Disclaimer: I do no own the Percy Jackson series. I'm not Rick Riordan.

Author's Note: This is when it starts getting interesting. I've set the story up, plot is starting to start, and Forgotten is forged. This is when the story starts actually getting interesting.

Sa Rart

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Now that I actually had the blade, I could be a little less cautious. I would be able to best all minor monsters that made their way into Athens. Any idiot could best a dracaena with a celestial sword, but they weren't all I had to worry about.

See, there wasn't a type of metal that destroyed mortals if it touched them. I had to rely on my own speed and skill. And I wasn't good enough with a blade to fight off the more powerful human mercenaries.

Funny, isn't it? I can be harmed by the less powerful types, but am threatened by the weak-minded mortals.

I stayed in Athens for a couple weeks, wandering around pointlessly. I still had enough money, and didn't hesitate to spend it.

But I wasn't really thinking about the beauty of the city. My thoughts always centered on the sword at my waist. I had since purchased a leather sheath for the blade and full-body hardened leather armor. I wasn't going to let myself get killed so easily. I had also purchased a longbow and a quiver of celestial bronze arrows that I was using against the many Stymphilian birds that had been attacking – those who made it past the guards.

It had been a little over a month since I was abandoned by Heracles. But each time I heard his name, it made me flinch. I had vowed that I never would speak his name again.

Again, I reminded myself to stay on task. I didn't have much time before the assassins and monsters made their way to Athens, which had become my temporary home these past couple months. But the city would be overrun in a week once the bulk of my father's forces arrived. I needed to work on my sword craft for as long as possible before going back to the roads.

Using most of my money, I had bought a horse, small, but also fast and agile. He also ate enough grass to fill up a dragon, so I named him Ladon. Just one more painful memory that I had to bear from home. Curse you, Heracles.

But things outside Athens's walls were happening far faster than I realized. I found out as I was doing a pattern dance with Forgotten.

See, I had forgotten some of the unique properties of celestial steel. It could give glimpses through Time. And I was suddenly given one.

As the sword flickered through the air, a huge cut appeared in midair, a chunk of air simply gone. And where it had been there was a window. A window through Time.

Cautiously, I peered inside, and reeled back, falling back into my own time. It was a picture of Athens being overrun. A pair of Cyclopes were smashing at its wall, which was starting to crumble under the onslaught. An army of dracanae and humans were gathered behind them, armed with longbows and spears. The city guard was fighting, and the army out in force, but was being destroyed. I quickly saw why.

There was a woman dressed completely in black, surrounded by emposai, chanting. As I gazed upon the scene, she pointed a hand at a guard and shouted something. Flames crackled to life around him, obliterating the poor man. Then I saw myself. Hekate.

I was on top of Ladon, who was on top of the city wall. I had my longbow out and pointed up to the sky, firing at something unseen. Craning my neck, I saw what it was.

A cloud of Stymphilian Birds, Caldaria, and the Furies was gathered there. It was descending upon the city, devouring everyone in its path. Literally. Here and there, flames burst up, signaling the Furies or Hekate's handiwork.

My other self in that future time was hit by a burst of green flame. Both I and my horse were devoured by flames. But the army did not stop there. They continued, killing everyone inside, then burning the city to the ground. Tears formed in my eyes as I watched civilians killed where they stood, but the sword's power refused to let me move away, not even close my eyes until the scene of carnage and destruction was spent. Then I was allowed to withdraw from the window of time.

I collapsed against Ladon, feeling old. And already I was nearly a year older than the Hesperid that had lived on the Mountain of Despair. But that wasn't my concern right now. I needed to get out of Athens. I could not let the future I had seen be true.

But where could I go? No city would accept me as well as Athens had. Greece's chief city was famous for its hospitality. Sparta would not be nearly as welcoming. Wait… there was a place that I needed to go to. I needed to untangle my thoughts, plus a god had told me to go. What better reason was there to visit Delphi?

Within the hour, I was out of Athens and galloping down the trade roads towards Delphi. I knew it was a risk, but I just wanted to get to the Oracle as fast as I could and hear what I needed to hear.

I was a fool. I couldn't relax at all.

To my eyes, each and every merchant wagon was filled with monsters waiting to jump out at me. Each and every man walking or riding down the road was an assassin. Every bird overhead was a Stymphilian, every woman Echidna.

I was almost relieved when one man drew a sword and hacked at me. At least I could do something and not just wait. I unsheathed my own blade, but I asked a question before I attacked.

"Who are you and who hired thee?"

The man grinned. "Like I would tell you who I am?"

I shrugged. "It was worth a try. Who hired thee?"

His eyes narrowed. "A messenger. But you don't need to worry about that. You'll be dead long before you can worry!"

He spurred his horse forward and swung at me. Forgotten shifted, briefly flickering into the shape of a shield to block his blow, then to its sword form as I swiped at his head. The assassin's horse sidestepped, avoiding the blow.

Time for a new approach. I swung my sword through the air, triggering a geyser just below his horse. It stumbled, throwing him off balance. Instantly, Ladon lunged, slamming his side into the other horse. The bounty hunter was thrown into the air, landing hard on the ground.

That, of course, didn't stop him. So I triggered several geysers in rapid succession. He staggered away from the first, tripped, and fell into the second. There was a horrible hissing noise, and from his cry of pain it was obvious that it was broiling hot. He leapt at me again, eyes wild and crazy. Ladon sidestepped, and I leaned sideways and swung with all my might at him. He ducked, and, with nothing to stop my blade, I was thrown off balance.

He thrust at me with his own blade, but Ladon kicked out, hind leg catching him full in the face. I heard his nose break. Instantly, I thrust downwards, the blade piercing him through the stomach. He twitched, then lay still.

But I wasn't home free yet. The ground bubbled, then shifted. A hole opened up, revealing a pit in the ground. It went straight to Tartarus. Only a titan could do that.

I glanced up. Hekate was standing behind me on the hill, one hand upraised and pointing towards me. I clapped my heel to Ladon's side, and he sprang sideways, avoiding the deadly blast of energy that shot from the titan-god of sorcery.

I wheeled around to face her. "What did I do to you?" I demanded. "Why is everyone after me? My father is powerful, but he doesn't control you! Why are you after me, too? Is the entire of Greek mythology after me?" By this time my voice had risen in volume until it was nearly a scream.

Hekate smiled. "I don't care about you. I'm not here because of your father. The only reason I am here is that pretty little sword of yours."

My blood turned to ice. "What about it?" I snapped. "It is rightfully mine. I made it."

The titan shrugged. "I know. But what happened to the last weapon you made? A blade you made does not make it good or bad. It is how others use it. I need to secure the blade in a place that none can find it. I cannot let my enemies get to it."

"I can do that myself. Keep out of it."

Her gaze bored into me. "Why should I? What can you do against an army of monsters? Even with the sword, you are a weak mortal."

Tartarian spawn erupted from the ground, the Titan's equivalent of hellhounds. Many of them. One sprang forward, knocking me off Ladon.

"I will take the sword from your dead body if you refuse to give it up," The Goddess with Three Faces told me.

"It is my life," I retorted. "I made it, and put part of me into the blade. I'm never giving it away."

She smiled. "And what of the other blade? You gave it away to Heracles. He didn't show gratitude, did he?"

A current of inhuman rage shot through me, and I let out a scream of rage. Forgotten glowed in my hands, and silver light shot in a shock wave that blasted the spawn out from around me.

I remembered the strategy that had worked so well against the Hydra: kill its mistress, and it disappeared. The same would be true of the spawn.

I lunged at Hekate, Forgotten still glowing with the force of my rage. Laughing, she dodged aside, a blade made of magical fire appearing in her hand. She swung at me with the speed of Scylla, but Forgotten literally lifted of its own will to block it. I never moved, but the blade shot upwards, pulling my hand with it. Her blade dissolved into flame as it touched Forgotten.

As if being weaponless with matter against an opponent like Hekate.

She hurled a blast of flame at me, but I rolled aside in time. Forgotten blasted another shock wave, but it went straight through the titan-goddess. In reply, she hit me with a blast of pure darkness.

I fell backwards, screaming in pain, as it sizzled over my body. Hekate approached, holding her Dagger of Athame in her hand.

I sat up painfully. "How could you know that I was here?" I asked.

"Your blade calls to the divine elements. It longs to combine with the greater heavens that it once came from." Hekate said.

I realized that it was calling monsters to me. I needed to stop them from getting the blade. If Kronos got hold of the blade, he could use it infinitely more powerfully than I could. I needed to put it in a place that no one could find it.

"Good," said Hekate. Her Athame blade disappeared in black smoke. She offered me a hand to help get me back to my feet.

Suspecting a trick, I took it. She pulled me to my feet and I let go of her hand. I wasn't dead because I touched her.

"Why are you helping me now, when you just were killing me?" I asked, confused. Hekate was so unpredictable. I had no idea what was going through the goddess's mind at this moment.

She smiled again. "You made a promise. If you will indeed get the blade away from the world, I have no need to kill such a powerful little human. Your future could hold so much. Or it could be nothing but oblivion at the hands of the Titans. All I ask is that you remember me in the days to come. I am not your enemy, Zoë Nightshade. I could be your friend."

I have to admit, I was astounded at her knowledge. "How did you know what I was thinking?"

She laughed. "I am the Queen of the darkness, Lady of the night. I am powerful indeed, Zoë. I can tell what mortals are thinking. But you may be much, much more than a mere mortal."

She pointed a hand at me. "Prepare yourself for the Oracle, Zoë Nightshade." Black and gold flame bloomed, then shot out of her hand and enveloped me. I felt no pain, despite of the heat. Streaks of fire shot across my vision, and when it cleared, I found myself in the Temple of the Oracle.

Yes, it's a bit of a cliffhanger… I may not be able to write for a while, although I would appreciate your reviews while I'm gone. I am very disheartened by the lack of hits and reviews. I need lots of reviews, or I may discontinue the story. So long for now!

Sa Rart