Chapter 10: Guardian Angel let me fall!
The train ride had been going smoothly. Magnus's memory wipe trick had worked well as no there were no reports about Percy in the news, but it didn't stop all the reports of the "Angel of Lincoln Tunnel". Grover was nervous, the previous night he had told the group of the god Pan and his dream to become a searcher, but there was one thing on he wanted to ask the Primarchs. He dreaded the answer, he knew it would be horrible, but he felt it was his duty to ask.
"Rogal…" Grover started.
"Yes?" Rogal replied.
Grover hesitated, but he built up the courage to ask, "W-What is Earth like in your time?"
Rogal sighed and gave Grover a look of pity, "You will not like the answer, but I sense you already know that" Grover nodded, "I grew up on a planet called Inwit. Inwit orbits a dying star, and much like Earth's moon, is tidally locked to that star. The side that was in eternal darkness was cold and dead, while the other side provided little improvement." Grover was confused, he had asked about Earth not Inwit, but Rogal continued "When I was found by my father and taken to Terra, it was the most beautiful planet I had ever laid eyes upon. In the 31st Millennium the planet you know as Earth is referred to as Terra. It is classified by the Imperium as a Hive World, the human populace numbering in the hundreds of billions. Her cities were multi layered monuments to the ingenuity of humanity. Unfortunately, this came at a cost that I only know begin to understand."
Grover looked down in dread as Rogal continued, "Terra's soil is barren, even these fields of wheat we pass by now are alien to Terra. Its atmosphere is choked with toxins, the blue of the sky turned to a disgusting brown. No forests remain, no wilds, even her oceans have been nearly depleted." Grover felt a great depression overcome him but Rogal was not done, "Humanity spread to thousands of worlds, some with a great amount of natural beauty. Caliban, homeworld of by brother Lion El'Jonson, was covered in lush forests as dangerous as they were beautiful. Olympia, a world whose mountains soar high above Terra's own. Reth, a planet covered in a shallow sea shines turquoise against the blackness of space. Compared to those worlds any beauty Terra holds is nothing."
"So it was all for nothing, all the searchers who died over the past 2000 years died for nothing…" Grover said defeated.
"No." Rogal responded. Grover looked back at Rogal, confused.
"What?" Grover demanded, "You just told me what Earth becomes, and that it was nothing compared to all those other worlds!" Grover nearly shouted he was so angry.
"I said no such thing." Rogal began, "I said Terra was nothing compared to those worlds." Rogal looked out the window of the train, watching the fields pass by. "I have visited many worlds Grover Underwood, and I can say with certainty that Earth is the most beautiful I have ever come across. While the forests of Caliban hide deadly beasts, humans can safely travel through Earth's. Olympia's mountains may be magnificent, but they leave the rest of the surface as a barren desert. Reth may be beautiful but its landmass is small and its wildlife is restricted to its oceans." Rogal looked back at Grover and stared him directly in the eyes, "Earth, is the only perfect world. Grover, you must do whatever you can to protect this world's beauty, if that entails becoming a searcher so be it."
Grover strangely felt emboldened by the Primarch's words. Even though the future was bleak he now knew that this world was worth protecting, for there is nothing else like it in the galaxy.
Percy was glad to be off the train, they had stopped in St. Louis and they had 3 hours before the train left for Denver. Annabeth wanted to use the time to check out the Gateway Arch. The Primarchs had decided that following them into the arch would draw too much attention. So they remained outside.
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were taking the elevator up. They weren't the only ones in the elevator, a rather large lady with a Chihuahua was crammed in along with them.
"No parents?" The fat lady asked.
"They're below," Annabeth explained, "Scared of heights."
"Oh, the poor darlings." The lady replied.
The Chihuahua began to growl at Percy, "Now, now, sonny. Behave" The fat lady scolded.
Percy asked, "Sonny. Is that his name?"
"No." The lady replied.
Percy felt uneasy, perhaps the one of the Primarchs should have joined them. "No," Percy thought, "It's just a tourist attraction, we can handle ourselves." They spent some time at the top, but soon enough Percy was ready to leave. However, the elevator down only had room for Annabeth and Grover, so Percy was left alone at the top.
The fat lady was still acting strange, her Chihuahua was going crazy. "Now, now sonny, does this look like a good time? We have all these nice people here." She said
A little boy shouted "Doggie!" as his parents pulled him away.
The Chihuahua began to foam at the mouth. "Well son, if you insist" The woman rolled up her sleeves, revealing green scaly skin.
"Did you call that Chihuahua your son?" was all Percy could ask.
"He's a Chimera dear, an easy mistake to make." She smiled revealing fangs, and her eyes became vertical slits, like a reptile. The Chimera underwent a change as well. It had the head of a lion, a snake for a tail and the hooves of a giant goat. "Be honored, Percy Jackson. Lord Zeus rarely allows me to test a hero with one of my brood. I am Echidna the mother of monsters!"
Percy, in his infinite wisdom asked, "Isn't that an anteater?"
"I hate it when people say that! Curse Australia for naming that ridiculous animal after me!" she shouted, as the Chimera shot a column of flame directly at me.
Sanguinius saw the explosion from the ground. The Demigods were in danger he had to do something, he reached for his wrist.
"Brother wait" Magnus said, "We are in a public area, the mortals will notice."
Sanguinius considered this for a moment, "We are Primarchs Magnus, if we are noticed then so be it, our friend is in danger would you sit idly by?" Sanguinius asked as he turned the disk, unleashing his true form.
Sanguinius immediately took flight and headed for the hole the explosion had created. Percy was battling a large creature. With the creature was a reptilian woman. Percy was on the edge of the hole, he looked weak and had a large wound on his leg.
"If you are son of Poseidon, you would not fear water. Jump, Percy Jackson. Show me that water will not harm you. Jump and retrieve your sword. Prove your bloodline." The creature hissed.
"You have no faith. You will die here and now; the poison has reached your heart!" she said. Percy hesitated for a moment then turned around. Seeing Sanguinius there, he hesitated.
"Jump, Percy Jackson, I will deal with the beast." Percy nodded and jumped into the river.
"So, you're the Angel that everyone has been talking about!" the creature hissed. "Everyone on Olympus is talking about the Angel who defeated the Furies!"
"I am Sanguinius of the Blood Angels. Your very presence on this world is an abomination, a sickness that I shall remove!" Sanguinius declared.
"Oh, you'll find that my children are much more deadly than the Furies! Son, dispose of him." She ordered. The beast charged toward Sanguinius who, with a single strike with his Blade Encarmine, was eviscerated upon contact.
"What! How is this possible!" The beast hissed. "You cannot do this! I am Echidna the mother of monsters!" Sanguinius strode forward to finish off the pathetic creature.
"You are nothing, I have faced horrors that even the gods themselves would tremble before. Die, face oblivion foul daemon!" Sanguinius said as he drove is sword through the creature.
Sanguinius looked down towards the river, minutes later, he saw Percy Jackson emerge from the water unharmed.
AN: Not nearly as long as the last one. Mostly because I have big plans for the next one.