Disclaimer: I own nothing (obviously)
Arion was tired of being judged. When he looked at the two boy demigods all he could see was distrust and wariness. His inner demons were screaming at him for what he had done, the promise that he just broke. He had promised himself that he wouldn't help the gods, and by saving these demigods who were obviously on a quest, he had down just that, a bit indirectly but still he had helped them. A strong bitter taste entered his mouth, as the familiar feeling of anger towards the gods sparked in his heart. He quickly push down the resentment and anger to the gods and focused back on the conversation with the two boys.
"But….. that's impossible, you can't be Percy Jackson…. He's dead", the older of the two boys stuttered out.
"Oh yeah? Is that right, and who told you this lie? Was it the gods?", Arion replied calmly.
"Yes, but so did our parents and the other demigods who lived through the war", the younger, brown haired boy answered
'By what they just said it seems that they don't have a godly parent, but at least a godly grandparent. This makes these children legacies, but the question still remains as to who they were and who their parent are.' Arion thought as he looked at the two boys.
"Who are your parents? If they were veterans of the giant war then they would know better than to think that I am dead. The gods however, are as foolish, deceitful, arrogant and corrupt as ever. I have no doubt that they would lie to cover up their embarrassment" Arion asked calmly and with a slight bitter tone in his voice.
The two boys looked at each other in confusion, after all what did this man mean by the gods covering up their embarrassment with a lie? What had happened to have caused the gods and their parents to lie to them about the war.
Hesitantly the younger boy stepped forward, I was then that Arion got a good look at the child and could guess who his parents are. His hair is a dark chestnut brown, and he has hazel eyes. His face resembles a child but his body looks like an adult.
"My name is Michael Zhang, my parents are Frank Zhang, son of Mars and Hazel Zhang, daughter of Pluto." Michael said confidently.
Arion looked at the boy in shock at the young boy as the family resemblance became clearer. Arion, then looked at the other boy and studied his features to try and guess who the other child's parents are.
"My bet Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite, and Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, are your parents. You look just like Jason, except for your eyes, those are definitely from Piper. What is your name?" Arion stated.
"My name is Stephan Grace, and I'm surprised that you know my mom's maiden name, not many people know it." the boy replied in shock.
Arion looked at the two young boys in front of him, It was then that he realized how long he had been away from the gods. Stephan looked at least thirteen years old and Michael looked around eleven to twelve.
'Have I been gone for that long? Then again, time moves differently in monstrous regions' Arion thought to himself.
"Why don't you guys rest while I make some food, I should have enough to share after the surplus of animals that I caught a few days ago" Arion told them.
The two boys turned to look at each other and then gave a single nod. Hesitantly they went to the couch and took a seat. Arion, upon seeing them get comfortable went to the store room in the attic, where he kept all of his smoked meat and pickled vegetables.
Shortly after picking out something to cook, he went to his small kitchen and preceded to cook. Meanwhile the boys were in deep conversation about something, occasionally they would glance over to the man who had saved their companion.
"What is it you wish to ask me?" asked Arion after seeing another glance directed in his direction.
"If you truly once Percy Jackson, then why are you here? Why did you change your name? Why are the gods and our parents lying to us about the war?" Stephan asked
Arion sighed and glanced out the window, his broken forest eyes becoming faded as he began to remember the past. Arion, upon realizing that he was going into his memories shook his head to clear his mind of the demons that plagued him. Slowly he looked over his shoulder at the two boys who were looking at him with hope and confusion in their eyes. With a deep sigh, he turned off the oven and walked over to the two boys.
"The story of how I got here, why I changed and why everyone is lying to you is a difficult one for me to tell." sighed Arion as he reached the two boys.
Upon sensing his masters sadness, his dog made its presence known by walking to its master and laying at his feet. Arion smiled at his companion and slowly sat down to pet his dog. The boys however were confused as to where the dog had come from but paid the dog no mind as they wanted to hear the mans story.
"What is the name of your dog?" asked Michael randomly
"This is Buster, I've had him for about three years, ever since he was a pup. He has been my closest companion, but that is a tale for another time" said Arion while petting Buster.
Arion looked up and looked into the boys eyes, wondering if he could muster the strength to relive the memories of his dark past. With deep breath he said to the boys.
"I will try to tell my story to you two, but bear in mind that to do so, I am opening wounds that have just recently begun to heal. I am telling my story in hopes that when you return to your family and the gods, that you can unveil the deceit of the gods and veteran demigods." Arion told them sadly.
The two boys looked at the man and understood what he was trying to say. The story that the man is to tell them is not a happy one and that he may not be able to tell them the entirety of the story if the pain of retelling it becomes too great.
"We understand that your story isn't a happy one, all that we ask is that you tell us what you can. In return, we will do as you ask and retell the story to the rest of the godly family." said Michael
"I agree, you have saved our friend and companion, I hope that by listening to the truth, we can help you by retelling the truth to everyone else." Agreed Stephan.
Arion smiled brokenly at the two boys, they reminded him so much of his once friends that it hurt to look at them. Stephan's calm and serious attitude was so much like Jason's and yet his eyes reminded him of Piper's kindness. Whereas Michael's caring attitude but strong character was a blend of both Frank and Hazel.
"My story begins when I fell into Tartarus with the love of my life, Annabeth Chase, a daughter of Athena." Arion began.
*Flashback - 3rd person*
Annabeth was clinging onto the edge, her broken ankle unable to support her body and her other leg was tied with spider silk and the said beast below trying to drag her with it. Above her desperate arms were trying in vain to pull her up and prevent her from falling into the abyss.
Percy was holding onto Annabeth with everything he had, when suddenly the ground beneath him crumbled. The other members could only watch in terror as the floor beneath the two demigods gave out and the two strongest hero's fell into the dark abyss, and the last words that the remaining seven heard was:
"Meet us at the House of Hades".
Annabeth and Percy fell holding each other close and looking into the others eyes. They were about to face one of their greatest challenges yet. The depths of Tartarus.
The fall itself was long and stressful, especially for two hyperactive demigods, they spent much of the fall telling the other about the adventures they had in the time that they were separated. After a few hours they saw a pinprick of light below them and the air began to become more and more toxic.
"Percy, that is the river Phlegethon, the river of fire, we need to get to the river as soon as possible, or else the poison in the air will kill us." Annabeth whispered to Percy.
Percy nodded in acknowledgement but did not say a word, because for once he was trying to use his brain to come up with a plan.
'I don't want Annabeth to witness the horrors of this place, Nico managed to avoid becoming insane by sleeping and closing his eyes. I need to knock out Annabeth in order to ensure that she wont suffer the fate of insanity.' Percy thought to himself.
After falling for several hours, the ground became visible, but the air was becoming crushingly toxic for the two to breathe. Slowly darkness began to encroach in their eyes, in a last ditch effort, Percy extended his senses to the five rivers below them. Using his powers he called the River of Woes, the Acheron, to their aid.
The water flowed upwards and caught the two falling demigods. Percy, used what little power he had left to ensure that the two of them would remain dry in order to keep away from the effects of the river. Percy willed the water to drop them on the dry bank of the river and to not be touched by the rivers effect. It was all for naught, for a single drop landed on Percy's hand.
Sadness and despair clouded Percy's mind, and voiced of his friends that had died in the Second Titan war cried into his brain. Tears streamed down his face as great sorrow flooded his body. The memories of the other souls who were touched by the rivers waters bombarded his mind.
Annabeth could do nothing but watch as the man she loved, sobbed uncontrollably on the ground. She crouched and tried in vain to comfort Percy, but she was unable to make him stop crying. After an hour Percy managed to calm his mind enough to be able to push the despair and sorrow from his heart. He slowly got up with the help of Annabeth and said.
"Sorry about that, what do we do know, where do we go?"
"Thats all you have to say to me! You scared me, I thought I had lost you to the river. Don't ever do that again seaweed brain! Now we must head toward the light, that is where the River Phlegethon is, there we must drink from its water in order to survive." Annabeth told him patiently.
Slowly she turned around and started to limp towards the light, thinking that Percy was following her. However, that was a mistake, for when she turned her back, Percy hit her across the temple and she fell like a sack of potatoes. He then lifted her over his shoulder and carried her towards the light.
It took several days for Percy to reach the river, Annabeth stirred several times and Percy was forced to knock her out. Each time he did this his heart hurt, he hated causing harm to the ones he love, but he knew that if she was to live, then she should not witness the horrors that he was witnessing as he passed through the abyss of torture and misery. Already his mind was started to break at the things that he has seen, and it didn't help that there were monsters at every corner and he could never rest for long.
When Percy reached the River he was extremely tired, bleeding and in pain. He had run into many monsters, and because he was in Tartarus they didn't stay gone for very long. He struggled and carried Annabeth to the river, where he then collapsed at its bank and then lay there for a few seconds, relishing in the temporary relief. His lungs gasped for clean air, a cough erupted from his mouth and blood erupted from his throat.
He scrambled to his feet and dragged Annabeth to the fiery edge, he then parted her lips and stuck his cupped hands into the fiery water. A warm tingling feeling enveloped his body, the wounds he had sustained closed but left them as scars. Taking his cupped hands out of the flaming waters, he poured some of the water down Annabeth's throat. She unconsciously drank the water and sighed in content before succumbing back to darkness.
Percy drank the flame water for himself once Annabeth was hydrated and back to her state of unconsciousness. The bitter taste of the fiery water filled his mouth, the water tasted awful, like moldy, sweaty gym clothes. It took all of Percy's willpower to drink the awful tasting water, but once the water went down his throat, he felt a lot better. His lungs hurt less and the back of his throat didn't feel like it was rubbed by rough sandpaper. Also, the poisoned air seemed to effect him less after he drank the fiery water. Percy quickly drank a few more sips of the flaming water, and then proceeded to give Annabeth a few more sips in order to make sure that she was hydrated and more immune to the poisoned air.
Percy took a deep breath, his sore body begging him to sleep, but he knew that he could not. He could rest once he and Annabeth were away from nightmare of Tartarus and surrounded by friends that he could rely on.
Unbeknownst to Percy, a golden eyed individual was watching the young demigod and plotting his capture. After all it wasn't everyday that you could take revenge on the person who thwarted your plans.
Arion looked at the two boys who were looking at the man in front of them with laser attention., which it quite a feat for the two hyperactive demigods.
"Thats when everything went to hell, Kronos managed to gather some strength by leaching off of the giants and managed to form a ghost like body. He couldn't directly do anything, but he could control his domains to an extent." Arion said with a faraway look in his shattered eyes.
"What happened next?" Stephan asked hesitantly
"That is for another time, it is late and tomorrow I must do some errands in order to ensure that I have some money for the winter. I will try and continue the story tomorrow, hopefully your companion will be awake and you can fill her in while im gone." Arion said as he glanced out the window where the sun had disappeared several hours ago.
"Its not that late out though? The sun just set." Michael whined
Arion chuckled at the young boy.
"Actually because of where we are the sun and moon cycles are completely out of whack compared to places towards the equator. In the winter we can see up to 67 days of nighttime and a whole summer of just sun and no nighttime. Depends on where you are in Alaska, luckily, we are below the arctic circle meaning the effects aren't as bad." Arion stated matter-of-factually.
"I didn't know that" Michael said
"You get used to it after a while, it helps if you keep a good clock, which sadly I do not have. Now, time for bed" Arion replied
Arion rose from where he was sitting and went and got some pillows and blankets for the boys and set them up on the floor. He then went to the young girl, picked her up, and put her on the couch for the night. Buster got up from where he was laying and walked over to his bed of furs.
"Good night guys, sleep well and what ever you do. Don't wake me up, especially if I am having a nightmare, I don't guarantee your safety if you do." Arion told them sternly.
So here is the next chapter, to be honest I haven't really proofread it so if you find issues or mistakes please let me know. Also, I tried my best to make the conversations believable so some tips on improving would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
-titanofgaming signing off