It never ceased to surprise, Percy reflected, how quickly a battlefield could go from chaotic and blindingly action packed to calm, and eerily quiet. The front of the parking garage was utterly destroyed, the thick reinforced concrete shattered, rebar jutting out of the remnants like twisted, fractured bones. The asphalt below was pockmarked and cratered, smoldering footsteps and gouges the only evidence of the titanic clash between the daemon and the feathered serpent.
"So, what now?" Thalia asked. The demigoddess was leaning against her spear, the supernaturally sharp polearm impaled deep within the asphalt. She crossed her arms, the motion making the spear quiver. "We lost the van."
Percy sighed, turning away from a pair of still-smoldering footsteps, and gazed at Thalia, thinking. Abruptly, he turned and nodded in the direction of the vault.
"The hearth within each vault can be used to travel to the others that lie within the country. One of the bigger vaults in Washington has some of the vehicles I've acquired over the years." Percy explained.
Thalia's eyes gleamed. "What kind of vehicles? If it's anything like the weaponry in this vault.." She trailed off, grinning.
Percy couldn't help but chuckle at her expression. "Road legal vehicles only." Percy clarified, much to Thalia's disappointment. "Unfortunately, main battle tanks do not operate well in the civilian world."
Anna rolled her eyes. "What would we even do with a main battle tank?"
Annabeth gestured to the heavily damaged parking garage. As if on cue, a fragment of concrete fell off, loudly shattering against the battered asphalt.
"Oh." Anna blushed. "Right."
While a 120mm armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot round probably wouldn't have killed the mesoamerican dragon, seeing as how it took a eudaemon at the height of her power to put down the divine monster, Percy figured it probably would've had at least given it a very bad day.
A clap broke through their conversation, and all eyes turned to Zoe, the lieutenant huntress watching the conversation with a small but visibly amused smile. "As interesting as this conversation has been, we should get moving. A fight like this will draw attention from both the mortal and divine worlds."
Percy nodded. "Aye."
He returned Zoe's smile, before turning to face the rest of his companions. "What the lieutenant said. Let's get moving into the vault. While we're there, you have my permission to grab whatever you think you'll need, within reason."
"It's… heavier than I thought it would be." Annabeth mumbled.
Cradled in her hands was a service pistol Percy had taken from some battlefield in his past. It all blurred together after a point, but he was fairly sure this specific revolver came from southern Africa, retrieved when he was involved in some of the massive proxy wars over the region in the '60s.
Annabeth aimed it at the ground, peering down the sights. "Enfield Mk II Revolver." The daughter of Athena continued to mutter. She turned it to the side, the polished and chromed steel glinting in the torchlight of the vault. "Manufactured by RSAF Enfield. Double action, chambering .476 Eley ammunition."
She looked up at Percy, still clutching the revolver as if it were a priceless piece of jewelry. "My father was a history professor. An antique firearm like this?" Her eyes softened for a moment, as she seemed to gaze into the infinite. She laughed. It was a bittersweet sound. "He wouldn't be able to resist."
Annabeth admired the heavy pistol for a few moments longer, gently turning it this way and back. She reluctantly inserted the revolver into its accompanying leather holster, before turning to hand it back to Percy.
Percy laid a hand over the holstered revolver, and shook his head. He smiled. "Keep it."
Annabeth looked down at the revolver once more, and then at him, incredulously. "Really? What would I even do with it? It's not like-"
She trailed off, wide eyed, as Percy produced a bronze tipped .476 cartridge. His smile grew wider as he watched Annabeth's flummoxed expression. He turned out, reaching into the crimson locker they were in front of, and withdrew an ammo canister. "Here. Custom cartridges, celestial bronze jacketed."
"I-" Annabeth took the ammo box tentatively, looking up at him. "Thanks Percy."
"Thank me by using it responsibly." Percy suppressed his wry amusement, both at the grateful look on her face, and the whole situation, him giving a gun to a 14 year old. In any other context, he was sure his actions would be incredibly irrational. Percy's face grew serious, and his tone hardened as he spoke. "It is easy, too easy, to kill with a gun. I am not saying to use it responsibly lightly."
Annabeth nodded solemnly. "Of course." She looked up with a small smile. "Thank you for your trust in me."
Percy merely dipped his head, before moving along the vault, leaving Annabeth to it.
He walked down the stairs of the vault, idly looking at the lockers of weaponry he'd accumulated over the years of fighting. Honestly, he'd never expected to actually use any of the weapons in this stockpile the way they were intended. He'd begun collecting them out of guilt, or something similar anyway. Some of them helped him remember what he'd done, and reminded him to do better.
Percy stopped in his tracks, his vision arrested by a particular rifle in one locker. It was an old Hungarian mosin-nagant. Scratches and dents littered the wooden body of the bolt action rifle, and crimson smudged the forestock. Hesitantly, Percy reached out a hand, laying it on the rifle's action. The steel was cool, and he closed his eyes, bowing his head. Memories engulfed him.
He wasn't sure how long he stayed like that, dwelling on past sins and stewing in self-depreciation, but it must've been a while, because he was only jolted out of his thoughts when Thalia bumped her shoulder into him. His eyes shot open.
Thalia hadn't aquired much from the vault, from what Percy could make out, anyway. She was dressed in the usual black denim and punk merchandise. It was only when she shifted to put her weight on one of her legs did Percy notice the gleam of armour underneath her jacket.
"Hey, you okay?" The daughter of Zeus asked.
Percy swallowed, glancing at the mosin-nagant for a few moments longer. "Yeah. Yeah I am. I just…" He shook his head. "Memories."
Thalia followed his gaze, studying the old, battered rifle. She could see the sanguine stains polluting the wood. Something in her stance softened.
"Who did it belong to?" Thalia asked. Her voice was different, more subdued and gentle, a far cry from her usual nature.
"My father." A hoarse voice rasped from behind them. Anna leaned against the opposite wall from them. She wiped at her eyes, coming closer.
Percy stiffened as she approached, hastily attempting to close the locker door. Anna caught it with one hand, her other softly touching the reddenned wood of the rifle. She bowed her head, turning to regard Percy out of the corner of her eye.
"Oh, Percy." Anna murmured sadly. "I didn't know you blamed yourself so. It wasn't your fault."
"It was." Percy answered simply. His voice was hard, and rough. His fists tightened as he glared into the infinite. They were the only visible signs of the whirlwind of emotions rampaging through him. "If I hadn't been a puppet of Ares, I could've done more."
How many deaths, just like Anna's father, were his fault? How much innocent blood was on his hands? He glared down at them, half expecting them to be drenched in sanguine liquid.
"If." Anna merely responded. She withdrew her hand and closed the locker, blocking the rifle from their sight. "You're being unfair to yourself, Percy. You told me yourself that it was you helping me that helped you free yourself even partially." She continued softly. "You tried, Percy. You tried as hard as you could."
She turned, to put her hands on Percy's shoulders, forcing him to look away from his hands, and meet her eyes. "I miss him, I miss my father, of course I do. But I will never blame you for his death. So do not blame yourself."
Anna leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. Tentatively, Percy reciprocated the gesture, hugging Anna closely. He closed his eyes, and gave a shuddering sigh.
"While I don't know the full story here," Thalia began softly, causing the two to abruptly part and look at her, as if just remembering the demigoddess was standing there, "I think Anna has the right of it. Percy, I don't know who you are truly, nor what you've done in the past. But I've seen what you've done in the present. You made sure two siblings weren't separated. You gave them the tools to survive. And just now, you helped Annabeth." She laughed lowly. "That was why I originally came, before getting bogged down in all of," she gestured expansively, "this. To thank you for helping Annabeth so."
Her fist impacted Percy's arm, a mild electric shock jolting him slightly. "So stop beating yourself up, already. We have a goddess to save, remember?"
Percy mutely nodded. "Okay." He whispered. "You're right."
Silence dominated the hallway for a while, until Thalia snapped her fingers, as if suddenly reminded of something.
"Oh, and Zoe sent me to find you. She says she's good to go."
Percy couldn't help but smile. Thalia was something else to be sure. Only she could completely change the mood so quickly.
"Oh?" Anna asked, a smile forming. "Has she finally finished looting Percy's weapons and armour?"
"I did say that you all could take what you needed." Percy weakly justified her actions.
"And I did."
The three turned to look at Zoe. She looked like she'd come out of a Byzantine inspired modern warfare video game. She was clad in some strange combination of modern kevlar and ancient lamellar armour that she'd jury-rigged together. Black kevlar and nylon fabric laid underneath celestial bronze plates. It was an ideal balance between protection and movement. Her bow was still slung around her back, the powerful weapon visibly glowing silver in the dimly lit vault.
What surprised Percy was the pistol holstered at her side. It didn't take long for him to place it. It was a M45 MEUSOC pistol. He'd been gifted it a few years ago when he was in Afghanistan as a liaison to force recon elements of a Marine expeditionary unit. He imagined that the previous owner would have no qualms about it being used now by a millennia old huntress of Artemis.
"I thought you didn't like firearms." Percy asked, his lips quirking faintly as he dipped his head towards the weapon at her side.
Zoe shrugged, the motion rustling the lightweight pauldrons guarding her shoulders. "I don't. But I will not let my prejudices dictate my actions." She affixed him with an intense gaze, her onyx black eyes seemingly staring through him. "Not anymore."
Percy was unsure of what to say. He glanced at Anna, but she was grinning at him like a fox in a chicken coop. Percy cocked an eyebrow at her, asking her to explain, but her grin merely grew wider.
"Later." She mouthed, still grinning.
Percy nodded. He clapped his hands, unintentionally echoing Zoe. "Alright, let's get a move on."
As he walked towards the large hearth at the bottom of the vault, Percy let his heavily damaged coat fall off his shoulders, almost absentmindedly throwing it into a locker as he passed it. It vanished as the damaged garment was incinerated. In the same motion, he pulled out a new, identical jacket from another locker, shrugging it on within the same footstep.
"So, how does this work?"
They were standing around the brazer in the lowest level of the vault. It was once more burning, flickering shadows creating abstract patterns along the walls.
"Just a sec." Percy muttered. His hand was in the fire up to his shoulder, although he was in no evident discomfort or pain. "Just have to…"
Something shifted, a sonorous chime echoing around the chamber. The fire abruptly roared in height, beginning to encompass the room. As tongues of flame licked the ceiling, the scorching pillar began to widen, something vaguely reminiscent of a gate appearing in the midst of the blaze.
"Through here."
For a few seconds, the group paused, staring at the inferno.
"There?" Annabeth echoed faintly, staring at it. She looked at the blazing fire. "Not all of us are fireproof, Percy."
Percy stood up from where he'd been kneeling in front of the fire, turning to her. "Relax, Annabeth." He stuck his hand into the fire once more. "The fire will not harm us. It is our ally."
"Eh, what the hell." Thalia shrugged. "I trust you, Percy." She shot him a smile as she stepped into the fire.
It burned around her ankles and legs, tongues of flame raging up to her waist, but all she felt was warmth. It reminded her of home.
She stopped for a moment. She hadn't felt that warmth in a while, not since she'd been…
"Thalia!"
Thalia started as she came back to awareness, blinking roughly at the moisture gathering in the corner of her eyes. She looked around, just now noticing that it was just Zoe and her in the vault now.
"Annabeth, Percy and Anna have already gone through." Zoe explained, noticing her wandering gaze. "I stayed."
Thalia looked away, as Zoe grasped her shoulder. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Thalia grunted. She hefted her spear, lightly adjusting her grip and taking comfort in the feeling of the divine metal. She forced a cocky smirk to her face. "Damn fire is making me tear up."
"Thalia, I -"
"I said I'm fine!" Thalia whirled around, abruptly shouting. Her chest heaved violently as she breathed in. She paused, exhaling slowly. She muttered under her breath as she turned away from the huntress.
Perhaps she hadn't meant for Zoe to hear it, but the huntress's hearing was better than most.
"I care because I understand." Zoe murmured.
Thalia stopped. The gate of fire orbited before her, casting harsh shadows over her form. She tilted her head, the
affixing Zoe with a vivid azure eye.
"I know what it's like to lose everything to indifferent gods and circumstance." Zoe continued, meeting Thalia's eye.
Thalia sighed heavily. She gave Zoe a small, tired smile. "I'm sorry for yelling at you."
"And I'm sorry for trying to recruit you. I meant what I said back there, Thalia. I will no longer act on prejudices."
Thalia's smile grew wider and more genuine. She nodded. "Thanks."
The demigoddess and huntress stepped into the gate.
Sorry for the irregular updates. I am busy as hell these days. This isn't that big of an update but I hope it suffices.
Also, yes, I gave Annabeth a revolver. I fully intend for her to go all bullet time quick action with that and her dagger.
Annabeth will be revolver ocelot and I will not apologize.