Misery's Smile Chapter 14
Rocky & Rinne
Beta-ed by December Sapphire
It's been some time, eh? ;) No matter, on to the story! Do sit back and drink a glass of hot cocoa, and we hope you enjoy =)
The air seemed heavier as Chiron finished his last words to the demigods. There was only silence, but Perseus could feel the naked fear emanating from the children. Some looked nonchalant, but the Primordial wasn't fooled. He could see how they minimally shook when the Shadow was mentioned.
Perseus couldn't blame them. After the war against the Giants, most demigods were exterminated, save only a few – Heracles, and the descendants of Aeneas. It was an extremely costly battle for the Olympians, and following, the Typhon attacked, weakening them even further. Perseus shook his head and sighed. He didn't know how to keep his promise, to keep the demigods alive. He turned away, and left. The Primordial could not bear to face the young children.
"Dismissed!" Chiron shouted, and the demigods scurried into their tents, whispering about the prophecy.
"Chiron, you know the quest members will die," Perseus spoke with an even tone, turning around. "Don't you know what the prophecy means?"
"And what would you have me do, Perseus?"
Perseus kept quiet, taking a look at the cabins. Chiron seemed to gather himself, and standing beside Perseus, the centaur folded his arms. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he widened his eyes in horror.
"Perseus, do you recall the burning of Delphi?" Chiron asked, with an urgent tone to his voice.
"What of it?" Perseus returned with a question, confused at the sudden change of demeanour, but continued, "Lykos did say it burned the ground – and the spirit within was taken, but –"
Perseus stopped, hearing Chiron's gasp.
"The Voice! They have taken the Voice!" The horrified look on Chiron's face grew.
"You should have more faith in our heroes, Chiron. Let them make their own path," The Primordial folded his arms, remaining unaffected.
"There is neither a path nor destination without a journey, Perseus. That is why we need the Oracle! We cannot afford the demigods to go blindly to their deaths!"
"We don't have time, old man! The Shadow has grown in power – have you listened to the echoes, and the monsters answering his call?!"
"And what is your solution, Lord Perseus?"
Anger and hurt started to fill the young Primordial, but he reeled it in. He didn't expect such venom from his old friend. He took a pause, and wondered.
"I thought so. If you are too –"
Perseus cut him off "Chiron, wait. Apollo, the sons of Apollo, they should have the gift of the prophecy. They inherited it by their father."
"The gift of prophecy isn't inherited, Perseus. It is for those blessed by the Fates," Chiron folded his arms – though he was intrigued.
"Apollo was blessed by the Fates, who embedded the Gift within his power. The children inherited his power, no? Chiron, you have to trust me on this," Perseus said, in a pleading voice.
"It is an extremely risky gamble, Perseus. If the Fates deny the sons of Apollo the Gift, this will all be for naught," Chiron murmured.
"I'm confident they will," Perseus smirked, "Because, Destiny itself is at stake. Let's face it, Chiron; the Olympians are still recovering from two wars. They do not have the strength to win another. Now that the Oracle has been kidnapped, the Fates will be forced to act.
"In fact, I am sure that they are keeping a very close eye on all affairs now – including our conversation here."
"So you are blackmailing them, in a sense... I hope you're right, Perseus. I don't like to see children go to their deaths." Chiron hung his head a little, before he finally headed to the big house.
Perseus found himself thinking the same thoughts, following close behind.
The night after, it was time to announce the Champions of the prophecy. This time though, there was a rather interesting group of guests – the Fates themselves. Perseus sported a smirk, returned by a small nod of acknowledgment from Atropos.
"Fate must come full circle. The Shadow must be stopped by the sons of Olympus," Clotho said, her voice lidded with unspoken power.
"We have come personally to make sure of this. The Shadow's efforts to compromise us are futile," Lachesis continued.
"And thus, we ourselves will personally show the journey to those with the Gift to see it. Anaxos, son of Apollo, stand up," Atropos said.
A young, but hardened boy, looked like he did not want to be there. Perseus looked triumphant. Deep inside, he felt horrible. Anaxos was literally thrown into this situation with no warning. However, Perseus knew the Fates chose well. The son of Apollo was an exceptionally strong-willed demigod, and the perfect candidate to carry the Gift of Prophecy. Though, he did have a tendency to be rather short-tempered – though it was mellowed out a little under Perseus' guidance.
Anaxos let loose the slightest of sighs, before he rose and walked towards the great deities. A rush of wind seemed to blow across the field, standing before the Fates. Then, Lachesis held out a long, thin finger and touched Anaxos' forehead.
The effect was instantaneous, and Anaxos' eyes rolled back, collapsing on the spot.
"Our duty is done. The Fate is safe – as it should be," Lachesis muttered, before she turned towards Perseus. "You shall not interfere, Son of Akhlys, unless you wish to incur the wrath of Lady Ananke."
"The Champion to lead this quest shall be Aita, son of Hades," Clotho said, earning a small resigned sigh from Chiron.
A deadly silence came across the field as the Fates left in a cloud of mist. There was no excitement, or anticipation for the quest. There was only dread and fear.
After all, it wasn't every day that the Fates themselves directly interfered to 'make sure' of things. Perseus knew his plan probably worked, but he couldn't help feel horribly guilty for Anaxos.
"Dismissed! Go back to your cabins. Training will start as usual tomorrow at the first sight of daylight," Perseus ordered.
When night arrived, Perseus couldn't help but pace nervously around his desk, the guilt continuing to gnaw into his heart. Chiron laid his hand on Perseus' shoulder.
"Perseus, it was the right decision. We have possibly saved lives which would have been wasted searching for the Oracle."
"I…" Perseus started to say.
"Now is not the time to grieve over your decision, Perseus. What's done is done. As leaders of the Camp, we also have the duty to make difficult decisions."
Perseus seemed to look away as a smirk started to fill his expression.
"Perseus…?"
"I sense an old friend..."
Then, the door knocked.
"Come in!" Chiron called, and the door opened to introduce two demigods.
Perseus saw Aita and Anaxos standing before him, and fully packed. He quickly straightened himself, looking at the young pair of demigods. Chiron was also rather shocked, but held it in. Aita looked shaken, but the determination in his eyes were unmistakeable. Anaxos sported a calm look, but Perseus could see the slight tinge of anger souring his expression.
"Master Perseus, Master Chiron." Aita and Anaxos greeted in unison.
"So, the both of you are leaving, now?" Perseus asked, earning a pair of nods from the pair.
"The Fates ordered us to leave as soon as possible," Anaxos muttered.
"Do you know of your destination?" Perseus folded his arms carefully.
"We are going to Delphi – the Fates showed Anaxos a vision as they blessed him. They said that some of our answers may be found there,"
Perseus sighed, before he took off his cloak, and with his sword, cut it into two. His eyes glowing, the son of Akhlys turned both pieces into separate cloaks.
"Very well. Before you leave, however, use these black cloaks. They will cover your presence from the Shadow at night. Under no account, should you take these off after nightfall, especially at a place like Delphi. I can feel dark things linger there," Perseus' yellow eyes blazed. "Farewell, and trust no one."
"I wish you had more training… But I digress. Be careful, you two," Chiron said.
As the demigods bowed, exiting the barrier, Perseus felt a dark presence suddenly appear, and leave. He narrowed his eyes as he continued monitoring the presence. Perseus could only wonder if the dark presence had been there all along, spying on the camp.
"What is it, Perseus?" Chiron asked tiredly.
"Nothing." He said, choosing not to trouble the poor centaur further.
Chiron looked at him with a questioning look, but didn't say anything. Perseus watched him leave quietly, and couldn't help but pity the old teacher.
As he heard the door close, the Primordial quickly cursed himself – he should have been more vigilant. Either way, he didn't like this. Following the presence of his old friend, Perseus came to the edge of the barrier west of the lake. A familiar Shade sat on a stump, polishing his sword.
"Lykos, I need you to do a favour for me," Perseus requested, though in a commanding voice.
The Wolf raised an eyebrow, but evenly replied, "What favour?"
"The demigods that have just departed – follow them. I do not trust the Fates…and Amauros. The Shadow has revealed himself – the game of cat-and-mouse will be over. It won't be long until he directly moves," Perseus paused. "The demigods are going in there under the orders of the Fates, who I believe know absolutely nothing of the scope of this threat they are facing."
"They know, Perseus. They were present when Amauros fought against the First-Born. The Weavers are not as ignorant as you think," Lykos said in relative amusement.
"Yet, they think the weakened Olympians are powerful enough to combat a Son of Darkness, who at the height of his power, held Akhlys by her throat."
Lykos immediately gave a serious look as he saw the cold expression that crossed Perseus' face. The Shade couldn't help but be impressed, feeling a chill down his spine. The weak boy who bumbled his way in Tartarus had grown to be a powerful and worthy immortal.
"I certainly cannot argue with that. So what would you have me do, Lord Perseus?" Lykos asked, bowing ever so slightly.
"As I have said, follow them. Report to me if something is amiss," Perseus said.
"As you command, Lord Perseus," Lykos said, flashing away.
(With the Questing Duo)
"I can't believe this," Anaxos grumbled.
"We were ordered to by the Fates. Deal with it," Aita snapped.
"Of course, you follow orders like a Spartan," Anaxos murmured.
Aita stopped then.
"Such tact. I would expect no less from an insolent Athenian," Aita growled sarcastically, before sniffing the air. "Now silence."
Anaxos was about to return with an equally insulting comment, but stopped as he listened to the surroundings. The air seemed thicker and darker than usual, and in the distance, the sound of war could be heard. Aita wanted to check it out of curiosity – but Anaxos quickly stopped him.
"Not this time, Aita," Anaxos drew his bow, and Aita instantly knew why.
Monsters.
They quickly moved in, working to destroy the monsters quickly. Using a few tendrils of shadow, Aita swiftly slew the monsters by sending their essence directly into the underworld, while Anaxos destroyed the rest in quick succession with his arrows. Suddenly, Aita started to gasp, as the shadows disappeared.
Anaxos looked at him seriously, before handing him a couple of ambrosia squares "You should not have used your powers, Aita."
Aita stumbled a little, as he said, "I'm fine. Besides, we are pressed on time – it would be swifter."
"No, you are not fine; any half-decent healer can see that. I swear, the pride of the Spartans… You will need rest," Anaxos sighed.
While they had met each other at camp a few times, they didn't really talk all that much. The only thing they did was to banter over their city-states.
"Anaxos… We have to go," Aita asked suddenly.
"Not now, Aita. Unless you really do want a quick death, you will not stand a chance against monsters like this," Anaxos grumbled.
"We have to go –" The exhausted demigod panted, before finally collapsing.
"Spartans… You are the dishonoured demigod, aren't you? There's no point regaining honour dead. The only thing you'll become is a bittersweet memory. I didn't want to be a part of this anyway," Anaxos sighed, as he set up camp for the night, unaware of a Shade that watched them from a distance.
Lykos had watched the battle – and he saw why Lord Perseus wanted him to follow the pair of demigods. Though they showed good skill, owing to the Primordial's training, their show of strength and power were rather… unconvincing.
Even Aita, the one whom Perseus was heavily interested in, didn't really seem too much of a threat. The fact that he was exhausted after one attack did not impress the Wolf of Nyx at all. It wouldn't take much for the Shadow to kill him. Then again, Perseus was rather interested in this boy, not to mention that the Fates had chosen him as the champion to carry out the prophecy.
Lykos would reserve his judgement, for now. And trust Perseus', too.
(Days later…)
Anaxos had the worst week of his life. From living peacefully, without the fear of monsters, and with good mentors – albeit rather violent, namely Perseus – he was now going to a quest to stop something. The son of Apollo knew Perseus knew more information than he let on. As powerful as he was, the Primordial wasn't a very good liar.
He did not even want to be in this quest. Just because he had something called 'strong will' or some nonsense like that, the Fates had seen fit to curse him with a 'Gift' and send him on a quest he'd probably die in. The nightmares were… difficult to deal with.
And to seemingly seal his misery, his companion just had to be the gloomy, quiet Spartan. He certainly wouldn't mind a son of Poseidon, at this point. They were usually dumb, but reliable and fun to be with. However, he couldn't dwell on that now, as he finally spotted the ruins.
"There!" Anaxos shouted, as Aita saw it too.
"It looks like the city is still burning," Aita pointed at a large fire near the temple of Apollo.
"An inn…" Anaxos muttered, feeling his eyelids grow heavy.
He saw Aita's eyes, and could see the fatigue in them too, no matter how much the Spartan tried to hide it. For the past few days, they had been fighting monsters, and evading armies. From what they heard, Sparta had finally declared war on Athens. Anaxos felt rather conflicted, but did not dwell on it, as he remembered Perseus' words.
"You are demigods. You serve neither Athens, nor Sparta, nor any other foolish mortal kingdom. You serve Olympus."
"Anaxos, pay attention!" Aita raised his voice this time, before he sighed, "We need to find clues."
"Clues of what?" Anaxos laughed – there was nothing left in these ruins.
"I don't know! Anything!" Aita let out a frustrated grumble, and Anaxos further laughed.
"Shut up and find something, Anaxos. There has to be something somewhere…"
Anaxos sighed at the Son of Hades' determination, or rather, stubbornness. As Anaxos looked around, he couldn't help but be horrified with what he saw. The stench of blood seemed to fill the air as he went deeper into the ruins, not to mention the endless amount of human bones that carried bite marks – gnawed bite marks.
Then, in all that horror, he spotted something rather unusual – a trail of large footprints that looked like it was burned on the stone. Anaxos called Aita over, and the demigod wasted no time.
"It looks like it was burned on the ground…" Anaxos said.
Aita shook his head. "Not burned on the stone, burned into the stone. This footprint is large… And looks like a human's…"
"A Cyclopes! Only a Cyclops can withstand such heat, and it has a human-like shape to them too," Anaxos said in realisation, earning a rather stunned look from his partner.
"Indeed… This could be the answer we are looking for. Let's go, Anaxos."
'Why that…' The son of Apollo seethed, following Aita.
It didn't take them long to reach a dead-end. Anaxos could see the son of Hades clenching his fist and gritting his teeth in frustration. Facing them was the realm of Poseidon – the Ocean. There was no way to follow.
Suddenly, they heard a rustle. Instantly, Aita and Anaxos drew their weapons, preparing to fight against whatever was there. With two quick strikes, they were disarmed. Shock overtook them as they looked at an old man who defeated them effortlessly.
"W-Who are you?!" Aita shouted, shocking Anaxos a little since Aita was usually the calm one.
"Are you afraid? But no matter. Calm down, I am here to help you. My name is Lykos," The old man sheathed his sword, and returned Aita and Anaxos' weapons, before continuing in an amused tone. "There is no need for such caution, Son of Hades. Had I meant to hurt you, you would be dead. Or rather, in your domain…"
Aita flinched as he heard the last words of Lykos, and Anaxos grew annoyed at the ghost.
"Stop it, ghost! Why are you here in the first place?! We are here on the command of the Gods!" Anaxos shouted.
Lykos sighed in resignation, like he expected this to happen.
"Petulant child… I'm here, because Lord Perseus commanded me to, and I would appreciate it, if you would stop calling me a 'ghost'. I am a Shade. My name is Lykos, the wolf of Nyx. Perhaps, the son of the Underworld will know of me."
"Lykos. One of the enforcers of the Night, who once terrorised the prisoners in the Fields of Punishment," Aita shuddered, and Lykos nodded.
"Indeed… I think we have lingered enough. I am here on Perseus' command to help you on your quest. Do you not believe me?"
"Perseus said to trust no one," Aita said drily.
"That is indeed wise," Lykos acknowledged, before he bent down, and touched the water.
Closing his eyes, the shade looked for the echo of darkness, and found it. It seemed to radiate from beneath the sea. Pushing his power in further, Lykos managed to find the source. It shocked him. That monster was supposed to have died long ago, and the Fates had decreed it would never rise again.
Lykos' shock continued to grow as he confirmed it. Suddenly, a voice spoke in his head. A voice, he had never heard in millennia.
'I look forward to your visit, Wolf.'
"Old man… Old man!" Anaxos raised his voice. Lykos looked back with a grim expression.
"What happened?" Aita asked.
"I know where the Oracle is. It is in Delos. A very familiar serpent waits there, and it is indeed very much alive," Lykos nodded to the Child of Apollo, who opened his mouth in horror.
"Python," Anaxos stuttered, before he continued, "B-But Father killed him!"
Lykos shook his head and said, "I could feel his presence."
"Gods help us…" Aita murmured.
(In Olympus…)
Apollo kept pacing back and forth in his room. He'd received even more visions that detailed the quest's progress. What he saw had to be impossible.
It was something Apollo would never expect. One of the strongest monsters, doomed by the Fates themselves never to rise again was alive. Even then, it was all too swift.
A creature as powerful as Python would've at least taken a millennia to awaken. Yet, it only took a couple of centuries for the monster to rise in all his power, no less. Apollo could feel the monster's power in Delos growing to what it was when it terrorised the heroes of old.
All these factors made Apollo even more unnerved. To say nothing of the fact that the only thing that had the ability to slay Python… were immortals themselves. Not demigods. While Lykos indeed had a fearsome reputation among the immortals as the Wolf of Nyx and being the finest servant of the Night, Apollo remained sceptical.
Zeus himself scoffed at the ability of the Shade.
"So, to slay one of the truly great monsters, a child of Gaia, no less, Perseus sends a ghost to help the demigods? He is delusional, and will only help in speeding up their deaths."
While that was inaccurate and unfair – owing to how powerful Lykos was reputed to be – Zeus had a point. Lykos was simply a Shade, not a truly immortal warrior.
Apollo cursed himself for gorging himself on powerful, Olympian alcohol the day before. Simply put, he was in no position to fight the Python should they indeed reach Delos. The hunter had a terrible headache, and felt extremely weakened.
And normally, he would ask Artemis, but he couldn't. He would never, after what she did to him in that meeting – to lay the blame of losing the Voice to Apollo, which very nearly cost him his throne on Olympus. Needless to say, Apollo was still bitter, and angered, but he couldn't dwell on it now.
All he knew, even in his weakened state, he needed to be ready. Zeus had given him orders to help the Quest against Python. He grabbed his bow, and readied himself to answer a call, undoubtedly going to be coming from his son.
Apollo was heavily worried about Anaxos too. The boy was thrown into the quest, at the whim of the Fates, due to the loss of the Oracle. The god clenched his fists, and he thought of the Shadow, who was clearly pulling the strings.
It was clear to Apollo that too much mistakes had been made on his account, and he was going to put a stop to it.
Climbing on his chariot, the God rode towards Delos, to fight his greatest opponent. But he didn't even noticed a red-haired huntress watching from the distance.
(Meanwhile at Camp…)
Perseus paced around nervously. He thought about the direction of the quest, and was extremely frustrated about not going with them.
Sending Lykos with them allayed his fears a little, but it didn't completely eradicate his worry. Amauros was not to be underestimated. Neither was his son, Nyctos, if Lykos was indeed right about his power.
Perseus wanted to go personally with the demigods – but knew it was not an option. It would place the demigods in much greater danger, especially with Amauros personally hunting him.
However, Perseus wondered why the Shadow stayed quiet. If he had done what Perseus suspected, and indeed listened in past the barrier, there would no doubt be constant attacks on the pair of demigods to kill them. The Shadow had the chance to end the prophecy once and for all. The Cloaks weren't fool proof, though they were powerful.
Yet, he stayed quiet, as if waiting.
For what, though? What was the Shadow waiting for? The only few things Lykos reported to him was the Python had returned, and extremely quickly too. Not to mention the whispers were gone, which meant Amauros had effectively shaken off the chains of Tartarus.
A look of horror went across Perseus' face as he saw it. After all, there was only one Primordial capable enough to summon Python, whose bane was Phoebus Apollo, God of Prophecies...
"Chiron, I'll be leaving. Watch the demigods for me. I will be back in a week," Perseus growled, and quickly readied to depart.
"Alright," Chiron said.
Perseus cursed. Flashing to Delos was impossible, owing to the powerful spells layering that island. It meant Perseus had to try and reach the island before the demigods could.
There was no time to lose. Amauros had effectively played him into a trap, and was one final stroke away from winning.
Alright done! So this was a shorter chapter than usual, aye. Not those 5000-7000, but I think it'll do. Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay. Between some personal problems, and heavy exams – February was a relatively tough month. But I am confident that this March, I'll pull off another January update spree. I'm basically free for 6 weeks, and Rinne is freeing up time here and there, bless him. Anyway, some have asked for an update schedule, eh? I don't have any, but I will tell you this – I will do everything in my power to finish this by Autumn 2016. Alright, sorry for the ramble, heh. Trust me when I say that the pre-PJO arc has been an absolute BLAST to write so far :D
Rinne's A/N: If your a fan of ThePyschoPath96's work, Naruto, RWBY and WWE then check out his "The Hounds of Justice" story about Naruto Jaune and some third guy as THE SHIELD you'll love it ^_^
December Sapphire!beta note: So…you should all review because…this was awesome, eh!
Nirvana - Polly
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