Enjoy. I'm back for a bit. No promises.
Disclaimer: Pjo is Rick Riordan's. I own Janus Grace and the twins only.
Astraeus(A/N: Didn't see that coming?)
Pain. All I felt was pain. Light filled my vision and I could do nothing. I was acustomed to the darkness of Tartarus, and a bit to Earth's, but this seared to the backs of my eyes and burned my retna.
When the light turned off I blinked my eyes before they dilated to the now darkness. A figure sat to the side, shackled to the wall, fear in its dark eyes. My body moved towards it and it whimpered as I unsheathed my swords, both glowing stars against the darkness. The little girl whimpered again as I raised both swords with a grin on my face. She screamed for a second before it cut off obruptly. Blood splattered the ground and my face as I struck her again and slashed her body into pieces, the adrenaline and feeling of pleasure and death running through me. I was soaked in her blood, the little body of the innocent child now gone and in pieces.
I heard a gasp and I whirled around to see those beautiful blue eyes that I loved so much. Until I saw fear in her eyes, betrayal, sadness, anger...
I just smiled brightly at her as she stumbled back. "Get away from me, you monster." Her voice filled with fear firmly placed within it. My soaked blades dug deep into the ground before coming out as I pulled them up, now clean of the blood that had decorated them seconds before. I still smiled at her as I walked towards her and she crawled backwards away from me after tripping over another dead body in the darkness. Another innocent victim fallen by my hand.
She again tripped over another body and this time her head hit a rock. She raised her hands before her in surrender, her head decorated with her blood on one side. I raised my swords in unison over my head as I gave her my murderer smile. Before I could swing them down she said the words that would kill me:
"I don't love you.I could never love a monster." Were her final words before I let my swords drop.
I gasped as I pulled at my shackled arms and legs. Another nightmare. Every time that I was not visited or used I was slowly tortured to the fullest. One day would be physical, the other would be emotional. One day they would cut into my skin and have me fight in the Arena, while the other they would make me sleep fitfully, my nightmares filled with my worst fears. The only fear that brought me to my knees was of her. Janus. She was the only real fear I had, all of them revolving around her.
I knew what I vowed for when I asked for love, and yet going through it is more vivid than any scrolls and books and original writings could ever explain. Eros would have some explaining to do once I got a hold of him again, errogant primordials.
Janus was my every thought, every sound, every feeling. I heard her voice every time I strained to hear anything of my location. I felt her soft touch whenever I felt like losing hope. I thought of what she would say to me if she saw me now, close to broken and in pain. Almost everything worth living for has pain. It's what makes it worth fighting for to time that I had looked at her memories or read her thoughts that came up. Thalia Grace had told her that when she was younger, always hit by her father. I closed my eyes and remembered what I saw of her memories:
She had just been abused by her father for protecting her siblings, and Thalia had fought with him when she had seen the bruises.
Thalia walked out the door and sat on the porch next to her. "What's wrong, Kiddo?"
She sighed as she stared across the street, where a few kids were fighting and their buddies were video taping. "Why do we live? Don't we just die in the end? Why go through so much pain when there is nothing good?"
Thalia laughed softly and wrapped an arm around the small girl, resting her head on hers. "Janus, you have so much to learn. Almost everything worth living for has pain. It's what makes it worth fighting for to live. And we fight for good lives so that we have good memories before we only means that we leave one place to go to another. It also makes us use our time need to make the most out of life that we can, Kiddo. Never forget that, much less when you find who you're looking for."
Janus tilted her head as Thalia stood up. "What do you mean, 'Who you're looking for'?"
"We all need someone that we can rely on, and that can rely on us. Just like Mom and Dad."
She frowned, not understanding. "But Mommy left Daddy, so now he gets mad easily."
Thalia nodded. "That's right. They thought they found the one they needed, but they were wrong. Your Mommy left because she had to though, and he didn't take it the right way, just like my Mom did when my Dad left."
"So how will I know that I found them? Will I just be like Mommy and Daddy?"The little girl asked, her innocence obvious to anyone who looked at her.
Thalia kneeled down in front of her. "No, Kiddo. You'll know when you found them because you won't want to lose them. They will be the missing part of you, and then you will feel full when you're around you might fight like our parents but you will always come back to each other."
Janus wrinkled her nose. "Why would I want to find them if I would fight with them?"
Thalia smiled kindly, almost as beautiful as Janus did. "Because it will be worth the pain. Pain is how you find what you want. You have to feel pain to find good things. That's what makes it worth the fight." She kissed the little girl on the forehead and she smiled, getting a beautiful smile from her little much love between them. She again sat next to the girl and wrapped her up in a hug. "And family has to stick together, so that we can get there faster."
"What happens if we don't?"
"Then you get-EATEN."She lifted the squealing girl in her arms and pretended to eat her as she squealed in laughter, the memory fading.
I sighed and winced as it hurt to breathe. Even then she hadn't known how dangerous her life was, and now she fought for her life as she stood up to monsters.
A sharp pain in my right arm brought me out of my thoughts. I looked around, confused as my neck started to burn. Astraeus, Her voice. I grunted as my skin boiled and I clenched my hands into tight fists. The walls rattled as I shouted out and fell to my knees. The right side of my neck burned worse than the cuts my brothers gave me. They didn't respect me because of me being older, but of endearing their painful tortures and winning in their unfair challenges. This pain was worse. Light danced in my eyes as I heard her plea.
Help pain stopped and my eyes opened. My shackles shook as I looked at them, symbols of stars and my swords etching into the blessed Celestial Bronze metal. I pulled my right arm roughly and the entire wall came in, debris and dust filling the cell. I pulled my left and again the wall fell like mud.
My vision turned red as I lifted myself off of the floor and walked out of the prison. Every monster that came across me was blown into pieces or slashed down by my swords that appeared in my scabbards.
One thought ran through my head as another wall exploded and crushed a wave of hellhounds and cyclopes. I'm coming, Janus.
Percy
When the wall caved I knew we were in some trouble.
We had just gotten into a hallway filled with cyclopes and empousai when the side walls caved in. I threw myself in front of Annabeth and tried to shield the twins. The other twins had it covered. They raised their hands in unison and a silver light combined with a gold one to wrap the twin boys into a bubble.
When the debris stopped falling I let Annabeth look out from against my chest and the twin titans looked around, Selene with her chained axes and Helios in a fighting stance with his palms open.
A figure wrapped in silver came from the back wall. It wielded twin swords that glowed like fallen stars. His eyes were pure silver with no irises or whites. His pupils narrowed as he stared at the group.
Helios was the first to recognize the figure. He lowered Selene's axes and kneeled a bit ahead of them. Selene followed his lead by falling to her knees where she stood. The boys held each other as I knelt and Annabeth did as well.
Both Selene and Helios bowed their heads and the figure bowed his head respectfully as well. "Lord Astraeus." They both said in unison.
He waved his hand aside and they all stood, and I stood in front of Annabeth protectively. "Selene, Helios. It has been long since I have seen the both of you."
Selene frowned in confusion. "But, you seem more in order, less chaotic. Has something happened?"
His silver eyes darkened after they flashed dangerously. "Horrid things...Memories..." His eyes went back to their gentle seriousness, the eyes of a calm leader. "Not anything too different from the usual, my friends. Do not worry, for I am still of the stars."
He turned his head towards me and Annabeth. He smiled. "A fine duo. One from many hardships, built by the broken and born from the strong. You bring honor to your respected mortal families."
Annabeth frowned as Selene had, confusion on her face. "How did you escape?"
His eyes flashed again and I held her tightly next to me. "It does not matter. You must leave before the battle."
"Battle? What battle?" I know I can be a bit slow at times, but he wasn't really talking normally, and if that's how he normally talks then I won't be able to refrain myself from punching him.
One of the twins thought that was the right moment to ask for their sister. "Where is Jasmin?" As soon as the name was said Astraeus' silver eyes flashed dangerously and darkened.
"You must leave."
"We won't leave without Janus." Annabeth retorted and he clenched his hands.
"She would not want you to be in this."
"How would you know?"
He stayed silent for a while before saying in a soft voice that contrasted his behavior. "Because I know her. And I know what she wants." Before Annabeth could reply he lifted his head, and she stopped as she saw the emotion in his eyes. Me being me, I don't know what they are, but Annabeth nodded.
"No." Everyone turned to the twins who stood together confidently. "We're staying."
One clarified. "If Janus staying, we stay and find her."
Selene kneeled before the two. "Joshua, you know it's very dangerous." How she knew the difference easily baffled me, but he shook his head nonetheless. She looked to me and sighed. "Joshua has a scar on his eyebrow and Christopher has a scar on his left hand."
I nodded as I saw the differences. Christopher spoke. "It was from a kitchen knife."
Joshua nudged him. "Janus."
Christopher nodded and got serious again. "Right. We're going after her."
Annabeth wrinkled her nose before Helios sighed. "Well, we can't stop them."
Astraeus raised his hand and Helios fell silent. "You and Selene protect the boys." They nodded together and he turned to us again. "You each have a weapon?"
I shook my head as did Annabeth. "My sword hasn't reappeared."
He smiled without humor. "That's because I haven't given you permission." He waved his hand and I felt something fall into my pocket. I grasped it and pulled it out, only to find Riptide in its pen form. I nodded in thanks as he turned to Annabeth and snapped his fingers. In his hands appeared a sword similar to his silver ones. "Take this. Its name is Sirius, the brightest star. Wield and use it wisely, for it chooses its owners." He held it out to her and she accepted gratefully as she held it lightly, swinging it a few times.
I looked at her in shock. "It's well balanced."
Astraeus smiled lightly. "It chooses its owners. And being a sibling of my love..." He stopped and his brow furrowed. Annabeth's eyes widened but I had no idea what he meant. His eyes again darkened. "Janus," He murmured before turning and stalking off through the hallway we came from.
Selene carried Joshua and Helios picked up Christopher before they followed. I looked to Annabeth and shrugged. "After you, Serious?" She slapped my arm lightly before dragging me behind her.
A/N:You're welcome to new chapter. I'm back for now. No promises. Writer's Block is fading as well. Review.