Olympus was beautiful, that much was certain. But to Perseus, it couldn't hold a candle to Atlantis. A city of light, built with prismarine and quartz, shining as an emblem of the God of the Seas. And today, the city was in celebration, for its Crown Prince had returned for the first time in five years. King Poseidon declared a banquet to be held in honour of his eldest son's return.
Perseus felt strange wearing his ceremonial armour after all this time. For five years, he had worn the hellish black war armour, designed to protect him and enhance his own strength. The ceremonial armour wouldn't protect him from much of anything, it was made to look beautiful and nothing else. After inspecting himself in the mirror one last time, he made his way toward the throne room. Outside, his honour guard snapped to attention and followed close behind him. He hadn't needed a guard in a few hundred years, but it was a must as the Crown Prince of Atlantis. He paused outside the hall, taking a deep breath and fixing a small smile, before throwing open the doors and basking in the cheers of his people.
After many hours of conversing with various nobility, ocean gods, and several younger siblings of his (Perseus loved his father dearly, but even he had to admit Poseidon was a serial cheater), the demigod was exhausted. As the Crown Prince and celebrant of this banquet, he could not leave the hall, and so he sat down with his father, Amphitrite, and Triton. Dropping all formality, he leaned back in his seat, crossing his legs.
"How goes the war, Perseus?"
He groaned.
"Mortals, I tell you. Trust me, Amphitrite, as much as some of them are certainly intelligent, most of them serve naught but their own ambition. It's truly draining, especially when they unsubtly attempt to gain my favour, and therefore the favour of my father."
She chuckled, "Remember Perseus, they are children, all of them. They have lived for but a heartbeat, and as such, lack the perspective we do."
"What you say holds truth. That makes it no less frustrating."
Triton spoke up - "How long have you left the war for? What do you intend to do while you are here?"
"I plan to spend a month here. After that, I need to meet with the second-generation Olympians and some of the other Gods. It's been far too long." He glanced up. "Do not take that to mean you have escaped, little brother. Tomorrow I shall see how your training has progressed, or have you been slacking off in my absence?" Triton gulped.
They spoke, they laughed, and they made merry. For the next two hours, they caught him up on the state of affairs in Atlantis, and he spoke of the mortal world. During the debrief, Poseidon noticed something … his oldest son had something hung around his neck. He thought he recognized it... But it couldn't be... Could it?
"What is that around your neck, my boy?"
"Oh, this?" Perseus pulled out the scythe charm that he had taken to wearing as a necklace. "It was a gift from Thanatos! I met him during the war, he's been busy on the battlefield, and we began to speak. He has a tent close to my own, it's been lovely to have someone to speak to–" so engaged was he in his [insert word for passionate speech that is not harangue], that he completely lost track of time.
"–And he's taken to calling me Percy, which I must say, is quite nice. I really do like it, having another immortal to speak with during the war has been–"
Poseidon and Amphitrite shared a knowing look. Poseidon attempted to look innocuous as her gaze grew more pointed before he shook his head with a small smile and downed an entire glass of wine.
"Father! Are you alright? That was so sudden!"
"Don't you worry about it, my son. I'm glad you've had someone to speak with, although I must say, you describe him as having a disposition far different from what I'd have expected from the God of Death. I'd have thought he'd be more like my dreary brother."
"Well, he's always been quite pleasant with me!"
"I'm glad. It is getting quite late. I'm certain you'd like to get some rest after today. Your bedchambers are ready."
"Thank you, Father. It'll be nice to have a solid roof over my head again, after so long under a tent."
Triton groaned from the floor of the arena, Perseus' foot firmly on his head once more.
"You can't find a middle ground. You're either too aggressive or too passive. You fail to make use of openings when I present them to you in one spar, and the next, you run at me with nothing more than reckless abandon! You need balance, brother.
The younger Atlantean Prince grumbled, shaking his brother off before sitting on the floor of the arena.
"You're a bully, you know that right?"
"Only to you."
"When will you be leaving?"
"Soon. Likely around midday. I'm overdue for a meeting with Athena. I will be on Olympus for a short while, and then I must return to the war."
"Why do you even bother with the mortals? Does the outcome of the war even matter? Give it a hundred years, and both kingdoms will be ash."
"Perhaps, brother. I don't disagree. The outcome of the war itself is not what concerns me. But the walls of Troy. That I cannot allow to remain standing. They were built by the hands of a God. Even if Troy fails, the walls will not. Not unless I do something about it. No matter how much Father pleaded, Zeus would not let us take our armies to the walls. I begged him to let me do it myself. We were denied. Not this time. I swear it to you now, once the time the fates decreed has passed, those walls will burn."
"And how much of that time is left, brother?"
"Five years. Five more years and I will be done."
Triton was silent for a moment, before extending his arm, which Perseus grasped.
"You can visit us more often, you know. The mortals can babysit themselves."
"I'll make an effort."
"I expect you to."
Gathering his possessions, Perseus prepared to leave for Olympus. He had much to do in his limited time away from the war. The first of those things was to knock Ares down a peg.
Since the war had begun, Ares' power had grown exponentially. And his head had grown along with it. Athena had been lamenting in her letters to him, how Ares would strut around Olympus, and challenge anyone who glanced at him for a mere second too long to a duel.
After a brief moment's focus, He found himself standing in one of the pools of Olympus.
He stepped out, tossing greetings to the various gods, nymphs, and immortals he came across as he walked toward the arena.
He could hear the sounds of combat, even from a distance. The roar of the crowd, and the booming laughter of the War God. He entered, and stood to the side, watching as Ares slapped his two sons, Phobos and Deimos, around the arena.
Born just barely before the war to Ares and Aphrodite, they too were War Gods, but still young, and would never be equal to their father. But with the ongoing war strengthening Ares, and the two being nothing more than children? Calling it a fight would be generous.
As Deimos fell to the ground near his brother, blood trickling from his head, Ares raised his spear and cheered
"Next! Who else shall try to fight me? None can best me, the God of War, on the fields of combat!"
Sighing, Perseus dropped his sack and leaped down into the arena.
"It seems you have forgotten that not so long ago, you were a child too, Ares."
The War God whipped around. For a bare moment, there was a flicker of fear on his face, replaced instantly with bloodlust.
"Perseus! You arrived on Olympus! See me now, you who once trained me in the blade! See my power!"
"And your arrogance."
Another booming laugh. "Arrogance? It is truth! I am the greatest warrior that lives!"
"Let us test your theory, child. Raise your blade, let us see if you remember what I taught you."
His eyes glowing red with a truly feral type of madness, Ares charged at Perseus, his massive blade nearly dragging on the ground. He had certainly gotten faster. Yet still not enough.
Sidestepping to the right, Perseus avoided the downward crash of the massive sword, and shot out with his blade, moving it in a fluid arc towards Ares' chest. The War God heaved backward, taking a nick to the chest as he ripped his blade free from the floor, sending chunks of marble flying. The spectators in the arena roared, the sounds flooding both combatants with adrenaline.
Ares swung wildly, his blade cleaving through the air at Perseus, who deftly ducked and dodged around it, observing his opponent.
Ares had changed. He was stronger, faster, bigger even. But that had made him careless.
He waited for Ares to swing again, and when he did, Perseus dove under his guard, driving his blade right into the war god's gut.
A shower of golden blood rained down the wall behind them, and screams of both fear and delight rang out from the audience. Perseus still leaned onto his blade, pressing it further into the God's insides, eliciting a small groan. He wasn't expecting Ares to roar, throwing back Perseus who nearly slammed into the wall as Ares stood, seemingly ignoring the blade hilt deep in his abdomen.
Swearing under his breath, Perseus summoned the aforementioned blade back to his hand, flicking it once to remove the golden blood coating it, before facing the Warmonger charging at him with his own blade swinging. He raised his blade in turn, using both arms to block the might of the blade crashing into him. He heard a small pop and grunted as he felt his arm jut out in a strange angle. He ducked under, allowing the momentum to carry him forward, and driving his blade into Ares' back, splattering more blood onto the floor. More cheers rang out from the crowd. Perseus grunted and continued forcing his blade forward, eliciting a yell of pain from Ares as his blade touched the arena floor.
"Yield!"
"Never! I am the God of-"
Perseus cut him off with a dagger leveraged against his throat.
"I've taught you this before, boy! There is always someone stronger. Know when you are beaten, and show humility! Destroy your pride, that you may fight another day!"
Ares Roared in frustration, but the fight had left his eyes. His head drooped, and he dropped his arms to his sides.
Breathing heavily, Perseus Pulled his blade from Ares' back with a slippery shllick, and knelt near his defeated pupil. The crowd still cheered, roaring their approval. Waving a hand towards his bag, he pulled it towards him with a gentle stream of water. He reached inside and withdrew a large chunk of Ambrosia, and a flask of nectar. He broke the food of the gods, taking a bite of it for himself, and handing the rest to the bleeding god. He sighed in satisfaction as his aching ribs healed, taking a sip of nectar, as Ares recovered.
"How?"
"What?"
"How is it that, even now, at the peak of my strength, I cannot defeat you? You are a mortal!"
"And therein lies the reason you fail to defeat me. You and every other god. You all still see me as nothing more than a mortal. Granted, you may be right. But I am a mortal who has lived and fought longer than you, or any other god, spare the children of Kronos. You all forget that. Remember boy. Always assume your opponent is more powerful than you, and that defeat means death. This is how you achieve victory. Power can take you so far, but your mind is what decides the end of a battle."
Ares was silent. He nodded.
"Pride has always been your weakness, Ares. If you did not have it, you would be the greatest warrior ever seen. You still have plenty to learn. Are you willing to?" He extended his hand to the kneeling war god. With a flame in his eyes, Ares took it.
A/N
Yea, so it's been a while.
MY bad about that. Started at a new college, moved into a new dorm, had three mental breakdowns, your usual stuff. I have a good amount of stuff written up, and I will post them soon, I promise. I just need to find the time to edit them.
Other notes: I'm a little stuck on the last of the seas to tell the truth. I just need to get past the first few bits and It'll be smooth sailing from there on in.
IMPORTANT: I have been considering writing a third crossover, with a franchise I really like, Warhammer: Vermintide. The problem being I doubt too many of ya'll are into that so do lmk if you'd be interested in reading that or if it should never see the light of day. At any rate, that's all from me. Signing off.
