Disclaimer: Howzzat! Out? Out? Out?
Oh, I see. We aren't the middle of a cricket game, are we? My bad. So, I leave you with the obligatory disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians or The Heroes of Olympus. It all belongs to Rick Riordan. Enjoy the story.
Chapter 12: Casual Chit-Chats with the Creator
Helplessness. A feeling which only the weak deserved, or so Artemis had always believed. Why was she feeling so weak and vulnerable at this moment then?
She knew the answer. Despite all her precautions, Percy Jackson had managed to capture her heart. There was no use denying her feelings now...they had become as clear as daylight when she had heard Percy's seemingly final words. It was so poignant, and it touched her heart. She had wanted to do something, so speak to him, to assure him that it would be alright, but she had lacked the strength. With that sacrifice, he had passed the final test in her book; he was in no way similar to the type of men she had loathed over the years. She knew that she wanted to be with him, to try and experience a spark of the love which might be lost to the world forever. He was a real man, and not merely the laughing, smiling, kind boy she had met years ago-yet, those attributes remained with him till date, and it made him all the more attractive. She laughed bitterly; she had heard the legends which stated when the Titan Prometheus created men, they had four legs, four hands and two heads. Fearing their power, her dad had separated them into two halves, making them incomplete and they were forced to travel through the world searching for their other self, without whom they could never find peace. Although it was merely the stuff of legends, she had a brief fantasy-what if she and Percy could have been made for one another in that fashion?
She was hurrying along so fast that she never noticed when she tumbled into a very old mortal and sent her sprawling down. "I am sorry", she explained (courtesy was ingrained in her even in a very bad mood), "I didn't look where I was going."
The old lady brushed herself up and stared at her with piercing blue eyes and smiled, "It is okay. It is so very easy to lose track of where you are going, as well as the sight of most important things in life. Often, it takes too hard a price to understand this fact."
The words had a certainty to them...as if she knew. The mist might hide her divine features, but there is only so much it can do.
She blinked as she found herself back at the waterfall where this had all started. Closing her eyes, she tried to remember what Percy told her that day...
"So, you are pretty powerful now, due to the ability to use weapons which directly have the ability of gods tied into them." She surmised in a monotone and added, "I do prefer the fact that you demigods cannot pick up or touch our symbols of power."
Percy chuckled, "Yeah, but when in Rome, you got to act like a Roman."
"So, describe some of your newfound abilities."
"Sure." He paused, and with a slight grimace, he said something under his breath as his bow shined and cycled through a multitude of colours. The surge of power made her feel a little breathless. Apparently, he understood that and explained, "Yeah, that was just a prayer for me to divulge this information; can't do this every now and then, you see." He shifted his hand and a gleaming arrow appeared, "So, here is the Manavastra; created by Manu and famed to inspire humane traits in monsters, but pretty useless unless you want a violent pet. Varunastra, Agneyastra, Vayuastra, Bhudeviastra are the elemental weapons, giving you control over water, fire, wind and earth, respectively and they also let you generate quite a few alternate effects. Then you have Aishikastra, one of the low powered one, Narayanastra whose strength increases in proportion with the resistance provided to it, and so on and so forth." He talked for a pretty long time too, but Artemis was more interested in asking another follow-up question, "Can you teach me, or anyone else for that matter, to harness these abilities?"
He looked faintly embarrassed and spoke, "Not really; it's not that I have learned them through practice, you see, but they were mostly downloaded into my brain. I practice now, but only to get better. However, it might be possible for someone who shared a powerful bond with me; familial, a bond of friendship or that of...love (if she thought carefully, he had spoken that wistfully, as if not believing something like that could happen to him), and my life was in mortal peril, they might be able to use my powers. Otherwise, I do think they would be burnt to a crisp, and same would happen if they couldn't handle the power."
She could handle the power. Question was, could she finally face the truth she had known in her heart all along?
She closed her eyes and tried to recreate the feelings she had experienced when Percy had used the weapons. It was not very clear, but she tried harder and harder, and when she felt she had achieved the best she could, she prayed-yes, despite being a goddess, she swallowed her pride and prayed-"Please, if someone could hear me, help Percy Jackson." In an instant, she felt exhilarating power surge through her body and on opening her eyes, she found the Vayuastra resting on her hands, pulsating with energy. As she launched it into free air, hoping against hope, it seemed to sparkle, and the message, 'Help Percy Jackson', 'Help Percy Jackson' mixed into the air with an eternal cry to spread throughout the world.
She couldn't say if she had been waiting for an hour or merely a minute, but suddenly there was a great whoosing sound from the distance, as if a giant aeroplane was cutting through the air and before her eyes, suddenly a giant figure emerged. It was truly gigantic-she couldn't see his face, nor could her own godly height compete with it. The only distinguishing feature seemed to be the fact that he possessed a giant...tail?
"Did you ask for help?" The voice was halted, as if he had not used it in years.
She felt a little nervous, but held her ground, "Yes. My friend Percy Jackson has been poisoned with a venom we couldn't cure, and I was hoping that someone who knew about it's origins could help me out."
"Halhalla, the venom of the cosmic ocean." He stated, surprising Artemis. More surprising was the fact that as soon as he extended his hand, a glittering herb appeared in the hands of Artemis. It was more colourful than the rainbow, the Aurora Borealis, everything. It's aroma rejuvenated Artemis faster than a gallon of Ambrosia or nectar.
She was going to enquire about the herb but was beaten to the punch by the figure, "This is Vishalyakarani, the strongest medicine known to us. It can only be found in one peak of India, and it blooms only once in a season during nightfall. Use it on him before the sun rays falls on his entire body, and he might survive." Saying this, he looked ready to leave.
"Wait." She asked curiously, "Who are you?"
He chuckled, "My name? I have been called a son of the wind, the destroyer of bad luck, the god of strength, the survivor of Vajra and by many other titles, but most of the world knows me as Lord Hanuman." Artemis gasped; his legends were too well known, and she knew all about his accomplishments. He continued, "Trust, faithfulness and duty were the founding stones on which my life was based, and it gave me the strength to survive even when my Lord passed away. I can look into the future, as well as the past, and I saw this day. This might be the only duty I had left to fulfil to a brother who is easily as loyal as me to the ones he calls his friend. It is his devotion and love for you that binds you to him, and allowed you to summon me for help. Remember, Lady Artemis, you will never find a person who has a stronger capacity of love or is more loyal. JAI SHRI RAMA!" The last words were yelled out as he leaped into the western sky and disappeared. Artemis hurried back to a location from where she could teleport back to Olympus, and never noticed a slight smirk creep into the face of Hanuman; he felt pretty proud. After millions of years, he had once again come useful and helped out a kid to achieve a sense of happiness he deserved above all others. Through his foresight, he could envision that Percy had too many trials to overcome still, but his gentle nudge could grant him with a companion who would help him through all the way, and stay with him beyond that.
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"This is getting old." Percy thought to himself as he surveyed the surroundings. "This whole deal with waking up in strange places...although I guess this is the last time, but why does this look bloody like a train station?"
"That would be a result of reading 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' last night, Perseus." Came a deep, ancient voice, even more ancient than the presence Percy had felt when he had first put on the sun armour. The surroundings around him dissolved to form a sea of milk and an endless blue-tinged sky, but he was gaping stupidly at the speaker; he was a man whose height ccouldn't be determined, nor could his depth be measured. His eyes were darker than black holes and through them, he could see quasars and nebulae. In his four hands, he had a mace, a lotus, a conch and a whirling, serrated disc whose power made him feel dizzy: the Sudarshan Chakra, or the 'beautiful wheel of doom'. He fell to his knees as he bowed deeply, "Lord V-V-Vis-Vishnu, my humble greetings." He had quite a bit of difficulty; he wasn't normally a stutterer, but just a bit star-struck.
"If you are going to have problems with pronouncing my name, you can stick to Chaos...it's shorter." He advised.
"Wait, what?" Percy sputtered.
He shook his head sadly at Percy's ignorance. "You, Perseus, are very young and despite that you have gained a tremendous bit of knowledge. I had hoped that you would recognize me, especially seeing the fact you can view me in two of my forms."
"Uh...you mean, you and Lord Chaos are one and the same?"
"Very true; as also the fact I have been called by many other names, God, Ra, the All-Father or Shohestin. I am the divine energy that gives birth, I am the energy that brings destruction, it is I who makes the world run. I am EVERYTHING." His words weren't shouted, yet they reverberated all around the area.
Percy was suitably impressed but it seemed his ADHD-brain was his companion even in afterlife, "So, why are you talking to me?" Immediately, he felt like kicking and punching himself. Why the heck was he questioning Him? He could talk with him all day long...really, he should be grateful.
Instead of being cross, he laughed heartily. "It has been a long time since I had a nice, lively conversation, Perseus. The landscape in which you arrived should have been a clue."
"You mean, I am not really dead?"
"No, indeed. The Prophecy of Seven looms over your head, and you have an even larger destiny to save the entire world from Mahishasura. The Seven has not been formally reconvened, and before that happens, you are protected by fate and can't truly die. That has helped in keeping you alive to a point."
"Wait...you mean, I am kind of immortal before we join forces?" He asked incredulously.
Chaos (Vishnu?) snorted-yes, the Creator snorted, "I strongly doubt it. If you were to jump right down from a thousand foot mountain, there is nothing that could possibly save you; in fact, at that very moment, the Fates might make it so that your name comes up in the conversations of all the other six. It would be accepted as an act of recognition of you by all the other members, the prophecy would be fulfilled and you would have a nice trip to the afterlife. No, the sole act of Prophecy can't save you. There are so many happenings in this universe-are the Fates responsible for all of them, or do they regulate every single happening? No. The true fact that is helping you keep tethered to mortal world is the bond of love."
"Love?" Percy echoed.
"Yes. The primary emotion that rules the world alongside hate. It makes people cross mountains, elevates them to positions beyond simple animals, and helps people return even from the embraces of death. It is an emotion even I don't fully understand. You know the tale of Behula-Lakindar, or the Chronicles of Usha and Aniruddha, don't you?"
"Yes." His voice was choked with emotions.
"And do you acknowledge this bond? Will you be willing to return to the mortal world to complete your duties, even though you have achieved a place in the heavens beyond all questions due to your deeds? If you want, you can rest now, Perseus Jackson."
"Yes, I will." There was no hesitation, only determination.
"Very good." He smirked, although this time Percy was surprised only a little, "So, go back."
"What, just like that?" Percy asked, gaping. "Don't you have to use your powers, or something like that?"
He smirked again, "Perseus...my word is law. Actually, your friends in the mortal world-Artemis, to be precise, has managed to acquire the gifts necessary to heal you. As we speak, your body is being completely healed. It is now only a matter to cross the gatekeeper now." As he said this, his body began to dissolve into a brilliant golden light, brighter than Percy could imagine.
"Wait, please", he called to satisfy his last curiosity, "If you are actively aware of the disturbances in our world, why don't you help us out?"
The voice which answered was wise, and so very old, "Your parents might help you to stand up and walk, Perseus, but they don't stop you from falling down every time as that is also a hard-earned lesson. I might provide you with the necessary tools, but if you always lean on me, you'll never learn how to walk or stand up for yourself."
Percy listened to the piece of advice in silence and agreed to it. Then, he shook his head to clear it of the cobwebs and suddenly found himself face to face with a large, hulking man with a chiselled torso and a great axe in his hands-the gatekeeper. As in cue, the landscape changed to an ominous, rocky region with a reddish-orange background.
"If I ask politely, will you let me go?" There was no harm in trying, was there?
In response, the axe swung perilously close to Percy's heels and would have taken his legs off had he not jumped upwards. He sighed, "Figured so", and was amazed to still find Riptide appearing in his hands as soon as he summoned it to fight the battle of his life-literally.
He raised his sword to meet the first few blows with slight grimace. The axe was much heavier than Riptide and the man was extremely strong, and the force of his blows kept Percy away from his body-if he came too near, his sword would be overpowered and he would be skewered.
Yet, Percy knew how to make the best of every situation. He parried another couple of blows, stepped back and met a strike weakly; as soon as the gatekeeper forced it down and tumbled a little due to his own momentum, Percy left his sword, jumped up and kicked him straight in the groin and chest. Not stopping, he spun twice in midair and continued dealing blows and just in time, re-summoned Riptide from its buried position to fend off another blow. Duck again, dodge again, Percy uttered in his mind and closed in repeatedly for strikes through supposedly 'impossible' angles. Two side-steps opened up deep gashes on the gatekeeper, but this time his axe too grazed Percy's shoulder, weakening his left arm. He slid below the trajectory of the lethal weapon and kicked the gatekeeper's legs from below him and tried to bury Riptide in his neck, but he rolled with amazing reflexes and his swing almost threw Riptide out of Percy's grasp. Grinding his teeth, Percy again blocked a strike and shoved the gatekeeper with his good shoulder, knocking him off-balance and punching him quickly a couple of times, both in the gut and chest. Then, using Riptide as a swinging pole, he jumped up, kicked his face and scarcely had time to realize his mistake before the axe struck Riptide, misbalanced him and send him tumbling down, hurting his hips and legs in the process. He drew back into the shadows and tried to regain his breath as the gatekeeper proved far more skilful than he was. He was still surveying the area with beady, yellow eyes, but not leaving his position. His axe was somehow providing him with the inhuman stamina and Percy figured out that he must dislodge it from his hands. The question was, how?
His answer came as he found a spring close-by and even more, a bunch of weathered rocks close to it. Picking a fairly large one, he hurled it at the gatekeeper-and then another one. Pretty soon, the gatekeeper was suffering from an onslaught of stones-a technique used on poor stage performers in the mortal world, but equally annoying to the divine entity. With a grunt, he turned around and placed a few steps in the direction of the shadowy springs. It was at this very moment Percy Jackson made his move with the speed of a horse and slippery skills of an eel. Trying to fight Nico over the years had made him accurately aware of the power of shadows, how to detect any presence within them and also how to blend within them, even if he didn't have the natural gift. He kicked the gatekeeper's back, sent him tumbling, slashed Riptide through his arm and caught the powerful axe in his left hand.
Or at least, he tried to. In a second, it grew so very heavy that he was unable to even lift it. At that instant, it seemed heavier than the sky he had the misfortune of carrying.
The gatekeeper chuckled, "Foolish boy...did you really think you had the skills to wield my weapon?" He raised his arm to summon it and that was just what Percy needed. Using his last ounce of resolve, he hurled the axe at the gatekeeper, catching him unaware as he failed to grab it and it opened a deep gash in his chest. He sprang up, dealing blow after blow as the gatekeeper futilely tried to protect himself from the enraged tornado of power. Percy couldn't stop now; every strike counted and brought pain to his enemy. He caught the axe again and managed to lift it this time; he plunged the dual weapons on the ground, creating a powerful shockwave and then slashed the gatekeeper with it. As he clinked them together, a pulse of energy shot out from the joined points, energizing him and threw back the gatekeeper. Keeping them steady, he started to spin in a circle, faster than the human eye can follow and turned into a whirling disc of destruction, a human Sudarshan Chakra. By the time he stopped, the gatekeeper was a bloody mess and plopped soundlessly to the ground. Exhausted, Percy dropped down as well.
After a few moments, Percy got up to go when he found the gatekeeper's voice hailing him, "Well done, Maharathi Percy."
He spun around; sure enough, the gatekeeper was there, whole and intact, "What the...?"
He chuckled, "How I am alive? Truly, I am immortal for all intents and purposes. The battle I fought was for honour only and you, Percy Jackson, beat me fair and square. If you were truly dead, or cheated, you could never have escaped. I am not a lacklustre guard as Cerberus."
"Oh. So, I can go?"
"Indeed, the gates are opening..." Yes, they were; the light was beckoning Percy to return, "But take this parting gift." Saying this, the gatekeeper performed the same manoeuvre Percy had used on him, that is, kicked him solidly in the balls.
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"WHAT THE FU...dge", Percy trailed off, now realizing that he was back in his mortal body and quite a few Olympians were looking down at him. Cursing wouldn't help him now, would it?
"If that's the first thing he says after returning from a deathlike coma, I daresay he is alright." Apollo stated with a grin while Hermes nodded his head. Percy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and asked, "Well, what happened to me?" No sense in letting them know what he had just seen...if he hadn't experienced it himself, even he wouldn't have believed it.
Gradually, he was brought up to speed on the recent happenings and he quietly breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that his secret was received in a fair light. Gradually, all of them left to let him rest, but at that moment, Artemis entered the room and sat on his bed with a somewhat sombre expression on her face.
Percy fidgeted nervously on his bed; how to start a conversation now? Oh right, he would say something like this, "Hey, I heard you managed to bring Vishalyakarani to save me. Good job, thank you!"
"You're welcome." Came the reply as he winced. Okay, he might have said it out loud.
However, before the silence could return, Artemis spoke again in a soft tone, "Percy...I heard everything you said last night. Did you really mean it? All of it?"
At this point, Percy could have shut up in shock or even tried to deny it, but he remembered his conversation with Chaos and realised that he would have to do this. Taking a deep breath, he directly gazed into her enchanting sliver eyes and spoke with conviction, "Yes. I had thought that I have found love before with other people but that was nothing compared to this. I like you, a lot. You make me feel happy and I don't have to be someone I am not in front of you. This happiness is worth more to me than anything. I really don't know what I am doing; I am a warrior and probably a piss-poor boyfriend. But, I can be a good friend, one that will stay with you no matter the circumstances. I don't know how this works or if it has any chance of working out between us, but I do know about my feelings for you and if you can find it possible to return these feelings, I would like to figure it out with your help."
Artemis didn't speak for a moment, making him tense up. He closed his eyes waiting for the rejection; nothing good can really happen to a Hero, can it? However, he was pleasantly surprised when he felt a slender hand grab his own hands and lace it's delicate fingers through his coarser ones. He opened his eyes to find Artemis smiling shyly at him as a blush spread through her cheeks. Both of their faces slowly morphed into a warm smile as they experienced an unknown warmth and comfort spreading through their bodies. Still, Artemis seemed shy as she spoke again, "Percy, you said you felt very strongly about me...stronger than your past feelings. What if you found someone better again? This is a first for me, Percy and I don't know how I will deal with myself if the only man I have allowed entry into my heart turns out to be the same as all the rest. Can I trust you?"
Percy was a little surprised, but he understood what she was asking for; she was insecure about herself. Even though he couldn't find the reason-gods, she was beautiful in every sense of the term, yet he squeezed her hand for support and declared, "I promise to always stay by your side, Artemis, as long as you require me. I swear it on the Styx." Thunder boomed overhead, sealing the deal.
Artemis smiled softly as Percy realized that she had dropped her guard and finally trusted him explicitly. The tension left her body, making her even more breathtaking. In an unspoken agreement, both of them swooped down to sweep their first kiss and both knew that they weren't solo participators. It wasn't anything earth shattering, more nervous and chaste than anything, yet it held the promise of a much brighter future. As their foreheads touched and their arms encircled each other, Artemis told him, "You belong to me now, Percy."
"I do." He agreed, "And you to me."
With a soft smile, Artemis agreed, "I guess so." She slowly laid her head down in Percy's lap as they both gazed into the sky above them through the glass coverings-it was beautiful, better than any observatory, but what made it magical was the fact that both of them were finally at peace and with people they truly liked. Their heart raced for each other, like how the moon gently pushed the sea waves. Both of them knew what they would wish for if they now saw a shooting star.
They talked a lot more, and decided to keep their relationship status a secret for the moment. They were in the middle of a war and it wasn't the best time to create more tensions for everyone. Percy would be staying close to her anyway for the most part due to his designated role, so it wouldn't be too troublesome. Artemis was most worried about what her father's, and by extension, her uncle's reaction would be.
Percy responded to that question with a determined face, "I wonder about that too, but I believe in enjoying the present for now. Anyway, neither of them would sway my mind; no one can, but only you."
He got kissed again for that comment, and had another stupid grin on his face as they sat like that, drinking in the moment. He never noticed, but Artemis had a quite similar dazed expression on her face.
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Athena meanwhile walked into the room which housed Bessie the Ophiotaurus and paled. It was nowhere to be found, it's watery cage broken. Evidently, the time Poseidon had been grieving for his child, someone had taken the advantage of his weakened awareness and stolen Bessie, to sacrifice its entrails and gain the necessary ability to destroy the gods.
She knew who the likely suspect was, and she suspected that this time they might truly be doomed. Mahishasura had outwitted them and the clock was ticking away towards their destruction. A plan within a plan, one truly worthy of her grandfather. What hope was left now? The ritual won't take much time and neither of the gods had the ability to detect Mahishasura or his type of energy.
Far away, the same sense of victory was enjoyed by a Primordial goddess-Gaea, who spoke in a raspy tone, "It is time for my children to rule this world by deposing those filthy Olympians."
A/N: Well, to be honest, I was bowled over by the responses to the last chapter. I have been receiving about 12-13 reviews per chapter, which in my standards was good, but now you guys gave me 26 reviews. I cannot express how happy I am and hope this chapter dies your expectations justice. And, can I get something like that again? Please? Please? Next chapter will be extra action-packed as the gods figure out how to deal with these new developments and the Prophecy of Seven starts rolling.
And yes, I took a dig at the prominent theme of Percy and Artemis being soul mates in this chapter, just for fun. My apologies if it offended anyone, and for compensation, I could point you to one of the most amazing fanfics set in this verse: "Love", by Chaoses Angel.