The final chapter of the second crossover. This has been very fun and I'd like to thank thesuperone342 really quick for supplying those amazing chapters! Hope you all enjoy!

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)

I stared up at the older, wiser, much more powerful version of myself, completely baffled. Of all the universes we had to crash in…

"Y-You…" I said shakily, unable to get any more words out.

He nodded, his face neutral and hard, "Yes. Me. Why are you back?" He raised his chin at Zane, "And what is he doing here?"

Zane stepped forward, a mix of emotions on his face, "How do you know my name?"

I interrupted, not thinking about how rude it was until after I practically shouted my words, "Is Luke here? Or…Kronos, whichever it is, it's an evil, massive aura that I'm sure you would've noticed-"

Old me held up a hand and looked to the sky. Thunder boomed in the distance, the yellow tint twisted, and the clouds began to gather dangerously, as if forming some kind of cyclone, a faint laughter could be heard. It was…evil, and familiar.

Old Matt glared, "We need to get away from here. He's close."

"He?" Zane said, looking around wildly trying to find the source of the danger. "Who's he? And how the hell do you know my name?!"

Old Matt shushed him when clouds began to light up, brighter and brighter. Our eyes drifted, up there in the collection of clouds, was a face, a face that wasn't there before. A mouth, a pair of eyes, and a nose formed from the darkness. It was grinning and laughing loudly, it's voice booming down from above.

"Stand back!" Old Matt said. The event happened within the matter of seconds. He pushed us both back on the ground, seemingly with his mind. He made no physical contact with us, yet I felt an invisible force wrap around my midsection and throw me several feet back in the sand. Same with Zane, he was flat on his back, eyes wide at being tossed like a sack of potatoes. It was clear he wasn't used to the move being done on him.

In the moment after, I saw why. The sky split open, and a coil of brilliant, blinding white light shot down, a never-ending tower of energy, as wide as the entire foreseeable circumference of sand, meaning there was light all around, covering everything. As it rained down, I felt my heart begin to beat faster, panic welled up in my chest. This was an attack? From Ouranos? My gods…a single bolt was enough to cover hundreds of miles of land? A single trace of it could evaporate us into dust, and there'd be nothing we could do about it.

Then there was Old Matt, standing there stoically, just watching the brightness fall down to the Earth, threatening to obliterate everything.

"GET DOWN!" I shouted, but it was no use, he didn't hear me. Or he didn't want to hear me.

But the unthinkable happened. I knew he was strong, and just assumed he had gone through this type of punishment before. But that bolt…that was unthinkable. The level of heat and power behind it, there was no way he could take that head on and not be hurt!

He raised his hand, and the shadow of a sword appeared in his grip. He pushed it up to the sky, as far as his arm would reach, and instead of the lightning hitting the sand, it began to thin and concentrate into the tip of the sword. Finally, with light speed, it was sucked into the sword. Instantly, all the light from the air disappeared and transferred to the sword. Small sparkles of electricity danced around it, and the sword itself glowed. I reached out, and under a heavy layer of chaotic energy, was the energy from the attack. He had literally caught the blast and put it inside of his sword. But how was that possible? The amount of speed and aura control it would take to do that…you'd have to practice for decades to perfect a move like that.

Old Matt clamped his hand on the sword, and the glow ceased, instead switching over to his hand. He held the small bundle of light in his palm for a moment, and regarded it like an interesting insect. Then he promptly crushed it, squeezing his fingers until it died.

Silence fell, and the yellow sky returned as normal, but Zane and I were dumbfounded, completely shaken by the display we had just seen. Zane's reaction especially surprised me. He was looking at Old Matt with his mouth open, completely taken back by his strength. He'd felt Ouranos's attack, he knew how powerful it was. And for the alternate version of myself to simply catch it like it was nothing…well, let's just say I mirrored his expression. That was crazy.

"He's sensed new auras on this world." He looked at us, his gaze intense. "He'll stop at nothing to kill you, as long as you're with me. We need to get someplace safer, brace yourselves."

"Wait-" Zane started, but it was too late. Old Matt had already snapped his fingers, and we disappeared from our comfy spot on the sand.

There was no bridge world, no kaleidoscope like the one I see in Malachi's teleportation, or any other gods'. Here, it was completely instantaneous. One frame, we were on our butts, looking up at our savior, and then the next, we were inside a hut, placed on wooden chairs.

Zane grabbed the sides of the chair in shock and looked from left to right, his breaths rapid and harsh, "Wh-What the hell?!"

I too was taken by surprise. The speed at which everything was happening, it was mind numbing. No time to process anything at all. Out of all those universes, we landed in this one, the same one that I fell in last time. This crazy world, the poster location of "worst possible outcome."

Old Matt was at the door, "Relax. You're safe here." He walked into the dim light. I took a moment to examine his appearance. He was immortal, so of course he hadn't changed a bit. He was still massive, dwarfing Zane and I by several inches and a giant frame. His hair matched mine, and his beard remained intact and neatly trimmed. He wore a carbon copy of my armor, sleeveless and faded bronze, with a large brown pelt hanging on the balls of his shoulders and coming down over his back. Strapped in sheathes, he had not one, not two, but three Heavenly Diamond weapons. The sword he used moments ago, a labrys, and a one-sided battle axe. The chaotic power was overwhelming, so much so, I found it hard to stay focused or even calm, the air was thick, and my nerves were shot, I knew they were the cause. It always makes me uneasy just being around one, let alone three, plus Zane's weapon.

The hut he'd placed us in sort of matched his rugged demeanor. It was small, made of damp cement it seemed, and it had an igloo shape. There were a couple of windows and perhaps a few rooms. We sat in what I'd guess to be the dining room area, as Zane and I were in chairs to a long table with several others. Interesting, I thought Old Matt said it was just he and Ouranos last time I saw him. What does he need the other chairs for?

He had his arms crossed, looking at us expectantly. After we just stared at him for a minute, he sighed and took a seat opposite of us. "Alright, I think I deserve an explanation. What are you doing here, Matt? And why are you with…Zane Williams?"

Zane got over his shock and leaned up in his chair. "No, I think you need to explain how you know my name first, and then we'll do some talking."

From the last time we spoke, I got the general impression that Old Matt was a good man, and wouldn't harm anyone on his side. But still, the guy was powerful, so powerful that it makes every other encounter on this little multiverse journey look like child's play. With a single flick of his finger, I have no doubt he could send both Zane and I to kingdom come. So I was a bit worried for Zane when he busted out the loud voice and the demanding attitude. I looked back to Old Matt to gauge his reaction.

He just studied Zane, no offense taken whatsoever, and said "I knew you when I was young."

Zane furrowed his eyebrows, "Me? How?"

"Well, not you, but a different version of you. He came to my world, and we fought." His eyes narrowed, as if thinking back on the number of years and the event that took place. "That was a long, long time ago. I hadn't thought about you in centuries until this moment, and you haven't changed one bit. In appearance, that is. Your more powerful now than you were back then."

Was he referring to his chaotic form? Or his simple base? Could this version of myself sense any level of aura, even past forms that we had entered? Could he tell I had used the Master Bolt already?

"Yeah, I can." He said, and then tapped his head. "Mind reading, remember? I am a god after all, unfortunately."

"Oh, um…right." Was all I could say. Despite only meeting him once, I felt a small sense of guilt at having used the bolt on Atlas and not Ouranos. Was he going to judge me for that?

He shook his head, "Not at all, kid. I've already gauged your memories; the bolt was necessary in that fight. Believe me, Atlas is no easy warrior to defeat. You did what you had to do."

Gauged my memories? In the few seconds we had been here? Just what…okay, hold on, it's going to take me a minute to catch up, everything was moving too fast.

"You saw?"

"Yes. A shame Levi couldn't survive, even in another universe."

My mouth parted, "T-that happened here, too?"

"It did."

I should've asked why he didn't warn me, but I didn't want to get sidetracked. I couldn't have either way, because Zane was already spouting another question.

"Wait, so the same thing that happened to us happened to you? I fell into his world and fought him too."

Old Matt nodded, "That's how it happened."

"Is that the only time you interacted with me- I mean, the alternate version of me?"

"Yes."

Zane took the information in and shook his head, confused. "So you never met me again? You didn't do what we're doing now?"

"Not that I remember. And what are you doing exactly? You still haven't answered my question."

I chimed in at that, "We're chasing Luke. He's a demigod that fused with the titan Kronos, and he's extremely dangerous. He's been jumping from one universe to the next, even destroying some, killing billions of people. We think he might be here."

Old Matt didn't even blink, he just listened in stride. "Kronos, the titan king. Hmm, I remember that being the one Zane longed to defeat all those years ago. But I don't remember it being as bad as destroying multiple realities…" He trailed off and looked down at the table. "Is he fully fused, or still growing stronger?"

Zane and I looked at each other, unsure of what to say. I shrugged at him, signaling that he do the talking on this one. He knows Luke better than I do.

So Zane did, choosing his words carefully. "I…I'm not sure, to be honest. He's always been insane, but now he's entered astronomical levels of batshit craziness. See, he's got this new weapon, Aponsynthesi. It's a scythe made of Heavenly Diamond. He's got this…connection with it, it keeps boosting his power, giving him more energy with each passing minute, and on top of all that, he manipulates time." Zane's face twitched angrily, "It's a hell of an annoyance, I can tell you that."

Old Matt nodded slowly, "I see."

He remained silent, and stood up from his chair, walking over to the window that peeked out into the wasteland. He stopped and stared.

Zane and I looked at each other again, not sure if he really cared about what was going on, or if he was just taking it all in. It was pretty crazy, so I understood. We told him what was going on, but what now?

I stood up, "I know this is out of nowhere, and you've got your own problems with…well, Ouranos. But if you could just help us locate him, we could maybe force him out of this world and fight him somewhere else."

He said nothing.

I persisted, "Please, Matt…just one more time. I know I haven't exactly paid you back for the bolt, and I don't think I ever could. But we don't want to bother you here, let us handle the problem."

In the back of my mind, leaving Luke here and simply leaving him to Old Matt would be ideal, but that would be kind of pointless. What would stop Luke from just escaping himself? He'd catch up with us again soon, or get too far away for us to find him.

"He's here."

I almost missed Old Matt's claim, "What?"

"He's on the planet, far away, but on the planet."

Zane and I sighed with relief. He hadn't gotten away from us after all.

"How far?" Zane asked, placing his hand on the table.

"A thousand miles or so, wandering around, trying to figure out why there aren't any people here." Old Matt flinched, "Oh yes, I can tell he has the titan King in his mind. I can hear his screaming thoughts."

"Screaming thoughts?"

"Telling him to kill everyone. The gods, you both, mortals…his intentions are strong."

I ignored how impressive it was that he both read the mind, and the aura of Luke from that far away, on top of breaking the titan hybrid's mental defense. My variant broke through like it was nothing.

"That's great!" I exclaimed, "If he's here, we can just find him and-"

"No." He said sternly, stopping my voice in my tracks.

"N-No?"

"Someone like that…believe me, letting them gain an inch of distance is incredibly dangerous. I can't allow him to turn your world to ash, Zane."

Zane was back in his seat, leaned all the way, "That's not your responsibility, man. Don't worry about it. It's my-"

"Burden?" Old Matt interrupted, "Yes, they all think that. But let me tell you, at this rate, not even the chaotic form can help you."

As if Zane could appear more surprised. I didn't think it was possible. "H-How did you-"

"I won't allow another world to be destroyed." His eyes told the entire story that I heard once before, how he lost everyone he held dear. My friends, the people that I knew. He had lost them. He didn't want to same to happen to Zane.

"I pitied the version of you that I met. He was caught in a struggle, endless, like mine. Not just against an external enemy, but an internal one."

Zane reared his head back, "Internal? Look Old Matt, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but if you're as powerful as I think, you've already seen my memories. You know I've changed." He bit his lip uncomfortably, as if that wasn't completely correct, or some invisible force told him to say the next words. "Or at least...I've tried to change."

But Old Matt pursed his lips, "I didn't mean that struggle. Although that one isn't over yet either, I meant your desire to become the strongest."

Zane was shocked, for a reason that was lost on me. He'd told me before, not that he wanted to be the strongest, but that he would be the strongest one day. Was that a desire he held from his friends? From his boyfriends? Or well, ex-boyfriends.

"What's wrong with that?" Zane said defensively, "So what if I want to be the strongest, or become a god. Isn't that a good thing?"

Old Matt shook his head, almost disappointed at Zane's response. "You are strong, and your potential is limitless. But you have much wisdom to gain, son of Zeus."

The said son of Zeus looked mildly offended, but he stayed quiet. It was rare to see Zane like this. Normally, he was so confident, so battle intuitive and pretty smart himself. To be softly scolded by my counterpart must've been a bit frustrating, especially since his desire to get even stronger than he is now is so powerful. It's a value he holds dear.

"Gaining strength to defeat your enemies is one thing, but to simply become the strongest being in existence…that is another."

"I never said I wanted to be that strong." Zane corrected, "Just stronger than I am now."

"Really?" Old Matt's stare was piercing, as if he was looking right into Zane's soul, which he probably was. I wouldn't put it past him. "And where does it stop? Will you be satisfied once Kronos is defeated?"

"Well-"

"How about the next threat? Or the one after that? Or if there are no threats at all? Will you still yearn for more?"

Zane was speechless. I watched on with a bit of awe. No one had been able to read Zane so acutely, at least, from what I've witnessed, until now.

Old Matt sighed, "Just let me warn you of this, Zane; With strength, comes higher standards. It becomes harder to put your ego in check, harder to meet the unworldly expectations put on your shoulder, and it becomes much harder to cope with the horrors of the world. Becoming a god is empowering…exhilarating even. Hell, you'll feel like a brand-new being, like nothing can stop you. But…as the years pass, you start to notice a difference in your mood. Your friends have all died, you've watched the entire world change around you, either advancing exponentially, or going back to the primitive stages of humanity. In eternity, anything can happen. It is a long time after all." He raised his arms by his side, "Look at me, I've been a god for countless eons, on a dying Earth, battling the same Primordial I fought when I was a mere teenager. All of my friends died fighting him, I watched the love of my life get slaughtered by the crisp electricity of his palm. I found Zeus, your father, who I thought to be unstoppable, lying battered and broken on Olympus."

Zane listened to every word, not blinking even once. I saw him swallow hard, and try to hide the uncomfortable surge creeping in.

"There is always an antithesis, an opponent or opposing force of nature to challenge you." Old Matt said, "That is the way of the multiverse. No matter how strong you become, there will always be a force for you to go against…even if it turns out to be yourself."

Each word hit my friend like a ton of bricks, and I saw him tense up in his chair, his eyes wanting to look in any other direction, but his natural bravery betrayed him, and he kept staring into my counterpart's eyes, determined, but a bit wiser.

"Whatever comes at me, I can handle it. As a god…or as a demigod. No matter what, I'll protect what matters most."

Zane gave the right answer apparently, because Old Matt nodded, "We shall see. For your sake, I hope you follow through with that."

Then he looked at me, like he wanted to give the same lecture. But he already knew my response. He could see it in my eyes.

Still, he asked. "And you, you want to become a god?"

I shook my head immediately, "Most of the gods I know only care about themselves." The thought of a particular Olympian King came to my mind, "I…can't become like that, I can't become selfish or egoic, thinking I'm too good for everyone. I don't doubt that it messes with your head, and of course being alive even after my friends are gone would be horrible." I nodded my head with determination, saying my next statement with such conviction, it made me shudder. "I don't need to become a god to beat Ouranos and help Camp, so it won't happen."

He smiled, something clearly rare on his face, because he gave the slightest of winces, like the action physically hurt him. "You are right, you don't need godhood to beat Ouranos. I very much hope you don't make the same mistake I did, when the time comes."

The decision. I knew what he was talking about, but I was too afraid to ask, and it would be pointless, because last time he said he couldn't tell me. But I knew that there would be a moment in the final battle where I had to decide, a life changing decision that would either defeat Ouranos, or let him take over the world.

A moment of silence fell, and he looked between both of us, a bit prouder and happier than when we first arrived.

"You two are fine heroes, but this Luke…we cannot gamble with him. Any chance of him escaping is a threat to Zane's world. Which…is why I'm going to help you."

Our eyes were like dinner plates, "What?!" Both of us said at the same time.

"Yes. I cannot stand by while a potential repeat of my world could happen somewhere else. I know it's your enemy, Zane, and your fight, but I know you're smart enough to see that accepting help every now and then is important. Why, you've already teamed up with my young counterpart here, so why not the older model?" He gestured to himself, offering a small chuckle.

Zane looked like he was trying to solve a complex math problem, gulping, and searching for the right words. His emotions didn't read anger or frustration at the fact that he would be accepting help and giving away his bragging rights. No, Zane was humbler than that. What Zane was trying to wrap his head around was the actual fight itself. He could clearly gauge my variant's massive power, and imagining a beatdown on Luke…it was actually brining a smile to his face, a very, very satisfied smile.

So much so that Old Matt raised an eyebrow, "Are you okay, Zane?"

Zane nodded, excited beyond belief, "Hell yeah I'm okay. Help accepted, Old Matt. Let's go kill this bastard."

Old Matt nodded, "He hasn't left yet, thankfully. He's still trying to find inhabitants. But-" His eyes widened a fraction, and he looked almost worried. "Oh no…Ouranos has found him. He knows he's here."

I became completely alert, any fatigue setting in on my body was long gone at that. "Has he contacted Luke?"

"Not yet, but if we wait much longer…"

Zane shot up out of his chair, "Then what are we standing around for?! Let's go!"

Old Matt didn't waste a second, "Very well. Brace yourselves, I'm taking us straight to him."

Zane and I knew what that meant, and we had just enough time to draw our weapons before the snap came. Zane unsheathed Thymos, and I undid the necklace around my neck, squeezing the lion head and greeting Viribus with a smirk. It was time.

Old Matt snapped his fingers, and the atmosphere changed completely.

We were standing in the desert, both of us behind my counterpart's large back, both of us peeking out on the side, looking at…Luke.

The four of us stood in a wide, vast desert. Nothing but a long, flat surface of sand, the yellow-green sky, and the dusty looking clouds surrounding it.

Luke had his side turned to us, he had been walking for either several minutes, or several hours. It was hard to tell, because his clothes looked the exact same, and he had no sign of fatigue, so he probably could've scaled this Earth and been fine.

But now we were here.

Old Matt took the opportunity to introduce himself. "Hello, Kronos."

Luke flinched with a start, turning to face him. When he caught sight, he cocked his head and scrunched his face up in confusion, likely because of our very close resemblance.

Then he spotted us, and his evil smirk returned. "You two! Hmm, I knew we would meet yet again. Here for a futile rematch?"

We gripped our weapons, about to charge up in our forms, when Old Matt spoke again. "I addressed you first. Talk to me, not them."

Luke was taken by surprise at the stern tone, and absolutely no sign of fear in my variant's voice. "Who are you, this planet's version of Hercules, or something?"

"I am Matt Beckett, the son of Hercules."

Luke's eyes widened, but instead of being afraid of his power, he simply deepened his smirk. Had Old Matt suppressed his aura or something? It was likely.

"Oh really?" He looked between me and him, "Yet another counterpart? What, were you won over by whatever bullshit heroism they had to spout, and you decided to help them?" He laughed, "Please, I've killed so many Matts today, you would lose count." He looked at Zane, not impressed at all, "Really Zane? You need two Matts to help you fight me?"

"It will not be a fight," Old Matt said, "It will be a massacre."

Luke found that hilarious. He had to clench his stomach to keep himself from doubling over with laughter. He practically howled like a hyena, while Old Matt just stared at him, emotionless, not taking his eyes off of Luke for a moment.

Zane caught my eye, and mouthed the words Luke's about to get fucked up.

I know, I said back, grinning.

Finally, Luke wiped a small tear from his eye, "Massacre, old man? Do you have any idea who I am? I am the Lord of Time, the Titan King, Kronos! I am the Destroyer of Realities, the most powerful being in the multiverse!" He outspread his arms and grinned wickedly, absolutely full of himself.

Whatever fear he thought he'd induced on my counterpart, never came. Instead of shaking in his boots, Old Matt just scoffed, "Not very impressive. It seems you've never picked on anyone your own size, Titan King. Shall I show you what true power is? Not just the idea of power that you have in your head, but the real thing?"

At that, Luke's grin fell, and his features tightened, lining his face with pure rage. His teeth were borne, a snarl grew in his throat, and his eyes were absolutely murderous. None of this intimidated Old Matt of course, but it sure made me nervous. Was he about to bust out a secret move up his sleeve to contend with him? Or was he just that offended?

"Confident for an insect, aren't we? Alright then! I'll kill you and move on to the cowards behind your leg!" With a flash and a loud roar, his orange aura exploded around him in blazing fury, spreading out for dozens of feet, wisping and billowing around him, radiating pure power. His aura skyrocketed to it's limit, a daunting, horrifying amount of aura. Slightly beyond what both Zane and I could handle, even in our awakened forms. He had grown even stronger.

Aponsynthesi materialized in his hand, the long shaft of the grip came into existence, and then the Heavenly Diamond blade, curved around like a crescent moon, shone in the sunlight, offering a bright glint. It's chaotic power surging, tinting his aura with a dark blue color. Luke laughed in delight. The power was practically showering into him in large doses, offering him, what I imagine he thought, was unlimited might.

"COME ON!" He shouted, and jumped in the air faster than we could blink, his scythe raised over his body, aimed for my counterpart's head. "SHOW ME WHAT YOU'VE GOT!"

Quickly, he brought it down, the scythe head swung in the air, leaving it's aura trail behind. Luke was giving it all he had, intending to cleave his opponent in two and turn him to dust.

But Old Matt, casually, just raised his index finger in line with Luke's strike. There was no fear or even a sense of urgency in his demeanor. He simply…put his finger in the strike zone.

And stopped it.

Aponsynthesi slammed into Old Matt's finger, stopping dead in it's tracks. He didn't even struggle or shake, he just held it there, with Luke still suspended in the air, his face morphing to that of extreme shock…and fear.

Then the shockwave came. It burst all around us, thunder boomed in the air, wind gushed in our faces, the sand was blown back, creating a massive crater where we stood.

Zane and I just watched on in complete awe, unable to believe what we were actually seeing. The amount of strength he and I had to use to even stop an attack from that scythe…and here, my counterpart used his freaking finger. Not even protected by aura, mind you, but his bare finger.

He then moved it away and grabbed the shaft of the scythe, holding Luke in the air, who still had it gripped, now in both hands.

Luke groaned and grunted with effort, slinging his body around, desperately trying to pull his weapon from Old Matt's grip. But he wasn't budging, he just kept staring at Luke, not an ounce of effort or strain in his body.

"Is that all?" He said, and Luke froze. Old Matt then used his other hand, and raised it to Luke's chest. He tucked his fingers in and put his thumb over his index fingernail, pulling it back for a flick.

He let go, and flicked Luke in the chest. Such a simple touch shouldn't have even scratched Luke, but the actual effect was ridiculously over the top.

Luke's entire chest caved in; the shockwave came prematurely, only deepening the crater. Ichor flew from Luke's mouth in strands and clumps, his eyes were nearly rolled in the back of his head, and he cried in pain as his ribs and sternum cracked from the pressure. There was a moment's delay where his arms and legs were flailed about, and Old Matt's finger stayed on his center frame. Then, he flew back instantly.

Crashing into the sand, tumbling, and rolling on his back, on his face, on his legs. You name it, he fell on it. It wasn't until he reached the farthest horizon, just remaining in visible distance, that he stopped moving. In his wake, he left a mushroom cloud of desert dust.

Old Matt still had his finger out, and in his other hand, he now held Luke's scythe. He must've let it go from the immense attack he just endured. It was a flick, a single flick of his finger, and he caused that much damage.

I mean it did. I felt Luke's aura and life force drop drastically at the attack. Ichor lay everywhere, the audible sound of his bones breaking was very loud, so loud that even from a distance you'd be able to hear it.

All from a flick.

Zane and I were a complete mess, just at a loss for words. I was amazed, not able to say anything, while Zane stuttered and mumbled like he'd forgotten how to speak. It was rare to see him so shocked by someone's strength, since he himself was powerful. But when the guy you can barely stalemate at your absolute peak just got destroyed with a simple finger flick…yeah, I didn't blame him for being as thunderstruck as he was.

"T-That was insane! Y-You just fucking destroyed him with your finger! L-Luke, Kronos, like it was nothing!" Zane was smiling and stuttering, looking at Old Matt like he was his new hero. It almost reminded me of Meek Zane. "I knew you had to be strong, but that wasn't even close!" He then looked at me in disbelief, "I can't believe there's a universe where you're this strong, Matt! I mean…he's as strong as my dad." Zane's eyes were like saucers at the realization. He looked up at my counterpart, in a trance of awe. "You're as strong as my freaking dad, dude. That's…that's fucking nuts! I've never met someone on par with him!"

Old Matt chuckled at the compliment, "Don't get too excited, it's not over yet." He pointed, "Look."

Now only a hundred feet away or so, Luke was coming back at us. He had closed the distance quickly, but he didn't look in good shape at all. He was limping, holding on tightly to one of his shoulders. His chest had been dented in, like a massive hole on a car after a bad wreck. Blood leaked from his mouth, and he was wincing and moaning in agony, like every part of his body hurt, which it probably did.

"You…son of a…bitch…" He croaked, more ichor pouring from his mouth. He had been completely obliderated, his aura was waning fast, and his abilities going with it. He was unable to do anything, summon his aura, or even give a spark of strength. Old Matt had immobilized him in one hit.

"How you like that, Luke?" Zane taunted, "Finally gonna get what you deserve, you sick fuck."

"I-I'm not done…yet…" He said, and gave a weak smirk, "T-Time to revert back…"

Before it could happen, I already knew what was going on. He was about to use the last of his aura on his time ability, completely reverting himself to full health. After that, I just knew he would create a portal as fast as he could and escape. With or without Aponsynthesi. Right now, his priority was getting out of here alive.

But just as he enacted it, something incredible happened. There was a frame where Luke's aura spiked, and then a crack in reality, the beginning of his time travelling process. In that crack, Old Matt acted, and his aura burst around him. The red glow erupted, in a blast and surge more powerful than anything I had ever encountered, including that time Zeus got angry with me and showed me his prime form. This was beyond that. It glowed brighter than the sun, and I was physically forced to look away from him and at Luke. Then, in a split second, everything changed. Shattering glass sounded in my ears, and another crack in reality took place, one that cancelled out Luke's attempt.

Then, when my vision cleared, I saw Old Matt towering over him, his dark, dangerous shadow looming up behind the titan hybrid, Aponsynthesi in his hand.

Luke turned his head over his shoulder, not changed at all. He hadn't healed himself, or gone back in time, because he wasn't able to. I put two and two together, and concluded that Old Matt had outran his time technique, or somehow broken it. Meaning…he was both faster and more powerful than time itself. Far more powerful than the full might of Kronos.

Fear overcame Luke's face, and he trembled, yes, trembled at the sight of Old Matt behind him, his own weapon threatening to behead him.

"Y-You overcame my technique…th-that's not poss-"

"Yes, it is." Old Matt growled, "And now, you're going to pay the price, at the hands of your own weapon."

He gripped Luke's scythe, and prepared to bring it down on him. Zane and I waited with anticipation, our fists clenched, silently cheering him on to kill the Titan King.

Luke closed his eyes, and curled his head into his shoulder, as if bracing himself for his end. I was ready, ready to see him pay for what he did. To all of those people, all of those innocent lives lost, because he was hungry for power. He destroyed realities, for nothing. Now it was time for him to pay.

But just as Old Matt began to swing, something happened.

A lightning bolt, much like the one from earlier, only much smaller and thinner, soared from the clouds and in between Old Matt and Luke. Aponsynthesi hit the body of light, and to my surprise, knocked it out of my counterpart's hand. Old Matt was sent skidding on his heels several feet back into the sand, but unharmed.

Suddenly, the lightning took shape, the form of a large man, and then it's aura came into existence.

It was massive, utterly massive. Perfectly equal to Old Matt's aura, or at least, the aura he displayed a few minutes ago. There was only one other person on this planet, and that was lightning...

No…it couldn't be.

"Hello, my old friend." Ouranos said, "We meet again."

Old Matt immediately came back over to our side, appearing there in an instant.

"Get back!" He shouted at us, his voice serious and urgent now, as opposed to his casual tone before. He quickly unsheathed his Heavenly Diamond Labrys and Battle Axe, holding them tightly in his hands and not taking his eyes off his foe.

For some reason, I couldn't see Ouranos that well. Fully, at least. He didn't have skin or any solid features, he just inhabited this…array of storm clouds shaped like a body, with lightning cracking around it and giving illumination to his eye sockets and mouth. It was basically a smaller version of his first form, when he was a simple face in the clouds.

I wasn't sure why he wasn't appearing in a normal form. Couldn't he? Or was it so powerful that the mist, or some kind of magic was in effect to shield my eyes? I wasn't sure. But gauging his power…it was safe to say that might be the case.

Zane was next to me, Thymos in hand. He looked at Ouranos with caution, "That's what I expected him to look like…"

"You can see him?" I asked.

He nodded nervously.

What was going on? Why couldn't I see him fully?

Old Matt glared at him, "You have perfect timing, Ouranos."

The Primordial chuckled, "After all of the chasing and the running, I finally catch up with you. How long has it been since our last real clash? Twenty years?"

Old Matt deepened his glare, "Try fifteen."

Fifteen? I was two years old when these behemoths last fought. They haven't actually met in person since then? Well granted, I guess time is different when you're a god. Ten years could feel like ten hours to them.

Ouranos nodded, "Ah yes, I believe I was about to deliver the killing blow, when you somehow escaped form my grasp and ran away back to your hut."

"That how you remember it? I remember you tasting the wrath of my Master Bolt, and your skin steaming from the heat."

Ouranos raised an eyebrow, "Speaking of, where is the-" That's when he locked eyes with me. Or, his lightning orbs hit my eyes, and then they flicked down to my watch, which I unsuccessfully tried to cover up.

He snickered, "I see. You've found a look alike."

"He has nothing to do with this." Old Matt growled, "Neither of them. This is between me and you."

"Then why were you attacking the boy?"

He gestured to Luke, who had rolled desperately to grab Aposynthesi, and now held it in his hand. He hadn't healed his wounds yet, so that was a good thing. Maybe if Zane and I took him by surprise, we could beat him to the time travelling punch.

"That's not a boy, that's your son, Kronos."

Ouranos eyed Luke, who looked back at him in a hint of fear, and certainly caution. He was like a cornered animal, watching the exchange between two real titans, about to duke it out. I could tell he was silently praying that Ouranos would decide he didn't need to be disposed of.

But Ouranos simply smirked, or at least, that's what I think he did. It's hard to tell. "Is that so? Well, I don't really care. I just want your head."

"And I want yours. Look at that, we have so much in common."

The battle ground was set, and we were all itching to jump. Zane and I should've been gone by now, but we were waiting on Old Matt and Ouranos to start fighting, that way we wouldn't risk getting attacked by the Primordial. I had faith in my counterpart, but the playing field was evened now, and I knew one hit from Ouranos, and I'd be dead. No questions asked.

There was silence, the wind blew sand in our faces, Old Matt's pelts swayed back and forth, so did my smaller one. Zane had a bead of sweat on his forehead, it dripped onto his armor. I could hear it, even from here, that's how intense the stand off was.

Then, the dam broke.

Ouranos roared and leapt toward Old Matt, his fist behind him. A white light circled around the smoky cloud that was his arm, and in a straight line, a spear formed.

A very familiar spear.

It appeared, shining with translucent blue and white, radiating chaotic energy. That was the same spear, the same one from my world. Just seeing it, even here, gave me chills.

But it also gave me an adrenaline rush, the will to keep fighting, and to beat Luke to a pulp. Old Matt returned his roar, and the two clashed, Heavenly Diamond on Heavenly Diamond. The result was catastrophic. If this Earth was really dying, I wasn't sure how it could withstand such destruction. Shockwaves formed into a multitude of tornadoes, the clouds above, once fluffy and yellow tinted, turned into a harsh gray, bumbling and bellowing thunder. The wind was unbearable, and the pressure of the air was so tight, Zane and I had to enter our awakened forms just to withstand it, it was that strong. I mean, I was clutching onto the Master Bolt, drawing as much power as I could just to stand straight and not be blown away into nothingness. And Zane looked like a bodybuilder crumbling under a difficult set. His chaotic form surged around him, the wind causing his glow to dance around wildly like the light of a bonfire.

I looked over through squinted eyes, barely able to make out the forms of my counterpart and Ouranos, struggling against each other, weapons grinding and clanging back and forth.

He locked eyes with me and saw our situation. Something clicked in his brain, because he made a split second decision. He pushed forward against the spear, offering him just enough room to take off into the sky. His red aura reappeared up there, and instead of turning on us, Ouranos frowned and followed him.

The wind eased and the pressure faded, but Zane and I didn't leave our forms. We weren't backing down, and we weren't going to make the same mistake last time in letting Luke get even an inch ahead of us. Zane had a time limit, and It wasn't exactly healthy to be absorbing this much energy from the Master Bolt. With training, I'm sure I can get used to it, but right now, it's burning my skin, and I'm having the ultimate migraine. The power's coming too fast, and my body just isn't used to it yet.

The point is, we need to make this fast.

Luke looked from the sky to us, cocking his head. "They can have their fun while we have ours, right boys?"

Zane and I were done talking, and Luke wasn't expecting the amount of speed we were ready to bring. We pressed off the ground as hard as we could, spread out on opposite sides of the desert, touched down, and jumped behind Luke, both of us in the air above him weapons raised.

Luke turned around just in time to widen his eyes and see Thymos coming straight for his head. He was able to barely bring up Aposynthesi to block the attack. The metal clanged, nearly bursting my eardrums and making me grimace in pain, but I ignored it. I had a feeling I was going to be doing that a lot in this fight, but it didn't matter. Whatever it took to take him down.

I saw my opening, and I took it. I landed on the ground and slammed Viribus' sweet spot on Luke's cheek. I almost smirked in satisfaction. The sound, the feeling, the lack of annoying vibration, it was a perfect hit, and Luke knew it. His jaw snapped and bent in a vomit inducing way, his bottom row of teeth moving parallel to the top row…over to the side of his face. Ichor flew from his gums, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and I could've sworn I heard him moan in pain, but the sound of Viribus drowned it out.

It was far from over. All of the anger I held from seeing him destroy those realities, the guilt that I felt at not being able to stop that…overtook me. I shouted in rage, the sound echoing across the desert, behind me, Zane winced at the volume and stumbled back, looking at me in mild shock. I began to let loose. Viribus was a blur in the air. In my right hand, I willed the massive power of the bolt to transfer to Viribus and amp it even further than it already was. The lightning gathered to it in waves, like a school of moths to an LED light. I was afraid the ancient club might overload with color, it was already glowing brown, blue, and an even brighter blue in the crackles of electricity that snaked around it. I wasted no time in sensing it's awesome power, because I didn't care. But for Zane to be dumbfounded and standing still, it had to be impressive.

I unloaded with swings and strikes, yelling like a madman during the exchange. Viribus smacked into his nose once, and took it clean off, just about. It dented his nostrils, pink flesh opened up and gave me a view of it's inside. The tip, the soft part of his nose scraped off and fell to the sand, eliciting an animal cry from Luke. I only grinned wider at that, his screams of pain giving me dose after dose of adrenaline. It was like nectar pouring into my veins and ascending me to a new level of rage. I let it wash over me, I let my old friend in, the beast that I'm familiar with…it was let loose.

I bashed him in the gut, doubling him over, I spun Viribus once in my hand and swiftly smacked him the forehead with the very tip, knocking him on his back. His legs flailed in the air, and he looked downright goofy when he landed in a very uncomfortable position. His butt was in the air, his ankles had landed next to his head. The spine bone in his back was sticking out from his clothes and armor. I could snap it in half…

I imagined all those families, broken, dead, gone from existence, thanks to him. Decades worth of experience, gone.

My moral compass shattered, any hesitancies I once held about killing him brutally were thrown in the sand. For the first time in a long time, I took pleasure at the pain of my enemy. I hadn't felt this way…in a very long time.

I smirked, reached down and grabbed him by the tufts of his blonde hair, picking him up and holding him with my arm outstretched, Viribus dangling between my fingers.

"How does It feel, Luke?" I said, in a foreign, almost wicked voice. "All those lives that you took, the worlds you destroyed, it's all coming back to you."

I tightened my fist around the Master Bolt and jabbed him in the stump where his nose used to be, spilling another cup of ichor. His head recoiled back, and he shouted in agony.

"I'll be justice, if no one else will." I said, growling. "Because that's what you deserve. You deserve DEATH!"

Luke couldn't even register my words, he was desperately trying to writhe his way out of my grasp, kicking and twisting. It only made me angrier.

"I second that."

I turned and saw Zane, who had been standing there, watching the whole thing in shock, now closer, matching my satisfied smirk. "Let's finish it. Toss him."

I nodded, and threw him up a few inches, just enough to keep him off the ground. I knew what was coming next. I jumped back and saw blue light flash in the air, connecting with Luke.

It hit him in the chest and knocked him far away, steam trailing behind every inch. The crack of thunder roared, and Zane got up from his striking position, his fingertips steaming.

I crouched down a bit, seeing that Luke was still flying in the air. He hadn't touched the ground yet. Good.

I raised Viribus to the sky and bended the clouds to my will. They swirled, the peak lit up and shot down, a blast of my own. Like a dove shot, I fired it ahead of where Luke was hurdling, and it rang true, striking him down and bringing his flight to a halt.

The explosion was dull, the wind was soft, due to it being so far away. Zane and I didn't hesitate, we disappeared from view and stood above a massive crater.

Expecting to find a broken titan hybrid from the clearing smoke, we were taken off guard when an orange light glowed at the bottom of the hole, and an invisible force pushed against us, knocking us back.

I nearly lost balance, and one second of a distraction could mean death, so I planted Viribus in the sand, using it as a lever to stop me from tumbling. Zane was better off apparently, as he basically just surfed on the newly formed dunes and kept his balance. I resisted the urge to call him a showoff. Old habit.

My stupid brain then focused on the actual pressing matter at hand. The orange light. Luke was on the brink of death a minute ago, and yet-

The time ability.

I just tightened my lips. I didn't allow myself to get surprised by it. It was going to happen sooner or later.

Laughter began down in the hole, at first it was quiet, faint, and almost sounded like a genuine, fun having laugh. Then the insanity kicked in, and that hyena noise. Luke cackled, and I imagined him slapping his knee down there.

Then he levitated in the air, floating towards us, his aura pushed aside the smoke. "Good, very good, you two. I think I can do something with that."

He touched down to the ground, in perfect health. His nose was intact, no ichor leaking from his face, and any mark that I had even touched him had disappeared.

Still, this didn't deter us.

"This isn't a game, Luke. We end this right here, right now. And it only ends when you die."

"Me?" He said, "Die? Please, I don't think so. I'll be long gone before you idiots have a chance to catch up with me."

"We'll see about that," I said, "Zane!"

On that signal, Zane and I both charged Luke, in an instant, both Viribus and Thymos cleaved down toward his head.

Luke was ready this time though. He intercepted Thymos with Aposynthesi, once again, the metal clanged and stayed still, shaking with struggle every now and then to prove that they were pushing with all their might. While on my end, Luke had caught Viribus in his hand, a risky gamble, but one that he could take in stride. His wrist had nearly buckled under it, but with a simple readjustment, he was good as new.

When he tensed up, I already knew my mistake before it even happened. I felt a horrible force against my chest, knocking the wind out of me. All I saw as I fell was Luke's outstretched boot.

I flipped over in the sand, hearing Zane and Luke go at it in the background, Heavenly Diamond on Heavenly Diamond, the sound was like jets flying past us left and right. Very loud whirring and zipping noises, like the air was being shoved back, and every time it kept trying to return to it's rightful place, the next clash would just push it back again.

I was on my knees and palms, coughing and spitting up saliva, trying to regain my breath. I looked up to see the faint figures in the sky that was Old Matt and Ouranos. They were forces of nature now, Old Matt's red dot was surrounded by a white hurricane of lightning. Ouranos shot strike after strike at the small target, and whenever he did, Old Matt would bring up a barrier, making his red light shine a hint brighter and deflect the attack. Either that, or the chaotic energy of his weapons would surge, indicating he had used one of his blades to ricochet the assault.

My view trailed back down to Zane and Luke, the latter now having the slight upperhand. They were locked in a dance of weapons now, a bout of pure skill and experience. Luke having the upper hand in the experience department, but Zane's raw potential and skill was unmatched, even by someone like Malachi maybe, who had been training for his entire life. Zane weaved from side to side, avoiding Aposynthesi's slashes. Each slash was so powerful, the orange energy left the blade in small lines. They soared in the air and raced across the desert, sizzling out shortly after, but rippling reality itself with each pass.

Like just now, Luke tried to take Zane's head off, and the latter ducked just in time. The orange slash that came from the scythe momentarily ripped a thin rift in the air, and I got the slightest peek at the bridge world, the one where Zane and I could view the universe gates in full.

It truly made me realize that at any point, Luke can escape. It was vital that we didn't allow him to.

Zane stayed crouched down a millisecond too long, and Luke saw an opening against his old student. He stomped on my friend's head, making Zane stumbled, and then he lowered his own and dashed forward, butting his cranium right into the son of Zeus's sternum.

I heard a crack, and saw Zane's mouth open widely, about to shout in pain. But whatever pain he felt, he pushed aside. Luke was close, and he knew it. Zane tossed Thymos in the air, "MATT!"

It twirled towards me, the light that reflected off of it was almost blinding, and for a second, I felt fear rise in my throat that it was accidentally going to hit me. So I just trusted my friend's aim, dropped Viribus to the ground, and jutted out my open hand.

Thank Olympus that the grip hit my palm. When the sensation hit my skin, I wrapped my grip around it so tight, I could feel the numbness that the absence of blood left in my fingertips.

Zane wrapped his arms around Luke's midsection and dug his heels into the sand. With a grunt, he picked Luke up. For a frame, it was a wacky sight, like something out of pro wrestling. Luke's legs were high in the air, opposite of Zane's position, while his head was tucked in his stomach.

Zane then arched his back and bended his head as far as it would go. Bringing down all of his body weight, he slammed Luke into the sand, hard.

I knew I had to stop standing there like an idiot and move. The only chance we had was if we worked together. I quickly tossed Viribus over to Zane, hoping he would be aware enough to catch it. Trusting that he would, I grabbed Viribus and rushed over to Luke's downed form.

I swung Viribus in an overhead arc, hitting sand instead of Luke. He rolled out of the way, doing a grounded roll to avoid the strike.

Zane got up and we both started playing whack a mole, trying to hit Luke and bury him to dust, but it didn't work. He was flexible, and very fast. He managed to avoid all of our strikes, maybe ten or so, before stopping on his knees and swinging Aposynthesi.

Thymos' edge hit the grip, while Viribus hit the blade itself. When the wood touched the Heavenly Diamond, the pain and pressure that hit me was nearly unbearable. Holding the bolt in my other hand was one thing, but this was very different. Viribus became impossibly hot, and the air became so thick it was hard to breath, I found my breaths becoming more rushed, more frantic. Viribus was indestructible, and so was the scythe. They cancelled out each other, two powerful weapons. I was barely durable enough to handle the mighty clash.

Luke grinned at us, seeing the fatigue on our faces. "You're running on fumes, both of you! Zane isn't going to last much longer, and you lion boy…" He chuckled, "You look like you're about to drop that precious bolt!"

I didn't want to admit it, but he was right. Zane had been in his form for about three minutes or so, and I wasn't sure about the time limit he had, but I could read his lifeforce…and it was about to be tapped into. Not good. Meanwhile, I'm over here feeling like my insides are being cooked and my brain already melted to mush.

"Shut up!" Zane said, surprising me with his energy. He still had the strength to shout like that? "I'd rather die killing you than let you walk free, bastard!" His muscles strained, and his already large biceps became pumped, veins popped, everything constricted to an insane proportion of tightness, telling me he was giving his all. Through a red face and gritted teeth, he called my name. "MATT!"

I mirrored his push. Mustering all the strength I could, I lit my muscles on fire, and twisted my feet in the sand, giving me as much leverage as possible. Together, we pushed against Luke. His heels began dragging, and his entire posture began to crumble.

His expression of triumph turned to that of worry real quick. "You fools…you cannot…overpower…me!"

He stomped his right foot in the ground and twisted his body so that he was pressing only on Zane's side. The cease in pressure took me off guard, and I slipped forward, tripping and falling face first on the ground.

Well, almost. Before I could face plant in the sand, Luke's boot caught me in the chin. I felt pain surge in needles through my face, my body leaving the ground. But that was nothing. Zane's world was at stake here, I couldn't let that stop me!

I pulled my arms over my head and forced myself to backflip in the air. I landed flat on my boots and used my knuckles to wipe my chin. I wasn't done yet.

I darted in a zig zag motion, trying to distract Luke. It was sort of pointless, since Zane was already doing that. He was doing his best to speed blitz the titan hybrid, desperately attacking before the time limit on his form ran out. He maybe had a minute or so left before his life force started to wane.

So in a last-ditch effort, I decided to make something up on the fly, hoping it would work. I caught Zane's eye, and quickly tapped my head, signaling for him to latch onto my mind, so we could communicate. I wasn't sure if he would be able to hear me, but since he can read thoughts, I'd give it a shot.

Yeah? He said, a grunt in the background.

Back away, I'm going to throw something.

He said no more, and reacted as soon as the words entered my neural space. He jumped up over Luke, and I threw my hand in the air, the hand that held the Master Bolt.

The blue spear soared through the air, Zane's eyes widened in momentary surprise, probably at the fact I was letting go of my huge source of power. But I had another plan, I just hoped he trusted me.

He had no choice but to catch it, and he did exactly what I hoped he would do.

He aimed it at Luke.

"Say goodbye, Luke!" He cocked it back behind his shoulder, like he was about to pitch it as hard as he could across the desert. The energy ruptured around him and switched with his chaotic aura, probably saving his lifeforce at this point, any longer and he might've been toast. To be honest, Zane looked like the proper holder of the Master Bolt, being a son of Zeus and all. In his memories, I remembered him using it on Hades once, so it wasn't exactly foreign in his hands. It looked almost comfortable.

It was just a distraction though. Luke was still struck at the threatening bolt above him, meanwhile, I had thrust out my free hand, and decided to try something new. It's something I've known that I can do, but haven't tried it.

Instead of gathering energy into the Cannon, for one big blast…why not gather energy into my physical attacks as well, and literally give Luke a taste of his own medicine.

I was about to find out how effective it would be. This was completely on the fly, I had thought about it before, but never trained with this idea. Well, here's the first testing session.

I locked on to Luke's aura first. When I felt the chills go down my neck, that's how I knew I had complete control over it. There's always a reaction to a powerful aura, and that was certainly a reaction. I had to ignore the very strong urge to smack my neck or scratch it to get the sensation to stop.

When I had a lock on, I forced my own aura outward, allowing the two to mix together. It was rather easy, as I'd been doing this for a while now, and Luke was still distracted by Zane, having no defense towards my secret energy thieving whatsoever.

Finally, I pulled back, and orange aura came from him in one massive surge. It flew to my hand, starting to morph into a ball of energy, ready to form the start of the cannon. But I didn't want to do that. Unsure of how to change it, I just listened to instinct and balled up my hand into a fist.

The orange ball washed over it, and clung cohesively to my pores, staying put. It was like a glowing glove, with both red and orange aura. It was…powerful too. A far cry from the cannon, but certainly enough to pack a punch.

I began to run forward, smirking at the fact that I was able to pull it off. That had been my first try, and whether it be stupid luck, or all of my accumulated aura practice…I was just thankful it hadn't gone haywire.

I stretched my hand out again, and sucked more energy into my fist, yanking it back, it fell perfectly into place, increasing the attack's power.

I watched as Luke brought up Aposynthesi to strike Zane down, but he stood no chance against the ferocity of the bolt. Zane blasted it, a small flash, but very effective. I didn't even see it properly. I saw a single frame of the same lighting bolt I saw when I fired it on Atlas, where it stretched across the vastness of the Earth, ripping red holes in the ozone layer, but it was over at the snap of a finger. It did however, hit Aposynthesi and knocked it out of Luke's hand. The scythe soared in the air and flew past me, hitting the ground blade first and standing erect. The thunder came and went, crashing and shaking up the world. I pushed through, I ignored it, and kept my balance.

But by the time I got five feet away from him, he'd figured out what was going on. My body tensed up, I wasn't expecting him to react that quickly, I thought the distraction would last longer.

But I still decided to go through with it, I had immense firepower in my hand, and it wasn't going to waste. Just as my fist passed the middle mark between us, he disappeared.

My punch followed through, but since it didn't hit anything, the aura stayed around my hand. Zane hit the ground, and Luke reappeared twenty feet away, just like before. All in a moment.

"When will you morons learn?" He said, "You can't even catch me! Let alone-"

His monologue ceased when he saw the glare in the sky. I felt it too, the chaotic energy coming from hundreds of miles away, going at light speed. In a flash, it would meet it's destination.

Luke dodged just in time, barrel rolling out of it's way. Just as he jumped, something crashed into the ground, uprooting sand, and creating a giant cloud of dust. Through it, I could make out the shape of a Labrys, Old Matt's Labrys.

And there he was, in the sky, coming at us with red fury surrounding him. He was fast. So fast it made my speed, even Luke's speed look like a snail race.

Zane and I didn't hesitate. Luke got up to his knees and raised his head, I was there to meet him.

"TAKE THIS!" I shouted, and my fist met his cheek, charged up aura and all. It crashed into his bones with such force, his head was just shy of being forced clean off, nothing but a neck stump and gushing ichor. But I settled for a shattered cheekbone, because that's what I felt when his head moved all the way to his opposite shoulder, falling limp. His face caved in; I could feel the ridges of his uneven bones beneath my knuckles. The aura exploded around us in two short, rapid bursts. CRACK! CRACK! It was quick, but deadly. Orange and red firecrackers, both releasing the energy I had gathered.

Ichor sprayed from Luke's nose. At this point, there was so much on the sand, we could fill an entire pool with it. Despite the intense momentum, Luke wasn't sent flying. In fact, he merely stumbled a few steps and shook his head. Damn, this bastard was tough. But I had another idea up my sleeve.

Through his disorientation, he had no time to register that I was behind him again, and locking my arms around his neck, pulling him into a sleeper position. I gripped as tight as I could, contracting every muscle in my body as hard as possible, red aura flaring, I was crushing his neck.

He choked and tried to break my grip, but I was too strong at the moment, in too good of a position. I pride myself on physical strength, but I'm not blind to the hierarchy here. Luke's stronger, and when he gets over his daze, he'll break loose.

But that's why Zane came in.

He finished the job, and I gave him the encouraging nod. Zane ran forward, like a warrior charging into battle alone, all by himself, against the greatest king's army. With the armor and the big buster sword, he could very well be mistaken as some medieval monster slayer. It was downright intimidating when he got close, jumped and brought down the massive black sword from above.

He had been aiming for Luke's head, planning on cleaving his skull in two, and the pieces dangling over his chest. But Luke managed to muster some impressive resistance and threw himself against my side. But that didn't get him completely out of the woods.

"AGHHHH!"

He cried in pain as the buster sword sliced his arm clean off. It had still been in the strike zone, and Zane didn't hesitate, not one bit. It went through Luke's flesh like a knife to butter, and his arm went flying the air, plopping on the ground with a silent thud shortly after.

"NO! AGH, FUCK!" He shouted, shaking his head and snarling like a rabid dog. Spit flew from his mouth as he groaned in pain through locked teeth. "I-I'LL KILL YOU!"

He elbowed me in the gut and bashed the back of his head against the front of mine. My body reacted autonomously, and grabbed the source of pain.

Luke broke free and jumped away, tripping over himself to grab his scythe. His stump of an arm was spouting ichor like a geyser. It was kind of hard to watch, but then I told myself it was Luke, and it became less hard.

Zane tried to stop him, but Luke roared and thrust his free hand out, forming an orange wall and throwing it at Zane. The barrier caught my friend off guard and hit him, knocking him on one knee.

I ran after him, both of us at equal speed now. It was like slow motion to me though, like watching the world fall around you, but focusing on one single thing, not allowing it to get away whatsoever. The world wasn't falling down, but it might as well have been, because the more distance he gains, the tighter the string gets. We can't let it break.

Luke jumped like his life depended on it, his intact hand outstretched. He dove in the sand and grabbed onto the scythe, picking it up and wasting no time to be somewhat of a man. He didn't bother turning around to continue the fight and stand up for himself, no, he immediately slashed the air, forming another rift.

It opened up, wide enough for him to jump through and get away, no problem.

"NO!"

I was too late, too far.

Then all of a sudden, something flew into the rift, and it split in half, evaporating in the air like a closed iris message, just as Luke was about to jump into it.

A red ball of light crashed into the ground in front of Luke, it rose up, showing that is was far more massive than it appeared to be in flight. It smacked Luke across the face and he spun in the dirt, his cheek hitting first, then his side, then flat on his back, sliding until he barely passed me.

Old Matt was there, his red aura dimmed a bit around him, revealing his form. He didn't look hurt at all, or even tired, but he had been giving some effort up in the sky, that much was clear. He summoned the two weapons he had thrown back to his hand, and looked at me.

"You two, keep the weapon away from hi-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence. Everything was happening so fast at once; everyone was crashing down to the ground it was hard to keep track of what was going on. It was like a speed run, or a lightning-fast pitching machine, just throwing baseballs at you faster than you can comprehend, yet you always get hit.

Ouranos came down from the sky, so fast that I wasn't able to even read his energy, nor did Zane. The son of Zeus next to me actually flinched when Ouranos's form came and slammed his fist into the cross defense of my counterpart's weapons.

Another insane shockwave burst around us, more tornadoes began to form, and I was afraid we'd have to go back into our higher forms, even though I knew that would take a toll on Zane. He'd just exited his form, right on the time limit.

Ouranos materialized the spear in his cloudy hand and swept it in a wide circle, hovering over the ground. The high end of the shaft caught my counterpart's ankles and lifted him off his feet. Ouranos followed up with a swift kick to the midsection, sending Old Matt into the sand.

"NO!" My body acted on it's own, my mind screaming for me to go help him, even if it cost my life. He gave me the life saver against Atlas, he gave me that bolt. I had to help him!

"Give me that!" I said, rather loudly to Zane and snatched the bolt from his hands. The blue aura around his body faded, and he gave a delayed response, reaching forward to stop me, but I was already running to defend Old Matt.

"Matt, wait!" Zane pleaded, "Matt!"

I ignored his pleas, intent of saving the life of the one that saved me. I return my debts, any way I can. And if this is the only way to pay him back, then so be it. I knew a possibility of this was giving my life against Ouranos, but I gotta admit, I never thought it would be here.

Ouranos stalked towards my counterpart's downed form, and I slid in between them, about thirty feet from the Primordial.

This time, his true form flashed in very vague glimpses, but for a few frames, I thought I saw tan skin, long gray hair, a beard, and a toga. But…it could just be my eyes playing tricks on me, showing me what I expect to see. His storm body remained the main view.

He stopped when I faced him, and I'll admit, regular or storm morphed, he's intimidating. His power alone would be enough for anyone to run for the hills, even me, if I was smart. But I'm not smart, I'm stupid, and I guess a little brave.

But I didn't look it. I was trembling, clutching the Master Bolt like a lifeline, his daunting, massive, shadowy form glowered over me, I heard him chuckle.

"Little lion, little lion, have you come out to play?" He hummed in pleasure, "I wonder how easily this Matthias's head pops…"

"MATT, GET AWAY!" Old Matt screamed, and pushed up to come back to the fight.

But Ouranos shot a bolt of lightning in his direction, shooting him back down and silencing him. "Enough out of you! I've got a new plaything! And he's feisty!"

"Shut the hell up, you monster…" I said, my voice shaky with fear. I'd never stood up against someone so powerful. Not even my world's Zeus. But of course, that was a completely different situation. That was my grandfather, and this…was my worst enemy, at his strongest.

He started walking towards me again, and I found myself backing up with each step, too afraid to stand my ground. What would I even do? Strike him? My hand won't move! I can't muster it! I only have four shots left, and I have to use those on my world's Ouranos!

But this one's about to kill me. If I don't do something…

"Has that imbecile told you how things played out over here?" Ouranos asked, gesturing to dazed form of Old Matt. "How I killed all of his friends, his girlfriend, his grandfather, all of the gods…it was absolutely glorious."

"H-He told me enough." I silently cursed myself for stuttering, and steeled myself so the next words sounded more threatening. "You're a sick freak that needs to be put down."

"With that thing?" He laughed, pointing to the Master Bolt. He still walked casually, and I still kept backing up with each step. "Do you even know how to use it properly?"

"As long as it kills you." I said, a bit braver and deeper than before.

He scowled at that, "Kill me? Heh, you won't get the chance…"

He smiled ecstatically as he prepared to chop my head off with only his fingers. I was a statue, no movement made to fire the bolt, I just…stood there, accepting that there was nothing I could do.

"MATT!"

The scream burst through the air, and I felt a force hit my side, knocking me out of the way. When I landed, I immediately felt warmth against my arm, then the rest of my body. It was so hot, it felt like falling into magma as a normal human, you know, where it's so hot that it actually feels cold. When in reality, your body's going into shock from the intense temperature.

My eyes widened when I saw a cylinder of brilliant red light in front of me, right where I stood moments ago. I looked right, and there he was, Old Matt, with his hands out in front of him, a massive, beautiful Red Beam Cannon pouring from his body. It was condensed, smaller and far more concentrated than mine could dream of being. That made it so much more dangerous, and the energy behind it made every one of my cannons combined look like little sparks.

Ouranos had his spear in front of him, trying to divert the path of the cannon, but it was too strong, too powerful. It pushed Ouranos back, and I could see that his skin was burning. Steam seeped from his smoky body, and through his lightning shaped mouth, I could see it was gritted in effort. He was having to put his all into stopping that universe shattering attack.

But somehow, he gained control, and his own aura formed around him, his forearm specifically. With a guttural war cry, coming from the deepest part of his throat, he managed to dissipate the cannon, slinging his forearm against it, and stalemating it to nothing but little embers in the air. That's when he locked eyes with me again.

His grin returned, and he jumped back at me, like nothing had happened, like the cannon, that massive, unattainable cannon, hadn't happened.

He wasn't going to stop until I was dead, I was sure of it. His fist was going to come down on me, and that was going to be it.

But out of nowhere, I felt someone else's hand brush against my own, the one that held the Master Bolt.

I felt it's weight leave my palm, and then a shadow stood in front of me, wavering in the blue light of Ouranos's aura. It had long hair and a full set of armor, intricately traced in it's shadow.

It was Zane.

Ouranos faltered, surprised at Zane's interference. The son of Zeus was shaking with rage, his emotions were screaming bloodlust. He wanted nothing more than to kill both Ouranos and Luke.

"RAGHHH!" Zane's voice was like thunder itself, deep and powerful. He threw the Master Bolt for the second time today, the second time in minutes, and it flashed again, this time though, even more powerful than before.

It hit Ouranos in the chest, lightning bolts spread out everywhere, like branches of a tree, all going up into the clouds, turning the yellow sky into a dark, dangerous shade of red. It was changing the color of the atmosphere…

Ouranos was forced back onto the ground, he skidded several feet and shouted in pain. He looked up at my friend, and clutched his chest, a small spot now charred black from where the bolt had struck.

"A son of Zeus? How exciting…"

Zane's next words were soft, not loud at all, but they were monotone, and held so much hatred behind them, so much malice towards Ouranos, it was a force in of itself.

"I don't know a lot about this world…" he said, his shoulders vibrating in unbridled rage, "But I know what you did. I know what you've done back in Matt's world, in this world, in every world…"

Ouranos smirked, proud of what he did here. He popped his neck and got back up, beginning to walk towards Zane.

"You killed my father here…" Zane said, a growl now.

Old Matt tried to get back up, his stamina rebuilding from the cannon, but Zane shot a warning look at him, "Don't come any closer!"

Old Matt stopped and looked at Zane in disbelief. I was too, because just…I mean, just what the hell does he think he's doing?!

He glared again at Ouranos, "You killed Matt's friends, Harper, Malachi, all of them…"

Ouranos nodded, smirking, "I did."

"And you're…proud of that…you're…proud of that."

"Very. I did what I had to do to rule the planet, and now look at me. I'm the most powerful being in existence."

"Oh no…" Zane said, chuckling like a madman, "Oh no you're not motherfucker. I am."

Ouranos didn't stop walking, but he did laugh with amusement. "You? Don't tell me you're dumb, son of-"

Zane interrupted, "And Matt. He and I are tied, because he's gone through the same shit, he's suffered so much because of you!" I thought he meant Old Matt, but I realized…he meant both of us. There was a glance he gave, the slightest of looks over his shoulder, and his eyes held so much respect, so much reassurance. He didn't know how to tell me that my struggle wasn't for nothing, that one day I wouldn't be afraid of him. He was trying to tell me that right now…he was honored to take my place and stand up to him, for now.

But…no!

"Stop, Zane!" I cried, "He's too strong, he'll kill you!"

"Maybe." Zane said, smirking, "Maybe he will." He tightened his grip around the bolt, and it grew slightly in size, getting hotter and more powerful, like it was snuggling up to the son of Zeus's hand, purring in a kitten's manner. It was comfortable, it was content.

"But that doesn't mean I won't go down without a fight!"

Zane threw the bolt again, and Ouranos just moved his head to the side, the arc of lightning barely missed and went up to the clouds. Thunder boomed and shook the world.

Zane reared it back again, "If Matt doesn't want to waste his shots on you, then fine! I'll use it up for him! I'LL KILL YOU!"

He fired again, and Ouranos dodged once more, the lightning bashed against the sky again, only making it grow redder and redder, shaking the Earth and any other surrounding planets more and more. If he kept going, space and time itself were going to be fractured.

He ran forward and started to fire it one more time, when Ouranos grabbed his head…

He wrapped his entire palm around Zane's head, picked him up, and slammed him to the ground.

The Master Bolt fell out of his grip and on the sand, Zane's eyes were pure white, his mouth was hanging open, I could hear groans and croaks coming from his mouth. He tried to access his Heavenly Thunder Form, but it might as well have been a broken car trying to start up. He was tapped, and his life force would be threatened.

Against Ouranos, it wouldn't have even mattered.

He grabbed Zane by the legs and slung his head against the ground again, blood flew from my friend's face, flying like a sprinkler on grass.

"NO!" I yelled, "ZANE!"

Ouranos tossed him up and aimed with his fist. He punched Zane straight in the gut, crunching bones and shooting his fist nearly all the way through on his stomach. I could make out the lines of his fingers through Zane's midsection, that's how powerful the blow was.

Zane tumbled and stopped in a fetal position next to me, coughing up blood and trying to push himself up weakly. His hair was matted with sand, and his armor…it actually looked a little dented. Not much really, not at all, but I could make out the slightest, the very slightest of scratches on the center of his armor. And considering it's durability…I'm not sure how Zane survived that.

"Hmph, even less impressive than your father." Ouranos scowled, "But you've got balls, I'll give you that."

"You bastard!"

Old Matt entered the fray again, coming up from Ouranos's side and crossing his face with his fist. Ouranos recoiled in shock, he brought his own hands up, ready to engage in combat once more.

"Zane! Zane!" I said, shaking his shoulders and urging him to wake up.

He wouldn't even open his eyes. This was bad…

I reached for Viribus and picked up the club, desperately pressing it to Zane's bare skin.

"Come on, come on, come on!" I said, getting louder with each plea. "Work!"

In the distance, near where Ouranos and Old Matt were fighting, Luke was there, walking with Aposynthesi, and he was…good as new.

No injuries whatsoever. He'd taken his opportunity, when we were both distracted, and reverted his own frame of time.

He gave me a devilish, triumphant grin, and slashed the air, forming a rift.

Surprisingly, that wasn't the priority on my mind right now, I wanted to make sure Zane was going to make it. He had to be alive, he had to!

I shook him once more, "Zane?"

His eyes fluttered, and then they shot open.

"L-Luke!" He sat straight up, and looked over to where Luke was, hopping into the now closing rift.

He had felt his energy…that's what woke him up.

I retracted Viribus, "It's alright, man. Are you hurt? Are you-"

"We can't let him get away, Matt! Come on!" He grabbed my arm, and pulled me up along with him, both of us breaking out into a sprint.

"The rift is closing! We have to move!"

"Why are we…moving so slow?!" I said, looking around us.

Quickly, I narrowed my eyes and gauged for any sign of aura, and sure enough…there were small traces all around us, in little specks of breadcrumbs. Luke had left behind a spell, a spell to slow us down.

Our legs turned to jelly, it felt like we were wading through quicksand. Zane and I could barely walk, and when we took a step, it was at a snail's pace.

"Dammit!" Zane said, "We're never going to catch up with him!"

I genuinely thought that we were going to be here for hours, what with Old Matt preoccupied, and us not being able to break out of the spell yet, even in our awakened forms, could we break it?

I started to doubt, I started to lose hope that we would ever even get out of here, when the orange traces of aura…turned red.

The red overtook the orange, spreading through it like cancer, and killing it away. I regained control in my legs, the pressure on them relaxed, and they seemed stable again.

I automatically looked to Old Matt, while Zane didn't even think twice about running, he made a beeline for the now very tight rift.

But I had to look at him, this might be the last time I see him. Actually…I had a feeling it would.

Old Matt had clashed with Ouranos a million times in the few seconds we'd been occupied, it was clear on his face that this was nothing out of the ordinary. He was used to this, and he always would be.

So when he turned away from his standoff with Ouranos, and locked eyes with me…he didn't give a look of sadness, or depression.

He smiled.

I heard his voice in my head, and I knew he was speaking directly to me. Not Zane, but me.

Be better than I was, my young counterpart.

Right then and there, I vowed that whatever decision I had to make, whatever the difficult choice was when the time came…I would make it. I would do whatever it took to make sure my future didn't turn out this way. It's what he would want.

I nodded at him, hoping to express even a fraction of my gratitude in my returned smile. I mouthed the words, thank you.

And then I jumped through the rift, barely making it. When I looked back, before it closed, I saw Old Matt and Ouranos charge each other again, their clash shaking the bridge world to its core.

We didn't find Luke.

We searched and searched, going through universe after universe, immediately reaching out with our senses, and finding nothing.

I'm not going to describe the process, it was really heavy, to be honest. We failed. We didn't stop him, or even successfully hurt him. He just…escaped, like he did this entire journey.

After universe thirty-three, Zane looked at me, "Alright, that's enough. Let's go home."

We didn't say another word for two hours.

The look on his face said it all, and I guarantee you mine did as well. Zane was angry at Luke, and at himself. He had a permanent scowl plastered to his face, and his emotions were very aggressive. If we did somehow catch up with Luke again, I have no doubt Zane would just speed blitz him and take his head off, he was that angry.

But he was also exhausted. So done with all of it. He wanted to get Luke this time, sooner than the upcoming war that I have no doubt will take place in his world. It happened in ours, so it's going to happen in his. Maybe a different way, but it'll happen nether the less.

And that means his friends' lives will be in danger. Since he couldn't finish Luke here and now, they'll be in danger. At least, that's what he thinks.

I think he did incredible. If anything, he should be mad at me for just sitting there like a scared little kid when Ouranos came at me. He should be furious that he had to grab my own weapon and fire it for me. Simply because I was afraid.

I hate using that word, especially with Ouranos.

Zane looked and looked for his home universe, somehow able to trace back to where we first started. He'd project his sensing abilities towards the rift, and sense the inhabitants inside. If he felt someone familiar, then that would be it. For a while, it was unsuccessful.

Then finally, he stopped abruptly.

"What is it, man?" I asked, stopping too.

He smiled, his eyes sparkling, "It's home. That's…home." He pointed at it with a shaky finger. If I knew any better, I would think he was about to shed a tear of joy.

And then he practically threw himself into the rift, flying into it without hesitation. I went in after him, and found us both flying in the air, high above New York City.

The rift closed behind us, it's whirring sound leaving our ears, replaced by the honking horns, the distant chatter of citizens, the smoke of factories and motors of airplanes.

Zane breathed in the air, and let out a long exhale, "Yeah…this is home alright."

I smiled at him, I could tell he was extremely relieved to see that the entire world hadn't been destroyed, but he wouldn't admit it. That's what emotion sensing is for.

I let him have a moment to take it all in, to realize that he was indeed back, momentarily safe, and that while our mission was unsuccessful, it was over.

Zane sighed, "Okay, break over." He chuckled, "How about you go back to my Camp and wait for me, I have…something I need to do first."

I immediately jumped to the question, not thinking about the intrusiveness. "What is it, man? I can come with you."

"No, it's…probably better that you don't."

I raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

"Let's just say I have a visit to make."

I wanted to press further, but his eyes were pleading, and it was clear he wanted me to just let this one slide.

So I left it, and threw my hands up, "Alright, no problem. I'll wait at Camp for you."

He smirked, "Thanks. I won't be long!"

He spun in a corkscrew and then dipped in the sky, flying away with a gust of wind that tickled my hair.

I chuckled, "Guess you're gonna leave that one to the imagination, huh?"

Ah, it doesn't matter. A man's business is a man's business, I guess. And even universe hopping, alternate self fighting buddies have to keep secrets from each other. I'm fine with that.

I shook my head, and flew towards his Camp.

When I landed on Half Blood Hill, I gotta admit, my first thought was...damn, this place looks better than our Camp.

I had been here before, obviously, but it still takes my breath away each time. It hasn't been withered down and attacked by the Big Four, although I could somehow sense that it had been attacked, recently actually. Probably in the Prometheus attack, but everything was just about as good as new. The campers must've really come together to rebuild.

I walked up the hill, and got some strange looks from the younger campers, eleven to twelve-year-olds who didn't recognize me. Heck, most of them probably wouldn't recognize me, outside of Zane's crew. I only showed up once, and it was pretty brief.

Once I cleared the hill, I took in it's awesome sight. There were people everywhere, at least a couple of hundred. So full of life, so happy, talking with friends and laughing. It was a sight for sore eyes, what I wished my camp could be again.

I sighed, "You've got it made here, buddy." Zane would be dumb if he ever left this place. It was so cozy, so comfortable. So…well, home.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught two figures by the lake. I turned and looked over, not really able to tell who it was from here. So I reached out with my sensing, and locked on to one very powerful aura, similar to my own, and another weaker, but above average demigod aura.

I squinted and used my hand like a visor. Black hair and…blonde hair?

Percy and Annabeth.

I smiled. What are they doing over there?

I decided to say hey to them, and walked right in the middle of Camp, not really thinking twice about it. I got more strange looks, from the older kids now. Which was understandable, since they all wore casual orange camp t-shirts with shorts and jeans, while I was decked out in scratched, faded armor, a lion's pelt, and no doubt looked a mess.

But even still, that wasn't enough to stop who I guessed to be the Aphrodite girls from flocking to me. I got several biting lips and batted eyelashes. A lot of "Oh my gods, who's this gorgeous thing?" and "Are you single?" and "You new here? You can totally bunk with us."

They tried to kiss my cheek and hold on to my arm, but I managed to shake them off and speed walk away, offering a weak "Sorry girls, I'm taken!" Earning several groans and distasteful gestures from them.

But there was one girl that caught my eye, and my interest.

This universe's Harper.

She was walking a bit away from me, in the opposite direction. She looked about eleven or twelve. Not sure, but definitely younger than the one I know. She wore pretty much the same thing my Harper would, with both of her knives tucked in this little sheath around her waist. She looked so angry, so reclusive, like she wanted nothing more than to be alone and curl up in a ball.

My heart ached for her. I shouldn't have done it, but I walked over and intercepted her path.

She stopped when she saw me, and snapped, "What do you want?"

I was about to say something, when her eyes widened. Both of them were icy blue, I couldn't get over that. She had never made the deal with her mother; she had killed Levi in this universe. That was the only way it made sense.

"Wait, you're that guy!"

"What guy?"

"The guy that I saw a few months ago, with Zane." She nodded, "The dude with the lion pelt." She frowned, "Wait, why are you back?"

I shook my head, "It's a long story, something I can't explain in a few minutes. I just wanted to…" I trailed off, finding it hard to find the right words. She was so young, so fragile. It hurt just to look at her, to think about her killing her brother so young. And then it only made it worse when I remembered that he had died in her arms back where I'm from, after becoming a changed man.

I sniffed, fighting back the tears that threatened to leave my eyes.

Her, oblivious to my inner struggle, got impatient. "You just wanted to what?"

"I just wanted to…tell you that it's going to be okay."

She furrowed her eyebrows, and her defense went up, an emotional guard. "What do you mean?"

"Your brother. All of that pain and heartache that you're going through, it's going to get better. I promise."

Her mouth fell open, "H-How do you know about that?"

I couldn't bear to say anymore, I patted her on the shoulder, "Take care, Harper."

She didn't even try to stop me or call me back, but I could feel her stare on me as I walked away.

I approached the lake afterwards, and found out what Percy and Annabeth were doing. I…should've expected the sight that I found.

They were both sitting on a blanket, by the lake's edge…making out.

That's right, people, making out. Annabeth was practically a part of Percy, leaning up so close against him, her hands cupping his cheeks tightly, like she would never let go, and Percy's arms snaked around her back, tenderly keeping her in place. Their lips were locked, and I felt like a creep, because I watched for about five seconds, and that was five seconds too long.

"Chiron would have a fit, you know." Was what came out of my mouth.

They jumped and nearly tumbled into the lake, both of their faces became bright red, the space between them went from none at all, to like three feet.

Percy reared his head back when he registered who it was, "Wait…Matt? Matt Beckett? Why are you here?" He then stood up so quick that it surprised me. He was fast. "Do you know where Zane's been? I haven't seen him for two days!"

So that's how long we were gone for. Huh, it honestly felt longer than that. I guess time works differently in the multiverse.

"He's fine, man. He and I went on a little mission to stop Luke. He attacked my camp, Zane came in and helped, we chased Luke through a few portals to other universes…it's a pretty long story." I yawned, "That I'm sure Zane can fill you in on later."

It was Annabeth's turn to stand up quickly now. She looked different from the last time I saw her. She was a hair taller, her hair itself looked like it had been cared for more, and she looked a lot more mature, more athletic.

"Luke? Did you guys fight him?" She said, giving a time out signal and shaking her head, "And wait…universes? Portals? You actually travelled through multiple dimensions, back-to-back?"

I nodded.

Her face lit up, "That's so cool! Tell me, how did it feel? Was it painful? Did it cause nausea?"

So I guess she's not much different from our Annabeth then, I thought.

Percy could see that I didn't really want to talk about it, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "Let's not bother the guy, wise girl. You can ask Zane all those weird questions later."

"They're not weird, Percy!" She looked up at him, "It's a scientific marvel! It's fascinating!"

"Fascinating to you, maybe…" Percy grumbled, and Annabeth lightly smacked his arm.

"I can tell you that it didn't go so well." I said, my tone serious. They needed to know, this much I could tell them. "Luke got away, and he…formed this new weapon, made of Heavenly Diamond. He's far more powerful now."

They're demeanors instantly changed, tensing up. I could see Percy's aura start to glow around him, and he realized this, then it faded.

His tone was stern and grim, "How powerful?"

"Powerful enough to fight Zane and I at the same time. For scale, with my Master Bolt and his chaotic form, we're about equal. Even that wasn't enough to stop him. There were a few moments where we did damage, but he just turned back time, and appeared like nothing happened."

Percy's face tightened in anger, "Yeah, he tends to do that. He calls it power; I call it cowardice."

Annabeth stepped forward, her eyes concerned, "Where's Zane right now? Is he hurt?"

"Oh no, of course not. He just had something he had to do, he told me to wait here."

Percy chuckled, trying to ease the tension, "Come on, Annabeth, it's Zane we're talking about. He's not going to die. If anything, the only one that can kill him is…well, him." He shook his head, and then looked at me sideways, "Or maybe you could. I don't know…" He thought about it, then after a moment threw his hands up and smiled, "If it came down to it, don't get mad if I put my drachmas on Zane."

I shook my head, smiling. "I'd bet on him too, guy's a machine." I thought back to when he stood in front of me, facing down Ouranos, Master Bolt in hand. He…was something else. Something better than me.

"Well, I'll let you guys get back to it." I said, starting to walk away, "Just wanted to say hey."

They waved, and tried to hide their blushes at my comment, "Thanks for stopping by, Matt."

I walked off, leaving them to their "session" and made my way across Camp again.

I talked with some of the other campers who recognized me, and even Arthur Wayne, the son of Helios. He had this confused look in his eye, like he recognized me or something. He couldn't quite figure it out. I didn't approach him; I instead gave him time to decide for himself.

He decided to come over to me.

"Hey, I know this is going to sound weird…but aren't you a friend of Zane's? That Hercules guy from the other universe?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm the Hercules guy. And before you ask, I'm here because Zane and I just got back from a…let's say, special mission."

He nodded, still very confused, but his next question erased all of that.

"Is he alright?"

I was a bit surprised at that. I thought Arthur hated his guts. Did they make up or something?

I managed to answer, "Yeah, he's fine. Why?"

He looked away, shaking his head, "Oh, no reason. Just curious."

I nodded, not pressing further. Huh, that's interesting.

I continued on, waiting for Zane. Whatever he was doing sure must've been important, because it had been like twenty minutes at this point.

When I passed the pavilion for the third time, I saw someone that wasn't there before. It was Nico Di Angelo, alone, playing with his Myth-O-Magic cards.

The guy looked a mess. His hair was long, tousled and all over the place, like he just woke up, he had bags under his eyes, his entire demeanor was…slouched, like he was in a constant state of sadness.

I figured it must be over the breakup. So it had affected him that badly, huh? I wasn't sure if I should tell Zane or not, or if I should speak to Nico.

But when I locked eyes with him, he recognized who I was immediately. He didn't scowl or smile, but he acknowledge me, and went back to playing his game.

I decided to leave him alone.

Finally, I came back to Half Blood Hill, standing by the trees, waiting patiently, and enjoying the view.

I had been standing there for about five minutes, when I felt a soft hand tap my bare shoulder.

"Matt?"

I turned, and saw that it was Taylor Smyth, the son of Ares, and Zane's ex-boyfriend. He looked a bit different from the last time we met. He had grown maybe an inch or two, but still barely came up to my chin, his hair had remained the same, just about, it was still long, slightly curled, and fluffy, a very nice shade of red, like a truffle tree or something from the Lorax. He looked feminine, and very…pretty, for a dude. Not sure how to say it. There was no attraction, but I could recognize why Zane saw him the way he did. His smile towards me radiated kindness and warmth.

"Oh…Taylor. Hey."

He took his hand away and titled his head, "What are you doing here?"

I wasn't sure if I should tell him. I didn't know if the mere mention of Zane would elicit an angry reaction. But still…Taylor was nice, and even if they were broken up, I imagine they still at least cared about each other, and wanted to know if the other was okay. Percy said it had been two days after all.

So I sighed, "It's a really long story, but to put it short, Zane and I went on an…adventure of some sorts."

At that, Taylor's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. He practically lunged forward and grabbed my biceps, I tried to back away from the sudden outburst, but I couldn't, Taylor actually held me in place.

"You were with Zane? Is he okay? What happened?!"

He was really close, and only leaned closer and closer with every moment that I didn't respond. I managed to sputter out, "H-He's okay! He's fine!"

Taylor sighed with relief, and then his head popped straight up, and he looked down at where his hands were. Firmly…wrapped around my arms.

He pulled them away immediately and jumped back, blushing. "S-Sorry! I didn't mean to grab you like that!"

A bit awkward, but nothing we couldn't fix. I smiled and threw a dismissive hand, "Don't worry about it, It's fine. You were worried about Zane, I get it."

He looked up at me sheepishly, "Are you sure? That was really awkward, and I know you have a girlfriend. I'm sorry, I just…"

"Taylor, don't worry, seriously." I assured, "I didn't take that any other way than you being worried about Zane."

He looked at the ground, struggling to say what he really wanted to. "It's just that. I…am worried about him. For two days I felt like I was losing my mind!" He then lowered his tone and leaned back on the tree next to me, his head pressed against the bark. "To be honest…ever since the breakup I've been losing my mind."

I felt a twinge of sympathy for his situation. He still obviously cared about Zane, and wanted to be with him again, but the thing with Calypso…it really hurt their relationship, and his trust in Zane.

I shrugged, "I know. I can imagine."

"I still love him, Matt." Taylor said softly, like he'd wanted to say those words for so long, but couldn't. "I love him so much, but…I just feel so conflicted, and I don't know how to talk to him again. I know he regrets what he did, and I told him I needed time, but…how do I know when enough time has passed. I don't think I can ever forget what he did."

I wasn't sure what to say, the situation was foreign to me. But I knew that Taylor needed help, and he loved Zane. Maybe I could say something, anything, that would give a small boost of confidence.

"I actually talked with Zane on our mission, and…he still loves you too. He wants to talk to you just as much as you want to talk to him."

His eyes widened behind his glasses, "H-He does?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I think you'll know when enough time has passed, and what he did…yeah, I'll admit, it's not good, and hard to forgive. But I've seen it in his eyes, Taylor, he truly regrets it. He wants you back."

I didn't mention Nico, unsure of the relationship between Taylor and the son of Hades, so I left it out. Taylor sighed, "That's…good to hear. We honestly haven't talked in a long time."

"Just ease your way back into it." I said, "If you need to, start as friends again, and then work your way back up to where you used to be. And hey, if you find being friends with him is what your more comfortable with now, then go with that." I wasn't sure if Zane would like me saying that last part, but it came out of my mouth, and I couldn't take it back.

Taylor registered my words, and nodded. "Thank you for that. I needed it."

"You're welcome."

I felt a ping on my radar, and looked up to the now orange sky, tinted beautifully with the sinking sun. Zane was coming back.

Taylor's eyes widened, and he acted like he wanted to walk away, but his body betrayed him.

Zane closed the distance in seconds, and landed softly in the middle of the hill, in between us and the flat ground.

When he saw Taylor, he tensed up, and he got nervous.

But Taylor didn't move, he just stood there, waiting.

Zane walked up slowly, his eyes diverting from Taylor to the ground, back and forth.

"Uh…Hey, Taylor."

Taylor wasted no time with a lame greeting. He rushed to Zane and threw his arms around him, clinging tightly and resting his chin on his shoulder.

"I'm glad you're okay, Airhead."

Zane looked surprised, but after a moment, returned the hug, not too tight or intimate, but returned it.

They parted, and Taylor looked like he wanted to say so much more, but decided against it.

"I'll um…leave you two alone." He said, walking backwards towards camp. He waved at me and smiled, "Good to see you again, Matt."

I waved back, "You too, Taylor."

When he left eyesight, Zane was still standing there, dumbfounded.

"What…and the hell did you guys talk about? He hasn't spoken to me in months."

I smiled knowingly and put my hand on his back, leading him into camp. "Ah, you'll see later on…"

Zane and I stood on the beach, watching the sun set behind the city in the far distance. He had taken his armor off, and now wore casual wear. An orange camp t-shirt and jeans.

He looked at me sideways, "You're looking at that sunset like you're looking at Harper, man." He chuckled, "You really love them, huh?"

I nodded, shaking my head at it's beauty. "They're amazing. They symbolize so much, and today…they symbolize our last mission together."

There was a silence, and then Zane busted out laughing.

"Pfft! HAHAHAHAHAH! Oh dude, that's gotta be the most poetic thing you've ever said!"

I didn't smile, I turned to him, seriousness in my gaze. "No Zane, I'm serious."

He stopped laughing, and raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"I don't know but…I just feel like the end is near. With Luke more powerful than ever, and if the timeline adds up, you'll be fighting him in Manhattan soon. It'll be the final confrontation."

Zane's face darkened, and I felt bad for ruining his mood, but he needed to hear this.

"I know," He said, "Believe me, I know."

I turned back to the sunset, it kept sinking lower and lower. "And Ouranos…he's still out there, somewhere. I'll train harder than I've ever trained before, and when we find him, I'll make sure I finish him for good."

The wind rushed against our hair, it blew the palm trees and blessed our ears with the soft chime of it's leaves. The waves crashed down on the sand, equally soft and soothing.

I thought back to that moment, that moment where I crumbled, where Zane took the bolt from me and stood up to Ouranos.

"Zane…thank you."

I could feel his stare piercing the side of my face, "For what?"

"For what you did back there. Taking the bolt and standing up to Ouranos. That was truly brave…and something that I was too weak to do."

I saw him rear his head back in my peripheral, "That's what you think you did? Showed weakness?"

"Yes. You didn't. You're a true warrior, no fear, no wavers in confidence. You stood up to him, someone so much more powerful, and stared him down, not caring if you died or not. While I sat on the sand like coward." I hung my head low, "There was never a comparison between us. You're the better hero. Hell, I'm not a hero at all."

He didn't say anything for a moment. But then, I saw him walk towards me. Before I could look at him, I felt his fist connect with my face.

I stumbled in recoil, feeling a slight pain in my cheek. I reached up to rub it, "What the hell?"

He looked at me with anger, "You want another one? Do I need to give you another one to wipe the stupid from your mouth?!"

"What's your problem?"

"What you just said. How and the hell can you even think you're not a hero?"

"Because when it mattered most, I crumbled! What's gonna happen when I face the real Ouranos?! Am I going to crumble again? Are my friends going to die?"

Zane shook his head. He stormed forward and closed the distance between us in two steps. He grabbed my shoulders firmly, "Listen to me. Don't ever say you aren't a hero, you hear me? I've seen your memories, I've seen your bravery against Atlas, someone so much more powerful, right? Yet you stood against him bravely, like you think I did with Ouranos."

"But you did."

He laughed humorlessly, "You think I wasn't scared shitless in that moment?! I'm not a damn vegetable, Matt, I get scared too! I guess I just know how to hide it, that's all."

"You were…scared?"

"Hell yeah! Did you see him? Dude was as strong as Old Matt! Of course I was scared! He could've flicked me like your counterpart did to Luke and that would be it!"

I shook my head, "Then why-"

"I stood to him, because it wasn't my enemy. And in that moment, I felt more rage than fear, rage on your behalf. Ouranos has tortured you for years at this point, Matt, he killed your father! Of course you're going to be scared of him!"

"But I shouldn't be! I shouldn't! I'm supposed to-"

"Supposed to nothing." He let go of my shoulders and poked my chest, then poked his chest.

"You and I, we're half human, whether we like it or not. We're still mortal, and we feel mortal emotions. Fear, Love, Sadness, all of it. It's okay to feel all those things, hero or not."

I stayed silent, taking his words in. He was…right. I mean, we've been through so much at this point, you'd expect us to be numb to it. But that's not right. We can't be, because we're human, teenagers, to be more specific. We deal with things at our own pace, the best we can. That's…all we can ask of ourselves.

"You are a hero, Matt. You're the son of Hercules." Zane affirmed, "You've bested thousands of monsters, beaten gods and titans, saved your camp and friends plenty of times. You'd give your life down for them if the time came, wouldn't you?"

I nodded, not hesitating, "Yeah, I would."

"Exactly. Now if all of that doesn't spell hero…then fuck, I don't know what does."

I smiled, and nodded slowly, "You're right…thanks, man."

He grinned, "We all need to be told every now and then that we matter, and that it's okay to crumble. Don't think of it as weakness, think of it as…being strong for too long."

I snickered, "That's a very Zane way to put it."

"I have my trademarks, you know."

We laughed, and silence fell. So did the darkness, it was very near night now, and the crickets started chirping loudly.

"Things are going to be different now." I said, looking off towards the city.

"Yeah," He sighed, "They sure will. We're going to be so busy…we probably aren't going to see each other again. At least not for a long time."

I felt a little sad hearing him say it, "Yeah…"

He turned to me and held out his hand for a shake, "Well, if this is it, I want to say, it's been an absolute honor working with you, Matt."

I looked at his hand and shook my head, "That's all you got? Come on, you know you want to hug this absolute stud."

Zane rolled his eyes and groaned, "Fine, if you insist."

We embraced, tightly and quickly. A man's hug, full of respect and comradery, and also…a hint of nostalgia.

Zane and I smiled at each other, and he gestured back to Camp.

"Well, it's getting late, guess I better get back to Camp, and you…better get back to your world."

I nodded, "Yeah."

"I'll see you around, Matt. Give Ouranos hell."

He started to walk back to Camp, and I felt a surge of something wash through me. No, not like this. We couldn't say goodbye when the question was still in the air.

"Who would win?" I blurted out, loud enough for him to hear.

He turned, confused. "Sorry?"

I couldn't help the smirk that grew on my mouth, "Who would win? You or me?"

He didn't respond for a minute, and just processed my words. When he finally understood what I was insinuating, he smiled broadly, and started to walk back down the beach.

"In a fight? Like, a straight up fight, going all out?"

I nodded, my hands on my hips, still smiling so hard it began to hurt my cheeks, "Yeah."

He snorted, "Me, easily."

I mocked surprise, "Well, well, well, the prideful side of Zane Williams has returned."

"I mean, don't let all that stuff I said go to your head now, Beckett." He shook his head, trying to act serious, but he couldn't hide his grin. "Don't start something you can't finish."

I shrugged, "I mean…I got the Master Bolt, I've been training, so I don't know, I just see myself winning, that's all."

Zane scoffed, "Please! Do you not see the Heavenly Diamond Morningstar?"

"I've dealt with Heavenly Diamond before."

"Not when it's wielded by me."

"Come on, dude, you held the Master Bolt. You know how much power is in that thing. I'm going to win."

"And you felt my aura in my Heavenly Thunder Form. I saw you looking at me in awe a few times. Admit it, I'm stronger."

"I don't know bro, I think I'm stronger."

"I'm the son of Zeus! I am!"

"I don't care! I'm stronger!"

"No, I am!"

We glared at each other, our teeth gritted and our hands itching to unsheathe our weapons.

Then we both smirked.

"Wanna find out?" Zane said, raising his eyebrows.

My smirk deepened, "Rematch?"

"You're on."

It was an epic battle, one that lasted nearly all the way through the night. Heavenly Diamond clashed against Viribus, our fists met in powerful shockwaves, we used the entire city sky as our battleground, flying and moving with such speed the mortals probably thought it was some kind of UFO or something. Red Aura and Blue aura going at each other rapidly, with godly displays of power in their wake.

By the time it was over, we were both out of breath, both bruised up and completely drained. We had gone all out, and it was absolutely insane. I had the time of my life.

But there was a winner. Yes, it was hard fought, but at the end of the day, the string snapped, and someone gained the upper hand, finished the fight, and was silently announced the winner before we said goodbye.

It was…

Ah, you know what, I'll leave it for you to decide.

(End Of Scythe Of Chaos)