Trigger warning: This chapter includes 2010 EDGE along with violence, and possible references to rape. Everything is still at PG-13 levels, but I figured a warning would be a good idea.
Chapter 25: The God of the Sun Gets Under New Moon's Skin[1]
(Peter) [2]
I sat on the dark stone edge of the Hawaiian hot spring, looking out at Thalia and Annabeth in the heated water. I had been looking at them for hours, perhaps days. As the end neared, time became less and less relevant to me. Perhaps I too was finally stilling. I did not care. All I knew was that I had yet to grow hungry and my thirst was met by siphoning off the steam from the air.
Had I my way I would never leave this place again for gazing upon Annabeth left me more sated than any meal. As always, she lay in Thalia's arms, limp from the exertion of their rough games. Her skin was forever flushed. Her chest was frozen in mid-rise. Her long tresses ever damp framed her lovely sharp face. Even in the heavy mist and ever-present darkness, I could make out that small, self-deprecating smile.
It looked like at any moment, she would say something sardonic, presumably comical, and wholly herself. I lived for that fantasy. I lived for her.
"Annabeth," the word escaped me. It was rough and ugly, like myself. I had failed her.
I closed my eyes. The peace I had been so careful to construct since I had gotten back here was crumbling like sand between my fingers. I wanted to reach out and touch her. I wanted to talk to her. I did not want this to end. I—
"Well, hello there," an all too familiar voice said, followed by the sound of movement.
It could not be. Sounding far too sanguine, I once more said, "Annabeth?"
Her voice responded. "I am so glad I reached you in time. I think you're exactly who I have been looking for. My memories tell me that you are," she said. "But what are you doing? Open your eyes. Look at me, Miss Darkness." [3]
I did not dare. This was truly impossible. She was speaking nonsense and I was thinking nonsense too. It seemed that the harbor of madness had finally reached my sunken ship.
There were more sloshing noises and a great sucking sound as a presence plopped down next to me. "Wow," she said dryly, "that was an experience."
I smiled, but it hurt. Tears were already streaming down my face. I felt like a child.
She sighed. Annabeth had never been a proponent of gratuitous displays of emotions, but I could not stop.
I heard her get up. Then she touched me. I felt the warmth of her hand on my wrist. The feeling spread through me like I had somehow jumped wrist-first into the hottest of springs.
"Stand up," she said, pulling me.
I obeyed.
She turned me around and gave me a tight hug. This was nothing like Hestia's motherly embrace. This was sweeter and far more torturous. I thought I would die from the contact and yet I never wanted it to stop.
Then she spoke again. "For me," she murmured, "it's been no time at all, but I know for you, it's been an eternity. I'm sorry."
I shuddered at her kindness. It was too much. "The fault is mine," I said for I could not let this go on.
She was so close. I could feel her smile. "I'll forgive you…" she promised. Her honeyed words tickled my ear and sent shivers of sensation down my entire being, "if…you open your eyes."
She then stepped away.
My arms went up automatically, but she was either too quick or had never been real to begin with.
I swallowed. My life had been worse than a divine punishment as of late, but this was the hardest labor I had been asked to do. My hope was being reawakened against my will. After I had mostly made my peace with the cold empty reality of the end of times, this was the first touch of heat after living in a blizzard, the first sip of water after days of the desert. It reminded me how much I had suffered and gave nothing but pain and this longing for more. In a twisted way, I wanted to cling to my dark despair for if I gave in to this new desire, if I opened my eyes and found that she was not really there and that I had truly gone insane, then I knew I could not go on, even like this. The disappointment would be unbearable and I would betray the last of my dwindling principles and seek a release from this Tartarean existence.
"Come on, Bright Eyes," she coaxed.[4] "Trust me."
She was so close, a hair's breadth out of my reach.
Damnation upon my sanity and good sense! She was worth all of it and more. This, this voice, this person was Annabeth. I knew it!
That was what I told myself to believe as I slowly forced my eyes to open. My eyelashes fluttered and the hot spring's splendor returned to my sight, but I could barely see it through my tears. I let out a sob and then another.
She was there!
No longer in Thalia's arms, Annabeth stood before me wearing the same type of robe I had on. Her hood was down, so I was able to take in her sublime features. My eyes roved over her face eager to recapture every nuance of her living breathing presence. Her hair mussed from the hood, her proud chin lifted slightly, her lips in a mock stern line, her eyebrows quirked up, and of course her ever keen eyes, even in this dull forgotten landscape, they gleamed silver with pleasure.
"How is this possible?" I breathed, filled with wonder and fear. My cursed mind was more divided than ever. This proof of her seemed only to upset it further. It whispered that I could still be mad, or simply asleep. This could be the fevered dream of an otherwise hopeless girl.
I prayed to Hestia and any other being that could hear me that this vision was not some lie my desperation had conjured up. I needed this to be true the way I needed air.
As if in response to my heavenly pleas, Annabeth smiled at me and it was brighter and more glorious than a million stars. "It's a long story," she said. Her voice was cool, but I could hear the underlying excitement as she reached out her hand to me.
I took it and let the searing impossible warmth fill me again.
I was touching Annabeth's hand. She was alive and talking and seemed full of promise and life! She told me, "It begins with a ti—"
But then she froze.
No.
The entire world seemed to pulse with energy and light as a deep male voice said from behind me, "Alright folks, show's over."
No. No.
I turned towards the unwelcomed voice and saw Thalia. Her form was bathed in actual starlight, from the newly reconstituted heavens above us. Confusion filled me. I glanced back at Annabeth. She remained motionless.
NO!
"What Have You Done!"I roared at Thalia. She was not meant to be awake. This was not how it was supposed to be.
Thalia just gave me a self-satisfied smirk and said in a voice that was not her own, "I think it's kind of obvious what happened."
I shook my head, my new emotions mixing with the old ones that still felt as fresh as wailing newborns. This was supposed to be the most important moment in my life. The point where everything changed. Where a miracle occurred and my Starlight showed me the light.
I had nearly gotten there. I had relived this horrid damnation of a year to let him see it, to let him understand.
"I also think it's time you let go of Peter. He's been in this dark and dreary world for, like, 12 hours.
There are those who say:
Patience is a true virtue
I say: No. Thank. You."
My agony and dismay darkened into a cold fury as I recognized and greeted the author of this and many other tragedies, my least favorite Olympian, "Phoebus." [5]
Genetor leered at me with Thalia's mouth and eyes.[6] "I see my reputation proceeds me."
"You could say that," I said flatly, my anger too deep to show.
"What's the matter?" he asked jeeringly. "Are you just Team Artemis? Or did I corrupt your sister or something?"
I let out a sound that might be called a laugh or shout of pure pain. Iatromantis had no idea.[7] Of course, he did not. These days, very few understood me. He was supposed to. He would have if Leschenorius had not interrupted.[8]
"That bad, huh?" he said, before proceeding to purr his next words, giving Thalia's eyes a hooded countenance, "Maybe if you took off that cowl and showed me a bit more than those lovely eyes of yours, I'd remember who you were. We could pick up where we left off, I'm sure. How does that sound, Miss Femme Fatale?"
How does that sound! How dare he! "I am a virgin," I growled. "I have not and will not ever sully myself with your seed. Do not insult me thus!"
Pornopion let out a histrionic sigh.[9] "Okay. I get it. You're one of those Hunters. I should have guessed. Fine, I'll cut the banter short and keep it simple. Let Peter go. He and I are due for a man-to-man talk, so do as I say and nobody has to get hurt."
I raised my eyebrows. "Lyceus, you vastly misjudge the situation." [10] He had already hurt both of us more than he could ever know.
"I'm not the one draped in shadows, Cult Lass," he said, misunderstanding me.
"At least, I came as myself," I pointed out. I was sure he would consider a man-to-man talk awkward, perhaps even embarrassing, in his current state.
"What do you…" Thearius began dumbly before he looked down at Thalia's body.[11] "What!" he cried, snickering. "Hermes! That absolute troll!" He shook Thalia's head as his mirth increased.[12] "And you let me proposition you and everything…Wow!
This.
Is.
Hilarious!"
With that, Erythibius's joyous howls of laughter began to fill this place that was laden with so much sorrow and meaning for me.[13] My hands and teeth had already been clenched, but now I was tightening them enough to break skin.
Of course, it would be Clerius who appeared to thwart me.[14] He who was the instrument of my primordial misfortune would laugh in the face of my greatest hardship.
No more.
My own patience had run dry.
"Get out of my memory, Theoxenius," I said, summoning my Hunter's bow to my hands.[15] Perhaps it was too late to fix this, but I had to try.
Agyieus stopped laughing.[16] "Whoa there," he said, "You don't wanna do that. Despite my current circumstances, I'm still a God and not a person you want as an enemy, Lego-lass."
"You are my enemy," I proclaimed with as much venom as I could muster. Some things did not change. "And in this place," my place, "you have no more power than I do."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Patroeus boasted before clapping Thalia's hands together.[17] Lightning crackled between her fingers. As he used the light to shape a bow of his own, he said, "Never underestimate the power of imag—Ow!"
I smirked. My first arrow had hit him square in Thalia's shoulder. I told him, "You talk too much."
Latoeus and I battled through the newly minted night.[18] Had he his way, we would have stayed in the hot springs to have our bout, but that was not my chosen arena. The first chance I had, I left the heated pool and darted into the lush foliage of the Hawaiian jungle.
Nomius, unused to both Thalia's body and the heavy timeless atmosphere, was slow to follow.[19] It gave me the opportunity to do what I did best: Traps.
I set them up all across the jungle. Then I found a good vantage point on top of one of the Eucalyptus trees and waited.
Smintheus did not disappoint.[20] His cries could be heard in the night air, as clear as a nightingale. I cast shots into the dark mist for an encore. Hecatus would shoot back, but I remained one step ahead of his arrow.[21]
"Face me, Coward!" Aphetor bellowed after this happened a few times.[22]
"Find me first, Proupsius!" I shouted back.[23]
He shot at my voice, thinking I was fool enough to give away my location. Of course, I had thrown my voice to confuse him, so while he turned to make the pointless shot, my arrow found his thigh.
"Argh!" he yelped, turning to shoot again. His arrow of lightning crackled through the jungle, but it did not reach me.
In the beginning, none of his shots came close. On this night, I had, for once, the advantage over a god.
But now that I was removed from my past, I felt the passage of time elsewhere. Agraeus grew used to the environment, Thalia's body, and even started to avoid my traps.[24] Because of his immortality, I could not kill him. Even when he was covered in arrows, spikes, bee stings, goo, thistles and had a bear trap clamped to one leg, he continued on.
It was not a pretty sight to see my old friend so mangled and bloody, but Ulius's godly presence refused to let Thalia's body rest.[25] And save for the arrows I shot into Thalia's eyes, he let the injuries build, moving as relentlessly as a fearsome monster either to intimidate me or because he realized stopping to remove the implements in her took too much time and left him open for further attacks.
It had been ages since I faced such a formidable foe and longer still since I felt any personal vendetta towards my opponent. Another time, I might have taken some pleasure in the encounter, but I was too fraught with rage and disappointment. The likelihood of him witnessing the end of my tale on this night dwindled with every passing moment. I wish I could just tell him, but he would not be able to understand. Words were useless. He needed to be shown.
Yet no matter how much harm I did to Acesius, I could not get him to leave.[26] I had never seen him so stalwart. His celestial endurance simply outshined my own enhanced abilities. For though I was an immortal hunter with countless years of experience, death in battle was still a reality for me. Hence, when he, at last, hit my shoulder with one of his lightning arrows, I saw it as a harbinger to my defeat. Worse, I realized this battle was more a matter of pride than I originally thought.
It was unacceptable.
I knew better than most that this type of hubris could doom a world. I could not let it be so, not again. I would not have him think I was like the others. My temper had been peaked, but I was not one who was endlessly driven by selfish desires or a superfluous personal code. I had one aim, his aim: to save Annabeth and create a world where my Starlight could shine.
With that in mind, I made my choice. I did away with my inflated self-importance and extinguished my senseless fury. Then I entered a clearing and called out into the dying night, "I yield. Forgive me, Didymaeus.[27] I have been most foolhardy."
Hecebolus's lightning arrow struck sure and true into my thigh like the roughest of knives.[28],[29]
I gasped.
"I'll forgive you when you go through half the pain I have tonight," Decatephorus snarled, not understanding that I had suffered far worse than any physical torment he could arrange.[30]
"Please," I made myself plead, "I only wished—" I grunted in pain. He had shot my calf and my arm.
"I don't care about your wishes," Pythius snapped.[31] "I am so past being nice right now. I have goo in my nose, Cult Lass.
Goo.
In.
My.
NOSE!" [32]
He fired two more shots into my back.
"You do not. Understand," I spoke pausing each time he hit me to wince and gasp in pain. "You are ever. Celebrated. You have. Never been. Abandoned. Or—!"
I screamed in agony.
"Bull's eye," Delphinius whooped.[33] "You still want to play this game?" I could hear him load up more arrows.
"I will. Do. Any. Thing. To see. Her. Dream. Come true," I told him through gritted teeth and another splattering of arrows.
"Yeah," Spodius said coolly, "We'll see about that." [34] He was close now.
I turned and faced the god.
Paean's light blazed from Thalia's body, finally erasing the ravages of our battle and causingThalia's eyes to shine as brightly as a new star.[35]
I knew what was to come before it happened. Too much time had gone past. With the morning upon us in his world, Phanaeus's powers were seeping into this one.[36] It was, of course, the way things were. As arrow after arrow pierced my skin driving themselves deep through my muscles and cracking my bones, I knew that this was right. I could only hope that my surrender, however meaningless for this battle, would do something for the war, for her, and for him. For though I had not the power to change this story any more than I had the power to stop the rising of the sun, he could do that and more.
He would save her. Of that, I must comfort myself. I must believe that she mattered more than I ever would.
"Come on, Cult Lass," Prostaterius said standing over me.[37]
At some point, I had fallen. The blood loss and shattered bones had been too much for me. Thus, as I lay on my stomach, I was barely able to tilt my head up to look at the god. Him in a fraction of his glory was nearly too much for my one remaining eye to behold, like staring into the light of a thousand suns with their heat beating down upon me. His face was incomprehensible, but the god's voice was all too human as he purred menacingly,
"I've had a long night.
I'm done with all this foreplay.
Let's take those clothes off." [38]
I tried to escape, to force my torn muscles and fragmented bones into action, to drag myself to safety, but I had only managed the slightest twitch when an obscene number of Argyrotoxus's true silver arrows drove themselves into me, pinning down my entire body.[39]
I shrieked.
Not even the sky could compare to this torture. These arrows had none of the vestiges of Thalia's measly lightning bolts. Shot from the bow of Phosphorus, the arrows were pure light, pure energy, filling me with the fiery potency of all the diseases and ill-health mankind had and would be forced to endure.[40]
As I felt myself die a manifold of deaths, above me, Ismenius chuckled darkly, joyously.[41],[42]Once again, he was mocking my suffering, and as was too often the case, I could not stop him. I could only watch as he leered down at me and bend forward to remove my hood.[43]
Footnotes
[1] This, like many titles in this fic, has a double meaning. There are probably trigger warnings up above, but just in case, be warned, some of the imagery in this chapter is…unsettling, a bit graphic, and somewhat sexual. We keep things PG-13 here, so nothing R happens on screen. Still, Apollo really lives up to his Grecian reputation in this chapter and I thought a caveat was a good idea.
[2] I'm sure this will be true at some point. For now, enjoy more New Moon.
[3] This is probably referring to the fact New Moon has her hood on.
[4] I find this particular nickname interesting because this is a common epithet for Athena.
[5] It's epithet time again. Sigh… Alright! Phoebus means bright and is Apollo's most commonly used epithet.
[6] Genetor means ancestor. So basically, she's calling Apollo an old man.
[7] Iatromantis means physician and prophet, so a supposedly learned or wise person.
[8] Leschenorius means converser or a talker.
[9] Pornopion means of the locusts, a bug associated with plague. It also sounds like porn. I do not think this is a coincidence. Also, histrionic means melodramatic.
[10] Lyceus means light and it also refers to Artemis's and Apollo's mom, Leto.
[11] Thearius means of the oracle.
[12] This is another thing that makes this fic's Hermes different from PJO Hermes. This version of Hermes (Perhaps because he presents himself as younger) is a trickster.
[13] Erythibius means of mildew
[14] Clerius means distributing by lot.
[15] Theoxenius means God of foreigners.
[16] Agyieus means street and refers to Apollo being a protector of roads and homes.
[17] Patroeus means of the fathers or ancestral. This is probably in reference to Zeus. It also sounds similar to Harry Potter's Patronus which is also about summoning things made of light. Though that might just be a coincidence.
[18] Latoeus means son of Leto.
[19] Nomius means pastoral. So, in my head, that means farms filled with slow dumb herd animals.
[20] Smintheus means of mice.
[21] Hecatus means shooter from afar.
[22] Aphetor means to let loose as in letting an arrow loose i.e. shooting it.
[23] Proupsius means foreseeing.
[24] Agraeus means of the hunt or hunter.
[25] Ulius means of sound health.
[26] Acesius means healer.
[27] Didymaeus means twin as in Artemis's twin. I think this is the nicest thing New Moon has said to him thus far.
[28] Hecebolus means far-shooting.
[29] Here we go, prepare for edge.
[30] Decatephorus means bringer of tithes.
[31] Pythius means of the Python.
[32] I did not understand why after being kebabbed with arrows and spikes Apollo was so upset about the goo, but then I realized you can't "heal" goo the same way you can heal flesh wounds. So, that's my hypothesis.
[33] Delphinius means of the dolphin. This one confused me until I looked dolphins up. Did you know that they kill things for fun, not just food? They are responsible for so many dead porpoises and one article I read said dolphins have been known to kill other dolphin's babies. Still not as bad as humans, but yikes!
[34] Spodius means of the altar or of the ashes.
[35] Paean means healer.
[36] Phanaeus means giving or bringing light.
[37] Prostaterius means Standing Before (the Entrance).
[38] Yeah, this haiku, this is what I was talking about. It's disturbing and distinctly not okay. However, stick with me friends. We'll get through this edgy ride together.
[39] This is a weird one. Argyrotoxus means with silver bow, but both you and I are thinking: Doesn't Apollo use a golden bow and arrows? According to the PJO wiki, Apollo has a golden bow and arrows, but according to Greek mythology, Apollo's bow and arrows are sometimes golden and sometimes silver. According to Wikipedia, Apollo's bow is most commonly gold and his arrows are most commonly silver. Eros is actually the one who consistently has golden arrows. One interesting alternative reading, I found was that Apollo's bow is silver, but his blessing turned it gold. However, this came from the Eternal Return Wiki which is about some strategy survival battle royale game so that is hardly a reputable source for this sort of thing.
[40] Phosphorus (Element 15 on the periodic table) means light-bringing or a torch-bearer. It's actually an epithet for several gods and goddesses, including Hecate and Artemis (but not Apollo?). However, here I assume New Moon is referring to Hephaestus since he made Artemis's and Apollo's bows, but I suppose New Moon could also be referring to Artemis. As for Apollo's arrows themselves, in PJO and in Greek Mythology, they are indeed known to cause disease.
[41] Ismenius means of Ismenus. Ismenus was killed via poison arrow by Apollo after Ismenus's mother claimed her children were better than Leto's kids i.e. Apollo and Artemis. Yeah, this is one of those classic Greek mistakes. Apollo killed the male children and Artemis killed the female children of that family.
[42] And with that, we are once again done with epithet time.
Phew.
I sincerely think it's interesting to look up what all these Greek epithets mean. I certainly learned more than a few things, but man, it sure does take a while. I hope you enjoyed the vocabulary lesson!
[43] So that got dark…not since Lore Olympus, have I been this afraid of Apollo.
A/N: Yes folks, I'm back. This has been a crazy start to a new year and if I am being honest, I still have unfinished business in the RCU. I hit a wall in the last week of January, so I figured I would come back here to Gamma Reader Land to lick my wounds.
Then I remembered that we were on this lovely chapter and well...I'm surprised that I'm surprised (it's been that type of time for me). I hope the edge hasn't frightened you away. This and the next chapter both require trigger warnings, but I promise the next chapter is much more fun.
I think that's everything for now. I am officially working on this fic again, so expect more chapters in the coming weeks. Next time, we get to find out what our next stop is on this madcap adventure. Look forward to it.
See you then!