Chapter 4: The Curtain Falls

Percy had seen a lot in his very long life. He would even say he'd seen everything possible, imagined or not. He'd lived for what could count as over a millenia in total, in multiple worlds and universes, and had thousands of stories to tell.

Yet here he was, staring at something that he had only seen in cartoons from his home world. The perked up, purple and fuzzy ears that captivated him. Sure, the girl was also very easy on the eyes, but the ears stood out to him the most. He couldn't get over the fact that fox-like girls were real. He owed Leo and Frank twenty bucks.

The boat rocked with the waves, him rocking with it, as they departed from the pier. Yasuo had told him to wait until they were far enough out at sea to begin using his powers and he had agreed. No point attracting attention.

As the pier shrunk in the distance, Percy shook himself from his staring contest with the girl's ears. He stood up from his seat on the surprisingly large boat—he had expected dinghies and fishing canoes, not larger whaling ships and yachts—and walked over to the edge of the boat. It wasn't the biggest he'd been on, and it paled in comparison to the St Anne's Revenge but it felt good to be back at sea. It also looked entirely different from the Ionian ships he had seen lining the pier. Piltoverian, Ahri had told him.

His eyes closed as he reached for his latent power. The wind picked up and the boat was soon chopping its way through the waves.

He mentally compartmentalized his power usage, and returned to his seat next to Yasuo. The ronin had been leaning next to the railing the entire time, watching the sea, looking for something ineffable on the horizon. Percy didn't think he would find whatever he was looking for out in those depths.

As he sat back down, Ahri broke the silence. "So you can control the sea, old man?"

Percy raised his eyebrow at her, "I have a name, you know?" The girl giggled slightly, Percy's ears playing tricks on him. He swore he heard that giggle in his head instead of aloud.

"Oh, I know your name, Perseus. I just didn't think you would appreciate such an informal approach."

"You looked through my memories and felt my emotions, I don't think there is anything more informal than that." She had the decency to look ashamed at that. Silence pervaded as she struggled on what to say.

"I deeply apologize for my…intrusion on your mind, Perseus. The Vastaya communicate mainly through mental commands, thoughts, or feelings. It helps us bond much more freely."

He assumed she was also a Vastaya, and though he had heard of them from Yasuo, none of this was mentioned to him. He wondered how much more wasn't known of the Vastaya to the Ionians.

"I'm surprised you are out and about among humans, to be completely honest."

"I…knew a human once. He died…early, and I hadn't been near anyone since. But," her eyes drifted out to the ocean, presumably towards Bilgewater, "something is calling to me. I can feel it, and I must go to it."

Percy's eyes softened, "you loved him, didn't you?" Ahri's ears had folded down on themselves, looking all too much like a kicked puppy. The memory was probably nothing good, and he had an inkling of what probably happened.

"Yes. I did. I still do, but it would have happened no matter what. That's why I'm here—I want to find answers about myself. I want to prevent any future deaths that I can."

Percy sighed, "I understand that feeling all too well. Intimately," Ahri's eyes darted towards him, curiosity and caution present within. Yasuo grunted by the railing.

"Different friend, Yasuo." The man looked intrigued now—he hadn't shared that much of his life, and Yasuo was certainly curious.

"I had a friend who was so much like me it hurt. She was headstrong, brash, and confident. She was one of the few who could nearly match me in combat, and believe me that that is one Ha-hell of a feat." He shuddered, the words leaking from his mouth before he could stop.

"The world's fate was being determined by a prophecy, and it fell between her and I. She decided to give us more time to prepare for it, and swore an oath of partial immortality."

Yasuo's eyes widened at such a trivial inclusion of immortality. As if it was a description of the weather or what he had had for dinner last night.

"I'd rather not go through those memories yet, especially with her…death being so recent in my mind…" he trailed off, his eyes focusing on nothing as images of Thalia's defiance led to her death danced in his mind. If only he had been stronger. Faster. If only he had more time. How ironic it was that they never had enough time, even as immortals.

Ahri placed a gentle hand upon his arm—the one that was mangled from his past mistakes—breaking his train of thoughts and bringing him back to the present.

"Thank you," she said, her voice soft. The air felt thick and he struggled to get air into his lungs. His hands shook. Gods above, he hated Chaos. Damn them.

Out…sider. Unwanted. Unneeded.

Ahri saw his back straighten against the seat, his eyes whipping out to the sea. She looked out as well, attempting to feel nature's call. It was diluted—she had never been good at sensing the sea's magic. It was…wilder than that of the surface. Free and exotic in its existence.

She looked back to Percy, who seemed to be glaring at the ocean.

"What is it, Perseus?" She asked hesitantly, seeing Yasuo straighten up from his vigilance—hand on his blade. Never a good sign.

Usurper. Betrayer. Destroyer of worlds. Kinslayer.

"…it is nothing. The sea here does not like me, that is all. They call me a usurper and they aren't wrong, to be fair."

Ahri knew that wasn't all of it, but she had no desire to awaken his rage yet again, so she did as the humans said and "let sleeping dogs lie." Yasuo's hand left his blade.

"We will be in the area of Weh'le within the next two days or so, maybe sooner considering it is Percy who is getting us there." Yasuo turned to Percy, who sat in some type of meditative stance, "The sea does not like when people attempt to control it, Percy. I hope you know what you are doing."

"It is fine, my friend. I know the sea well. They are all the same at the end of the day. They like to be convinced they are still in charge of themselves; that they are still as free and wild as the day they were formed." It had been millenia since he had last manipulated an ocean with so much latent magic, but he could do it. He had to.

This was his punishment, after all.

The days passed with little to no fanfare. Soon, they were greeted by a thick blanket of fog. It spread out in every direction for as far as the eye could see. Percy, crouched down by the edge of the boat, lifted his hand to the blanket, pressing it ever so gently, and it parted for him with exuberance.

"Showtime," Yasuo heard Percy mutter, before he stood up and made his way to the bow.

When Percy had said he could handle the sea, Yasuo was expecting at least a slight struggle for control. Maybe a little push and pull from the spirits and Percy—maybe even a fight of wills.

He hadn't expected the sea to just roll over for him. He had never seen the sea look so tranquil; so calm and collected. His skin crawled at the image before him.

Percy stood at the bow of the ship, hands spread out wide as if to embrace the wind. Water connected his hands to the sea, small spires circling his arms and legs, as the boat slowly made its way through the seas of terror. He looked as if he had come to deliver salvation to Ionia himself.

A small smile had found its way to Percy's face, and it was the first time—much to Yasuo's surprising realization—that he had seen such a sincere smile on the man's face. Not a condescending smirk or a challenging grin. Just a smile.

As the dock shimmered into view in the distance, Yasuo turned to look at Ahri, who also looked enthralled by the vision before them.

"'He answers to the Gods, and only the Gods' I once heard him say. With power like this, I cannot say that I am surprised." He murmured to the girl, a small smirk finding its way to his face. Ahri's face hardened into a sort of cautionary awe as they pulled up next to the pier. Eyes found them immediately.

"His power is much more vast than this, Mr. Yasuo. This is merely a drop in the ocean," her eyes found his; a cold, harsh depth to them, "he could tear the world asunder with nary a thought. Do not forget that."

—

The city of Weh'le was of major significance to the Ionians. People came from all across the First Lands just to get a taste of the festival to come; and that made it the perfect stage for Jhin.

Shen knew that. He knew the plan made sense—frustratingly so—so why couldn't he stop the gnawing in his gut. Something was off.

Usan had meant to say something else at their meeting. He had sensed it, but he couldn't bring himself to ask what it was. Usan didn't seem to want to mention it either. Either way, something was off with the man he used to call brother. Something more off than usual.

More distant. More hesitant. Colder and harsher.

He was prodding Shen, and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why that was. His eyes caught Usan's from across the marketplace—the two nodded at each other as they marked the last two potential subjects.

The final subject would have to be someone important—no one else would suffice for the demon. The fourth victim always had to be perfect. They had to represent something.

Usan had found two bodies, Shen had found one in the inn. The innkeeper kept mumbling about flowers and demons. Definitely Jhin's work.

Shen glanced at the Sun's position in the sky, deducting they had about another five or so minutes before mid evening rolled around. The blossoms would bloom any minute now, which was when Jhin would make his move.

He was broken from his thoughts at the sensation of the spirit world being tampered with. He fought hard to not whip his head towards the intrusion, and barely managed to only move his eyes slightly. They widened considerably when he saw that it was a foreign boat coming into dock. He quickly met Zed's gaze once again— seeing that he also had seen the boat—and took off in the direction of the pier.

His feet slammed against the cobbled walkways as he darted in and out of crowds. Gasps and murmurs arose from the people he bumped into, but he had no time to issue apologies. Approach by sea should have been impossible.

He felt his breath leave him as he saw a figure on the masthead, arms spread wide and the ocean at their beck and call. He couldn't discern their identity from where he stood, but it didn't matter to him. His blade found its way into his hand. The world became tinged in blue.

He felt Zed's footsteps come up behind him, breath short and voice raspy as he took in the sight before him. His voice slithered out, "That's the man from the origin. I've felt this magic before."

Shen glanced at his companion, before turning back towards the pier, his blade sheathing itself at the disappearance of a threat. He recentered himself, and the blue tinge disappeared. Greens and reds and tans bled back into reality. The ship had docked by the time his vision fully cleared.

The man that had fought off the Order of Shadows quickly made his way down the gangplank, his strides quickly eating up the distance between them and him. His gaze pinned Zed to the boardwalk, and Shen felt a sense of amusement wash over him.

"I remember you, masked one. You are the one who ran from me at my crash landing." Perseus called out, his hand pointing towards Zed before roving over to where Shen stood next to him, "And you are the weird stalker who was watching me at the Inn for three days." Shen's amusement vanished.

"You killed a dozen of the country's best trained assassins. That is cause for concern and reconnaissance. It was not personal, I assure you." Shen firmly replied, refusing to be caught flat-footed. Companion of Yasuo or not, the man before him was as dangerous with words as he was with a weapon.

"They attacked me first, I'll have you know." Percy replied, waving off the two men's presence as he turned to Yasuo, "Where to first?"

Yasuo rubbed his brow, seeking to calm the migraine that was rapidly approaching. "Pardon us, Master Shen, Master Zed. We must be going now, unfortunately."

Zed looked to want to say something, stepping forward only for a gloved arm to impede his path. Shen's arm held him at bay as he spoke, "Of course, Mr. Yasuo. I hope your time at the festival is fruitful. Please do keep an eye on the guests for me, however."

Yasuo raised an eyebrow, his eyes wandering to Zed's tense form, before finally resting back on Shen, "I'll keep my eyes open."

Percy covered his snort by fake coughing into his arm, Ahri's lips twitching in amusement at the reaction, and trailed behind Yasuo. His eyes roved over the merchants on the boardwalk, trinkets and talismans hanging from the wooden stalls. Customers surrounded each stall, picking and prodding at the merchant for a better price. Yasuo bumped into an older gentleman, and began to talk with them for a bit.

Further down, Percy could smell the aroma of fish cuisine—something of lobster and crab—and could see that there were only two stalls for food down here. Fish cuisine and what looked to be some type of bar. He could smell the spice of alcohol on the sea breeze, and it reminded him of home. His senses were going haywire, and it was starting to get to him. There was so much latent magic in this city.

His feet dragged him towards the bar, ignoring Ahri's cries for him to wait up, as he found himself a seat. Knocking his fist against the fine wood of the bar's counter, he caught the eye of the older woman behind the counter.

"Two of your strongest, please."

The woman raised an eyebrow, "You sure, mister? Numbing spice isn't for the faint of heart."

Intrigued at the name, he waved off her concern, "Tell me more, please."

The lady smirked as she leaned across the counter, her low cut robes spilling forth onto the tabletop. A greenish brown leaf appeared in her hand. "In the spring, we make sure to harvest the green herbs that are used as a base for the drink. We blend and distill them until summer finally starts to leave us."

She pulled out a dull, red berry. Flaky leaves covered its small form. "Then we harvest the husks of these numbing pepper berries. We blend it with syrup, fruit, and other spices, which gives the drink that perfect spice to go with the kick of the dragon fruit alcohol that is distilled into it afterwards. It's topped with cinnamon and cane sugar at the end."

As she finished speaking, Percy found a glass of chilled alcohol sitting in front of him, cinnamon sprinkled on top of the minuscule layer of foam. He blinked, before a smile slowly found its way on his lips. "You're very good at your job, ma'am." He bowed his head to her, enjoying the rough laugh that came from her lungs.

"I'd sure hope so, young man. I've been doing this for thirty years, after all."

He took a sip of the drink, and found himself in heaven. It wasn't going to get him drunk, but damn if it didn't taste good.

As he was about to take another sip, he found the glass taken from his hands in a flash. His eyes narrowed at the grinning thief, her hands bringing the drink up to her own lips.

"That was mine."

She swallowed her sip, eyes fluttering at the sensation, "Finders keepers, old man. Maybe your age is catching up with you?"

"For someone who claimed to be around centuries ago, surely I must be younger than an old lady like you?"

Ahri pouted at him, blowing a lock of hair out of her face with a huff. "I'll have you know I'm only eight centuries old, O-fa."

He snorted, "I've only lived a little over a millenia. You aren't too far behind, hag."

"But I'm still younger~," His right eye twitched. So much like Thalia…

He took the drink back from her, ignoring her squawk as he passed her the other glass of alcohol. He continued to sip slowly on the drink, his back turned to the streets as he stared at the bar.

He heard Yasuo's voice call his name. Placing down his drink, Percy turned and saw him wave at him from next to the old gentlemen, and then pointing to the forest line. Percy nodded back and turned towards the bar.

"Yasuo is probably going to start his search now. We've probably got a few hours to kill. Any ideas of what you want to do?" Percy asked, his eyes glancing over to the slightly tipsy fox next to him; both of their glasses empty. He rolled his eyes at her slightly vacant gaze.

"First time drinking?"

"Noooo! I'm nosh druk yet, Mishter Pershy." She twirled in her seat, spinning around like a child on the bar stool. Her hair flew around haphazardly, hitting him in his unamused face a few times. Her feet kicked out and she began to giggle.

"Uh huh. And you're just slurring your words for fun, right?"

"I'm noch shlu-shlur-" her giggles stopped and she blinked, her mind stuttering at the word, before giggling yet again. "That's a funny word."

He raised an eyebrow at her quickly sobering form. Like the alcohol just went straight through her system. Maybe that was part of being Vastayan? Soon, she seemed to have completely sobered.

"Ouch. Ouch. Ouch." She muttered, holding her head. "Ugh I hate alcohol."

"Is that normal for Vastayans?"

"Spirits, no!" She gave off a small laugh, wincing immediately at the pain it caused in her head, "ow. Only the Kitsune have quick enough metabolisms to dilute alcohol that quickly, and it's regulatable. I can be drunk if I want to."

"Ah. Interesting. Very lucky for you, I'd say. I can't get drunk off of non-godly drinks, sadly."

"Sounds miserable, to be honest." Ahri grumbled, her head in her folded arms as she laid her upper half down on the bar.

"I got used to it. Anyways, Yasuo will be gone for a bit, so let's go roam the streets after your hangover disappears. I'm assuming it goes just as quickly?"

"Thankfully, yes. I'll be fine in like ten, maybe twenty minutes."

—

By the time night had fallen, Percy's agitation was at an all time high. He had known it might take Yasuo a while but this is ridiculous. It had been over four hours since they had separated, and he hadn't sensed Yasuo since. He had been spreading his senses throughout the village and the surrounding forest. He found nothing.

Finally, after the fourth hour, he stood up from one of the chairs and walked his way to the treeline—Ahri on his heels. He entered the forest, the magic within clawing at his mind, but was repelled by his own mental defenses.

"Yasuo?" He called out as he walked, ignoring the scratch at his head. Something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what. The forest kept turning on its head, looping and twisting itself like the Labyrinth. He turned around again and found himself hitting a tree.

The tree began to grow before his eyes, and he found himself backing up as it continued still. It began to blot out the sun, its branches reaching out towards the sky and yanking it down. His heart began to race.

"Cy!" He heard from behind him somewhere, his head whipping towards the sound and only finding another growing tree. They were everywhere around him now, growing and twisting and curling their way through the world. He saw faces begin to form.

His heart froze, and Thalia stepped out from behind one of the trees.

"Why, Kelp Head?" She asked, her spiky black hair hanging over her face. Water dripped onto her clothes as she stared at the ground, "Why did you kill me? I thought you loved me, cousin?"

Percy stumbled back, "I didn't mean to, Thals. I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to, I swear."

Her face began to shift—the skin melting on one side of her face—into that of a skull. He saw anger and hurt within those eyes that stared back at him. "You killed me, Percy. Your sword dug its way into my chest, why? Why did you betray us? Why didn't you love me enough?"

He couldn't…he didn't know. He didn't mean to kill her. He didn't want to kill her. His breathing came rough and hoarse, his throat tightening. A sharp voice interrupted his panic, sending molten ice down his back and through his heart.

"-rcy!"

"You killed our child, Seaweed Brain. You became just like Heracles in the end, huh? The Boy Hero. Zoë would be ashamed."

Her gray eyes hadn't changed, still staring at him with the full weight that they did back when they were sixteen. She was older, more together, but still the same Annabeth he had kissed underwater after the quest. But her face was mauled. A small child grasped onto her skirt tails, and if Percy's heart had frozen at Annabeth, it shattered at the sight of little Lacy.

"Daddy? Why do you have your sword out? You're scaring me, daddy! Go away, no! Daddy!"

"Percy!" He gasped, and the trees were gone. Sweat pooled on his forehead and the ground dug at his back. He was leaning against a tree, a cold hand rubbing his face, wiping at the tears that fell down his face. He looked to the owner and a thousand questions entered his mind.

"It was a ward." Ahri told him, her voice soft but concerned, "you can't fight it without knowing it exists. It warps your mind into thinking whatever you saw was real. It's demonic in nature. Yasuo must be in trouble, so we can talk about your vision later, so get up old man."

He shook his head, wiping away at the tears that trailed down his cheek, and his lungs shook with the effort of containing his sobs.

"Fuck," he breathed out, standing up shakily, as anger started to fill his veins. He pushed out his senses, and finally picked up on where Yasuo was. He could feel the wounds on him and the way his blood was flowing weirdly. There were two other things with him.

"I'm going to fucking tear them apart." He growled, eyes glowing, as he jumped to his feet and took off towards the figures.

He broke through the treeline, noticing that Ahri had kept up with him, and found Yasuo on his knees coughing out a liquid.

"Azakana may not survive my hunt." The only other human figure in the river said. They wore a half mask on their head, and carried two swords. They were shirtless, with only a few bandages covering their chest.

"Was this the thing that set up the ward? Or was it you?" Percy bit out, bringing the two's attention to him. His anger was palpable and Ahri backed away.

"Walk away, Xirii. This does not concern you." The masked man said, never moving his eyes off the Azakana before him.

"It started to concern me when he dug through the memories of my dead family. Now either step aside, or I shall make you step aside." He said, uncapping his sword and pointing it at the masked man.

"Yone…what happened to you?" Yasuo croaked, his eyes wide as he stared at the stance he would recognize anywhere. It had been etched into his memory ever since it was used against him.

"Death happened to me, Brother. It happens to all, eventually."

"Step aside, Yone." Percy said firmly, "Go fix your brother. I'm going to fucking tear this thing apart, and then I'm going to have fun beating its fucking corpse. You can either be in the way, and lose, or move out of the way and live. Your choice."

Yone's face became taut as he bit down on his cheek, weighing his options before coming to the proper conclusion. "When you are done, I must collect its essence. Do not let its blood enter your body, or it shall consume your mind. Leave its head intact."

"That's all that I'll be fucking leaving behind, anyways."

The demon cackled at his words, "Poor, poor, Perseus Jackson. Sorrow and hate flows off of you like the Springs of the North. It was such delightful agony."

Percy darted towards the demon, taking a test swipe at the figure legs. It stepped aside quickly, taking a swipe at him with its arms. Percy deflected the swipe, and slid his sword through the arm like butter. Skin sheared in half, and he saw what looked like burnt bark and fiery embers spew from the wound.

It was tall, almost as tall as Atlas, but it definitely wasn't as strong as the Titan. This would be an easy fight. Percy didn't like that at all.

"Come now, boy. Surely you want to talk about how you killed your wife?" The demon ducked under another swing of the sword, only to find its other arm torn from its torso. It screeched something unholy, before scampering back. "How about when your child begged for their life?"

The river exploded, a sharp icy lance spearing through the demon's lungs. More spears began to form, falling down onto the demon until they were pinned into the earth below them.

"You even cheated on your dead wife? What happened, Percy? I thought Loyalty was so important to you?"

Percy's eyes burned something fierce, and the demon's mouth soon began choking up blood. They grasped at their throat, eyes bulging as they felt their blood begin to boil.

"I will burn you, demon. And I will do so over and over again until you feel a tenth of what I felt." Percy whispered, freezing the blood of the demon before boiling it again. The creature screeched and begged and cried, but soon laughter began to explode from its chest.

"You run from your destiny, only to find yourself in front of it yet again! You ruin everything you touch, like Midas of old!" It bellowed, its head beginning to bleed profusely from its eyes, ears, and nose. Blackish golden blood pooled in its mouth and as it touched the ground, the plants around it decayed. The dirt burned, forever doomed to be infertile.

"My destiny is my own, demon. You weren't worth the trouble." Percy affirmed to himself quietly, the anger leaving him suddenly. His heart ached and his eyes stung. "He's all yours."

As he walked past Ahri, who had been staring wide eyed at what the demon had said, he tried not to let what was said affect him any further.

"Percy…" she whispered hesitantly, "was what it said true?" He didn't look at her, scared to see the fear or repulsion on her face.

"I told you, didn't I? I understood your dilemma better than you'd think."

Ahri stepped back from the utter rawness of his voice, before ducking her head and turning away. Her emotions were too much as it was, and she had to get out of there before Percy's sorrow overwhelmed her. Percy watched out of the corner of his eye as she took off back towards Weh'le.

He didn't hear when Yone slayed the demon, he didn't hear the talk the brothers had, and he didn't see when he left without a promise to return to Yasuo. All Percy heard were the heart-wrenching cries of his daughter, Thalia's last words and that pain-filled kiss, and seeing the loving eyes of his wife as she died at his hands.

He collapsed at the foot of a tree, knees dug into the dirt, as the tears fell.

Poor Percy.

I love the little interactions between Ahri and Percy. With both of them being fucking old geezers practically, it really gives me hope for them bonding over their pain. Probably won't be a ship, I am still a firm believer in Yasuo x Ahri, but who knows?

Anyways, before you crucify me for the content in this chapter, please note I am still keeping a lot of Percy's past close to my chest. We will get there eventually, but I want to take my time with it. Make you all suffer in delightful agony.

Hope you enjoyed, tell someone you love them, and have a kickass day.

Jay