Chapter 13: To See in the Dark
The weary demigods were transfixed by the phoenix-like creature tearing through the sky, throwing what looked like small burning axes at the dangerous array of enemies. Percy had hurled his first hammer purely in a rage, but quickly discovered that they caused a fiery explosion on impact, followed by the weapon reappearing in his hand. He launched one after another at the group as he closed the distance, the explosive projectiles lighting up the dark night and forcing the five apart. The titans and giants stumbled back from the onslaught, leaving Crota alone in the epicenter when the flaming demigod crashed down at blinding speeds, his lowered shoulder striking the monstrous lobster's chest.
The collision lit up the sky as Percy flattened Crota against the dirt. He got a closer look at the monster that had escaped from him more than two years ago. The creature's blood red skin had a blackened tint courtesy of the master he'd come to serve. Crota measured ten feet tall, and his muscle-bound form and massive pincers looked larger than before. But Percy didn't care. He fought to his feet before his opponent could, the burning demigod whaling his flaming hammers on the sea creature.
As Percy continued his violent assault and Crota shielded himself with his pincers, the other four assailants closed in on the demigod. His hammers continued to explode, but the titans and giants could stand to bear the heat. Polybotes reached Percy the fastest, the thirty-foot giant uncaring of the fire licking at his scaly legs. The Bane of Poseidon reared back his trident, baring his teeth as he struck downwards at the rageful demigod's turned back.
A silver figure rushed in at imperceptible speeds, dual knives drawn to block the fatal swing. Artemis had appeared between the giant and Percy with a murderous look in her eyes, her daggers striking the trident. The hulking giant and the goddess, who'd risen to her divine height of fifteen feet, struggled against each other with their weapons locked. Artemis knew she couldn't hold out long against the giant in a contest of brute strength, and hinged to sidestep when she saw Hippolytus to her side, already mid-swing.
Artemis grimaced, bracing for an impact to her ribs. It never came and, instead, she felt a light singe of heat that definitely wasn't coming from Percy's incinerating form. She ventured a glance, and relief washed over her, though she rolled her eyes. Apollo flashed a smile at his twin sister, hiding the exertion it was taking to hold back the giant's staff with his bow.
The demigod onlookers snapped out of their stupor after seeing two Olympians appear alongside what they realized was Percy Jackson. Most of them were too exhausted to be of any help against the caliber of enemy they were facing, and the titans still had no opponents.
Dismounting from Pegasus, Reyna was more than capable to still fight. Frank, unwilling to let his fellow Praetor challenge the titans alone, pulled himself to his feet in his human form. The duo made a beeline towards Krios, who was circling towards Apollo's blindside, but they were beaten to the punch by a feminine figure that leapt straight over them. She intercepted the Titan of the Stars, thrusting her spear overhead and ripping down a bolt of lightning. Thalia's attack forced the overbearing figure to convulse and stumble back, giving the three demigods enough time to encircle him and draw him away from their allies already locked in battle.
Hyperion cackled as he strode haughtily towards Percy, his golden armor burning brightly as the demigod's flames danced across it. He'd realized how easy it would be to run a distracted Percy through with his spear and claim revenge for his unbearable defeat in New York. But the Titan of Light was pulled both out of his fantasy and right off of the ground by a trio of fire-breathing dragons.
Hyperion roared as the bronze dragons tugged on his limbs like dogs fighting over a chew toy while they gained altitude. The golden titan disappeared into the sky, flailing to free himself, as the battles on the ground worsened. The twin archers fought madly, doing everything in their power to defend against the flurrying blows of their enhanced giant opponents. Artemis had unfortunately discovered from the black streaks running up Polybotes' legs that Titans and Giants could also be blessed by the malevolent primordial.
The three demigods continued their onslaught of Krios, using their numbers advantage to keep the raging titan's attention divided. Frank had taken the form of a massive cyclops, aiming to be the primary target of Krios' slashes. He expertly caught the swings on Ultor, using the legendary spear to stop the sword from cleaving him in two. Thalia moved at nearly invisible speeds, fitting for the second-in-command of the hunters, as she darted in and out of Krios' effective range and jabbed him with her electric spear. Reyna fought side by side with Frank, stabbing with her golden gladius as they whittled down the titan.
Percy and Crota hadn't moved from their respective positions, the flaming demigod still ripping into the struggling lobster. He was only holding one hammer now, wielding it with both hands as he struck blow after heavy blow against the wheezing monster. Crota's chest, even with Erebus' blessing, was on the verge of caving, and the creature couldn't break out of his pinned position. As Percy reared back the swing that they both knew would rupture the lobster, the dark presence returned.
"Enough."
A black dome enveloped the pair, and it cut off all sound and light from the battles they knew were raging around them. Only the fire that surrounded Percy allowed him to still see mere inches in front of him. The loss of his senses startled the demigod out of his anger, and he shoved off of the monster that was grappling to remain conscious.
"The Hammers of Sol… so you do have the powers of another universe. What a shame that my mother chose you as a champion. I will enjoy watching you die, vermin."
Erebus' voice seemed to come from all directions, which made sense to Percy since the monster was darkness. But the demigod also felt a second, powerful presence watching the events unfold inside the dome. He swore he could feel its exuding despair, though he had no idea why or even who it could be. The demigod didn't have much time to dwell on it; the darkness around him burgeoned, snuffing out his flames and erasing the hammer from his grasp.
Percy spun around in a frenzy, plunged into absolute black. He felt like he'd been pulled into one of his dark dreams, but the setting was even more voiding while awake. The demigod drew Riptide and slashed at where he'd left Crota's body, only to pierce empty dirt. His heart raced as he swung wildly, making contact with nothing. As he turned, a massive object rammed into the side of his face, one of Crota's pincers dealing a devastating blow against Percy's jaw. The demigod realized the lobster could surely see him with the primordial's blessing.
Percy landed roughly against the ground he couldn't feel, and Crota reversed their earlier state by pinning the demigod down. Percy was able to deflect a few of the monster's hulking punches, but not a single one of his counters landed against his invisible enemy. He felt his consciousness start to slip beneath the brutal onslaught of pincers when an unfamiliar voice spoke one word in his mind: Water.
Outside of the dome, Artemis and Apollo had little to stand on against the two giants. Golden ichor dripped from the side of the moon goddess' head; a heavy strike from Polybotes' trident had opened the wound. She'd made dozens of deep gashes against the giant, but they'd all healed almost immediately. Apollo stood in a similar boat; he'd riddled the Bane of Hermes with arrows, but the only existing wounds between the duelists were glowing bruises down the sun god's arm.
The demigods were faring much better against their titan opponent. Thalia's spear was impaled deep into his right shoulder, and she was back to using her bow after taking half of Frank's arrows. The son of Mars rammed the titan in his cyclops form, forcing Krios to stumble back. He lifted Ultor over his head and sliced it towards Thalia's spear like an axe. It tore into the titan's shoulder and dug against the speartip already lodged in it, halving the work of both edges as they severed the titan's arm.
Krios roared in pain, sheathing his sword to clutch his gushing shoulder. Black aura covered the wound, and it slowly closed over, forming towards a stump where the titan's arm had been. The demigods used the time to regroup and take in the situation around them. They eyed the dome standing where Percy had been, anxious about what was going on inside. But breaking through a primordial barrier would need the help of gods, and they instead turned to the twin archers.
"Oh gods, they're in bad shape," Reyna said, watching as both gods again landed strikes that healed immediately.
"They're giants; they still need the help of demigods to kill them, and Erebus' enhancement probably makes it even harder," Frank said worriedly.
"I'm going to go help Lady Artemis. Can you two handle that idiot titan and get to Apollo?" Thalia asked.
Frank nodded but Reyna shook her head.
"No, I'll handle Krios myself. Frank, assist Lord Apollo," she commanded.
Frank knew better than to argue with the steely determination plastered across her face. He grimaced, but the three split to their respective duties. Reyna rushed Krios as he drew his sword again. She closed her eyes, praying to her mother for strength, as she swung her gladius to block his strike. Their blades met in a rattling clash, but Reyna gave no ground against the far stronger titan. She opened her eyes and found herself enveloped in a soft red hue, feeling the power of Bellona coursing through her body.
The Praetor shoved harder against the titan's weapon, her body emptied of any apprehension. Krios bared his teeth and swung again in a downward arc. Reyna slid beneath the blade, blocking it on her raised sword, before she jumped to her feet inside the titan's guard. Not used to battling with one arm, Krios could do nothing to defend against her violent stabs into his chest. He howled at the relentless daughter of the war goddess, who shouted in reply as her gladius pierced his heart. She didn't stop thrusting the blade until the titan fell silent and the demigod's arm became too heavy to carry her sword. Reyna fell to her knees, panting while both her mother's blessing and the titan's aura faded.
Artemis and Polybotes were locked against each other when Thalia ripped a massive bolt of lightning down onto the giant. He stumbled, allowing Artemis a moment to breathe before she pressed on and buried her knives in the giant's gut. He grunted as sludge poured from the wound, but the gash didn't immediately close. The goddess and her lieutenant both noticed, understanding that they'd need to attack in tandem to kill him.
"Good work, Thalia. We need to end him quickly and move to the dome," she said, her murderous glare never leaving the giant.
"It's cute that you're worried about Percy, but he's definitely just taking his time against that freak lobster," Thalia replied, her confidence unwavering.
Artemis didn't respond, instead grinning as she rushed the giant. She caught his trident between her knives again, and Thalia shot several arrows into his eyes. The daughter of Zeus unleashed a paralyzing shock up the trident, and Artemis dropped back, pulling out her bow and shooting a dozen of her own arrows into his eyes quicker than even Thalia could track. The blinded giant clawed at his darkened vision before stomping in a rampage, determined to crush at least Thalia's much smaller form.
But the hulking monster had no chance of matching a hunter's agility. Thalia zipped between his legs, stabbing madly with her spear into his ankles and shins. Artemis moved like a blur around the giant, her godly form too large to comfortably fit under him, tearing at his chest and arms with her daggers. The blind giant swung his trident in a full circle and stamped his feet, desperate to strike either one of his assailants to no avail. His blood loss eventually became too great, and he lurched to his knees.
Thalia and Artemis gave no quarter, but the giant refused to die as his body continued to recover, much more slowly than before. The pair knew Polybotes was already beaten and just needed to be pushed over the edge. Artemis nocked an arrow on her bow, closing her eyes and drawing on her divine strength. Next to her, Thalia closed her own eyes and lifted her arms towards the heavens.
"Dad, help me out with this one," she whispered, straining her body as her gut tensed.
Artemis released her glowing silver arrow, the projectile tearing a thick hole through the giant that was lying flat on his face. Thalia shoved her arms down, and a tendril of lightning that rivaled the Master Bolt arced from the sky into the giant's back. Polybotes let out a weak groan as he dissolved into muck.
Frank and Apollo discovered that they worked unsuspectingly well together as they fought to finish off their bleeding opponent. The son of Mars had again taken the form of the Minotaur, swapping between his spear and bow and dealing blow after blow against Hippolytus. Apollo had seen Artemis and Thalia blind their opponent and he'd emulated it, shown in the flaming arrows sticking out of the giant's dim eyes. Frank continued to brawl with the monster, spearing him repeatedly with Ultor before dropping back and unleashing a volley of arrows alongside the sun god.
Apollo's bow didn't stop shooting even when Frank stood point-blank against the giant, the god's precision apparent in the hundreds of arrows sticking out of Hippolytus while the demigod remained unscathed. Frank lowered his horns and buried them into the giant's stomach, eliciting a scream, before he drove his spear through one of Hippolytus' knees, forcing him to kneel.
"Alright! Back up, Frank!" The sun god shouted excitedly as he aimed a massive flaming arrow at the giant.
The demigod ducked away from Hippolytus, back in his human form, and arrived at Apollo's side. Frank heard him whisper a Greek incantation that he could very, very loosely understand as calling to the sun's power. The arrow grew bright enough that he had to cover his eyes when Apollo released it. Instead of an arrow, the projectile fired as a dense beam that Frank could only imagine felt like being hit by the compacted sun itself. His jaw dropped as the ray of light made contact with the giant's lulling head and eviscerated it, forcing Hippolytus' body to vanish.
"Man, it really would've been so awesome if you were my son instead," Apollo sighed as he patted Frank's back for a job well done.
The demigod's eyes widened at the casual Olympian before Apollo's expression became serious.
"I heard all of your prayers before you were claimed, Frank. I'm sorry I couldn't answer them the way you wanted," he started before his face returned to his signature grin, "and now Mars doesn't shut up about you, so I guess it all worked out well enough."
"Th-thank you, Lord Apollo," Frank stuttered.
"Come on, we just killed a super-giant together! Just Apollo," the god replied as they regrouped with Artemis and the other two demigods.
They all turned towards the black dome, ready to lay into it when they heard shouting accompanied by parting clouds. Hyperion roared from the back of the unmanned Celestial Bronze dragon, his glowing hands wrapped around its jaws and melting the metal figurehead. The dragon's eyes darkened as it rocketed into the ground. Leo and Calypso landed closely behind, both of their dragons heavily dented and dripping liquid bronze.
Hyperion tore himself out of the crash wreckage, excited to return and wreak havoc on the gods and demigods. But first, he turned to Leo, who was already running at him with his hands ablaze. The titan grinned as he raised his burning spear to intercept the boy. The fireballs Leo launched were laughed off by Hyperion as the titan absorbed them into his armor. The titan thrust his weapon but was stopped in his tracks by the force of a dozen arrows striking him.
He turned in the direction they'd come from, his vision catching a united line of gods and demigods for a split-second before arrowheads pierced his eyes and a spear jutted from his stomach. Leo released a stream of fire into the splintered armor of the titan, burning his skin, and Calypso threw a knife that buried itself in Hyperion's head. Only seconds more of the overwhelming onslaught rendered the screaming Titan of Light nothing.
Inside the dome, Percy knew he needed room to breathe or he'd die. The demigod's mind briefly cleared between blows of heaving pincers, and he remembered his abilities. Percy summoned his strength and thrust his arms out to the side. His bubble took shape around him, and the force of it forming threw Crota against the far side of the dome. Percy struggled to his feet, his hands on his knees as he tried to recover as best he could. The glow of his purple shield gave off almost no light, its aura being actively stifled by the dome.
He fixated on the feminine voice that he was certain he'd never heard before. Water, she'd said. Percy's mind raced at the enigma before the demigod could almost feel his synapses click into place. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on the only other entity in the darkness. In his mind, he imagined extending his senses in search of a water source. Within the dome, he should come up empty on anything traditional, instead identifying… Bingo.
A mental image took shape, the lucid form of a massive figure pulling itself upright. Percy silently thanked the unknown voice for his unearthed technique, and took another deep breath as he cautiously allowed his bubble to dissolve. Crota watched the barrier vanish and charged with a newfound fervor. The monster grinned menacingly when he saw the blind and brutalized demigod take a defensive stance, a wishful attempt to protect himself.
Crota unguardedly brought both pincers down from overhead, a heaving blow to end the fight, only to find Riptide buried to the hilt in his chest. The blade had run straight through his heart, the vital organ identified in Percy's mind by where the presence of water seemed densest. Black blood gushed from the lobster's wound and his mouth, choking him. Percy wrapped his hand around Crota's throat and dragged him to his knees as he stared murderously into where he knew the monster's eyes to be.
His free hand closed into a fist and shook alive with blue electricity. Percy's gaze didn't leave Crota as the light covering his hand burgeoned brighter. His arm grew heavy from the arcing power, and the blinding light shoved back the darkness to illuminate the pair. Percy got to see the anguish in Crota's eyes before the demigod gritted his teeth and swung his fist into the head of his mother's killer. The power released from the explosion left nothing to be salvaged and sent Percy flying back against the wall of darkness. A laugh boomed.
"Congratulations, insect; I had no expectation that you would survive the bout. Still, you will not survive the battle, regardless of the help you received from my traitorous niece," Erebus said.
Percy was badly battered, but the mention of Mnemosyne forced another burst of adrenaline through him. He bared his teeth at the overarching darkness.
"Where is she?!" he shouted.
The demigod thought she might have been the whispering voice, just disguised, but if Erebus had already known about her, Percy feared the worst. He'd never met the Titaness, but she was why Oceanus' deception had been uncovered, and she'd saved hundreds of lives by warning him about the invasion. He'd never be able to repay that, but he prayed for her safety before the primordial spoke again.
"I will leave her body behind as well as yours. Your paltry allies are outside straining themselves to breach my simple barrier. They will succeed soon enough, but it will not be fast enough to save you."
Percy steeled his nerves against the threat, and his hand drifted to the dagger at his belt. Behind him, he caught a blip in the darkness just a fraction lighter than its surroundings. Without Artemis' constant training, there was no chance he would've noticed, and the demigod figured it must be where his friends were consolidating their attack. Percy steeled his nerves. He unsheathed the Void Ether weapon and used his remaining strength to stab the spot in the darkness. The dome dissipated as Erebus roared, the power in his voice leaving cracks in the hill and throwing Percy against the earth.
"Mother gifted you a weapon…" he whispered, its volume still thunderous, before the primordial regained his arrogant tone, "As if even that would be enough. But you have surprised me, demigod. Enjoy your brief solace. Revel in your success with these spoils: a taste of what is to come for all who stand against me."
Erebus' malevolent presence vanished from the valley, and the place it'd been centered was replaced by a collapsed form. As Percy stood, he was immediately embraced less than softly by Thalia. He hugged her just as tightly before asking for her help to reach the new figure. Artemis appeared beside the pair and lifted Percy's other arm over her. The goddess wore a mixed expression, both thankful that he was alive and horrified at how badly he was bruised. Percy's face reflected hers when he saw the ichor flowing down her head.
"Oh gods, are you alright?" he asked as he caught his step.
The demigod righted himself and cupped the bleeding side of her face. Artemis held his wrist, and Percy closed his eyes. After a few moments of nothing, his hand began to softly glow orange. Healing was something Hestia would want him using his new powers for, instead of for the flaming hammers he figured they'd played a part in. Artemis' wound slowly closed, and the ichor disappeared from her face. Percy's forehead had suddenly erupted in sweat before his legs gave out and his hand dimmed.
Artemis caught him before he could fall, and she lifted his arm over her shoulder again. The goddess both adored and absolutely abhorred the fact that he'd strain himself like that to patch up a minor wound of hers or anyone else he cared about. Apollo raised an eyebrow at the scene, but he hustled towards the body at the top of the hill, followed closely by Frank and Reyna.
"Gods, you guys are so cute, but Apollo just saw that," Thalia whispered while supporting Percy's other arm.
"Let him see; he has no say in the matter," Artemis replied.
The group huddled around the figure that'd been left behind. Apollo knelt and quietly closed the terrified eyes that stared back at him. He turned to the rest of them before sadly confirming that it was Mnemosyne.
"She's dead."
A/N: I only planned to write 2,000 words for this fight but got a bit carried away, as you can tell, and doubled it into a full chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed! I wonder who the strange voice is. Also I have no idea if water is actually densest where the heart is, that may be something I just made up because it made sense to me. Anyways, thank you for reading and for all of the reviews so far :)
arata7kasuga: but this story isn't listed as a crossover?
Yes. I don't think I really pull enough from the other verse to list it as one, as the only extent is the three abilities that I've all shown. In my original story, Broken and Renewed, I rely much more on ideas from the Destiny verse and probably should've listed it as one. Please feel free to go read that one and see, thought I'm not sure why anyone would as it is comparatively not very well written or formatted, and the plot has deviated very heavily so there's no secrets or foreshadows about Divergent Path to be found in that one :)
Kyt Lestrange: Hello there! I'm so glad I found your story (Stumbled on it today )! I love what you have done thus far :) I wasn't aware that Pertemis was something readers and fans of the saga were looking for ? (Sorry if it seems silly of me to ask) Nonetheless I'm digging it :) Regarding the story as a whole, I find it to be in the continuity of the main books (PJATO & HOO) and kuddos for your job. I can't to read from you soon! Huge respects from a French reader. Kyt
Thank you so much for the incredibly kind review, I'm so glad you're liking the story. Pertemis might be the most popular ship in fanfiction behind Percabeth if I'm not wrong (I very easily could be). I don't really know what caused it to come about but I read my first fanfic when I was 11 or 12 and it was Pertemis, which was kind of why I was inspired to write my own. I would guess that that's what also caused so many other people to love reading/writing it.
PokemonAndPJOFanboy: Dude, that bit at the end reminds me of a scene in Thor Ragnarok, lol love it! So fire powers from Hestia? Either way you really know how to catch a reader's eye. Can't wait for the next one!
I loved this review because I know exactly what scene you're talking about and it's what I took inspiration from when writing that part. About the fire powers, I touched on it for a moment in this chapter but you'll have to wait and see for a little longer ;)
I wasn't able to get to everyone but I've PM'd a few of you directly regarding some questions you've asked. Thank you so much for asking, I'm always happy to clarify anything you need. See you guys next time and good luck for any of you that also have finals coming up.