Thanks for the positive feedback on last chapter, glad you all enjoyed it and didn't expect the Levi reveal. Guess I did a decent job of making his identity mysterious.
Let's respond to some reviews. If you hate this part, skip it. Only takes a scroll.
darkwalker11:"great chapter! this was by far my favorite chapter in the whole book."
Response: Thanks. Really glad you enjoy the story. Stick around, because I've only just begun!
Guest: "I meant tiny Matt as in chronologically Matt would be like 5 years younger than Zane since he's Percy's age."
Response: That...makes more sense. Wow, you blew my mind lol. You are right, if Zane existed in my storyline he would be eighteen like Percy, three years older than Matt. Considering he's thirteen in that story right now, and is very powerful...can't imagine him as eighteen. Either way, a crossover will come, just not yet.
NiHaR OP: "Wow a great chapter dude Levi being the cloaked man had once come into my mind but i dismissed it because he killed his father then. Which is true now. Ik that big four are strong but personally i dont think Percy should have been defeated so easily Im kinda one of those OP percy story lovers heh. Overall great chapter and my man Talon is back! I think Zeus will show in just the nick of time or maybe Zeus will be defeated and we'll get the sequel"
Response: Thanks for your thoughts, really glad you reviewed. About Percy, I won't make him a weakling, I love him and nerfing him is not part of my plan at all. I matched him up with Axel because of the whole lava vs water thing. Percy was dazed, but he'll come back this chapter. Also, glad you like Talon, he is pretty awesome.
thesuperone342: "Holy Shit, this was fucking good. I honestly didn't see the Levi reveal coming, even though I really should have lol. I'm stoked for Talon's return and what he's going to do in the upcoming fight."
Response: Thanks bro, glad I kept it somewhat secretive. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except the OC's) Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes Of Olympus, or Trials Of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.
Enough with the reviews, as much as I love responding to them, we got a battle to witness. And oh boy, is it gonna be good. Giving my all on this chapter, hope it shows.
On with the nineteenth chapter. Where you at Zeus?
19. All Chaos Breaks Loose
Chaos.
Pure unrestricted pandemonium.
Words can't describe the fight that broke out the moment Talon returned to help. But I'll try.
Immediately after I greeted our friend, everything hit the fan. Harper took her chance at a distracted Levi and picked up her knives, knocking him back with great speed, their battle resuming in a blur of blades. Percy took Axel's distraction to his benefit and broke free from his grip, summoning water from a stream below and knocking the Son of Hephaestus on his butt, Riptide in his hand again, he began to fight Axel. As for Annabeth, she knocked Grayson's sword in a recoil and began to overwhelm even him. I guess his future seeing powers were stunned. Cherry tried to intervene and incapacitate everyone, but Talon was having none of it. He shot quick rounds all around her, trapping her, and locking her in a glare. Then the assassin smiled, and the bullets exploded from the ground, the impact blowing the fast daughter of Hermes in the air and face first into the sand with a painful groan.
Ouranos was struggling against a tree, wincing and holding his hand to his head, Malachi probably struggling within, trying to buy us time.
I needed to be quick, I got up and went to Talon.
I clapped him on the shoulder, "Good to have you back, man. We almost died! What made you change your mind?"
He reloaded his gun with impressive accuracy, "Knew you guys would screw up, had to help out. Even if this place sucks."
I knew something had happened in his time away and he wouldn't admit it, but the fact he came to help meant everything, I decided not to push any further.
"Thanks, Talon. Seriously."
He smirked, not looking at me, "Yeah well, don't get all sentimental on me. You've got people to save. You'd better do it now while sky geezer is distracted." In an instant his face became alert, watching in front of him like a hawk, then in another instant, he created a giant shield, planting it firmly in front of him, a loud GONG could be heard on the front, a yelp followed.
Talon removed the shield to reveal Cherry on the ground. Years of training had allowed him to anticipate how she would attack. To say Talon didn't even the odds, would be insane.
He smashed his shield onto her body, she tried to push off, but he was physically stronger.
He looked at me, his face serious, "What the hell are you standing there for? GO! FREE THEM!"
I nodded, preparing to sprint down the hill.
A booming voice stopped me though, "NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT!" I turned and saw Mala-no, Ouranos seething, his face full of rage.
"You are dead, Son of Hercules." He growled simply, and I braced myself. With a flash, he appeared in front of me in a pounce, I felt his body slam into me, forcing us in a long tumble down the hill. We had left the rock platform completely and were now rolling across hundreds of feet of sand and grass down the steep hill. Occasionally slamming into trees, hitting bushes, mounds of sand, it didn't matter, we continued to struggle in our roll, Ouranos attempting to choke me and gouge my eyes out, and my strength barely holding him off.
Finally after a solid half minute we came to flat area of green grass and canopies of forest. Not two seconds after we made contact with this new flat area, I took my chance and poured strength into my legs, stabbing them into his stomach, I pushed him off of me and he flew straight into a tree, the impact obliterating it into pieces, the sky primordial skidded a few more feet, then kipped up, dusting his hands off casually. I got up too, unsheathed my necklace spear, and prepared for probably pointless combat.
He had a smirk on his face, witnessing my fighting stance. "My my, it appears you have gotten stronger, if only a little." Then he set his hands at his sides, tiny bolts of electricity crackling around them, the sky got even grayer, the wind picked up to the point of hurricane level. Trees blew wildly, blades of grass were pulled from the ground, I was barely standing upright. Thankful my hair was pretty short, because if it wasn't, it would probably be ripped out by this crazy wind.
"But a mere demigod cannot stand to me. You may be the offspring of the greatest hero in history, but I am OURANOS!" Thunder boomed at his name, a sound similar to one hundred cannons firing at once, commanding ultimate power. "I am a Primordial. The god of the sky, the grandfather of Zeus, the father of Kronos, the son of Chaos. I am one of the first beings in existence, I am the air that surrounds you, I am the storms in the sky, I AM THE SKY ITSELF! WHO ARE YOU TO CHALLENGE ME?!" With a terrifying laugh, he raised his hand, a lightning bolt met it with a flash and disappeared just as quickly, leaving the Heavenly Diamond Spear in his grip. The blade twisted my very soul, like a black hole, or a vortex, it threatened to suck me in it's void, it's very presence gave me chills, I felt a stinging sensation on my body, like a burning.
I was in terrified awe, I made no attempt at his aura, for fear that it would cause me to combust. I simply stood there, in front of the being I had to fight.
He is not himself. He is in another's body. A voice said, gruff and rugged...Zeus?
No, this was...my father.
I took his words and processed them. He was right, Ouranos wasn't himself, he couldn't use his full power, Malachi was struggling every moment. Even the slightest pained expressions gave that away. I managed to calm myself, and planted the butt of my spear on the ground, holding it like a staff.
"You're not at full power, Ouranos. You're in Malachi's body." I decided to stall, remembering Zeus' deal. I prayed that he would show up after all.
Anytime now, grandpa.
I continued, "How does that work anyway? In my visions, I saw you as a storm cloud. So how were you in Malachi's body?"
He chuckled at the question, I honestly thought he wouldn't answer it, but he did, and said, "I influenced him after those visions. You see, at that time Typhon was the only one in his head, and I thought things were fine. Then he started to struggle, and nearly broke free from his influence, threatening to break the link. Well I had to take action, and that was when I partially posessed my son, putting all of that to bed."
"But it's not. He's still struggling, I can tell."
"It matters not. I am more than powerful enough to get rid of you." He hefted the deadly giant spear and began to step, but at that moment, I felt reinvigorated, a calm wave over me, like I had been relieved of all stress. I knew what to do, I had to let my rage work for me.
That's it...use it, feel it through your body, the voice said again.
I was enveloped in a glow of red aura, only this time...it didn't hurt. I felt no heat in my stomach, I felt no throbbing in my bones, the steam still emerged, but my skin looked fine. The only red thing was the glowing outline, seemingly brighter than ever.
Ouranos must have been surprised, because his eyes were wide.
I didn't know what this was, but I was going to use it until Zeus showed up. This may be my only chance. And hell, Zeus may not show up at all.
I felt my power spike to insane levels, levels that I had never achieved before. I felt my muscle mass increase, my shoulders broaden, the energy in my body was enough to sink this island in one hit, maybe even the whole country...nah screw that, my power right now could allow me to destroy this entire world, and defeat insane opponents. I felt like I could lift Atlas' burden with ease. This was help from my dad, no doubt, he was giving me some of his strength. I hated that it was this way, but I had no choice, I needed a way to damage this guy enough to gain time and free Sera.
I vowed to get stronger on my own. Every day I would train, try out new things, push my limits, train the red aura even. I didn't know how I would do it, I guess I could think about something that made me angry.
Ouranos knew what had happened and began to appear a little nervous.
"What's the matter? Worried?" I said.
"A little power up is nothing. You are still weak!" With that, we both yelled primal shouts and charged each other. The following sequence was unreal. It was like I was a different person. I jabbed and swiped my shark tooth spear with insane skill, every swipe was strong and efficient, sending wind surges to the directions they were thrown, every stab sent shockwaves for a mile each time, uprooting mountains of dirt and splitting the sea hundreds of feet. Woah, just how strong was I right now?
Apparently not enough, because Ouranos dodged my attacks, not even parrying with his spear. He was sweating though, strain on his face from my speed and accuracy. Finally I caught him, I stabbed at his head, causing him to dodge right in my knee line. I kicked the spear out of his hands, landing on the ground with a hiss, disintegrating some sand around it. I then kneed him in the gut, resulting in a painful groan. Firmly I grabbed his head and threw him to the ground with a crash, an asteroid sized crater emerging under him from the impact. I got on top of him, hating that I would damage Malachi, hopefully we could fix him later. I brought my fists down on his face several times, the red glow connecting with his forehead, jaw, cheek, you name it, I punched it. Golden blood leaked from his nose, his face cut from my knuckles, also releasing a lot of blood. I must have landed twenty hits directly to his face, large craters resulting from each one, this part of the island now sinking, we were about to be underwater. Finally, he stopped me by catching my fists in his hands, we struggled, and I could feel myself nearly overwhelming him, my aura glowing even brighter, the steam becoming less and less, Ouranos face conveyed effort, and he growled deep as I fought his strength.
After a few seconds, I decided to hell with it, and headbutted him, another crater forming, he shouted and a lightning bolt arced down from the gray sky, a large blue line connected with my back, sending me flying into a few trees, all of them obliderated.
I lay on the ground, expecting the worst pain of my life...but no, nothing came. I was sure that I was dead, because the red aura sacrificed durability for strength, so that lightning bolt should have hurt.
But I felt no pain, only the impact of it, like a sumo wrestler jumping on my back. It was intense, but no pain resulted from it. I stood up, gripped my spear, ready to continue.
Ouranos was also up, his eyes wide.
"You should not have survived that. How did you survive that?!"
"Scared?" I mused dangerously.
He roared and another lightning bolt came from the sky, enveloping him in a glow of blue, then disappeared. My jaw nearly dropped at what he had done. His bloody face was now perfectly clean, every cut and drop of blood gone. He had healed himself, or rather healed Malachi's body. At this rate, it didn't matter what boost I got...I was toast.
"This is only just beginning, demigod. You have chosen a fight you cannot win! Not even with daddy's help!" He instantly appeared in front of me, a move that I somehow saw coming far quicker than I normally would have. He had his spear in hand now, and brought it down in a deadly glint of diamond at my own spear. I brought it up to block, and they collided, a giant shockwave was sent across a mile worth of area, any trees left standing were blown away in the water, the sea around us was sent flying like ten whales had jumped in the same spot. We had sunk this part of the island, as I noticed thousands of gallons of water pouring in our deep crater.
Ouranos noticed, and smiled wickedly. "What's the matter, Matthias? Can't handle a little water?" He laughed, a scary sound, echoing across the Island. "MAYBE POSEIDON WILL HELP YOU TOO!" He threw his hands out, a burst of godly energy erupted from him, the crater got bigger, the entire foreseeable Island was destroyed. It was a freaking big Island, but I still wasn't sure how far that reached, I hoped my friends were okay.
The crater boomed wider and water gushed in, completely wrapping around us with tons of force. I floated firm though, and he did too, still in a standoff, only underwater now.
We couldn't speak, so we just zoomed at each other, instantly appearing in the middle, clashing. The force of this clash blowing away rocks and plants, I could feel his strength was weaker. Him having sky as his domain, and not being at full power, he was weaker underwater. I used this to my advantage and unleashed a flurry of spear strikes, all with more skill than I could have managed normally, each one connecting with his spear. I noticed that mine was cracked from the block earlier. The shark tooth had a large zigzag line in the middle, the handle too. I got even angrier, I loved this spear, and his stupid one was so dangerous, it had nearly destroyed mine.
My anger made me no less strong, instead it seemed to only add to my new power. I finally kicked his spear away from him and stabbed him in the leg with mine, a mix of golden and red blood floating in mass around us. His face went dark red, not able to howl in pain. I brought my hands to his head and forced it on my knee, his nose connecting with it brutally. I attempted a right hook, only to be blocked and met with a kick to the kidney, feeling no pain, I grabbed his leg and slung him into an underwater cave the size of what I imagined Atlantis would look like. He crashed through an opening, leaving a trail of blood.
I was in absolute awe at my boosted strength. It was unbelievable. Had I been like this the whole quest, I could have defeated all of those monsters in one blow! I had so much energy right now, so much power, I could even fight gods. Not the Big three of course, but if Ares or Dionysus confronted me right now...they would not win.
Don't get big headed! This is temporary! You are using my strength! DON'T WASTE IT!
It was my father's voice in my head.
Father?
YES! NOW ATTACK HIM!
I obeyed. The strength of a god, the strength of the literal god of strength, the strongest hero. Even though it was help, I couldn't help but smile at my new insane power, albeit it temporary, I was actually winning against Ouranos right now.
I threw myself at the cave with Mach speed, the impact destroying the palace sized structure. Mounds of rubble and rock burst around me in quantities of millions, that's how big it was, and I had obliderated it with a simple bash. I looked and looked, finally catching Ouranos floating on his back. I immediately dove at him downward, the increasing depth darkening my vision a little, but nothing that hindered me.
With a loud boom that echoed across miles of underwater sea, I formed a pencil with my legs and stabbed him with both feet, causing his stomach to crumple and blood to emerge from his mouth, a second later, he soared and impacted the ocean floor, immediately going through it for miles, I'm talking miles. The ground crumbled and dozens of cracks formed as he disappeared from sight. I needed to keep going, the lower he is to the earth, the weaker he gets. That was how Kronos killed him, by dragging him from his domain.
I noticed my lungs had tightened for a while now, and were screaming for air. I needed to get some. With a BANG I zoomed from the ocean floor and within seconds, burst onto the surface, inhaling as much oxygen as possible. I heard faint gunshots and clangs even from over here. They were really fighting over there, and that gave me relief, at least my friends were still alive.
Finally when I had enough air to suffice, I dove back down, but to my surprise was met with Ouranos, I was too late to react as his head made brutal contact with my sternum. I felt a small sting there and we both flew from the water and into the sky.
I flailed at seven hundred feet, he used wind to push himself higher. His spear now in hand again, his eyes glowed blue, the gray clouds swirled above him, lightning flashing in them rapidly, thunder roaring.
"I'll end it with this! Experience a full powered bolt from Ouranos, and say goodbye to this world!" He raised his spear, the largest bolt of blue and white lightning hit the tip and he pointed at me quickly, the arc of light shot at me like a jet. I had not even a fraction of a second to react, but I did, and let my instincts take over. I brought my spear in front of me, and braced myself.
The lightning and wind pushed me to the Island's ground in an instant, the crash booming in my ears as I lay on the sunken sand. I felt a burning and throbbing on my chest, and...nothing in my hand.
I looked around, a sting shooting up my body. My spear...it was gone.
Atomized by the lightning bolt.
I looked at my hands, and saw two thick black streaks. Where it had disintegrated, saving me.
I slumped to the ground. No.
"NOOOOOOO!" I shouted angrily. The spear I had since I was seven years old. Coming from the very first monster I killed, gone. It had saved my life from Ouranos' full powered attack.
Ouranos himself floated above me, a hundred feet high. His face conveyed disbelief.
"H-How are you still alive?! That was as much power as I could manage in this body without Typhon! YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!"
I got up, the throb still there, but the red glow bright as ever, the steam now non existent. I knew I only had one last strike left, I could feel my father's energy growing weaker, he was pouring a lot of strength in me right now, my own anger just adding on to it. This last punch would do it, I would rip Ouranos from Malachi's body.
"You...BROKE MY SPEAR! YOU BASTARD!" I yelled in rage. The ground shaking from my power, waves forming in the water, I was condensing it, shaking my body, my fists clenched, the air gaining tension.
Ouranos yelled back, equally angry, "JUST DIE ALREADY! YOU PERSISTENT BRAT!" He roared a long guttural war cry and the wind became unstoppable, the sky as gray as it could get, the clouds swirled rapidly around him, soon forming a tornado, hundreds of feet in length, the wind sucking gallons of water, and pieces of nearby Islands, everything surrounded it, it coiled with power, lightning burst from it in all directions.
We were both about to destroy this entire part of the sea. His tornado soon became a full sized Hurricane, and my earth rumbling was shaking the entire Island. No...it was shaking the sea. I looked around and saw miles upon miles of ocean shaking rapidly, debris and remains floating to the top from the ocean floor, other Islands threated to collapse, cliffs cracked and crumbled from it, the water crashed wildly as we both condensed our strength into a final blow.
With ferocity, I leapt at the Sky Primordial and his hurricane, the red aura around me like an avatar of war, my fists were above my head like I was going to smash him. He had his arms outstretched to the side, a look of rage on his face.
After what seemed like forever, we got close enough, and we unleashed.
How our clash didn't destroy the earth, I had no idea.
I brought down my fists in earth shattering might against his full sized hurricane and lightning bolts. All I felt was the impact and the blowback. It was like a nuke had went off, I was pushed instantly away and soared hundreds of feet, all particles in the hurricane were sent in every direction, some the size of a rock, some the size of an eighteen wheeler. The shockwave that emerged seriously could have destroyed the planet. How it only managed to destroy a few islands and shake the sea for ten miles, I had no clue, because for a split second I was forced to sense our auras, and luckily I didn't combust, but what I felt made me want to. Our auras were beyond comprehension, they surpassed Artemis and Apollo in their fight in my vision. Meaning...my aura right now had surpassed an Olympian's.
I clapped my hands behind me, the last bit of strength slowing my zoom. I soared for a minute and finally landed yet again, on the Cursed Island. Closer to the rock platform this time, where the island hadn't sunk yet.
The red glow still stayed, I guess father had some left in his tank for a few more minutes. I got up, no serious pain yet, just some intense throbbing. I laughed despite my situation. With my red glow, increased muscle mass, and inside throbbing, I was reminded of a show I used to watch called Dragon Ball Z. A great show, and the main character had a powerup that allowed him to multiply his strength and speed, creating a red glow and increasing his muscle size, but every time he went further, his body hurt more. Man, that brought back memories. His situation was a little like mine, only I wasn't fighting a giant Saiyan ape, I was fighting Ouranos.
Scratch that, no longer Ouranos. Typhon had taken over.
In front of me, the avatar of Typhon became clear, his enormous form grew to the height of the sky, his body surrounded by smoke and thousands of monster heads. Each limb was covered from top to bottom with scales, heads, fur, all kinds of terrifying stuff, and all the size of an airplane. His big toe alone could crush the Island, that's how big he was. And that's what was in front of me. I looked up, squinting to see Malachi in the middle of Typhon hundreds and hundreds of feet up. It was a transparent yellowish core, holding Ouranos and Malachi's body comfortably. Whatever move he made, Typhon made.
This was not good. I could fight him normally and maybe win with my Hercules boost. But this? Forget about it. I may be more powerful than either Artemis or Apollo right now, but compared to Typhon, I was an ant. I had no idea if Typhon could transfer his full power to Malachi's avatar. If he could...oh man, I was so screwed.
The Father of All Monsters let out a city shaking rumble. The ground shook at that, causing me to nearly stumble. Oh gods, just his voice shook the ground with equal ferocity as I had been powering up. I needed Zeus, immediately.
ZEUS! FORGIVE ME FOR SHOUTING, BUT TYPHON, HELP NOW!
I was stumbling over my own thoughts. I tried again, TYPHON IS HERE! NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO ROLL UP WITH YOUR MASTER BOLT!
The next noise was too loud for me to even register a response. I felt the wind shift and churn at the speed of a hurricane. Typhon had reared his fist back, and was about to smash this Island to bits, no...the whole sea to bits.
I fell and skidded some due to the sheer force of his wind, but got up and firmly planted my feet to the ground. A stupid move, but was it? I mean, each of his fingers were the size of the Empire State Building. It wasn't like I could run anywhere. So what did I decide to do? I decided to block it.
That's right, you read that correctly, I decided to block a punch from Typhon. The monster that even the gods had trouble defeating.
Extremely dumb, but hey, that's me. If my damn grandfather wasn't going to show up soon, then I would give my life to keep my friends from dying.
One last bit of strength father, please.
The gruff voice returned, Now you've lost it. It's Typhon, boy! And he's nearly at full power!
Oh shit. How exactly near full power are we talking?
Eighty five percent boy! A blow from him could destroy the very stars above! Even my father had to use his full strength to kill him eons ago! My strength cannot stop his punch!
Yes it can. I replied firmly. One blow, and that's all, I just need to keep stalling for Zeus!
HE WON'T COME! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND! HE-
SHUT UP!
His voice went silent.
HE MIGHT NOT! BUT I HAVE TO TRY! Typhon's colossal fist was coming down like a meteor, slowly but surely. If I was going to block this, it would be my greatest feat yet, even with the Hercules boost...this would be stopping millions, perhaps billions of tons of force.
I HAVE TO TRY FATHER! BECAUSE THAT IS WHO I AM! I AM YOUR SON! I AM A HERO!
I yelled in defiance, my voice booming almost as loud as Typhon's roar. His fist came down further, the red glow as bright as a miniature sun now, every bit of strength in my body poured into my arms as I held them out as high as I could above me. The giant fist of the great beast finally came down, the wind and force immense, threatening to atomize me, but I stood firm, prepared to die on impact if I must.
Finally, the moment came. The feeling, I will never accurately be able to describe, but maybe I can give you an idea.
Imagine the absolute greatest force in the world meeting your hands in an instant, not stopping, only getting worse. That's what this was.
His fists and my hands met in a clash, part of his hand sank into the sea, and the sides of it on the edges of the Island, but the main part remained uncrushed, thanks to me. I had my fists in the center of his middle finger, the force unlike anything I would ever feel again. If Atlas' burden was heavy, this was impossible.
As soon as we made contact, I was met with millions of tons of force. I knew it, because I compared it to the one hundred thousand ton bench I did at the Paradise Inn. This made that seem like a feather. The force against my block now, was thousands of times, no hundreds of thousands time worse than that. I felt my arms sting and get hot, they trembled, barely remaining intact. I yelled and roared in agony, my face full of strain, I didn't dare breath, I just kept it in, and held off the beast for now. After a second, I felt his fist stop, no important part of the Island destroyed, I had stopped his blow. I could feel it trying to push against me hard, feeling his immeasurable aura, he was using that eighty five percent, and I was holding it at bay.
I had blocked a near full powered punch from Typhon.
Son of a bitch, I was powerful right now.
But it wouldn't last. This boost was coming to an end, and when it did, I doubted I would have even enough energy to free Sera and Hera. Trying not to focus on that, and instead on keeping my body in one piece, I roared, and poured every ounce of strength into a push. To my utter surprise, his fist was shoved back several feet, giving me an open window for distraction. While I had it, I might as well attempt at a tiny bit of damage.
I leapt into the air and soared over Typhon's foot, his big toe bigger than the entire Island. I roared and focused my energy into a precision like straight line. I can't describe it, but it was like I was condensing the red aura to form a sharp, straight line, like a blade. I came down and with the last bit of my father's given strength, sliced off Typhon's toe.
I was in awe at what I had done. Typhon roared in annoyance and slight pain, his big toe separated from his foot after a moment's delay, the cut sinking down straight through, blood flew everywhere, gallons and gallons of it mixed with the upturned wave mountains as they mixed. After a second, after I had landed, half of the toe sank into the ocean, the other half bleeding profusely, a Niagara falls of blood emerging from it's stump, peeking from the blue water.
I felt all energy drain from me, the red glow went away, my muscles sunk down to their normal mass, I slumped on my knees in exhaustion, looking at the Monster, his head shifted slightly to look at the tiny damage I had dealt. He now had only four toes on the left foot, I also thought that was weird, that he had only five toes like a human. I figured he would have seven of them or something.
Either way I had cut one clean off, I had dealt a little damage to the Father of All Monsters. I was in utter shock at that.
He roared, the sound like ten sonic booms at once, I covered my ears, and once the energy and noise faded, I felt my eyes get droopy, my insides feel weak, I looked up to see the monster glaring at me with it's giant red eyes. This was it.
Despite myself, I smiled lazily. I had done pretty well for a mere demigod.
I knew I was going to die for sure this time. No friends or Harper to gaze at, just the Avatar of Typhon. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.
Typhon hefted his fist again, ready to deliver another blow, and this time, I wouldn't be blocking it.
Everything changed though, the moment I saw a brilliant flash of wide blue light connect with the monster's chest, sending him stumbling back, blood pouring from the wound, Typhon roared in pain.
I suddenly felt an enormous aura. More powerful than even me with my boost, more powerful than any I'd felt. It was even greater than the Typhon that stood before me...I knew it could only be one.
Him.
He had finally come.
It took all of my effort just to turn around and face him. When I did, I couldn't be angry, I ended up smiling droopily.
Standing there. Was a tall, muscular man with long white hair and a beard of the same color reaching his chest. His eyes glowed blue and his hands crackled with energy, he wore a white toga, only half of it on his left arm, the golden outline of it shone beautifully in the faint sunlight. On his shoulder were metal armor, and on his wrist was a gauntlet of bronze color. The air around him seemed to bow, the skies seemed pretty sure of who to obey...and it was not Ouranos at the moment.
"Sorry I am late grandson. Traffic was horrible." Zeus said, then he glared at Typhon/Ouranos. "Is this who's been causing all of our problems?"
What do your parents do for a living?
Remember when you would maybe bring them to career day at school and they would talk about their job in front of your friends. Sometimes it would be cool, sometimes it would be lame.
Yeah, well if today's career day, let me give you a short rundown.
My father is Hercules. Former hero of the world, slayer of a thousand monsters, including the Nemean Lion and Hydra among other things. Now the god of strength, a main symbol of the struggle with monsters.
My grandfather is Zeus, the king of the greek gods, the strongest Olympian, the lord of the sky.
Enough said.
He walked over to me and helped me up, his hand touching mine nearly fried me. Typhon was roaring in pain and gripping at his now burnt chest.
"Grandfather, you came."
"Yes. I would have gotten here sooner, but this Island was harder to locate than I anticipated. You're clash gave me a clear signal though." He seemed to study me, like he was trying to figure something out, "Had I not intervened in time, your collision with Typhon would have destroyed this world."
I wasn't sure I had heard him right, "Huh?"
He nodded, "Oh yes. I was searching for this place to no avail, but when I felt two auras even greater than my godly children, I knew it was you two. How did you achieve such strength Matthias? If I had not dissipated the shockwave...it would have obliderated the Earth with ease."
I was in shock. So it would have destroyed the planet...but Zeus showed up in the nick of time to stop it. Wow, just how powerful was I in that form?
I had no time to focus on it, as Typhon was regaining his position.
"Lord, can you hold him off without killing him? I have to rescue Hera and Sera."
"Who is Sera?"
"Malachi's girlfriend. She's the only chance to return him to normal and separate Ouranos from his body."
He thought for a moment, his eyes fixated on the giant beast. "Where are your comrades?"
"Taking care of his forces."
He nodded, his eyes conveying something I couldn't tell, due to the blue electricity coiling within them.
Finally he responded, "Alright, go and rescue them. I shall distract him, without obliterating him."
"Thank you, grandfather."
He disappeared in a blue flash and reappeared in the sky, the gray clouds clinging to him, an enormous bolt of lightning in his hand, he threw it at Typhon and it connected again with his pointed ear, knocking it clean off. The monster howled with a ear splitting sound, and swiped at Zeus, who was weaving around in lightning bolts and clouds, sending powerful wind surges to distract Typhon.
I knew what I had to do, I had to find that cavern. I immediately pushed myself past the exhaustion I was feeling and ran away from the shore and into the forest. The trees and green canopies now gone from our fight. It was good, because it left a clear opening for any sign of cave entrances. I ran at normal human speed due to my fatigue and pain, searching desperately for any crack or hole in a mound of rock, to no avail after five minutes.
I scowled in frustration. Where could it be? Think, Matt, think, where was it in your vision? I racked my brain, trying to remember what I saw. It was on a sandy, slightly grassy cliff. Cliff! That was it, it wasn't at this part of the Island, this was flat. So it had to be above!
I jumped with the little strength I had left and emerged at a measly thirty feet high, but it was barely enough. I took the few seconds I had and searched for anything, turning my head like a sprinkler, my eyes squinting to see better, but it was too short. I landed on the ground with a crash, and jumped again after catching my breath. I ended up in the same spot, and looked in places I had missed. Finally, to my right, I saw a mountain like structure, a sandy platform in front of it, I had to go there, it was worth a shot.
I landed on the ground again, where I had to go memorized, I ran towards it. Hearing shouts from the other end of the Island, my friends and the Big Four fighting, still alive thankfully. I could hear thunder booming and the shockwaves of Zeus vs Typhon, but I ignored that, I had to keep going.
Finally after several minutes, I reached the top of the cliff, and with relief, I noticed the entrance to the cave in my vision. I had found it. The opening was definitely wide and revealed a black screen of darkness. I went in quickly, bumping into rocks and other things, but pushing on, remembering the path Levi took, I felt my way through the short maze, and at last, saw a faint white light ahead.
It illuminated the cavern around me a little, and it was peeking through a small opening that you had to crawl through. I dove under it and was greeted with two figures.
The cavern first of all was incredible. It glimmered with precious gems and metals dangling from the roof, a thin streams of water flowed gently all around like veins on an arm, only the arm was the smooth, rocky floor. To my left was Hera, on her knees, thankfully dressed in a sandy white dress and not naked. She was illuminating the area like a night light, giving me a way to see. She had a gag over her mouth. Her eyes widened when she saw me. I looked to my right and saw a pile of white rock on the floor, jagged spikes of ice surrounding a large transparent cube of cold, snowy, ice. Inside the center was the girl I had seen.
She was beautiful, and about the same height as Harper, but that's where the similarities ended. She looked like she was fifteen or sixteen, but I remembered Talon saying she was the same age as Malachi, so she was actually twenty. Her skin was a perfect mix of pale and tan, smooth looking like the softest fabric in the world. She wore a blue short dress with a thin rope tied around the waist, classic greek sandals, and a silver necklace around her neck. Her face was that of a princess; royal, beautiful, and innocent. Her hair was literally white as snow, and all natural, not dyed that way. It was tied in a long braid frozen over her shoulder and coming down all the way below her chest, held together by thin bronze bindings.
I couldn't believe it, I was standing in front of the Sera I had heard so much about, and she lived up to everything I heard. She appeared so young, but also...ancient. The way she was dressed and her style of beauty, she looked like Ancient Greek royalty. I could see why Malachi loved her.
I needed to free her.
I reared my fist back and smashed it against the ice. It cracked a little, but I was blown on my rear with a thud. Embarrassed, I got up quickly and clapped my hands together, but only a small wind gust emerged from it and did nothing to the ice. I was so drained from my fight with Ouranos, I couldn't even free Sera.
The whole time Hera was making noise under her gag behind me, I figured to tell me how pathetic I was. But after a few seconds, it sounded like she was desperate, so I walked over and freed her first. Taking the gag out and taking apart the celestial bronze chains.
She coughed and fell on her hands, catching her breath. She finally looked up with a pained expression. "You've finally come. I knew you would, Matthias."
"Great way of letting me know. Sending me on a long quest like that, placing a death curse on me."
She raised her hand, I felt no different, but I saw a white glow glimmer from her fingertips, and then it disappeared. She put her hand down and pursed her lips.
"There, it's gone. I am sorry I had to be extreme, boy. But you are here, are you not? Isn't that all that matters?"
I couldn't stay bitter, I was too tired to care, so I just sighed and nodded.
"We need to free her." I said, looking at the giant Ice cage, trying to figure out an angle to attack it from.
"First thing, my husband, is he here?" She asked.
"Yes. He's distracting Typhon as we speak."
She nodded, "Good. I can free the girl, you might want to stand back." I took a couple of steps back, and she raised her hands in front of her, a white glow glimmering from her fingertips, albeit faint, she too was weak and drained. Nether the less, she unleashed a burst of godly energy at the Ice prison and it erupted in brilliant white light, the cube now shards falling throughout the cavern and blown back to the rocky wall. Sera however remained in the center, now free, and falling towards the ground.
Before she could faceplant on the rock, I dove forward and caught her, cradling her shoulders, I was making sure she was even alive. How did that work anyway? How did she survive if she had no food? Or was it like a time prison, where she was just...frozen?
My questions were interrupted when she began to stir and groan in a way I would imagine a rabbit would. She felt so fragile in my arms, like an innocent child, but reading her latent aura...that was not the case, she was powerful.
She stirred for a moment then finally opened her eyes, blinking several times and deciding to keep them half-lidded. They were a brilliant icy blue, slightly a brighter color than Harper's, and almost as mesmerizing, although I think I was a little bias towards the daughter of revenge.
I felt her heart beat faster, she was beginning to panic, and I couldn't blame her. Being trapped for months and being freed the first thing you see is my ugly mug? Yikes.
I tried to calm her, "Shh. My name is Matt, you're safe now."
She studied me, eyes still only half open, and she looked around.
"Wh-what's going on? Wh-where's the Sky man?" She said, her voice high and sweet, again like a princess.
"You were trapped by the primordial god Ouranos, but now you're free. Do you remember anything?"
She looked scared, obviously a very timid girl, the kind that you want to just give a hug. I could definitely understand why Malachi wanted to protect her during the slave operation. Just looking at her demeanor I could tell she was a pacifist by nature, and rarely stood up for herself. I couldn't understand why, because her aura was powerful. I also couldn't understand why a beautiful girl like her was sent to this Island in the first place.
I forgot she was twenty, five years older than me, so calling her girl was a bit weird, but I couldn't help it, she looked my age.
Her face conveyed fear and confusion, "I-I don't know. Wh-what's happening?"
Hera stepped forward and bent next to me, "She is in distress, allow me." The goddess placed her hand on Sera's forehead, a white glow outlining her for a moment and then fading. Her heartbeat slowed to normal speed, she looked less fearful, and she even lost a bit of confusion.
"Now then, what do you remember?" Hera asked, her voice gentle.
Sera thought for a moment, "Y-yes, I remember. I was...on the Island, and a giant storm cloud appeared...it had a face in it."
"Ouranos." I said.
She nodded, "Y-yeah. He came here and talked to...oh gods, Kai. Where's Kai?"
I knit my eyebrows, "Sorry, who's Kai?"
She then all of a sudden became less timid and grabbed my shirt with her fists, "Where is Kai?! What have they done to him?!" Her voice was loud, and full of concern.
I was the one confused now. Hera, do that thing to me so I can figure out who the hell-
Oh.
Wow, I am an idiot.
Malachi. Mala-kai. Malachi=Kai. That was her nickname for him.
In a less dire situation I would have laughed. What was it with nicknames around here? Percy is Seaweed Brain, I'm Shark Boy, and Malachi is Kai? It was kinda funny, but we would have time for that later.
"He's...well, just hear me out."
I explained all of the important things within a few minutes, her eyes welling up with tears at the horrible deeds Malachi was forced to do. By the time I was done, she had to wipe her eyes and sit for a minute.
"He...deserves none of this. He's such an amazing person. Why does his father treat him like that?" She asked to no one.
"He's an asshole that's why. But you can help, Sera. You're the only chance we have of Malachi returning to normal. If he sees you, he'll remember, and Ouranos will be separated from his body."
She sat on a flat bench like rock, her head in her hands, thinking deeply. It was all huge and overwhelming, I knew. But we had to hurry, things could have gotten bad out there.
"Child, we must go." Hera said urgently, a shockwave outside shaking the cavern.
Sera stood up, her face now one of determination. "Of course I'll help. We have to free Malachi or else he'll be destroyed!"
I nodded, "Let's move!"
We slid under the opening and made our way somewhat quickly around the maze of the cave, Hera's white aura illuminating the darkness just enough to see. I was in front, Hera and Sera behind me next to each other. Every now and then, Sera would stick out her hand and shoot ice from it, the Ice would compact and stick to the cavern walls, reflecting Hera's light so it would be brighter. So she was smart too, quite a girl, er, woman.
After what seemed like an hour, we made it to the opening, outside not much brighter, due to the overwhelming storm clouds above. We rushed out from the cave, faced with a near destroyed Island, Zeus battling Typhon in the distance, the monster obviously losing, our friends battling the Big Four for an hour or so now, still neck and neck, I was relieved at their safety.
I looked at Typhon, Malachi not visible from this distance, but we had to get to him.
"Come on! He's inside!"
"That?!" Sera asked, her eyes wide at the colossal monster.
"Yeah, they...really messed him up. But we're about to end it, so let's go!" I grabbed her hand to lead her, letting go of it shortly as we broke into a sprint, Hera alongside us, it was like a giant battlefield. Shockwaves, lightning and wind everywhere around us, like explosions and cannons going off, we weaved and ran around, the noises booming and nearly blowing us aside, but every time a shockwave would come our way or threaten to destroy the land in front of us, Hera would send godly bursts of energy at them and dissipate them. But even she was losing strength.
Finally we made it to the shore, staring up at the two fighting. Zeus was darting around in the clouds, becoming lightning itself and hitting Typhon with bolts every few seconds, constantly staggering the monster and causing him to attack angrily, only to miss. He was bloody and burnt, but not dead, it would seem Zeus had not gone overboard.
"GRANDFATHER!" I yelled.
Nothing.
GRANDFATHER! I thought.
What? His voice replied.
I looked up, Zeus was levitating in the air in front of Typhon. I vaguely saw Malachi in the yellow core, controlling the Avatar, it was time to free him and get rid of Ouranos.
End it. I said.
A moment passed, then a reply came.
As you wish.
The Master Bolt appeared in his hands and jetted at the monster, connecting with his chest and sending lightning in all directions, the blast similar to mine, threatening to crack the Earth open, but Hera used her last bit of fighting strength to dissipate the wave of energy, sending it back and making it fade. As for Typhon, his avatar glowed green, red and yellow, and burst into millions of pounds of golden dust, falling from the air and into the ocean, he had been atomized, no blood in sight.
Malachi was blown from the monster's center, he soared near us and crashed hard on the sand fifty feet away. We immediately ran up to his form on the ground. Sera threw herself at him and sobbed, hugging him and kissing his cheek and forehead several times, finally deciding on holding him tight, never planning to let go.
But Ouranos had other plans.
I saw his eyes glow blue as they shot open, and It was almost too late.
"SERA GET BACK!" Thank Olympus she registered it in time, backing away before Ouranos could kill her. I stepped in front of her and brought my fists up, in no condition to fight, but I didn't care. Hera faintly flickered a white aura, coughing still, her in no condition to fight either.
Ouranos got up, his face full of anger, he seethed. "STUPID PUNY CREATURES! I WILL DESTROY ALL OF-"
He was interrupted by Sera smacking him in the face.
My jaw fell open, how did she even get past me? Either way, she scowled and glared at him, his head at the side in recoil.
After a second, she tenderly gripped the sides of his head and locked eyes with him, "Malachi, It's me...Sera. You remember don't you?"
I wanted to knock him away, I figured he would summon a bolt of lightning down at her and kill her, I sensed Zeus about to intervene, but I held up my hand at him, stopping him. What was going on?
Malachi appeared for a moment, his face confused, then back to Ouranos, who winced in pain, then back to Malachi, then back to Ouranos. This process kept going for several seconds.
Sera tried again, "Kai, it's me. Remember me? We used to have so much fun together. Remember Talon? We were best friends."
Malachi's face contorted in agony, his eyes closed tight, he began to groan loudly and painfully, a gray mist clinging to him, seemingly pulling apart his soul.
It was working! "Sera, keep going!" I said.
"Remember how we would figure out ways to get back at the guards? Steal food and give it to our friends? Remember when we first met? How you protected me?"
"AGHHHHH" Malachi screamed, the struggle very intense, both voices on display, the mist pulling even harder.
But Sera kept her grip on his face, she said more, "Remember that secret swimming spot you found? We used to play there all the time."
He screamed more, each cry full of intense pain, Ouranos's essence was being separated bit by bit, his booming voice slowly leaving.
Sera had tears dripping from her cheeks, "Remember the first time we kissed? The first time you told me you loved me?" She sighed, "It made me so happy, Kai. I knew right then that you were the only one I ever wanted to be with, and I knew that I loved you too."
Malachi was emerging more and more, tears leaking from his eyes now as the memories flashed through his head. They were even flashing through mine they were so powerful. I saw glimpses of three demigods lighting rough looking guards on fire with homemade firecrackers, I saw them laughing at a campfire, I saw them staring at a sunset together, I saw young Malachi and Sera lean in for a kiss by the shore of the sea, I saw all kinds of heartwarming things, and I knew Malachi did too, that's why he was crying.
It was almost complete, and Sera had one last memory to share. "Remember when you would have nightmares and you would come to me? I would sing to you. I was always spat on and beaten back home for singing, but doing it for you made me feel at peace, and helping you...meant the world." She connected their foreheads, the mist thick and the wind picking up, blowing all of our hair. "Remember the song I would hum? How you fell asleep within five minutes?" Malachi continued to groan in agony, but I could've swore I saw him nod. Sera closed her eyes and began to hum a beautiful tune. It was soft and sweet, calming everything down around us, the wind died, the tension faded, everything was peaceful. Her voice was angelic, and Malachi's groans and shouts of pain slowed, his breathing became normal, his aura was less malevolent and twisted, the mist pulled away Ouranos' essence from his body, and when the song ended, his knees buckled and he landed on his knees, Sera following him, their foreheads never leaving each other.
Ouranos cried out in a weaker voice now, like a hissing serpent in the air, his face faint in the mist around us. I scowled and clapped my hands, using just enough strength to blow him away from us and dissipate the mist completely, his cries fading along with him. Good riddance, bastard.
I looked at the touching scene before me, Sera's eyes were hopeful, looking into Malachi's closed ones. He stayed still for a moment, to which I was afraid he had died from all of the pressure. But to my relief, he opened his now normal eyes lazily, and for the first time, I saw a real smile on his face, the real Malachi was back.
"Hey Sera, what did I miss?" He croaked.
Even more tears leaked from her eyes and she squealed happily, pressing her lips to his with love and urgency, making up for the time missed, her arms found their way around his neck, and his met her back.
I smiled, what a moment, it was finally over.
Shit, no it wasn't. The Big Four. Harper, the others, I forgot!
"I hate to interrupt, but we gotta get the hell out of here!" I said.
Zeus landed next to me, "Your comrades?"
"Yes! I have to help them!"
"Find them and get away from here, I shall sink this treacherous place to the Ocean floor." His hands crackled with energy, and he disappeared in a bright blue light.
I turned to the others, Sera and Malachi now parted from their kiss, I shouted, "Follow me! We need to gather my friends and leave! Zeus is going to sink the Island!"
Hera was looking at the sky above with worry.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Ouranos is not defeated."
"What? I just saw him fade, so did you."
She shook her head, "No, I saw him separate from the boy's body...he is not dead."
"Shit." I said, Malachi looked up and told me grimly, "She's right. If you plan on moving, it must be now!"
It felt weird to have him speak to me as Malachi and not Typhon or Ouranos, I would have to get used to it later though.
"Come on!" I yelled, and we ran with what we could. I was still exhausted from the fight, Hera drained from captivity, Sera too, and Malachi was definitely gassed out, but we all pushed on, running towards the rock platform.
When we got there, we were surprised to see them up there, still fighting.
Hera grabbed all of us, "Stay still!" She ordered, and we were pulled forward instantly, a white glow engulfing us, and before I could react, we were on top of the platform. I saw Percy and Axel going at it, Percy now winning, the Son of Hephaestus bloody and battered. Annabeth was neck and neck with Grayson, a cut on the latter's cheek, but nothing major. Harper wasn't injured either, but she was losing stamina, and her brother was unharmed as well, not good. Talon had Cherry on the ropes, the former having some of Nikandreos' energy, he couldn't be injured by her, so he looked unharmed, but he wasn't landing many hits, as she was blurring around him, trying to do some level of damage.
We needed to intervene, but none of us were in condition. I was proven wrong however the next second when Hera stepped forward and her body glowed white, a peacock form glimmering around her, the white godly energy burst from her yet again and blew back the Big Four, avoiding our friends.
The goddess fell to one knee, "That is the last of it for now, you'd better make it worth it."
"I will." Turning to the others, "GUYS, COME ON! ZEUS IS GOING TO SINK THIS ISLAND!"
They understood immediately and I motioned for them to follow me, although they were tired, we all sprinted towards the shore where I knew our boat was. How it would fit this many, I didn't know, but we had to try.
As we ran through the forest ruins, I heard laughs and shouts above us, the storm giant in my early visions now in the sky, covering miles of area, and sending powerful lightning bolts at a blue form of an eagle, who was dodging and tanking most of them, sending wind surges at the face, only for it to reform elsewhere. It was Ouranos and Zeus, I knew it. Zeus was the bright eagle, and Ouranos was the storm giant, his face like a bearded skull, both eyes coiling with electricity.
I ignored it the best I could, and booked it to the shore. We finally broke through the trees and grass to the sandy line, our boat to the right of us.
"THERE!" I shouted, and we all ran to it, piling in as quick as possible, Percy pulling the waves to propel us from the shore, taking off into the water, but not before a molten rock landed next to us like a cannonball.
I looked at the shore now thirty feet away and saw the Big Four parallel to us. Axel had boulders covered in lava and was throwing them at us like a catapult, Levi summoned large crows and sent them at us, Grayson...well, just stood there with a glare in his eyes, as he wasn't a ranged fighter. Cherry was in a running position, like she was going to leap at us.
The next few seconds, everything happened.
Axel tossed a large molten rock that would have hit the boat, had Percy not swatted it aside with a wave, he then thrust his hands forward and a powerful cyclone of water smacked the Son of Hephaestus in the face and he went flying back into a tree, splitting it in half. As for Levi's crows, Harper threw her knives with great speed and accuracy, there must have been hundreds, but she kept throwing and killing them, summoning the knives back to her hands with the magnetic gloves. Talon began helping her by shooting down an equal number of birds with his revolver. Each one bursting open with feathers and fading into black dust, soon the crows were no more. But that still left Cherry.
At that moment, I saw her leave the shore in a blur.
"WATCH OUT!" Annabeth shouted, knowing it was coming.
To my surprise, Malachi got up, a glare in his eyes, his face angry.
"I got this." He said, and with a quick swipe of his hand, a strong gust of wind caught Cherry and blew her back onto the shore, skidding and rolling.
Percy propelled us further away, two hundred feet, three hundred feet, until we were out of reach for them.
I looked at Malachi, impressed he could still do that with as little energy as he had right now.
"Nice job, man." I said.
He smiled lazily, "That was about all of it. It's gonna take a box of ambrosia to fix me."
I almost smiled, it was so foreign to actually talk to him like this, but it was a good thing, having him back to normal. I got the feeling we would get along in the future.
As we sailed further, the beings in the sky battled and bashed each other, when finally a voice boomed across the sea.
"THIS IS NOT OVER! I SHALL BE BACK! AND WHEN I DO, YOU WILL ALL DIE!" Ouranos yelled, the giant face in the sky contorted with rage.
The blue eagle morphed back into Zeus, who looked at us, and nodded. His hand formed the Master Bolt.
"Goodbye, Grandfather. Maybe this will teach you to stay in Tartarus where you belong." He said, and with a roar, he brought down the mighty bolt on Ouranos, it connected and flashed a light similar to the sun, only white and blue, it dissipated the surprised look of Ouranos, and destroyed the face in the clouds, all of them fading, soon revealing a blue sky and sunlight. Several arcs of lightning separated from the impact and landed on what was left of the Island, crumpling it and sinking it into the sea. Within minutes, it was gone.
Ouranos was gone. We had done it.
I slumped onto the wooden bench, completely exhausted, but happier than ever.
Thank you, grandfather.
No, Matthias. It is I who should thank you. You alerted me of this problem and we nipped it in the bud, for that, the world is saved.
You did all of the work.
No boy. You are the hero of this quest, you and your friends. Even that Jackson boy, you have all accomplished incredible things, you have saved the fate of this world, together. Something that us gods could take a lesson on. But don't repeat that.
I laughed in my head. I won't Lord Zeus.
After a few moments of silence, he said again, Matthias?
Yeah?
I am proud of you, and I know your father is too.
My heart warmed a bit. I smiled, I had gotten praise from Zeus himself. Yeah, he was my grandpa, but still...I was overjoyed.
Thank you.
Yes. Well, I suppose a reward is in order. Your spear was broken, correct?
My chest lifted a little. Um, yes, it was.
Well then, I cannot have a great hero such as yourself without a weapon. I will have Hephaestus create a new one, a spear worthy of your might.
It was like Christmas morning, I was so excited. But then a thought occurred to me, I remembered the club next to my father on his Island. It looked badass, and I got a feeling that I was meant for that, and If I used one, I would be even more powerful, far more than with a spear.
Actually, grandfather. Can he craft me a club? Like the one my father uses?
I heard Zeus chuckle, then he said, Of course. It shall be the greatest this world has ever seen. It will arrive a week from now, I'd say. I expect you to train with it.
I will.
Good, what shall you name it?
I thought for a moment, remembering the conversation with Percy in the training arena at Camp, what felt like a million years ago, and grinned.
You pick it, grandfather. I suck at names.
I heard him chuckle again, Very well. This is goodbye for now Matthias, take care.
Always.
With that, he teleported from the sky and out of sight, out of my head.
Everyone was beat, sitting around saying nothing, we just wanted to get home, and Hera had no energy to transport us, so we would have to sail back.
Well, some people had some energy left. Behind me, I noticed Talon and Sera hugging and catching up with each other, Malachi and Talon hugging tightly as well, chatter and all kinds of conversations started.
"You've gotten taller!" Sera said to the assassin at one point.
"Ah, thanks princess." He scratched his neck nervously.
Malachi lightly punched his shoulder, "What's with the biker getup, man? You look too cool. I'm gonna have to shave my head or something."
Sera got serious at that and pinched him, "No way, Kai. I love your smooth locks." She began to run her fingers through his medium length hair with a smile.
Talon groaned, "Crap. Here we go again!" He turned to us, "Guys, I would go ahead and throw up, because it's gonna be a love fest the whole ride back." He gestured at Percy and Annabeth, "You thought these two were bad, Malachi and Sera are worse." But I knew he wasn't actually annoyed, the grin on his face afterwards proved it.
I laughed along with the others, after a second, I looked in front of me and saw Harper staring at the sunken Island, a look of bitterness, and sadness.
I got up and stood beside her, "I'm so sorry about Levi." I said gently.
She didn't look at me, I understood. "It's just...I wish things were different."
"Me too." I replied.
She lowered her head, "He was a traitor. Got what he deserved."
I said nothing.
Then she turned her head and glanced up at me, the hint of a smile on her mouth, "But at least we won."
I grinned, "Yeah, we did."
"Together." She murmured, barely above a whisper, but I caught it.
I nodded, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Together." I repeated, with the same volume.
Despite our exhaustion, and everything that had happened, we were victorious. The five monsters were freed, Sera was freed, Hera was freed, Malachi was freed, we were all alive. And the Cursed Island was gone, the Big Four were gone, and most important of all...Ouranos was gone.
I laid back down on the boat, my eyes closed, and for the first time in a long time...
I fell asleep, no visions or nightmares. For the quest was over.
We had won.
(000)
There you have it, the final battle of book one!
This was honestly my favorite chapter to write so far, everything I had fun doing, especially the fight scenes.
Things are looking good for the gang, Malachi is back and normal, reunited with Sera and Talon, everyone's alive, will we get a happy ending? Find out in Chapter Twenty!
Until Next Time.