director face down the most fearsome Titan of them all.
The dracaena struck first, but Chiron shot an arrow at her and she turned to dust. He went to reach for another arrow, but he was out. He resorted to fighting with his sword and began duelling Kronos.
"You said the gods cared about me!" Kronos declared while fighting Chiron.
"Me, you said me," Chiron noted.
While Kronos was distracted by that comment, Chiron feinted a perfectly aimed strike. However, Luke was quite skilled before being possessed by the Titan and easily anticipated the strike before blasting Chiron with energy, launching the centaur towards a building.
The building crumbled on top of him, the freezing spell breaking at that exact moment.
Annabeth surged forward, charging at the Titan with Percy running after her. She tried to stab him, but because of the Titan's invulnerability, the blade bounced off harmlessly. Well, the jolt seemed to dislocate her injured arm.
The arm that I help injured... I realized, feeling stabbing guilt in my chest.
Kronos was about to swing down his scythe, and I saw Percy getting ready to block it when there was a howling noise. However, I could understand it.
I turned and saw an aisle open up where the army was. Standing on the end was Mrs. O'Leary and a familiar demigod in identical black armour as me.
"Nico?" I gasped under my breath.
Mrs. O'Leary barked, bounding towards Percy, completely ignoring the monsters surrounding her. Nico followed her, the enemy shrinking back as he radiated death that matched my own powers.
"Got your message, is it too late to join the party?" Nico asked Percy.
I looked at them, my hand resting on my own Stygian iron blade while staring at my brother's. At that moment, I could see the uncanny resemblance between us that went beyond the physical.
We both radiated death while in battle, naturally. There was also the fact we both had dark hair, at the current moment, and our armours were almost identical.
"Son of Hades, do you love death so much you wish to experience it?" Kronos exclaimed.
"Your death, yes," my brother responded with a smirk.
"I am a Titan! I cannot be killed, I escaped Tartarus! I turned your own sister against Olympus!" Kronos bellowed.
A look of confusion crossed my brother's face before Percy motioned to me. Nico stared at me, blinking for a couple of seconds but keeping his gaze on me, making me feel insecure from his gaze. My brother then turned away as I felt a silent agreement pass between us.
At that moment, the ground started to crack open, skeleton warriors clawing their way out of the ground and emerging. The skeletons that were on Kronos' side crumbled to dust as well while the rest of the monsters started to look antsy.
"They're dead! They're no match for us!" Kronos yelled at his soldiers.
The soldier started to form a line at Nico's command, bordering an obsidian chariot that had arrived. On the chariot was none other than my father, Persephone, and Demeter.
My father was wearing his standard black armour and blood cloak, but the thing that stood out the most was his Helm of Darkness upon his head. I could feel it reaching out and striking fear into the hearts of all of Kronos' men. The only thing keeping the soldiers together was Kronos' power.
Kronos and my father exchanged a few words before Kronos swung his scythe down, forging a crack between us, the undead army, and the majority of the monster army.
"What is he..." I began.
"He's locking us in," Thalia spat, "collapsing the barrier around Manhattan and awakening the mortals."
Sure enough, civilians were starting to wake up, cars starting up around us. Whatever they saw through the Mist couldn't have been good because judging from the terrified looks on their faces.
"Nakamura, come with me, giants, deal with them," Kronos ordered before storming past us with Ethan trailing behind him.
I looked at the doors where Kronos and Ethan went, knowing full well what was going to happen next.
"Percy! Let's go! We need to stop them!" I yelled at him as he stared at my brother fight with- wait is that Ms. Jackson?
I shook the thought away before motioning towards Annabeth, Percy, Thalia, and Grover to follow me up to Olympus.
The elevator ride was quicker than I thought when we finally all got up. Then, because the Fates just love us, the bridge to Olympus began to crack, falling apart once we got up there.
"Guys, grab onto me, I'll shadow travel us to the other side," I suggested, holding out my arms for them to grab onto.
They all grabbed onto me, some more reluctant than others before I shadow travelled us to the opposite side. Once there, I almost slipped and fell backwards, but Thalia and Grover managed to grab my arms before I tipped over.
"Are you okay? I saw Nico use his powers-" Percy began.
"I'll be fine," I said, ignoring the stars in my vision, "let's go."
We all broke into a jog through the wreckage of the once beautiful city of the gods. I saw the remains of minor gods and nature spirits who tried to stop Kronos, sliced buildings and trees, fires and slash marks everywhere. Along the way there, a building exploded, the rumble flying into the air but fortunately not hitting us.
We were at a walkway when two statues, Hera and Zeus respectively, began to sway before tipping over, right where I was running. At the last second, Thalia pushed me away, the statue falling on her instead. I fell to the ground before looking back at her, relieved to see she was still alive after the dust settled.
"Why-"
"Just go!" she yelled before grumbling, "All these battles, and I get knocked down by a pile of rocks..."
We didn't want to leave her, but the echoing cry of Kronos told us otherwise. Another building exploded, closer to the throne room as I could tell.
"We'll be back," Percy promised.
"Yeah, I'm not going anywhere," Thalia responded.
The throne room's doors were blasted right off their hinges, making it difficult for us to clamber over the shards of stone on the ground. Inside, Kronos was waving his scythe around, gazing at the thrones while Ethan stood at a far enough distance to not get hit.
I stepped into the torchlight with the others, Ethan spotting us and tensing when he locked eyes with me. I couldn't tell what his expression was, but it looked oddly like regret.
"M-m'lord," Ethan said shakily, still staring at me.
I narrowed my eyes at him, angry that he knew about the Titans altering my memory but never bother to tell me.
"Ah... shall I destroy Jackson first?" Kronos inquired, turning around and sizing us up, "Morales would be proven useful later on."
My grip tightened on my sword, hating how he said the words 'useful'.
"I'm not just a mindless tool," I spat at him, my anger threatening to surge out of me.
His eyes flickered, something darker seemed to appear in his eyes for a fraction of a second before we all strung into action.
Kronos fought Percy and I while Ethan took Annabeth, Grover playing some music on his reed pipes behind us. For some reason, the Titan turned his scythe into Luke's Backbiter, but it made no difference.
The Titan backed us up to Hephaestus's throne. Percy and I locked eyes with each other before springing onto it and vaulting over the Titan just as the throne said 'Defense mode', shooting bolts of electricity at Kronos.
"Nice moves, Barnacle Boy," I remarked.
"Thanks," he replied with a quick grin.
For some reason, Annabeth ran forward towards Kronos. "Luke, listen!" she pleaded.
The Titan barely regarded her, flinging her to the side and hitting her mother's throne. She crumpled to the ground, unmoving but I could feel the life still pulsing through her body.
Now, Ethan was facing me, a look of hurt on his face as my back was against Percy, who was facing Kronos.
"Rina-"
"Shut up, you didn't care about me," I spat at him, "if you did, you would've told me the truth. You would've told me they altered my memories."
He looked hurt by my words before glancing at Kronos behind us.
"Now Nakamura! You know Jackson's weak spot!"
Another pang of guilt hit me. I was the one who revealed the weak spot, exposing my friend. He could die because of me.
"Ethan, look around us, is this really what you want? Everything destroyed, the good and the bad?" Percy tried reasoning with my boyfriend.
"There's no throne to Nemesis, there's no throne to my mother," he muttered.
"Same with mine! But is this really how you create balance, Ethan? Would this really solve all the problems? Kronos is going to tear this whole place down, and then there won't be anything left to balance," I stated.
He shifted on his feet, looking uneasy.
"If you ever love me," I started, my voice breaking, "you would believe me. You would trust me, and you'll know I'm right."
I let this sink in as Grover's music flowed through the air, reminding me of the nights Ethan and I would sneak up to the cliffs and stargaze. We would lay together for hours kissing and cuddling until the sun rose. Memories of us together appeared in my mind, making me oddly long for the days we were on the same side.
I could tell Ethan was remembering this as well, but his next action surprised me. "I'm sorry..." he whispered, looking at me with grief.
He then ran straight towards Kronos, swinging down the blade at his neck that should've killed him, but instead, the blade shattered. Pieces of it ricocheted off, and I saw a chunk of it impale itself into Ethan, breaking through the armour. He stumbled back, falling into the steadily growing grass.
"Treason," the Titan hissed.
Ethan looked at Percy and I. "Deserved better... if only they had thrones." He then stared at me, only me, and mouthed three words. 'I love you'.
Kronos slammed his scythe down, a giant crevice forming in the centre of the room. Ethan's body fell through, right down into the open air under the mountain.
The buzzing in my ears was unbearable, I collapsed to the ground, too shocked to even cry. I was vaguely aware of Kronos and Percy fighting while I stared at the hole in the floor, my mind reeling with memories I shared with Ethan.
I squeezed my fists and eyes shut, taking a shaky breath before standing up and glaring at Kronos, letting out all of my anger at once and advancing towards him. I swung my blade at him, catching him off guard as he fought Percy and I.
"It's too late now! Look!" Kronos pointed to the hearth, which shimmered and showed Nico and Ms. Jackson getting cornered by monsters as my father struggled to overpower the army. Then, the image shifted to Typhoon's fight against the Olympians.
They looked like they were losing but then, a conch sounded. Poseidon emerged from the Hudson River once Typhoon stepped into it, an army of sea creatures appearing and striking against the monster. Afterwards, the rest of the Olympians fought with new vigour, managing to overpower the monster and sending it to Tartarus via whirlpool.
"No! NO!" Kronos yelled, shock rippling across his face.
"They're on their way," I stated.
"It's over," Percy said.
Kronos swiped through the smoke before charging at us both recklessly. Grover jumped in front of us but was flung to the side like a doll.
I summoned shadows to hold him down, but I was still reeling from Ethan's death, the buzzing still in my head. It worked, I guess, holding Kronos down while Percy tried attacking.
Unfortunately, Luke knew most of his moves, actually teaching some of it to him, so naturally, Kronos was able to block most of his moves. He knocked Percy's blade into the fissure, leaving him weaponless as I struggled to maintain the grasp on the shadows.
"Luke!" Annabeth appeared.
Kronos turned his attention to, swinging his sword at her but she blocked it just in time with her dagger. She mustered enough strength to push back until she stood face-to-face against him.
"Luke, I understand now, you have to trust me," Annabeth said.
Kronos yelled, "Luke Castellan is dead. His body will be burned and I'll unlock my true form!"
Annabeth began pleading Kronos, talking about how Luke's mother knew this was his fate.
"This is my fate!" Kronos bellowed.
"No," Annabeth insisted, close to tears now, "that's not the end, Luke. The prophecy: she saw what you were going to become."
"I will crush you!" he declared.
"You won't, you're holding him back right now," she responded.
"LIES!" he roared, making her lose her balance and slapping her to the ground.
The shadows disappeared just as I fell too. I felt weak and groggy from using my powers, adding on top of that I was still a bit fuzzy from the whole memory thing. Then to top that off was the fact the buzzing hadn't faded yet from E-Ethan's death.
All I could do was watch weakly from the sidelines.
Kronos raised his sword, ready to swing down and kill Annabeth.
"Family, Luke. You promised." Blood trickled out of the side of her mouth when she said this, eyes brimming with tears.
Kronos staggered, staring at the dagger in Annabeth's hand and the blood on her face. "Promise."
He gasped then, like someone emerging from the water. "Annabeth..." However, it was Luke's voice, not Kronos'. He wavered as if he was fighting for control of his body. "You're... bleeding."
"My knife." She dropped her dagger, it sliding towards Percy. "Percy, please..."
Percy snatched the dagger, kicking Backbiter into the hearth before getting in between Kronos/Luke and her. "Don't touch her."
Anger rippled across the Titan's face. "Jackson..." he hissed, his body starting to glow.
He gasped out again, Luke's voice coming out instead. "He's changing, help. He won't need me anymore- please-"
Kronos took control again, roaring in anger before looking for his sword. He went to grab it but dropped it as the blade turned bright red, heating up and burning his hand.
Hestia flickered in the hearth, frowning at her father in disapproval.
"Percy... please.." It was Luke again, collapsing and holding his hands.
Percy moved towards him with the dagger, looking poised to kill him.
"You can't do-do it. He'll regain control- he'll defend himself. I can only stop him- I know where." Luke was glowing more strongly now, getting closer to Kronos' true form.
Percy raised his blade, ready to strike, but then looked back at Annabeth, who Grover was holding in his arms. He glanced at me before realization flashed in his eyes.
"Please..." Luke begged, "no time..."
"Percy- you-you can't trust..." I trailed off as I saw him hand Luke the dagger, leaving himself defenceless.
We all watched as Luke undid his armour, unstrapping a particular area around his armpit. There was a small spot of skin, more impossible to hit than Percy's spot. With great difficulty, it seemed, Luke stabbed himself there, howling in pain as a flash of light filled the room, momentarily blinding me.
When the light finally faded, it revealed Luke lying on the ground beside a pile of ashes, his left side bleeding heavily. I could feel the death coming just by looking at him.
"Good... blade," Luke managed to say, his eyes returning to their normal blue.
We all moved to sit around him, Grover and Annabeth being the most emotional.
"You knew... but-" he began.
"Shhh... you died a hero's death, you'll get into Elysium," Annabeth whispered, trembling slightly.
"Think... rebirth. Try three times... Isles of the Blest..." he said weakly.
"You always pushed yourself too hard," Annabeth stated, sniffling.
They held hands as Luke stared at her, coughing up blood.
"Did you... did you love me?" he asked.
"There was a time- there was a time I thought I did but..." she trailed off, looking at Percy, "You were more like a brother, Luke, but I didn't love you," she added softly.
He nodded, understanding.
"We can- we can get ambrosia-" Grover said.
"Grover, you're the bravest satyr I have ever known, but there's no healing this."
He then turned to me with a sympathetic looked despite his position. "I'm s-sorry about your memories, and especially Ethan."
I managed a weak nod as I sniffled, tears threatening to come out again at the mention of him.
Luke looked at Percy last. "Ethan. Me. All the unclaimed. Don't let it... don't let it happen again..."
"I won't, I promise," Percy answered, swallowing hard.
Luke nodded just as I felt death overtake him.
(A/N: I mostly copied Luke's death because I honestly loved that scene so much. Rick Riordan did an amazing job writing it so I just kept it as it is. Sorry if that disappoints any of you.
I know I say sorry A LOT but every time I say it, I actually mean it. I'm serious when I say I'm sorry for messing up parts and copying the story.)