Ahri watched on—from her little spot at the corner of the inn's bar that she had immediately retreated to after being ushered inside by Captain Sarah Fortune and her men—as Percy continued to talk in hushed whispers with the captain. Despite the crudeness of his words, she had to agree with Percy's statement. She didn't want to even begin to think how Sarah fought with such a large chest. Bindings could only do so much for support. She would know.
Her eyes shifted to the redhead. She was beautiful, even Ahri would admit that. She would have made a pass at the girl herself, in the past. But the captain brought something out of Percy, and she didn't like whatever it was.
Speak of the Azakana and they shall appear, Ahri thought as she saw Percy laugh at something Sarah said. She didn't know what it was, how it happened, or even why it happened, but something had changed with Percy. He was brasher than usual—gracefully curt yet stubbornly blunt. A beacon of strength, deviancy, and confidence. A feat she didn't think possible.
Ahri had originally thought he was just tired from their adventures. But watching him now, she realized it was something much worse. Is this what he was talking about with his family? The sides of the coin?
She shook her head. That couldn't be it. It didn't make sense. From what he told her, he wouldn't have been given such a side—Roman, or whatever the place was called, had fallen long before he was born—and he had seemed genuine about that.
There was no use speculating about the situation. All she knew was she was unable to brush against his thoughts anymore, much less read his emotions. It's like a brick wall was erected between them. She didn't like that at all.
"Somethings wrong, Yasuo." Ahri muttered to her new drinking partner. It should have been Percy next to her. Her laughing at some type of tease he threw at her. Him chuckling with that devilish smirk and sea-like twinkle in his eyes when she threw it back at him.
Yasuo grunted, taking a long sip from his flask. He wiped the back of his hand against his mouth, "There is. He's…volatile, right now. More than usual, at the very least."
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, his gaze having been locked onto Percy and Sarah discussing something at the table in the middle of the inn's bar. "Are you doing okay?"
He watched as her eyes narrowed at the pair, an "I'm fine," forced out between grit teeth. Her ears had been stiff the entire evening, and Yasuo was worried she would do something drastic. His gaze drifted over to the other person at the table.
Riven looked wholly uncomfortable with the situation, more so than anyone else there. His concern mounted at how out of character Riven had been since they'd arrived here. She was a soldier—a Noxian, nonetheless—so why was she so nervous here?
She had been devastated when Percy had been shot—and what a sight that was to see the fist-sized bullet ooze from Percy's face—and had been antsy ever since, her eyes shifting at every bit of movement. It hadn't even left a scar on his face, albeit it could have been merely hidden within the other scars that covered his face.
Godborn. He had known they were a different level…but to see it in person was awe-inspiring. If this was what Percy could do, what could the Targonians do? He fought back a shiver, the draft from outside sweeping in and rustling his tunic.
"He was perfectly normal up until he got…shot." Riven winced, her voice barely raising above a murmur. "He told me…he told me he had killed the creator of his universe." A hoarse laugh erupted from her, "I hadn't…"
"It explains a lot about his attitude." Yasuo replied, his eyes pinned on Percy's back. He had the feeling Percy could hear their conversation, but he couldn't find it in himself to care.
"He's always come across as self-assured, but this? This seems to be more like arrogance than anything else." His lips twitched when he noticed Percy's arm shift at the word arrogance. He was right. Percy could hear them.
"I don't care what you call it, I don't like it ." Ahri's voice came out in a near snarl, her eyes threatening to shift colors with the outburst. Yasuo rested a hand on her arm.
"Relax. We can figure something out when we no longer have company. We can't start something now—not yet." He warned. Ahri let loose a rattly breath, her ears finally relaxing down with the action. Yasuo felt a weight fall off his shoulders. He tried to focus back on the conversation.
"So this…priestess. Illaoi was her name, you said? She's a friend of yours?" Percy questioned, an eyebrow raised, "How convenient that you have exactly what I need, so quickly after you shot me."
Sarah rolled her eyes, her red hair shifting as she leaned back in her chair. The table groaned as her heels dug into the harsh wood. She had to admit, he was much easier to talk to then she had expected from such a monstrous being.
When she had watched him rise from the ground like a corpse come back to life, her mind had flown back to times she'd rather not remember. Gangplank's bloody reputation had smeared its stench all over her life—all over everyone's lives. It had sent her heart over the edge. A fear she hadn't felt in years shot through her like a cannonball, shredding her mind to pieces.
After the fear, came the fury that threatened to drown Bilgewater in its unholy wrath. He had made her look weak. Weakness meant death in Bilgewater. She had wanted to put another bullet in him, maybe even a few more to make sure, but something told her it wouldn't stop him.
So here she was, sitting with the Godborn. She didn't believe it for a second—she had seen deities before. She had watched as Nakagabouros brought Gangplank into their cold, deep embrace. No, Percy wasn't a Godborn. He was something else. Something untamed and deadly.
"Convenient for you, yes. Though if you had kept your mouth shut, it wouldn't have been an oddity, now would it?" Her lips pulled downwards. The audacity he had.
"I did apologize for that, if you remember. It was very out of line, and I tend to not filter my words occasionally. Ionia did not appreciate it, I can tell you that." His grin never left his face, his eyes twinkling out at her. No matter how much he fluttered his eyelashes at her, he couldn't fool her.
He was crafty, she'd give him that. He knew his way around words and actions much better than anyone in her crew—they were a blunt and straightforward people, after all. Most of Bilgewater was. She had been forced to throw that aside when she became Queen of Bilgewater. Now she had pirate captains to parlay with, something that threatened to make her hurl every time she met with them.
"And I remember saying that your apology was not accepted. Honestly, I'm not surprised Ionia kicked you out." She kicked out her chair from the table, her heels clacking on the floor as they met. She replaced the pirate hat atop her head, her hands shifting it in place as she stared down at him from underneath the brim. Her enchanting green eyes caught his gaze. "You can stay, until I deem you a problem to my rule. Check with Illaoi for help on what you're searching for." She turned and began to walk towards the door, her men falling in step behind her. She stopped at the entrance, her head tilted as if she had just remembered something.
"Oh, and tread carefully, Godborn. " The sarcasm dripped from her words like honey. Oh, he liked her . Dangerous. His thoughts sounded like the purr of a cat. Rumbling and deep.
"Thank you for your hospitality, then, Captain." His eyes shifted from her retreating form and the swinging inn doors back to his eavesdropping partners. His right eye twitched. He wasn't going back anytime soon, so he'd have to fix them, too. His arm twitched, and he had to refrain from holding his head at the headache his other half was causing.
His musings were broken as Yasuo sat down next to him. The others in the group had apparently made him be the one to start the conversation, as they had sat across the table from him instead. The silence was suffocating.
"Who are you?" Yasuo broke the tension first. Percy's lips spread, his hidden canines poking through at the act.
"I am Percy Jackson. You know this, obviously?"
Yasuo snorted, "Yea. And I know you are different from him. I ask again. Who. Are. You?"
Percy leaned forward into Yasuo's space, his eyes glittering and grin widening. "Oh but I'm not different from him, my friend. I am him. I'm the part he keeps locked away, shrouded from the light of the world. His hidden aspect. "
"He doesn't have a Roman aspect, he told me that." Ahri butted in, drawing his eyes.
"Who said anything about Roman ?" Percy's grin looked as if it would consume his entire face, his eyes flashing a crimson red as he stared back at the Vesani. "I'm born of the Hells . I'm the embodiment of everything he claims he isn't. Lecherous, arrogant, violent, predictable. He hates me because I am his darkness."
Silence reigned after his remark.
"Do you know what he did, when he fell into the Hells? Did he tell you, lover, what he did for Annabeth?"
Ahri stared back defiantly, arms crossed and eyes beginning to glow a bright cerulean. Her hair began to float as the waves of power wafted off of her form. "You will give him back , or I will devour your essence." She growled, her fingers elongating and her eyes becoming tinted in a purple haze. Blood began to spill from her arms, ruining her robe. "You will not have him."
Percy smiled at her. He hid his wince from his counterpart attempting to budge through again. "He controlled a deity's blood, my dear. And he made her choke on it."
The table's eyes widened, Ahri's eyes rapidly fading back to their original color. A cold grip held the group's hearts, threatening to squeeze it with the revelation. Percy hummed in amusement, his grimace hidden with a grin.
"Oh yes." Percy laughed, "He took control of her blood, and made her dance his lovely little tune. Oh, he tried to hide from the joy it brought him afterwards, but I was there when he fell from grace. I was there when he took her free will from her, and forced her domain against her."
"You lie." Ahri murmured, eyes wide at the thought of such power. To take one's free will? No, surely he would have used such power by now? Had he already done so?
"Do I? Did you not find it odd that Irelia was stuck to the ground, unable to breathe?" Percy's eyes bled from their orifices. His counterpart was breaking through. "He could do it so easily, you know? He's brought down empires with nary a thought. Do you truly think he wouldn't do it here?"
Riven swallowed as she saw the rivers of golden blood falling from Percy's eyes. The trails of ichor fell to the table, creating a hole where they landed and falling onto the ground. Percy's eyes glanced at the hole. "His blood is toxic, his words are sweet lies—whispered into unsuspecting ears. His thoughts; a dark maelstrom of vengeance and desperation. A toy soldier, wrapped and shrouded in tin. Just a lost little boy-"
Ahri's chair smashed into the wall, splinters flying across the inn, as she slammed Percy into the wall. Her hands found his throat, pinning him to the wall on the other side of the room. Her eyes had returned to glowing in all their brilliance. Orbs of spiritual power hovered around her head.
For millennia she had resisted it, the call of her nature, the sweet euphoria of such an action. She had ignored the calls before. But just this once, she relished in it once more.
She pulled.
"You will not poison us with your lies, usurper. " She snarled, the power at her fingertips pulling at Percy's consciousness. "I do not care if he has massacred millions . When I was lost, he was there for me. When he was lost, I was there for him. I will bear his sins, and he shall bear mine. If I must take the memories of his sins, I will. He. Is. Mine."
Percy chuckled, his words slurred as the ichor on his face burned away with a wave of his arm. "So be it, little Fox." His chuckle devolved into a crazed cackle, "Oh poor little fox, you don't know what you are in for, do you? He will burn this world for you." The crimson eyes began to fade, rapidly being replaced by the dull wine-dark color of the sea once more. Percy's eyes rolled up into his head, and he would have fallen to the floor if not for Ahri's arms bringing him into her embrace.
"Don't just stand there, help me bring him to our room." Ahri barked at Yasuo and Riven. The two shook themselves from their awkward awe, and rushed to help lift Percy from the ground. The trio stumbled their way up the rickety wooden stairs, and into the room at the end of the hallway. Yasuo locked the door behind them.
When Percy hadn't woken up by the next morning, the group had taken it upon themselves to rotate their vigil over his comatose body. Ahri had offered to be the first, giving Yasuo and Riven time to ingratiate themselves with the locals. As she watched Yasuo and Riven strap their bags to their back, she couldn't help the pointed remark that left her.
"Make sure not to assault someone this time, Yasuo." He grunted his understanding as he strapped his sword to his side. The sheath clinked against his belt, and with a slam of wood on wood, the pair soon left Ahri by her lonesome.
"You stupid little boy." She whispered, ears flat against her head. She leaned her head against his unmoving one, closing her eyes and breathing along with him. "You're more trouble than you're worth sometimes, Percy."
"You had a job. You had one job, Perseus."
"I was hoping you would stop them, Percy."
"I can't watch this anymore. Percy, I'm sorry."
"One should never have this much power. Not even a God."
He was drowning. It shouldn't have been possible, but Percy knew he was drowning. His lungs weren't pulling in air, his limbs were growing cold and numb, and his thoughts were muddled with echoes of the past.
"How can you stand there and look at me like that, Kinslayer?!"
"We should never have let you join us."
"The divinity of your world should have stayed there."
"Perseus Jackson. Oh how I despise you being my greatest creation."
He shook his head, a throbbing pain pulsing throughout his body at the action. Had he hit his head? He tried to open his eyes, and found that he couldn't feel them. Had he been captured? Really?
He felt around in the dark for a few minutes, trying to find some semblance of familiarity. His hands found nothing so he turned them towards his body, checking for injuries. His scars remained, at least—so he clearly wasn't dreaming.
"Where am I?" His voice came out and he couldn't recognize it. But he did recognize the voice that responded. It was his own, after all.
"You took a little dive, Percy. You're lucky I was there to save you." Light exploded and seared his eyelids as he groaned. He tried to squint at the figure through the glaring light bulb that was hanging from the ceiling.
"Who are you?" His words slurred as he raised a hand to block out the annoyingly bright light. The figure hummed to himself, ignoring his question, and tinkered with something on the table behind them.
"Aha!" The figure exclaimed, twirling around gracefully and placing a box onto the table across from where Percy sat.
It was a cardboard box. Littered with labels and clearly defaced with markers and pencils and pens. Along the top read an address that Percy couldn't make out, and at the bottom was a signature. His own.
"Do you remember this yet?" The figure asked, tapping his hand along the top of the box. His fingers slid along the taped up opening, pulling the tape along with it. Percy tried to decipher the address, but it was impossible. Time had not treated the box well.
"This, my friend, is where I started; where I was born." The flaps of the box opened up, and Percy could hear a hissing sound emanate from it. His heart froze. That wasn't possible.
"How do you have her?" Percy whispered as he snapped his eyes shut. "I destroyed that long ago, how do you have Medusa's head?"
"Don't worry, man. It's not the real one. Relax a bit. Take a second to chill out and rest. Besides… none of this is real."
The table, the light, the box, the room, even the figure. All of it disappeared as the last syllable left their mouth. A deafening silence greeted him.
All that remained was a dark, neverending void. Chaos was somewhere here. He could feel what very little was left of their destroyed consciousness drifting among the vast vacuum. His prison.
"You brought me back to life, Percy. When you mailed Medusa's head. When you murdered those children at the Battle of New York. When you played with a Primordial's life. When you destroyed Chaos. I was there for it all, waiting for the moment. That exact, minute moment that you fell too far from grace."
Images flew past his eyes, scenes of carnage in New York and death upon Olympus. Children crying and screaming in agony as their essence spilled from the wounds he inflicted onto them. Chaos, reaching his eye-covered phantom hand into Percy's skull, and pulling at the brain that sat there.
Percy, pulling it back into himself, and bringing Chaos with him. Consuming the Creator with their own spoon; mocking them all the way.
"What are you? Why have you taken me? What is this place?" Percy murmured, his eyes pinned to the images that kept coming. Tears fell down his cheeks.
"I am you…you are me. We're in your head, after all."
"You are not me. I would never be so-"
"So, what? So bloodthirsty? So cruel?"
"So evil."
"Oh, Percy, you should know all about this by now. Good…and evil? Those apply to the weak and helpless. We are strong, Son of Poseidon. What we claim is what is right. What we defile is what is wrong. You showed me that, after all. All those years ago, you showed me what it means to be weak. "
"What are you?" Percy snarled, his lip curling at the figure's words. "You are not a part of me, I know that much."
The light began to come back to the void, a swirling mixture of blue, gold, and white bursting into existence in front of him. A man took its place. Percy stared into the abyss that laid before him.
A hundred thousand eyes stared back. His blood left his body and a sub-zero chill ran down his spine and throughout his entire core. His voice came out hoarse and desperate. His mind screamed at him to run. To run and never stop running.
"No…I killed you. I made sure of it."
"It's so good to see you again, Perseus Jackson."
