Hey guys! How's it going? *more crickets* Thanks for all the reviews last chapter! I'm going to talk a little bit about the plan for the coming ending of this story. It should be hopefully no more than five chapters more. I'm shooting for three at most though. Including this chapter. We have the battle, and then the aftermath of the battle, and then a Perzoë epilogue. Cause we have to end with a fluffy finale. :) If you have any fluffy (not smutty) Perzoë ideas that you'd like to possibly see me do, send me a PM or leave it in a review! And don't worry, there will be a grand reveal! ;) Also, don't forget to vote in the poll! If you want I can PM one of you guys the summary of one idea, so you get a feel for it. Or I can post it here. Just ask! I accept votes via review and PM too, so just let know! I'll tell you the final decision with the last chapter of this. Anyways I own nothing but please enjoy this chapter! :)
Percy's POV (this gets a little intense, so proceed with caution)
I smirked back at her from beneath my hood. "Question is, are you ready to die?" With that cheerful question posed, I signaled my team silently. As one, we summoned our weapons and charged the gods.
The Olympians met us head on. There was one of them for every one of us, except for Demeter, who decided to team up with Apollo on taking down Nico. Every few seconds, I couldn't help but peak around the room to make sure everyone was holding their ground.
Nico was fairing well against the son God and the goddess of agriculture. Plants, after all, didn't surivive long facing shadows and death, and after dating his son, Nico seemed pretty much immune to many of the visual and auditory weapons Apollo threw at him.
Across the throne room, Bianca's twin short swords were fighting against Athena's spear and shield. The daughter of Hades didn't look to be distracted by the hideous face marring the shiny surface of the shield that the wisdom goddess kept raised to block the blows meant for her neck.
Next to the two, Luke and Ares were locked in their own battle. Ares kept jabbing at Luke with his electric spear that mirrored the one he had given to Clarisse all those years ago in Camp Half Blood. Luke deflected each blow with a double-sided sword that mimicked the design of his cursed two-tone blade, Backbiter. Every few seconds, the demigod would find a small gap in Ares' guard and manage to nick his skin. Golden blood dripped down the war god's armor from various scratches.
Towards the wall near the thrones, Calypso was in the process of bringing down the queen of the gods. Hera's staff with a blade jutting from the top was no match for Calypso's shield and dagger. She would block a poorly-aimed strike before slipping from behind the shield like a snake, slashing the dagger across Hera's porcelain skin before the goddess had a chance to retaliate.
Zoë and I were sharing the middle of the throne room in our battle, standing practically back to back. She was facing the king of the gods, while I was bringing hell to the man that ruined the life he gave me.
Zeus was playing neither offense nor defense against Zoë. He had no sword out, yet he was using a lightning bolt as if it were a sword. If Zoë advanced too close to him, he would flung it at her. While she dodged, the coward would grab another from a seemingly-bottomless sheath. Zoë, however, was standing her ground. Despite the lightning god's antics, she had been able to draw blood and was splashing through a small puddle of the golden liquid every time she took a step. Her shoes and the hem of her cloak were dripping with it.
Poseidon thrust his trident at me, stealing my attention away from my allies. "Fight me!" He barked, shoving the weapon in my direction and leaving his entire side wide open to an attack. Without words, I granted his request.
Taking my sword, I flicked the trident to my left, creating an even wider gap in Poseidon's defense. Surprised by my sudden movement, the sea god did nothing but watch me until his body forced his mind to catch up. By then, however, I had already lifted my foot to kick his shin and shallowly slash at the god's side. Although the wound was shallow, blood still came gushing out.
"Do you still want me to fight you?" I asked, looking down at the man i had once looked up to. In response, he growled at me and swung his trident again.
I dodged easily, expecting the move. Poseidon did not predict that I would move, and the momentum carried him forwards and opened his other side to attack. I repeated the injuries on the left side of his body.
"Fight me like a man!" The sea God snarled, struggling to his feet. From underneath my hood, I glared.
"I will fight you however I want!" I bellowed, striking him on his wounded right side with the flat of my blade, sending pain shooting through his failing body. "You did not speak to me like a man when you betrayed me!"
"I can see why not!" He spat, looking at me with unveiled hatred. "You're a coward, hiding behind your dirty tricks!" Poseidon gathered the blood that was gathering in his mouth and let it stain my shoes gold.
I let my eyes glow blue, illuminating the entire throne room through my hood. Dimly, I was aware of all the other fights ceasing, everyone turning to stare at Poseidon and me.
"You know nothing!" I exclaimed, a sudden gust of wind knocking the sea God off his feet at the last word. He had previously been crouched over, not at his full high but still standing fairly tall. After he fell, however, he appeared to grovel at my feet.
"You cast me into the pits of hell! You disowned me and stripped me of my identity, tarnishing my legacy! You made me ashamed to once look up to the man I believed you to be! You were my ultimate betrayal! You are the main reason that your allies will all die a painful death in the heart of Tartarus at the hands of primordials!" Each time I growled out a new sentence, the sea god received a kick to his ribs. After the third kick, I heard the first snap. After I finished my exclamation, I threw five kicks at the sniveling God. In return, I heard three short snaps like bursts from a machine gun.
Poseidon let loose a blood-chilling scream that instantly paralyzed all those in the room, enemies and allies alike. It could not stop me, though. Nothing would be able to until I had him begging to me for any death.
"Get up," I said. When he did not immediately show signs of movement, I kicked his ribs again, listening to them creak in protest, before jabbing my toe into his face. Poseidon gave another scream, this one shorter than the first but no less painful. "Get up!"
Again, he did not move. Snarling at him, I grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. His body was like a sack filled with bricks. His arm could not handle the force I was using to haul his weight, and popped him its socket. Another scream, but now Poseidon was standing before me.
He was truly a sight to see. Blood oozed down his sides from the twin slashes my sword gave him. His lip was split in half, the golden liquid drying on his face from when I kicked him. From under his bloodstained, ripped shirt, I saw the tell-tale signs of extreme internal bleeding starting. Poseidon's green eyes, once identical to mine, were glazed with pain and half-lidded.
"Who-who are you-u?" He stumbled over his words, swaying on his feet that barely managed to keep him standing up. A gentle breeze would have easily knocked him over. I could feel all the eyes in the room on us, most of them expectant or fearful. I decided to indulge them one last time.
I circled around Poseidon. He tried to swivel his head to watch me at first, but that made him lose what little balance he had left. Instead, he remained looking straight ahead, clutching his sides to stall the blood flow and ease the pain in his chest.
"I used to be a hero. I used to fight for Olympus, until I was betrayed. The love of my life was fatally wounded by a monster, yet I received the deserving beast's punishment. Did anyone listen to my side of the story? A few. None of them are here now. No, all you Olympians trusted the slick words of your king, who claimed inwas a murdered and traitor. I am neither. But I was voted guilty, and you, Poseidon, had the honor of redeeming your mistake by pushing me into Tartarus. I vowed that I would be back." I spread my arms out widely, facing the sea god. "Aren't you glad to see me?"
From across the room, Athens gasped. "It can't be..."
I laughed, the same maniacal sound from over twenty years ago when I was falling into the pit. All the Olympians flinched at the harsh sound. "Looks like Athena already put two and two together! That's why shes the wisdom goddess." I laughed again.
"But who-who are you?" Hera dared ask from her position next to a large golden throne.
"Who am I?" I repeated, pointing to myself. She nodded hesitantly. "I'm surprised you Olympians don't all remember now! I guess I'm not as special as I thought. You must've thrown a lot of demigods into Tartarus in the last twenty years for no good reason!"
"See here–" Zeus cut in next to Zoë, taking a step towards me.
i interrupted him. "I," i began, surveying my captive audience, "I am the Black Hearted Warrior! I am Perseus Jackson!"
I ripped my hood off my head accompanied by the series of gasps that echoed throughout the throne room.
"But you're dead!" Apollo spoke, sounding panicked.
"Sorry to disappoint, but I must insist that I'm feeling pretty alive right now!" My last words were punctuated by a large grin and crazy laughter. I felt like the Joker, and man was I enjoying it.
Poseidon hacked, golden blood flying from his mad coughing along with spittle. His green eyes bore into my darker ones. "Y-You... You..." He stuttered, his body slowly shutting down from the intense pain.
"I...?" I taunted, leering at him.
"Deserve..."
"Greatness? Better than you as my father? Success? Happiness?" I supplied bitterly.
We were all subconsciously leaning closer to the sea god, hanging on his every word.
"... Tartarus," he finally choked out.
"Tartarus?" I repeated, unbelieving. His sea green eyes rolled back in his head, and Poseidon fell. Everyone winced as his body hit the ground, but I did nothing.
"Tartarus?!" I roared. "If anyone deserves Tartarus, it's you! You and your allies!" I was screaming at the unconscious god. My heart started beating faster. During the entire battle, I hadn't let myself lose control until that point. I knew what was happening, but I was powerless to stop it.
A soft hand grabbed my shoulder. "Percy," Zoë whispered, spinning me around gently but firmly. "Calm down."
"But he..." I weakly protested.
She nodded. "I know. Dont listen to him. You deserve the world."
I looked through her hood and into her shining, dark eyes before leaning in to kiss her. "Thank you."
Together, Zoë and I turned around to face all our enemies. "You have seen what we can do," I announced, my voice carrying loudly through the throne room. "Give up now, and we shall spare you your lives."
As one, the standing Olympians glanced at their fallen comrade and raised their hands for surrender.
I smiled at Zoë. "We did it."
She slipped off her hood, smiling back, her eyes twinkling. "We sure did."
Hey guys! Wow, this was a long chapter! I can't believe it. I hope you liked it, since it was nearly double the length of a normal chapter! Anyways, next update is Saturday, cause I'm busy Friday. See you then! :)