Fifth chapter of the crossover. This one's me, so buckle up.

With this we pass one million words! I honestly can't believe it, I'm completely blown away that I've been writing this story for over a year, and have THIS many chapters. Almost a hundred, with one million words. Honestly unbelievable, and I'm thankful for everyone who's stuck along this far. You have my gratitude. I just hope you keep sticking around, because I've still got a lot of story to tell before it's over!

Anyway, enough with the sentiments, let's get on with 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.

(Matt)

This is trippy.

I thought the universe travel I experienced when fighting Hendricks was weird. Dude, it's tame compared to what we just experienced.

Weird colors and millions of dimensions all around us, in some kind of vast void, while Luke decimates all of them, holding off Zane's blast, along with the most powerful Red Beam Cannon I'd ever conjured.

How did we get here? To this point, where I'm helping fight another big bad. We already had enough problems back home.

Then I felt a sense of déjà vu with Zane's mortal counterpart, where Luke was hiding as some regular employee at a high school, just like Hendricks, and then the fact that we had to rescue the mortal counterpart from said Luke…

Headaches. I'm going to have lots of headaches in the next coming days, just trying to process all of this.

And if things couldn't get any worse, we had to land in this universe. The one with the red sky, burned and ruined buildings, fire uproaring from everything, to the street and the dead bodies. It was the one with the apocalypse.

The one with the psychotic zombie version of me.

There he stood, crouched over a pile of gore and human remains, chomping and biting away at the flesh, tearing it off and gulping down hundreds of pounds of meat. He looked as disgusting as last time. He was a carbon copy of me…in terms of height and size. He had splotches of brown hair, gray, rotting skin, basically falling off yellow and green bones. He wore a matching sleeveless cuirass, faded, and stained with blood and dirt. He looked horrible, absolutely horrible and disgusting, and he wasn't even facing us yet. He didn't even know we were here. He just kept chomping at his victim.

"What…and the absolute hell is that?" Zane said, completely bewildered. His eyes were wide, and his jaw was pretty much down to the asphalt. "It's a…a zombie, or something. An actual freaking zombie…"

"It's Insano." I said lowly, so we wouldn't hear us. I doubted he would, since his ears were decaying and near shriveled all the way up. "You saw him in my memories, he's the zombified…me."

"I remember, but none of those memories could've prepared me for this." Zane seemed to flinch in effort, then raised an eyebrow. "Why can't I sense him?"

"He's dead." I said, "All dead people have no aura."

"How do you know?"

"Well, we can't sense his aura, so there's the hint. I assume all dead people's auras can't be felt. Besides…" I didn't want to say what I had to say next, but I did. "I couldn't feel Levi's aura when he died, so…"

Zane nodded grimly, and then his eyes widened, "Shit, he spotted us."

I turned, and saw Insano standing upright, all the way. We could hear his growl from here, it was low, but it shook the ground and echoed across the landscape.

His head turned around on his neck, without moving the rest of his body. It greeted us with a vomit-inducing sight. A gaping, rotting, steaming mouth, with yellow, crooked teeth, and blood dripping everywhere, practically oozing from his throat. His skin was gray and leathery, barely hanging onto his skull through the weak wrap of muscles and tendons. His eyes were blood red, and glowing constantly, aimed right at us.

Insano growled, a long one this time, and turned his body around to face us. His fists clenched and he crouched, like he was preparing to pounce.

Zane and I tensed up. He pulled out that big sword and held it like his life depended on it. I wouldn't say Zane was scared, but more grossed out, and just plain surprised at the sight.

"How strong is he?" He asked, looking at me urgently.

I began to sweat, "No idea. I didn't get a chance to fight him last time. I hit him once, and he survived. So he's durable enough for that."

"Well, we don't have to kill him. We just have to knock him at a reasonable distance so we can chase Luke-"

Zane didn't finish his sentence, because Insano raised his chin in the air and roared. His bellow was that of a dragon it seemed, it reverberated throughout the entire city, causing my eardrums to ring and the buildings to shake. Even Zane had to cover his ears.

That would prove to be a bad choice. Insano took this moment to charge us, beating his fists against the asphalt once and run at us on all fours. He did it with such ferocity and speed, we were unable to react in time. He zig zagged over to Zane and tackled him, knocking the sword out of his hand.

"Zane!"

The two tumbled on the road for a bit, crashing into several cars before coming to a stop. When they did, I heard Zane shout, in what sounded like pain.

"AGHHH! STUPID ZOMBIE!"

I saw what had happened. Insano had latched his disgusting teeth into Zane's neck, sinking the sharp fangs several inches deep, gnawing and shaking his head to rip off skin. Zane howled, and pressed his fingers into Insano's eyes, hoping that it would deter the zombie.

But it only made him bite harder. If Insano was truly a dead version of me, I doubted he could feel any physical pain. So hitting him would be useless. We'd have to destroy him, literally atom by atom.

I finally jumped into action, unsheathing Viribus and running up to the struggling pair. I reared the club back and smacked Insano hard in his temple, knocking him several feet to the side, his body flailing and a roar trailing behind him.

Finally, he hit the center of an already falling skyscraper. The building burst into flames, glass shattered, and whatever foundation it had left, was destroyed. It crumpled to the ground in a pile of debris, making a horrible noise, thousands of pieces of brick hitting each other, as the flames of combustion rose into the sky.

Zane grabbed at his neck, wincing. "Bastard! I hate zombies!"

I helped him up, jogged over, grabbed his sword, and tossed it to him.

He caught it and gripped tightly, now in anger.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. The thing just took me by surprise."

The top of the rubble mountain exploded, and Insano jumped out, standing on a piece of concrete. He looked pissed, the leather skin between his eyebrows knitted tightly, and his shoulders going up and down in a rapid fashion, like he was breathing heavily.

Then he roared again, not as loud this time, but it was quick. He jumped down and began to run at us with great speed, covering miles of distance in seconds. His steps were very uncoordinated, he kept zig zagging all over the place, nearly stumbling and falling at every turn, barely holding himself together.

I stepped forward and threw Viribus at him. It spun through the air and promptly hit him in the head, knocking him to his knees and causing him to slide. But to my surprise, he just pushed himself right back up as if nothing had happened.

Then Zane gave it a shot. He summoned lightning from his hand, and shot it at Insano. The blue arc crashed into his chest, right at the center of the cracked armor. It deterred him, and made him sprawl back a few feet. But of course, he just got right back up, even angrier.

"Shit" Zane said.

Insano jumped in the air, his fists above him, ready to clobber us in the road. He came down fast, but Zane and I were ready. We brought both of our weapons in front of our faces and felt the impact of his blow. He had smashed both of his fists against each weapon, one on two. His strength was very impressive, and it seemed like he hadn't even shown the abundance of it yet. This was just the warmup.

Well this warmup was getting to be too much for me, at least in this state. Even for Zane, who was straining and even buckling under Insano's immense pressure. We locked eyes, and nodded. It was time to get a bit serious.

At the same time, Zane and I forced out our auras. In dual eruptions, blue and red light shone, creating shockwaves that sent cars, rubble, and dead bodies flying back. Oh, and Insano.

He hadn't been expecting that. His red eyes widened for a moment, before his body was high in the air, his rotting arms helicoptering around him, trying to gain some sort of balance. But there was none.

An unspoken strategy was formed between us. In which we darted forward, hoping to catch him when he landed, wherever he may do so. Our auras trailed behind us as we casually ran across the city, following his flying form.

Finally, he soared into another spot on the road, hitting it like a meteor. He rose up with surprising speed, ready to bull rush us again. But that wasn't going to happen this time. His movements were slower now that we'd ascended, and he was a cake walk, especially with the two of us ganging up on him.

I dove forward and slammed the sweet spot of Viribus against his leg, causing him to grunt and fall to one knee. I backed away, knowing immediately what Zane was about to do. He appeared next to Insano, the big sword behind his shoulder, both hands firmly on the grip. This was the showstopper.

With a mighty, swift swing, the sword slashed at Insano's neck. There was a moment of silence, save for the fires in the background, and there was also a moment where Insano's head stayed intact. But after a few seconds, gravity took over and his head rolled off, hitting his shoulders, and plopping on the ground.

His body fell, and he didn't make another sound.

Zane huffed, like he was tired. But I knew better. That was more of a 'I'm trying to process this weirdness' look. I know, because I give that look all the time.

"Well, that was strange," Was all he had to say.

"Yeah…yeah, definitely strange."

I heard a slight bumping on the ground, like someone was tapping it. Huh?

My chest dropped into my stomach when I saw Insano's finger twitch.

"What is it?" Zane asked, unaware because the monster had no aura, and he couldn't see.

"Dude…" I pointed at the finger.

Zane's eyes widened, and then he snarled in rage. "Oh no you don't!"

He stomped on the zombie's finger, trying to crush it. But when he got to the third attempt, Insano's entire arm quickly left the ground and connected with Zane's face, smacking him in the nose, causing him to fly back about a football field away.

"Zane!" What the hell, did he get stronger? He wasn't able to do that before, and Zane was in his awakened form.

Insano quickly grabbed his decapitated head and slammed it back on his neck. The weirdest thing happened, I watched in horror as a thin red line glowed in between the two stumps, connecting them back together. Small tendrils of skin emerged from his neck and attached themselves to the head, attaching it back to the way it was.

He growled, and rose to his feet, his head lowered, lower than his shoulders. He glared at me, breathing hard. I found myself backing away unconsciously, tensing up, but no strike or plan ready in my head. What the hell was I supposed to do?

Then I felt something firm grab my shin, a strong, tight grip that resembled a bony hand. I looked down sharply, and nearly gasped at the sight.

Protruding from the road, was a skeleton's arm, and it's hand was latched onto me. It slowly rose out of the ground, skull to shoulders. In the vicinity, the cycle repeated, as multiple skeleton arms burst from the asphalt, clanking around, and throwing rocks to clear their path.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me…" I said with a whisper.

Insano just let it happen, as if he had no control over it whatsoever, but somehow, I knew he was the exact reason this was happening. Someway, somehow, he had a connection with these corpses. He was controlling them.

I broke free from the skeleton's grip and watched as they pushed themselves up from the ground. Not even sure as to how they were doing it. There had to be multiple layers of concrete under the road, and no soil. What, were they buried under all of that? Or did they appear out of nowhere?

Either way, they were numerous. At least fifty of them, and of course they had no aura, so I couldn't gauge how strong they were. And judging from the tightness of the grip…they were strong enough.

Blue light shone in the distance and a thunder crack roared across the landscape. I saw a black figure flash in the air and make it's way to me, a blur, but I caught it nether the less and braced myself for impact.

Lightning struck down and hit all of the skeletons, causing them to writhe in soundless pain. The bones fell to an ashy, steaming pile. Insano looked around at them, giving a disappointing growl.

The source flew down and hit the pavement next to me, cracking it and nearly making me lose footing.

Zane was angry, judging by his bared teeth and twitching cheeks. "I. Hate. Zombies."

"See the skeletons?"

"Yes. Just what the hell is this thing? Are you sure it's a variant of you?"

"Has to be. It looks just like me!"

Insano then outspread his hands, and gave a devilish grin. It was the first time I'd seen a real emotion cross his face, and it was frightening. He showed a misshapen line of disgusting teeth, the putrid smell eliciting a near gag all the way from where I stood. More skeleton arms popped up from the ground, this time, they were bigger, and there were more of them.

"We need to get out of here." I said, "There's no use, he's basically invincible. We're just going to be running around in circles while Luke gets further and further away."

"Agreed." Zane said, wincing slightly, as if that sounded like he was retreating. I could tell the guy had a lot of pride, and getting out of here in the next minute or so would seem like retreating to him, which I guessed was a last resort in his books. Actually, not even an option.

So I decided to assure him. "It's not running, Zane. We just can't let Luke get away, you know that."

He struggled with it for a moment, and I saw the gears turning in his head. I silently hoped that he would listen to me. We were stronger than Insano, yes, but killing him was going to be a lot more difficult if he can always regenerate the way he just did moments ago. I guess I could conjure up another Red Beam Cannon, but from what? It would have to be my own energy, maybe on top of Zane's. But I'm not so sure Zane himself would feel comfortable with that, as it leaves him even more vulnerable to the drawback of his chaotic form, or whatever he calls it. Insano doesn't have any energy, and as I reached out with my aura sense…there's not a single living soul in the entire city. Heck, not even in the entirety of New York. Either Insano, or some plague had wiped them all out.

Zane still took his time, clearly frustrated. I fought down the annoyance building in my throat and just decided to let him come to a decision. Him and his pride. It wasn't one of his qualities that I admired, because of situations like these. He needs to put aside his reputation and goal of winning every battle so we can chase down the real threat. His rep doesn't matter here in this hellhole. Why doesn't he see that?

"Zane!" I said, ready for him to make a decision. The skeletons were out of the ground now by the hundreds, with Insano stalking towards us in the front position. It was time to go.

Finally, he nodded, "Fine. We'll knock them away, and create a portal."

"How?"

"Generating force. I don't know yet but…well, I just don't know. We'll figure it out. Ready?"

His words came out so fast that I was left a jumbling mess, and it was him waiting patiently for me. Finally, I nodded, and we went to work.

Zane summoned lightning again, this time through Thymos, his Heavenly Diamond Morningstar. The blue coil mixed with the weapon, dimming it with a slight black hue. It coiled and charged for a moment, before spreading out in several tree branch-like arcs, all of them hitting the skeletons.

One by one they disintegrated to nothing, and it left Insano wide open, dazed and confused as to why his army had fallen.

That was where I came in. "Hey, ugly!"

I closed the distance and slammed my glowing red fist right in his jaw, sending him flying backwards in a heap of debris.

I wasted no time, turning to Zane. "Now!"

We both stood side by side and aimed towards the opposite end of the city. It was already ruined, and no life anywhere, so we held nothing back.

Sheathing our weapons and clenching our fists, we charged up our auras. I hadn't tapped into reserved anger for a long time, but now I would surely need it. I felt it overcome me, and the warmth of the aura got impossibly hot on my skin. I didn't push it away though, I embraced it, and let It rise above me, ten feet, twenty feet…

Zane did the same, entering his chaotic form for a split moment. He screamed, a deep, war cry like sound that made Insano's bellows look like nothing.

There was a crack, so loud that I fought the urge to clamp my ears shut. I endured it, and watched through the impossibly bright light, as a rift formed.

It was small, a mere crack in the air. But it was right, it was our ticket out of here. Through it, there were vague visions of a void and several other dimensions floating around, with colors strobing and flashing, just like before.

"There it is!" I said, grabbing his shoulder, "Let's go!"

We broke into a run, but just on cue, Insano roared in the background once again.

We were almost to the portal, I turned my head over my shoulders to see him bounding at us, jumping off of a pile of asphalt and bounding on all fours, saliva and blood foaming at his mouth the entire way.

"Matt, go!" Zane shouted, and he stopped running, opting to halt dead in his tracks and slide on the pavement.

I was about to yell at him to come on, but it all happened so fast. Zane gripped Thymos urgently, ragefully. I saw his brow crease and his teeth grit, his knuckles turn white as Insano pressed off the ground and leapt in the air, his limbs in front of him, fingers stretched out, mouth wide open and roaring, ready to kill his prey.

Zane's eyes flashed, a bright blue color that left two very small lines floating in the air, like it was made of mist, seeping from his corneas.

"Come and get it!" He shouted, "Come on!"

Insano's red eyes paralleled Zane's flashing with an omen of death. But it wasn't Zane's.

When he reached attacking distance, Zane stepped one foot forward, and swung the morning star. It hit perfectly, the spiked end collided with Insano's cheek, and Insano's claw-like fingernails scraped across Zane's armor, doing nothing but making a loud, horrible noise.

His face caved in, his head sprung off and spun separate from his body. I could see as he flew away in the sky that he was fading quickly, turning to nothing but dust.

The delayed shockwave ensued, blowing wind in my hair and rippling the portal…which was getting smaller and smaller by the second.

"Zane, come on!" I was flailing my arm back and forth, windmilling it as fast as I could.

Zane noticed me, and with determination, sheathed Thymos. Once he reached my range, I grabbed onto his armor and promptly threw him in the rift, taking him off guard and forcing him off his feet. If I couldn't make it, then he would, I would make sure of it.

But I wouldn't have to worry about that. His body cleared the portal no problem, armor, big sword, and all. I ran at it, closing the short distance in a second, and hopping through, trying to make my body as skinny as possible.

My leg rubbed against the outline of the portal, and I'll admit, it stung a little bit, offering a small burning sensation after I cleared the hole, but I ignored it. It stayed open for a bit longer, and then finally closed once we were both inside.

We floated through the bridge dimension again, a million different options around us. Like doors, we could pick which one to go through, there was literally no end to the selections.

But we needed to find Luke. That was the hard part, finding that bastard. Which portal had he gone through?

"If only we'd kept up with him…" Zane said, barely above a whisper. "If only he wasn't such a slippery son of a-"

I stopped him from finishing the sentence, "Hey, hey, it's alright. He couldn't have gone far. We just have to keep trying. I mean, it's not like we've got anything else to do, right?" I chuckled.

He dryly returned it, "I guess not, but I'd prefer we found him sooner than later. Trust me, you don't want to be around me when I'm annoyed, because I become annoying myself."

"Wait, even more annoying than you are now?" I quipped, and he lightly smacked me on the shoulder, telling me to "shut up, lion boy." Huh, that was a new one.

Together, we set off after another portal, choosing the one closest to us, on our right. They all looked the same, so nothing about them gave off any particular vibe. It was just pure guesswork now.

We entered at the same time, and fell out almost immediately after our heads went through. Gravity took over, and I felt myself plop onto something sandy and rough.

Actually…it was sand. Orange sand, like a desert.

I lay facedown in it, my cheek resting on a small mound, my hands sprawled out in opposite directions. I grabbed a fistful of it and let it fall out of my fingers, watching the grains hit and return to it's element.

Zane wasn't doing such things, he groaned, and I heard his armor clank, signaling that he was getting up.

I pushed up as well, coming to my knees. When I raised my head, I got a clear view of where we were at.

And it was certainly different from a post-apocalyptic city.

We were on the outskirts of a huge city. Something very Metropolis, or Utopian like. It was far off in the distance, maybe a few miles, but it's massive size left little to the imagination. I saw unimaginable buildings, huge and marvelous in design, litered around in perfect array. A castle at the very center, with what looked like waterfalls all over the place, falling into moats, with…hippos? What were those things?

"Zane…look, look dude."

He groaned, "I see it, it's a massive city, whoop dee do, still no Luke." He cringed and dug his hand down the groin part of his armor. When he felt around, he pulled his hand out, revealing a large clump of sand. He recoiled in disgust, "And there's sand in my pants, of course there is."

I didn't respond, instead I marveled at the city. It was awesome, but rather weird. There was nothing around it, absolutely nothing, at least in terms of other communities or human life. It was just desert sand and a few cave rocks. Nothing more.

"We should go check it out." I said, a little too dreamily, "Maybe Luke's there."

"Yeah, Luke's going to just charge into some random city. The guy's an idiot, but wouldn't he just keep running if he felt our auras?"

I broke my gaze from the city for a second to raise an eyebrow at the son of Zeus. "Well, didn't stop him last time at the pep rally. And besides, he wants to kill us, remember? He's probably just blending in, waiting for us to come."

Zane thought about it, not fully convinced, but he ultimately shrugged. "Whatever. Maybe they have some food there, I'm starving."

I felt my own stomach tighten at his words, I placed my hand over it and frowned. "Yeah, me too."

We were about to start walking, when I heard a gruff voice behind us, and the clanging of swords.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

Zane and I casually turned our heads to greet the newcomers. When we did, we saw a rather surprising sight. Three men, wearing the exact same type of armor as me, with a lion's pelt around their waists to match. Their helmets even resembles a lion's face and mane. It was really cool-looking to be honest, but I shook my focus away from that.

"Who are you?"

The guy in the middle stepped closer, not taking the tip of his sword away from my face. "You don't get to ask the questions. You are unidentifiable civilians trespassing on Lord Matthias's property. We have to ask you to leave, or you will be arrested."

I nearly gawked at that. Lord Matthias? No…that had to be a coincidence. Some kind of fat king, yeah, totally not me.

Zane turned his head to gauge my reaction, I could tell his eyes were wide, but he was doing his best to hide his emotions from these guys. Was this…another alternate universe, one in which I'm a king? And is that…my kingdom in the distance?

Looking at these guys, and their lack of modern blue jeans and regular clothing, they seemed to be demigods wearing armor, like the people at Camp Jupiter, or it was just the norm. Meaning…we were in ancient times, most likely during the golden age of the Greek era.

I was speechless, trying to process all of this. If I spoke, it would no doubt come across as garble or incoherent nonsense. But thankfully Zane came to the rescue, and calmly talked to the soldiers.

"How do you know we're foreign?" He said, "What, you just know every single face in that city back there?"

"You'd be surprised." The guy on the left responded, cocking his head. "The Lion is rather picky about his patrons."

"Most of em' are women." The other guy chuckled, "I like it."

Women? The Lion? Okay there was definitely no confusion now. It had to be an alternate version of me. To say I was curious would be an understatement. I wanted to meet this alternate version of me, and even explore the city. Was I a good king? Did my friends exist here? If so, in what way? Was Harper my queen?

That last one almost made me smile and heat up a bit, but I maintained control. For a frightening second, Luke was the last thing on my mind. That's not good.

I steeled myself and screamed at my own head that we were doing this to find him and no one else. Luke, Luke, Luke. Got it, idiot?

I think I do. Coming up with a quick plan, I decided to gamble a little, and pray that this alternate version of me looked a little similar to myself.

I put my hands up and feigned guilt. "Alright, the truth is…I am Lord Matthias's son."

Everyone reared their head back at the statement, including Zane. I could tell he was shooting me a look that said are you crazy? Either that or really, I thought your dad was Hercules?

The soldiers examined me closer, and one of them started waving his finger, nodding. "You know, now that I'm seeing him a bit closer…he really does look like Lord Matthias!"

"He does…like a younger version."

The one in the middle was still skeptical, I could see him wanting to rub his chin in thought. It was clear he was the leader, and didn't have only two brain cells. I silently prayed that it would work. Just please let it work so we can find this stupid human/titan hybrid.

"I never knew the Lion had a cub." He said, confused, "We've never seen you around before, and he's never mentioned you."

I didn't waver or even sweat. I just shrugged, "I'm sure he hasn't. I was sent away when I was younger for being disobedient. You know my father; he can be quite tough."

I desperately hoped that this version of me was the type of person to do something like that, and apparently, he was, because all three of them nodded and murmured agreement. Well, that kind of stung a little, more than I want to admit. Was my counterpart a bad person?

"I was sent to do mere slave work when I was a toddler. It was to teach me a valuable lesson, and I learned it. I was told that at the age of seventeen, I could return and face him again. So…here I am."

The soldiers processed this, looking at each other for signs of hesitance or skepticism. Zane just stood there, stiff as a board and waiting for a verdict. I could practically feel his aura throbbing, waiting for a sign to strike and run.

But it was unnecessary. The leader shrugged, "That does sound like something the Lion would do. I…suppose we can escort you to him. But if you're story proves to be false, we won't give you a head start, we'll just kill you."

"Understood."

"Wait a minute!" The solider on the left suddenly blurted out, a little too loud. All eyes fell towards him as he pointed towards Zane suspiciously. "Who's he then? Your brother?"

I gulped, and felt that maybe a violent action would be necessary now. I couldn't explain Zane's presence, and couldn't come up with anything on the fly.

But Zane just chuckled and threw an arm around my shoulder, "Oh me? I be his best friend, Zane the Third. Pleasure to meet ya. Just taggin along, wanted to see a reunion between father and son, eh? Almost brings a tear to me eye."

I wanted to facepalm. This idiot was going to get us chased across the desert by an army of my counterpart's supporters. What was with the stupid accent? And could they not tell that he was wearing armor? I mean I guess it makes sense for this time period, but the accent? That sounded like something from Ireland, not Greece!

They paused and studied Zane, as if he had just sprouted three heads, all the while the son of Zeus just grinned at them. No way these guys are that stupid. Zane just blew our cover completely-

"Oh alright, Zane the Third. We'll escort you too."

I wanted to fall back on the ground. Of course they said that. Of course they're that stupid.

They gestured to the city and began to walk. "Follow us, we'll lead the way."

As they passed us, I deadpanned at Zane, whispering "Really? Zane the Third?"

He shrugged, "Technically I am royalty, so why not?"

"From Ireland?"

"A good accent though, ya gotta admit!" He grinned broadly, seemingly proud of the horrible impression. "That how your son of Odin buddy Sigurd talks?"

"Not even close."

He just chuckled and I rolled my eyes. Let's just hope we don't make complete fools of ourselves…

My counterpart may or may not be a jerk, but I gotta admit, the city was awesome.

I'd never seen something look so much like Olympus, but also...not. It was like a mix of something completely unimaginable, but so familiar.

Surrounding it, was a moat. And if you don't know what that is, picture a giant trench encircling the city, with blue, crystal water filled to the brim. In it, swam a flurry of fish and sea creatures, jumping and splashing around in the water happily. In the center, right in front of the golden gates, sat a wooden bridge for people to walk on, wide enough for horses and carriages too. The soldiers had positioned themselves in a triangular position around us, realizing that it was probably stupid for them to just walk in front of us the whole time, leaving an opportunity for us to escape. So one stood behind us, while two walked in the front.

When we passed the bridge, I saw a school of exotic, colorful fish swim under us. I stared in awe at them, and the multiple schools afterwards. They were so cool, so various in size and appearance, types and species I'd never seen before. They were mythical. They had to be.

As if things couldn't get cooler, the walls themselves were immaculate. The gates were royal gold, shining in the sunlight and nearly blinding us. Adjacent to them, stood a pair of thick, durable marble walls, standing taller than just about anything I'd ever seen. They had to be hundreds of feet tall. If they were manmade, then that was very, very impressive.

The soldiers gave a hand gesture to the sky, likely signaling someone else to open the gates. They did, and they creaked open, just a little, probably because gold in that quantity is so heavy that they don't want to open it that much. Makes sense.

"Looks like this version of you is filthy rich." Zane whispered, his eyes wide with amusement, "I'll bet he has delicious food just waiting to be thrown away…" He paused, and licked his lips, "…Into my mouth. You think he has fried chicken?"

"Fried Chicken? Really, in Ancient Greece?"

"You never know."

I just sighed and we walked into the city. Greeted…with a marvelous sight.

Damn, I can't really describe it and do it justice. It was perfect, like Heaven, like Olympus, Asgard, or any other city you want to imagine. The buildings were even larger up close, each made of cream-colored brick, which normally would be considered the high class homes, but here it seemed to be on the lower end of the spectrum, as there were literally marble structures littered throughout grass covered plains, filled with an array of beautiful flowers. Water fell everywhere, from tall funnels, sinking into manmade streams that stirred with foam and crystal light. It was beautiful, really beautiful. I could hardly believe what I was looking at.

"Fancy." Zane commented, looking around and nodding with mild admiration.

"Yeah…" I said, practically sighing. "Yeah…it is."

People walked around everywhere, all dressed in togas and classic Greek wear. The dudes were buff and looked like they could chisel stone with their jaws. And the women were gorgeous, all of them. See, there's a beauty hierarchy. Harper and Sera are at the top, with beyond goddess level beauty. Unattainable features, hair and…wow, skin, smooth…fair…

Alright, easy bud.

And then there's Aphrodite, and then so on and so forth.

The women were really pretty, is what I'm trying to say. But I didn't find Zane staring at them, he was staring at the dudes.

"Damn." He said, his eyes darting everywhere. I guess since he was broken up now, it didn't hurt for him to look. "Ancient people are something else…"

"Be quiet, Zane." I shushed him, and turned to the soldiers, "How long has this city been here?"

They hummed in thought, "Uh, centuries, probably. Hell, I don't know, boy, It was here when we started working for Lord Matthias."

"Did he build it?"

"Don't know."

"What's he like these days?"

"Do they have good food up there?"

That last part was Zane. The guards groaned, "You'll find out in a minute. We're taking you to the castle now. And yes, he has lots of food.

Zane practically melted on the spot at the mention of the word. I swallowed, feeling a smile tug at the corners of my lips. I was about to meet a version of myself that was a king, in a giant, amazing city no less. He might be someone that could give me good advice. I really enjoyed interacting with the version of myself that has to fight Ouranos for eternity, so why not this version?

The walk was long, I knew it was, because the castle was at the other end of the city, which covered football field lengths of distance, but it still only felt like it lasted a few minutes.

Even though it was at the back of the city, it was clearly the center of attention. It was wide, and far bigger than any of the other buildings. White steps led up to it's doors, my eyes followed, and looked up to see It's massive mosaic glory. Outside, parallel to the doors, stood two bronze statues, both almost as tall as the castle itself. They looked just like me, only…older, with a toothy smile on my face and what looked like a golden cape on my back. I looked proud, with my hands on my hips and my eyes looking down at everyone.

Zane commented, "You're full of yourself over here, huh?"

I frowned, "As if you wouldn't build a statue of yourself in your own kingdom." To be honest, it looked cool, but building something like that wouldn't really cross my mind. I'd build statues for those that sacrificed themselves and were no longer with us. It doesn't make sense to build one for someone that's still alive. All you have to do show respect is thank them. Maybe I'm weird though.

Zane tilted his head, and snickered, "Yeah, you're right, I probably would."

It was clear that we were both losing sight of what was actually important here. Luke. I was marveling at the city and trying to prepare myself for this encounter, while Zane's over here making idle jokes and searching for any trace of food, all the meanwhile letting his stomach growl like the minotaur. How long has it been since he ate?

Either way, we passed a dozen guards outside of the gates, finally making to the last leap of stairs. They all looked like Greek gods themselves, wearing the same armor as the three that escorted us. Only those guys looked like little juniors compared to these boys. Their auras rang true too, as they were all in the skilled demigod category, or at least, I'd put them there. Whether they were demigods or not, I couldn't tell.

After our escorts explained what was going on, and my story about being the king's son, they shot us a few skeptical looks, but opened the doors anyway, probably not concerned one bit about me actually causing a scene. I had my aura suppressed, but I doubt it matters. It's highly unlikely that these guys, or even my counterpart, has the ability to sense auras.

We walked in, and immediately the smell of both something delicious, and something fragrant hit my nostrils.

I could tell that at the end of the hall, there was a lot of perfume in the air, and food. Zane sniffed several times, and when he got multiple whiffs of the scent, his eyes practically sparkled.

"Ch-Ch-Chicken!" He said, practically quivering with anticipation.

It was all the soldiers could do to keep up with us now. Zane had started full on running throughout the castle towards the direction of the scent, despite their protests. I followed close behind, even though I was pretty hungry, I wasn't thinking about the food right now. We passed several rooms, all of them huge and filled to the brim with exquisite decorations and furniture. I couldn't believe this place, it was so intricate, so well crafted, so…unreal. Heh, if this version of me was any similar, then I know good and well he didn't design this place, because I don't know the first thing about designing a building. He might've had a hand in the labor aspect, though.

"No running in the castle!" One of the soldiers tried to shout, but it was no use. Zane was already about a mile ahead. When we turned the last corner up the stairs, we saw a large room in the distance, it's preciously plated door ajar, showing several figures under a chandelier and on red carpet.

The throne room. It had to be.

Anticipation and excitement bubbled inside me. I was about to me a version of myself, a royal version. A king, a powerful king with a beautiful city. Oh man, is Harper here too? I wonder what she would look like in a Greek toga…

I could hardly contain myself, and soon enough I was right next to Zane, bumbling along with his excitement. Unfortunately though, we didn't see the slight upturn of the carpet at the door, and when our feet hit it, we tripped over and fell flat on our faces, causing a loud noise to echo in the area.

All inhabitants turned to us, every one of them women, all dressed in revealing, skimpy clothing. They looked down on us in confusion, and then back up towards the throne.

That was when I saw him. Or well, saw me.

He had one leg draped over the armchair of the throne, the rest of his body sunken in on the other half, lazily and completely relaxed. But if he was lazy, then it was very hard to tell. His physique was jaw dropping, even more impressive than my current state. More defined, bigger in size, and he even had a darker shade of tan, like a golden sunburn, perfectly timed.

He was a bit taller than me too, overall, I'd say six and a half feet, which is massive in my eyes. I never in a million years thought I could grow to be that height. But then again, that Old Man version of me was even taller than this guy…so maybe it was just fate or something.

Either way, I couldn't help but smile in awe at him. He wore the exact same cuirass as me, except his was laced with traces of gold, and plates of neat bronze. On his back, sat a bright golden cape, furled out over the chair, and tucked in between his back. His hair was a bit more on the gel-looking side, as opposed to my fluffier mop, he looked like he spent hours on his hair, and his face…man, he probably spent hours on that too. His features were flawless, his eyes somehow made brown seem like a royal color. He was extremely attractive, and I felt both jealous and very excited. Jealous that I don't look like him now, and hopeful that someday I will. Oh man, Harper would be floored if she saw this version of me right now. Heck, everyone would. A king Matt? Come on.

If Zane noticed my royal counterpart, he didn't care in the slightest. On either side of the carpet, were two long tables filled to the brim with heaps of food. All kinds of meat, both normal and mythical, vegetables, deserts, you name it, they had it, steaming hot and hitting the room with a heavenly smell.

His eyes widened to an impossible size, "CHICKEN! OH YES!" He then threw every amount of caution to the wind and ran towards the table, practically leaping over to it so he could grab handfuls of food and shove them to his mouth. I felt my teeth gritting in frustration. Really? He can't contain himself for one second in the sight of chicken. It wasn't even fried! Or well…maybe it was, I can't tell. Either way, he shouldn't be acting like this right now!

The soldiers behind me started to apprehend him, when King Matt held up a hand, smiling with amusement at Zane. "Leave him be. Can't blame him after all, we do have the finest food amongst every land."

Wow, he even spoke with authority. His voice was deeper than mine, more commanding, so…confident. I couldn't believe it, it was like meeting my hero, only it was myself. Which is weird, but cool.

"What do you want?" He said, eyeing the soldiers.

They seemed to gulp under his intense gaze, "S-sir, this young man here says he is your son. He came to see you."

I was afraid he was going to blow my cover and immediately tell them to send me away, when he noticed me, and leaned forward. A few moments passed as he studied me, and I fought the urge to bite my fingernails. It was dead silent, not even the abundance of nearly naked women made a peep. The only sound that could be heard was Zane's lips smacking and his hands slamming the table for more meat.

Finally, King Matt gave a knowing nod, and settled back onto his throne. "I see. Very well, leave us."

"B-But sir!"

His eyes flashed a dangerous tint of red, "I said leave us. Or do you want to become another carcass on the table for that boy to eat?"

I almost didn't hear the threat; I was so entranced. That was rather…brutal, but I guess it could be contributed to a rough day or something. Or maybe these soldiers give him a rough time. Yeah, that could be it.

The soldiers practically squealed in fear, and they nodded a quick "Yes sir!" Before running off down the hall, trembling the whole way.

King Matt waved his hand and the doors closed behind me, as if pushed back by invisible wind. He looked me up and down, "I don't remember having a son, or at least one your age."

"Well sir, you see…" I started, and walked up to the throne, passing the women on my way there. They were giving me weird looks, like they couldn't tell who the real Matt was. Our similarities were striking, I will say that, but to me it's no contest. King Matt looks like the refined, perfect version of me. The godly version of me, if you will.

As I got closer, I noticed that on his throne, he had a lion's mane spread out across it, a very, very large golden pelt, the head almost parallel to his. Was that…

"The Nemean Lion? Yes." He said, reading my mind and eyeing his spoil proudly. "I killed it when I was a boy. Ripped it's throat out from the inside."

That should've set off a red flag in my head, but I was too excited to hear that he was powerful as well, and killed the same monster as my father and I. Man, I should've known he was strong! His aura is…wow, it's impressive, even suppressed. He has to be a god or something, he has to be.

I was about to say something, when Zane interrupted, "Really? Me too! I snapped it's neck when I was eleven!"

I gave him an incredulous look, and he just shrugged, going back to eating his meat. What was he thinking? Just spouting out information like that, potentially causing a time paradox. If he knows we're demigods, that could ruin everything!

Or maybe…

King Matt just regarded Zane, and threw his head back, howling laughter. It was so powerful and loud that it vibrated the entire castle, shaking it and causing the tables at the side to rattle.

When it subsided, I looked at him in amazement. That kind of power…he is, he is a god!

He looked at me smugly, "Impressed, are you?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"Tell me the truth. You aren't my son, are you?"

"Um, n-no sir. I'm actually an alternate version of you, from a different universe."

I expected him to fall out of his chair, or react in a shocked manner, but no, he just nodded and hummed, allowing the woman next to his armrest to feed him another handful of grapes. "That so? Interesting." He said through muffled words.

"Y-Yeah, and we're here because we're trying to find a guy named Luke. He was originally a demigod, but recently he fused with the titan Kronos, and now he's threatening to destroy all reality. We have to stop him."

Even still, King Matt just nodded his head, seemingly catching every word and processing it with no difficulty. Wow, that was easier than I thought. This is actually turning out to be far less stressful than I could've imagined. It's actually kind of…cool.

But when King Matt spoke next, it wasn't about Luke. "So you're me? But you're not a god?"

I was a bit taken back. He didn't want to know about Luke? That's weird. The guy poses a potential threat to his kingdom, and once he heard "fused with Kronos" I figured he would jump into immediate action. But no, he wanted to know about me.

"Are you?" I retorted calmly.

He nodded, "Yes, I am the god of strength and heroes, the patron of lions and athletes, and the thirteenth Olympian."

My eyes widened, "The thirteenth Olympian?!"

He nodded, "Yes. But in terms of power I am ranked fourth, right behind the foolish band of brothers. But let's be honest, I can beat Hades. He's not very impressive. His strength is decent, his magic is meh, his weaponry skill is okay I guess, but none of that compares to my power. His only neat trick is summoning the dead. Other than that, I could take him without much difficulty."

After his little speech, he glanced down at his biceps and smirked proudly. I changed a bit in demeanor, the truth finally hitting me like a ton of bricks. Oh, so he's one of those types then.

Still, I didn't let it deter me. "Well that's cool, but no, I'm not a god, and I don't plan on becoming one. I'm only seventeen, I'm the son of Hercules from a modern universe in a camp full of people like me. We're fighting the Primordial Ouranos and his allies." I sighed, "have been for years at this point."

None of that seemed to ring with him, as he raised an eyebrow after gulping down another bouquet of fed grapes. "A camp of demigods? Ouranos? I don't know what you're talking about boy, but it sounds mildly amusing. You strong?"

I was starting to get a little annoyed. This guy was slowly getting on my nerves, and going from being really cool, to really infuriating. "What does it matter? We're here for Luke. Have you seen him? He's blonde, has a cracked face, a scar on his eye, golden eyes, tall frame-"

"Yeah, you are pretty strong. Your energy says so." He smirked, interrupting me, "You'd make an excellent protegee."

Was this guy stupid? He wasn't even listening to me! I looked over to Zane for some backup, but of course, he was still scarfing down and stuffing his face with food, already clearing half the table by himself, and leaving behind a trial of empty plates. A few of the women had enough and tried to pry him away, but every time they attempted, he'd use his telekinesis to send them sliding several feet away. Like a dog growling when you pet him during mealtime.

So he wasn't going to be any help. Of course, I should've known it would be up to me. My counterpart, my problem, I guess.

"I don't want to be your protegee!" I said, annoyed. "Look dude, we fell in this universe to find a guy named Luke. If you haven't seen him in the city, can you by any chance reach out with you godly aura sense and see if he's on the planet? Or you know what, I can just do it-"

"So you're a son of Heracles too, eh?" He mused, still not listening to a word I said, only when it came to my bio. "Did you kill your father too?"

That made my frustrations fade and my attention peak. "What?"

"Did you kill him too? You know, in your universe or world or whatever."

Was he asking me…that as a serious question? Killing my father?

His face and tone brokered no laughing matter, so he was serious.

"Why, did you kill him over here?"

He nodded, and to my surprise grinned deeply, as if the memory was the happiest moment of his life. "I did. I stabbed him through the heart with a sword, then used his own club to bash his head in until it was nothing but a pile of red soup and gore." He giggled, "It was glorious."

I felt rage overcome me, and my fists clenched. Around me, the red aura strobed, making my aura level rise and fall rapidly. This finally got Zane's attention, as he turned around quickly to look at the escalating situation, a piece of meat dangling from his mouth.

"It was…what?" I said, my tone deadly. How dare he say something like that to me? How dare he kill our father. Was this guy just a plain psychopath, is that it?

He took note of my power spike, and sat up in his chair a little. "So you are strong. That's good, but I advise against attacking me, lest you get obliderated."

"You killed our father?! Why?!"

He shrugged, "Because he went crazy one day and killed Megara, my mother, and my siblings. I was the only one that survived, and I reacted in time to kill him and save myself."

I stopped at that. Megara? That was…my dad's first wife, the mortal wife from long ago that he…killed.

Oh no, that's not good.

"Okay man, I know this is going to sound crazy, but that was Hera's fault. She influenced his mind to make him do that."

He knit his eyebrows, "Why?"

"Because she hated him for being Zeus's son out of wedlock! It was for revenge." I said, like he should know that. But in reality, that situation was understandable and really depressing. In his shoes, yeah, I could understand why he did such a thing. But he didn't know the truth behind it.

But King Matt didn't buy it, shaking his head. "Impossible. Hera wouldn't do that, she's a nice goddess. Always favored me."

"Because you killed Hercules, man. Of course she's going to love you!"

It was his turn to start getting annoyed with me. "Why are you defending our father so easily? What, you have a good relationship with him back in your world?"

I started to retort loudly, about to say "I do!" But then I remembered that would be the incorrect word. 'Did' was the correct word, since he was dead there too.

My shoulders slumped, "I…did."

To my displeasure, he chuckled. "So he's dead over there too? Well, good to know that justice spreads throughout the universes."

"Justice?! He was a good man in my world! He sacrificed himself to save me!"

"Sacrificed? I don't think so, little man. Hercules only thinks for himself. Even if in that moment he was influenced somehow, you expect me to believe that Hera didn't use what horrible thoughts were already there? He was an asshole before he killed my family. And I guarantee you that back in your world, it was the same."

"He wasn't a good person at one point, yeah, but he changed!"

"You're clearly seventeen." He laughed playfully at me, "And it's good you don't want to become a god, you don't have an ounce of maturity or perspective."

"What- okay, look, let's just agree to disagree. The point is, do you know where Luke is?"

He let that hang for a minute, maybe for once he'd actually give me a straight answer. He hummed in thought, tapping his chin with his finger.

"It's a simple question, yes or no," I growled.

"No, haven't seen him."

I sighed, "At last. That's all I wanted to know. We'll be leaving now, come on Zane."

I motioned for Zane, but when I did, King Matt stood up and his aura surged across the room, hitting us in the back like a powerful gust of wind. We turned around to find him, his mouth wide with a devilish grin.

"You aren't going anywhere. I know what you two have come here to do. You've come to overthrow me."

I reared my head back, he was insane. "Dude, we're literally leaving!"

He stared at us wolfly, his intensity scaring the women into leaving the room immediately, leaving just the three of us.

"And once you leave, you'll stick around until I'm at my most vulnerable, then you'll attack with your little son of Zeus friend there."

Zane's eyes widened, "How did you-"

"When you're a god, you pick up a thing or two. Such as an advanced sensing for energies."

I shook my head, putting my hands up. "Look dude, we're not here to fight. We'll leave, okay?"

"You expect me to believe that my counterpart just shows up out of nowhere looking for a titan that's been dead for thousands of years? No. I know that you came to seize my power, because you have none of your own back in your world. My title, my women, my castle…" He smirked, his eyes radiating pride. "You're envious of all of it."

This was getting to the point of insanity. Was he that much of a narcissist? Or was he just begging for a fight that much?

"I'm not envious of anything. I already have a girlfriend, and I'd take Camp over this place any day."

He scoffed, "Why take a wood shack over this marvelous castle and limit yourself to one teenage twig?"

Teenage twig?!

I fought down a migraine and just threw my hand at him, "Whatever. We're outta here."

But then, before I could react, I heard the throne hit the glass windows behind it, and a crack of thunder erupt in the room. Before I could turn around, it was too late. I felt a strong, painful force hit me in the spine, so abrupt that I couldn't even yell or make a noise, I simply felt my body being folded and saliva leave my mouth as he tackled me.

There was a moment of delay, and then the force took over. We shot through the castle, hitting walls and paintings, bursting through all of them, and finally crashing through a window leading out into the sky.

We were hundreds of feet above the city ground, and we were moving rapidly across. I was sure we would hit the desert, if I could think comprehensively at the moment. I was too focused on the pain to care, it was horrible. I hadn't expected it or had time to protect myself, so I was left with a throbbing sensation, like fire shooting up and down my back.

King Matt then pushed me away from him and reared his fist back. The only thing I saw before he punched me, was his large shadow against the sun, and his smirking face. Then, impact.

Two impacts. One for my face, and two for my body crashing on the sand.

BOOM!

It erupted all around me, sizzling in the air and flying sideways with the wind. The pain in my spine only flared more. I winced and groaned in agony. That was a tough hit, a really tough hit. He was strong, there was no doubt about that, more experienced than me, with godly powers and healing to boot. This wasn't going to be easy at all.

I had barely propped myself up on my elbows when he landed not ten feet away from me, glowering down and keeping his smirk.

"I'm impressed you survived that. Maybe this will be fun after all."

I didn't have time to say anything, because shortly after, I heard a shockwave in the air, and saw a figure surrounded with blue aura flying towards us.

"HEY, KING DUMBASS!"

Zane came flying down with Thymos above him, ready to smash the god version of me to smithereens. But he wasn't as slow as that. King Matt's eyes widened, and I could tell that he had never seen a weapon like that, or Heavenly Diamond period, but he knew it was filled with chaotic energy, and that wasn't good news for him. He immediately got serious and thrust out his hand, forming a long, celestial bronze sword from nowhere.

Zane and he collided, Thymos shattering the sword with ease at the slightest of touches. King Matt glanced at it for a second in pure shock, then saw Zane's Morningstar coming for his face again in a side swing. He pushed both his hands out and formed a red aura barrier around him. Thymos hit it, and shattered it immediately, but Matt was safe, simply sliding on his heels a little.

Zane was by my side in an instant, reaching out with his hand. "You good?"

"Yeah." I said, taking his offer. As I stood up, the pain flared again. Man, he might've broken my entire back, or did something to it. I remembered what Atlas had done to me on that beach, and that could've been a contributor to what I was feeling right now. Even though I used Viribus on the wound strenuously, he had broken my spirit that day, and I don't think it'll ever fully heal, same with my back. I would always feel a hint of underlying pain.

Still, I unsheathed Viribus and reached around my body, placing the tip of it on my spine. It immediately felt better, and my aura replenished like nothing had happened. I straightened myself and detached the club, ready to fight.

King Matt just studied us, mildly confused. "You're healing factor is on par with an Olympian's. And that Morningstar…" He looked at it, a hint of fear in his eyes. "Just what kind of weapons do you two possess."

"Why don't you come over here and find out?" Zane said, spinning Thymos once for emphasis.

King Matt only grinned with delight, "Only makes it more fun. As far as I'm concerned, you'll need it."

"Matt, I hate to say it, but your counterpart's an asshole," Zane said, "I almost prefer the zombie."

"He's going down." I corrected, "Seems he doesn't know about the full capabilities of our weapons, so if we can surprise and overwhelm him, we've got a good shot."

Zane nodded, and we prepared for another clash. In reality, this was the last thing I wanted to do. We needed to be focusing on finding Luke, and finding Luke alone. How many more universes were we going to just fall into? How many more confrontations would we find ourselves in? If it kept on like this, we'd never find him at this rate.

It was safe to say he wasn't here, though. After that display of power, he would've come here by now and tried to fight us himself. Either that, or we would've felt a rise in aura nearby as he created another portal. We felt neither of those things, so it was safe to deduce that he hadn't come to this universe.

Still, none of that deterred my godly variant. He disappeared with a flash, and we followed suit.

We darted across the desert, using it as our own personal battlefield. King Matt decided that forming weapons would be pointless against Viribus and Thymos, so he kept using his red aura barriers. Zane and I now in our awakened forms, we shattered every barrier and wall he put up with a single shot, but he was quick. Every time we released a flurry of rapid strikes, he would either dodge or create a multitude of barriers. It was like whack a mole, only he had control of the moles, and a limitless supply of stamina to sustain them.

Finally, he had enough of our onslaught, and roared at the top of his lungs. A shockwave burst around him, and we were forced back. Almost immediately, he aimed his palm at me, and I felt myself go completely still, as in…I couldn't move.

"You're nothing like me!" He yelled, "Fear is a tool, and I use that over my kingdom! You've never utilized fear in your life!" His aura started to act strangely, it danced around his fingers, and he pulled his hand back to snap them, laughing as he did so. What was going on?

Then, my body started to throb, all over.

"AGHHH!" I shouted, unable to stop it. The hair on my arms started to get longer, I felt my teeth get sharper and my nose start to stretch. My body was going through some kind of painful metamorphosis. My insides turning to Jello, my neck reaching impossible lengths, my ears becoming pointed.

Zane watched on in horror, his eyes wide. He turned to King Matt and snarled "What are you doing?!"

King Matt smiled wickedly, "He's an animal, so why not turn him into one?"

That's what he was doing? Turning me into an animal?

I knew gods could do stuff like that, but I'd never seen it in person. With a simple snap of his fingers, he's induced some kind of spell on me. A spell that I couldn't resist.

Couldn't resist? If I didn't, then I'd die here…

No, no, I can't let that happen. Not in some alternate universe, at the hands of my douchebag counterpart. No, it's not going to happen. I won't let it.

"GET OFF OF ME!"

My shout held weight to it, so much that it blew both Zane and King Matt backward. The Red aura flared around me, brightening the already well lit area, creating a crater underneath my boots. I felt my power skyrocket, my rage and desire taking control. It broke the spell immediately, whatever effect it once had, was now long gone. I heard it snap, like a long metal wire in the air. King Matt was visibly shaken, nearly falling back on his butt.

"Y-You, how did you-"

"I'm the Son of Hercules." I said simply, but threateningly, my voice seemingly holding the volume of a hundred growling lions. "I embrace that, while you push it away. You're the one that has no perspective."

His face twitched in anger, "SHUT UP!" He tried to get up and attack me, but it was no use. As soon as he brought his fist next to his head, I swung Viribus at a speed far faster than light could dream of going, or at least, that's what It felt like. It hit him in the cheek and the aura exploded in red glory, crackling in the air.

I didn't sense Zane coming at all, just him standing there, watching. I wasn't even focused on that, I was focused on this pathetic excuse of a god in front of me.

He was on all fours, coughing up ichor into the sand. He got up quickly and spun around, his fist taking form of a red, glowing hammer. I simply dove in and shoulder checked his gut. He doubled over and screamed in pain, coughing up more ichor. I casually delivered an uppercut to his chin, and he flipped twice in the air, flailing like a ragdoll before splatting on the sand again.

"You could beat Hades?" I said, mocking his claim earlier. "You shouldn't even dream of it."

"You little shit! I'll kill you and leave your body in display for my patrons to see!"

"The people you use fear to rule over?" I growled, "You see them as equals?"

"They're mere insects! They're nothing to me!" He spat, not even bothering to lie to save his own skin.

I punched him again, this time in the nose. Blood flew everywhere from it, nearly spraying on my armor. He grabbed it and howled in agony, writhing on the ground. This fight was over.

"You are right about one thing…" I said, and sheathed Viribus. Once I put the necklace back on, I reached out with my right hand, straight towards Zane, "…I'm not like you."

Everyone at camp had a say, they were equal in right. This…. wasn't right, not a bit. I couldn't believe I had been excited to meet this trash to begin with.

Finally, Zane caught on and tossed me the morning star. I felt it's grip reach my palm and I latched on instantly, feeling it's chaotic power wash over me, just a hint of it. It was exhilarating, and terrifying.

The next action took less than a second. With a roar, I smashed the Morningstar into my counterpart, hitting him once with all I could muster, and leaving it at that. The ichor on the ground, the dust that flew in the air…well, you can piece together the dots if you want.

And I stood there, breathing hard and staring where he once lay, still gripping Thymos.

Zane came up to me, "Dude…you good?"

I looked over at him, and saw caution in his eyes, like I was going to turn on him next or something. It wasn't exactly fear, no, but it was definitely caution. Zane apprehensively took his weapon back, slowly retrieving it from my hand.

I sighed, not ready to deal with the potential consequences of what I just did yet, and how it would affect things. I hoped not at all. Maybe…that wasn't necessary, but his emotions…were so dark, I could tell he had done unspeakable things, horrible atrocities across his long lifespan. Was it worth it? Should I have done that?

"Matt, we gotta go." Zane said, and gestured behind him.

There, sat a large portal, bigger than the one last time in the apocalyptic New York.

"Did I-"

"Yeah" He nodded, a bit grimly, "You did."

I formed that? In my…rage, or whatever it was? You're telling me that I crafted a bigger portal than the one we created combined? But how does that…

"Nevermind." I said aloud, "Let's just keep going."

Zane said nothing, and just patted me on the back, urging me along. But I didn't steel myself and keep my face forward. No, I wasn't strong enough for that action. I had to take a moment to look back at the empty desert, specifically the spot where I ended a god's reign.

Zane and I jumped through the portal, and ended up back in the dimension bridge.

Nothing had changed, of course, so we were left with the same options.

"Luke wasn't there," I said, discouraged, "How long are we going to have to keep looking? What if he's too far?"

"He's not too far." Zane assured, "He couldn't have gone too far. We'll find him, trust me."

I wasn't so sure. If Luke was that powerful, and fast, then I think it's safe to say that he's long gone by now, in an even further plane of universes that we can't reach, doing something awful in one of them. We might just be in over our heads here.

But Zane pressed on. He had this determined look on his face, not really unwavering confidence, but the drive and acceptance that he had to do this. For the sake of his world, for the sake of his sanity. As if his sanity rested on the very action of defeating Luke once and for all.

I understood that.

"There." Zane said, pointing to a portal far in the distance, most likely at random. "That's the one we go through next."

"Why that one?"

He narrowed his eyes at it, probably unable to even discern the reasoning himself. "I don't know…I just have a feeling that I need to see whatever's through there."

Even if I wanted to argue, I'd have no opportunity to do so. Zane was already off, floating towards the portal.

"Zane, wait!" I called, "Maybe we should think this through!"

It fell on deaf ears. Zane was already climbing through the portal. Welp, guess this was our next stop.

I needed to get my mind off of what I did. I needed to focus, but…I couldn't help it. I murdered that variant of myself, potentially causing problems in that universe. No, definitely causing problems in that universe. Would there be repercussions?

I couldn't think about it. Now wasn't the time.

So I shook my head and followed Zane through the portal.

Where we fell out at, shocked me. It was Camp Half Blood, the exact same as the one from Zane's home universe. I know, because none of the minor god cabins were present.

We stood on the outskirts of half blood hill, down at the bottom, looking up at the camp. There were kids everywhere, it seemed to be the middle of the evening so they were likely participating in activities.

"What would Luke be doing here?"

Zane shook his head, "I don't know, but we should check it out."

He crouched down and started to sneak up the hill, much to my dismay.

"Zane!" I hissed, but he had selective hearing.

I groaned silently and followed him until he stopped behind a bush, peeking out and scanning the camp.

"See anything?" He asked, cupping his hands over his eyes as if using binoculars.

"A bunch of kids, no Luke." I said, reaching out with my aura sense, I glossed over the campers, and felt no sign of the titan hybrid. "Let's go."

But before we could even move, I noticed a presence next to us, or more accurately, right next to Zane.

I tapped Zane on the shoulder and gestured for him to look at the kid. And when we did, it was like looking in a mirror, or at least, a mirror of the guy next to me.

It was Zane…a younger, weaker version of Zane, shaking in fear and looking at us wide eyed.

"Uh…who are you?" Zane asked, still not catching on.

The kid timidly waved, "I-I'm Z-Zane Williams, S-Son of Z-Zeus."

(000)

And that's chapter five. This multiverse stuff is really trippy, but fun to write. Yet another version of Matt in the mix, and turns out he's a jerk. Oh well, maybe we'll get a good version soon.

Next chapter's thesuperone342's, so be ready!

Until Next Time.