Disclaimer: Now, now, I can't write the disclaimer, can I? It won't do for people to know that I am not Rick Riordan and don't own any rights to Percy Jackson and the Olympians, would it? So, I am not going to say a word about it. Enjoy the story.
Chapter 11: A Hero's Sacrifice
"Percy, this is insane. I get it that you can't directly teleport to New York City since there are no water-bodies there which are intimately familiar to you, but why are we doing this on the back of Pegasi?" Annabeth questioned.
"For once, I actually agree with Blondie, boss." Blackjack whined...or whinnied...or made some sort of horsly noise.
"To my human companion, I would like to thank you for pointing out the obvious reason I can't teleport. Yeah, I could have tried step by step, but tonight monsters are way more active on ground level...I would rather not run into them, thank you, and my rapid teleporting would surely attract them. My energy isn't infinite, and I won't be able to keep teleporting and fighting at the same time; of course, if I keep trying too hard, I might dissociate into my constituent molecules 'cause just a while ago I have been both burned by a flame rune and crossed it stupidly in my liquid form. Also, you can't summon the taxi service of the Grey sisters to take us there, could you?" Percy mock-glared at Annabeth, but he was being quite serious. If he hadn't used the Varunastra and the conjured divine water, he would most likely have ended up dead; in some way, the blocking of the creek had come in handy, after all. He was pleased to notice that Annabeth merely looked uncomfortable and a bit guilty, but not as guilt-plunged as he had seen her some time ago. "And, even if we reach there, the elevator won't be available to take us up, right?" Then he turned to Blackjack, "And you stop complaining. I will put in a nice word for you to Cassie."
"You better remember that boss, or we will see if you can fly." Percy did a double take and then chuckled. Did Blackjack actually say that?
Seeing Annabeth's questioning glance turn at him, Percy sighed, "Don't ask."
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"Ah, we have now reached our destination in the famed Percy Jackson airlines. The crew would like to thank you for being co-operative and it trusts that you had a pleasant journey." Percy announced after entering the royal palace of Olympus...through a window-sill. Not the grandest entry, but he had to live with it. Thankfully, no Olympian citizens were in sight, or else things would have turned way more awkward.
"Right, and I am just supposed to forget the bumps." Muttered Annabeth as Percy chuckled and remembered what happened just a while ago...
They had come pretty close to Olympus while flying when they suddenly found their way forward being blocked. Not one, but possibly twenty or so of the Ventis were slithering through the air and they all raised their arms to stop the intruders. It was always a bit difficult to negotiate with these creatures and Percy really had no time to lose. Things quickly turned unpleasant as five of them came menacingly towards Percy, who had the disadvantage since they were riding a sole horse and Annabeth was definitely not ready for a fight in her condition. However, suddenly another Venti came from behind to join them. Percy smiled in recognition and called it 'Tempest', the pet Venti of the new emerging leader of Camp Half-Blood, Jason Grace. He had already gone on to a few quests and was currently out of Camp performing another one. And then, Percy hopped on the back of the wind spirit and the battle began.
The first one to approach was decapitated by Percy as he kicked another one in the gut, forcing it back. The winds picked up, but Tempest managed to save its rider; it had long practice with the son of Jupiter, after all and had also allowed Percy to ride him during his stay in Camp Jupiter. Slash, duck, kick-it became a routine as Percy continued to make short work of the guards. He somersaulted on the back of Tempest and kicked the approaching Ventis in two consecutive spins while poised like that. He grabbed one of the approaching humanoids and with uncanny strength, threw him on the approaching spirits after spinning him wildly, killing a few more. He dived steeply towards two of them, impaling and disintegrating them before Tempest caught up with him. Then, his eyes almost glowed sea green as the wind started picking up around him too. Being so near Olympus only strengthened his demigod abilities, and the typhoon he conjured made the one Hyperion lost to years earlier look like a tiny storm. The son of the Stormbringer banished all the guardians to the solid walls as a blast of lightning filtered through the sky to strike them; a side-effect of the storm, but it did the job just fine as the guardians were demolished. Percy didn't worry too much about them as he knew that they would reappear soon enough.
"So, all right." Percy pulled himself back from his recollection and suggested, "Let's go and start looking."
"You look pretty relieved", Annabeth noted, dryly.
"Of course, there is more than one hour left before sunrise."
"Right. In case you forgot, the sun god, Apollo, is present in this building at this moment and radiating solar energy."
"Oh Shit!" Instantly Percy stretched out his senses and tried to locate...What the Hades? He couldn't locate metal, he didn't have magnetic abilities and the last time he checked, the bulls didn't have water in them. He turned to his companion with a look of defeat and sighed, "Well, you have a plan?"
"Yep. Athena always has a plan, Percy. The cardinal east signifies sunrise, rise of someone from ashes or rebirth. The castles present in the east quadrant are of Lady Hera, Lady Demeter and Lady Artemis. Since you retrieved the monsters on the orders of Lady Hera, it makes sense that they would be present in her vicinity. Moreover, isn't Mahishasura known as the 'Menace of the East'? Also, if we go by his flair of dramatics, destroying the Queen of the Gods would be a good starting point for his plan."
Percy had gone cross-eyed and only caught the last part. "Right, let's bolt." In a sprint, they came across her chambers, but as expected, it was locked with powerful Olympian enchantment. Annabeth tried to touch it and yelped as it shocked her hand. There was no doubt that they had reached their destination, however, as the fire symbols glowed ominously in the faint light, signifying that their charge was almost complete.
"Now what? The gods are obviously deliberating on what matters to reveal to the others and what to discuss with them, and what to keep to themselves. We can't get a response out of them now as mostly they engage in specific sorts of meditation to free their mind from external influences." Annabeth complained.
Percy looked thoughtful before grinning, "We also have a non-Olympian here."
"If you are thinking about Lady Hestia, her abilities are fire-based, and we don't need that right now. Also, Lord Hades can't be reached in this short time."
"Okay, right." Percy had a look of steely determination on his face before he nodded, "So we do this the usual way. Brute force." In a smooth motion, water from a nearby spring pooled near Percy and turned into giant ice gloves with which Percy hammered the door. It shook, once...twice...and again and again, as Percy pounded on it. The magic was fighting the ice, but Percy kept reforming it. Thanks to Zeus officially acknowledging him as an ally of Olympus, the other defences didn't trigger themselves, nor did the magic fight back at full force. Suddenly, the power levels spiked up to be near the 'dangerous' territory and Percy had had enough; with a tremendous shove and roundhouse kick, the door was blasted inwards from its hinges. The first burst of the flames had began to extend from the nostrils of the beasts when Percy crouched down and invoked the Varunastra on them. This time he wasn't leaving things to chance. With a thunderous boom, the water-powered arrow destroyed the fiery monsters; the flames that had extended were quickly engulfed by the water and extinguished before Percy willed the excess water to vaporise and absorbed a little of it in his body; he needed a bit of energy right now.
"I trust that there is a satisfactory explanation for this." Percy whirled around to see the Queen of the gods watching him while raising a perfectly manicured eyebrow, her meditation obviously broken. He could only imagine how he looked; wet hair sticking out in all directions, face covered by soot, venti dust on his body and him drawing large breaths while panting. Battle, injury and use of divine weapons so quickly doesn't mix well.
He began awkwardly, "Uh, how about I tell you about a plot to destroy Olympus and how I thwarted it?" It was probably the most foolish introductory speech anyone had ever used in presence of a god, but laughter is the best medicine, right?
The second eyebrow rose as she spoke again, "Good enough."
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The awkward phase was slowly over as they unravelled the situation to Hera. It was clear that the Amazons had a traitor in their midst. They agreed that the most likely suspect was to be Otrera as she was the one who had been raising a faction that could oppose the command of queen Hylla. She was also responsible for the demand for the metalled menaces in exchange for the safety of the quest team and had prevented the Amazons from aiding the Romans when Camp Jupiter was attacked. Something was to be done to verify this and take strong actions. Discussions about Greeks and Romans also filtered in; with Annabeth confirming Jason's status within Camp, it was agreed that the meeting might actually take place now without bloodshed. The prophecy of seven was also discussed, with Hera confirming that the seven had been tentatively identified by them. It included Percy, Jason, Reyna, Frank, Hazel and two demigods he had yet to meet formally, Piper McLean and Leo Valdez. They were friends of Jason, however and he also trusted them enough to take them on his newest quest, so they were alright in Percy's book.
During the conversation, Percy was stunned by the fact that how calmly Hera had taken in the news. It made him realise exactly what being a god entitled. Emotions can't affect them outwardly because they have to set an example. If they lose control, millions of lives would be at stake. They have the strength of mountains and the calmness of a soft spring breeze. She also came to know about the fact that Annabeth was behind this all, at least indirectly. She pinched the breeze of her nose and sighed, "Well, since you didn't intend to harm us willingly, coupled with your services in the last Titanomachy, we will cut you some slack. But remember, once the war is over, you will answer to the Council and carry out a punishment we deem suitable for you."
She bowed deeply in gratitude, "It is nothing more than I deserve."
"Then let's be away. Try to awaken the others, will you? We must bring this news to their attention and restructure Olympus. It is almost time for the meeting, anyway."
They nodded and went their separate ways. During this short travel, Percy learned three different things.
One, Hermes tried to relax by running full sprints around the room and increasing the efficiency of World Wide Web tenfold.
Two, you better be ready to duck if you try and wake up Artemis who like most of the people, chose sleep as a preferred form of relaxation, while using Hermes-proof locks in her room. Also, having conjured forest animals attack you was not cool. She explained that these features were instilled her palace since the time when Apollo had tried to interrupt her nightcap by playing music all night long. It would have been cooler if that ability was useful in battle, but it took just too much time.
Three, apparently Zeus liked to spin the Master bolt in air, over and over again, to concentrate. One drop to the ground, and ahem, a city block would get destroyed, but according to him, that gave him all the more incentive to focus.
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"You lost." Percy smugly pointed out to Apollo who just looked gobsmacked at the fact that something like this could happen.
In the past few hours the situation had almost been resolved. Hephaestus and Athena had quickly developed a scheme to destroy the runic schemes and the gods had implemented it without delay. Now, with two of the last Scercian Circles remaining, Percy remembered about his promise to Artemis. Slyly, he had walked up to Apollo and challenged him to break the magic by using solely his archery talents, in a better time than his own. Apollo had taken it lightly and had showed-off, thinking that Percy could never ever match him, while he had poured every bit of his talent into this wager. He could already equal a god when he had gained these talents, he had been practicing every day, he had a promise to keep and Apollo wasn't really trying. The result was a foregone conclusion; Percy squarely beat him and his ego had obviously been hurt by it, although it was doubtful if it would affect him in any lasting way.
"Right." Apollo pulled himself out of his stupor and sighed, "Well, name your price. I did agree to fulfil your one wish."
"Hmm...Why don't we have a party on Olympus, right now?" Percy suggested, smiling. It would allow him to spend some more time there, and probably help the gods lighten up a bit. They had been totally rigid since the situation was brought to their attention, and Percy wanted them to be back to their usual characters...even if it meant Ares returning to his angry and scowling self.
And he remembered the party when he was merely thirteen years old. That night, there had been a dance, and he wanted to re-live the experience, but with someone much more special this time...even if it would involve testing the true limits of his courage.
A patented megawatt smile adorned Apollo's lips, "God of Parties, at your service." He grinned in anticipation, "Dryads and Naiads...here I come."
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"Good food." Poseidon appreciatively sniffed the roast and looked ready to consume it, as all the other gods nodded in appreciation. Olympian food was truly divine, and what's a party without a feast? Roast potatoes, thick gravy, mashed fries, lasagne and many other delicacy was present in front of them.
"Well", Zeus spoke with a smile, "Let's begin." In a synchronised action, they raised their cutlery to cut off a part of their steak and put it into their mouth...and that was when everything started to go wrong.
In an instant, they put their hands on their throat and made a sort of strangling noise. A pale flush started to immediately spread through their bodies as they seemed to convulse in horrible agony. A golden halo appeared around all their heads, but it was dull, pale yellow and seemed to be splintered in places. A blue coloured light was embarking upon it was continuing to break through the halo, and it was succeeding. The robust psychology of the gods were gone, and the Greek sculptures you see were the only proof of what they were. The power level in the room suddenly seemed to hit a rock bottom as with an ominous sound, the thrones of power started to flicker in and out of existence. Everything was just thrown into utter disorder.
The Hero of Olympus looked on at the scene with horror and a certain degree of numbness. Thankfully, he was not a party to the feast and had remained unscathed, but what was this? Nothing had ever prepared him for something like this...he suddenly felt lost. However, the reactions the gods had to the food immediately sparked off a seed of suspicion in the mind of Percy Jackson and as soon as he reached the food, he knew his suspicions were accurate. The food was laced with Halhalla poison-the most potent venom in the world, something which the Indian deities had acquired during the churning of the Cosmic Ocean. It was so poisonous that its fumes alone had caused the deities to collapse and the apocalypse was only prevented when one of the Primordials, Lord Shiva consumed it himself and kept it locked in his throat, obtaining the title of Neelkantha, 'The one with the blue throat'. Consequently, the Indian gods had also obtained Amrita, the nectar of immortality during this same task, and Halhalla was the only thing in the entire universe which could reverse the gift of immortality.
A certain sense of fatality spread over Percy's entire consciousness. There was only one way out of this. He smiled weakly as he stretched his arms and tried the most daunting task of water manipulation ever. The knowledge that it would be his very last act allowed Percy to pour his entire soul into the task as he managed to stop the flow of ichor-no, blood, in the veins of the immortals, who might not be so for much longer. They were so weak that Percy found it no trouble to extract the poison from their blood as it coalesced in front of him into a greenish blob. Many things could have happened at this point. Percy could have tried to suspend it in air, but it was way beyond his power; the poison was already trying to dissipate in the air. Try to relocate it? Oh sure, but where exactly do you place a poison that can kill the gods? It would destroy the entire earth, and that was something not in Percy's plans.
So...he did the only thing he could think of. He consumed the poison himself and willed his body to lock it up so that it couldn't spread. His armour again came into existence as he made sure the poison could never spread again...before his world disrupted into absolute agony.
His throat burned as his insides felt like frozen ice. Was this how Hell felt? Did Milton or Dante ever imagine such sufferings? Liquid fire and fiery heat battled within his body and it was breaking him apart, bit by bit. Silence, a deafening silence was his only companion. No one was around, he was alone in a deserted field. His name was now mocking him...there was no happy ending for him. The endless corridor in front of him was resonating with a never ending symphony, a melody totally foreign to him. Was his mind playing tricks on him? Was the pain escalating or receding? Was that Isle of Blest's light in front of him, or the darkness of the Fields of Punishment?
In that final moment, one stray thought filtered into Percy Jackson's brain; he won't leave this world with any regrets. It was just not like him.
He dragged his broken form over to the spot where Artemis was lying down. With the poison out of her system, she simply looked to be sleeping peacefully. Even this simple gesture of her made Percy breathless with how beautiful she looked, especially with the re-structured golden light spreading through her body. In a astounding feet of willpower, Percy Jackson started speaking again, even though he knew that she most likely couldn't hear him.
"Hey, moonbeam." His voice was hoarse, something which had already served it's purpose and ready to depart into the afterlife. "You still look pretty as ever, while I still remain a scrawny boy. Your eyes are still the brightest shade of silver which encompasses all the phases of moon, while mine will always remain a simple green. But you know, I might be a just a stupid boy and a creature which disgusts you, but I like to think that I was unique." He laughed hysterically, "Not because I was a demigod...it was because I was such a coward and a fool at the same time. I made the mistake of falling in love with you, but lacked the guts to do anything about it. I thought it was a mistake, something which would pass away, but this was something entirely out of my control. Every moment spent with you was a moment to cherish, moments which made me happy. I never wanted those moments to end...I felt that I could fight with the entire world to experience them over and over again. But as I lay down dying, I know that I was never meant to obtain happiness. I am sorry that I would not be a part of this war. I am sorry that I would be abandoning my friends. I am sorry that I won't be providing my services when they are needed the most. You might call me selfish, yet the reason I am truly sorry is because now I would never be able to spend another moment with you. I planned to ask you to dance later tonight, you know. I am honoured that you gave me the privilege of being your friend, and I am proud of the fact that it even introduced me to love, formerly an unknown emotion to me. Yes, I, a tool of prophecies, found love too. I, Perseus Achilles Jackson was in love with you, Artemis, and I will continue to feel the same way for all eternity." With this last confession, the fight left Percy's body as he noiselessly slid into the ground. The greatest demigod to ever live found no one acknowledging this moment.
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"I...I cannot do anything." The defeated voice of the god of medicine spread through the room, increasing the already oppressive silence. "He shouldn't even be alive at this point...the poison has all but mixed thoroughly into his blood and has already killed all his vital systems. His brain, heart, lungs, everything is dead. Yet...he has somehow managed to hold on, although I can feel his soul starting to slip away. It could be over for him any moment now."
"I can feel it too, Apollo." The Lord of the Dead and one of the Big Three, Lord Hades spoke up. He had been summoned to Olympus by his younger brother after decades and he truly wished it was under better circumstances.
"Maybe I can do something...can't I try to take the poison myself?" Poseidon screamed in hysterics and although all the seas were in tumult at that moment, no one found the courage in their heart to tell him to calm down.
"No, brother." Zeus looked at him and tried to reach out to his brother, "It was my nephew's call all along. He sacrificed himself to give us another chance at life. You won't be able to save him now, but you would only succeed in throwing away his gift. Perseus won't like that brother, and whatever happens, we can't lose you too tonight." There was a touch of plea in his voice, something which had been absent since many millennia.
Poseidon's eyes lost the fire as he slumped once again. For once, his brother was right...yet this fact caused him more pain than any of their previous arguments. He chuckled bitterly as he realised he probably won't be able to extract the poison, either...the armour which Percy had around his body, while foreign to him, was truly powerful...maybe stronger than any other armour he had ever seen, and it directly prevented him from accessing the fluids in Percy's body.
It was Hades who finally broke the silence. Keeping his eye riveted on the floating body of the unconscious demigod, he spoke, "You wanted to tell us something, brother?"
"Yes." The king of the gods looked on at the scene with sad eyes as he continued, "I think it is time everybody comes to know about the true story of Perseus, and how much he sacrificed for Olympus." The enchanting tale captivated the deities, right from his arrival in Olympus a few months ago to his destruction of the giant Polybotes days earlier. All his plans, a desperate try to make peace with the Romans, his unbelievable quests, attempts to save all their children were brought to the notice of the gods and when he finished, there were no dry eyes in the room. Percy Jackson was already a legend, but with his complete legacy established, he was becoming more than a demigod, albeit one who could take down giants and Titans and protest against the unjust deeds of gods with ease.
The silence commenced again as all hope seemed lost...yet, in the farthest corner of the room, unnoticed by all, a fire blazed brightly in the hearth. Hestia would never give up on Percy Jackson, not till he drew his last breath. She had come to love the young boy as her favourite nephew, and she knew just what traits he possessed-things which should be the stuff of legends, but existed in reality. Didn't he also have a knack for defying the odds?
And, while the others were conversing, she had noticed Artemis quietly slip away from the room. Artemis initially had a shell-shocked expression on her face, as if she couldn't imagine what happened; but it was now replaced by the look which she had sported while hunting the Draysian Harpies, Lamia, a monstrous daughter of Poseidon, the Wilternian Drakon and the Dracanae horde of Sphygmoor. While she was no Aphrodite, she could still feel the impact Percy had on the ice-cold goddess, and she knew that even Artemis was attracted towards Percy in such a way that defied all beliefs.
And she knew that the Goddess of the Hunt won't give up very easily on him, either.
A/N: Haha...don't you guys love cliffhangers? Will Percy survive? Will someone else sacrifice themselves? If he survives, what about Artemis? Maybe I will make him resurrect through Zeus...then he will have awesome cosmic powers with which he can destroy everything (Evil laugh). Honestly, I hope this was good enough to sate your curiosity. It involved quite a bit of angst, something which I vehemently dislike. The next chapter requires a bit more work as I need to figure out how to tie-in a lot of mythological facts without boring you all and also suitably resolve the conflicts introduced in this chapter, but I will try to be fast. See you then. You are, as always, welcome to guess anything by reviewing :)