Chapter 8: A sword's results

Penelope's POV

I felt like I had earthquakes under my feet.

The pen-sword was in my hand, still "sheathed".

Let my breath become tremors.

My ears hearing only the pain coming from my friend's mouth.

And my circuits were burning hot, while the sphere against my chest was even hotter.

Let my feet become the rocks.

And, instead of the sun in my eyes, what was nearly blinding me was the silver light, and that made me grip the hot pendant and throw it down.

Now the three monsters all turned towards me and, before they could speak, I stomped on the ground while still sat, to push me up.

Let my heart become the core that will make the enemy fear and fall.

My arms and legs were becoming stronger, faster, and harder.

The bus we were in lurched, and Annabeth, who had just become invisible, like she did during that game of flag, screamed beside me, and the other passengers and even the driver did that.

But the three monsters in front of me just grinned, the one leading them letting Shirou go, finally stopping, and turned towards me, their black wings reminding of that monster.

Alecto, uh?

"Let me become the quake that shakes the earth!"

Arias are what we feel is the best mental course for a particular action to be reached. Self-hypnosis at its finest.

At least, that's how my best friend had explained it.

But there is also, at least for me, the fuel of emotions.

So, my foot went through the bus's floor.

Then through what felt like the exhaust pipe. Or part of the transmission.

Then, in a very, very, very uneasy position, my foot went on the street pavement, and all the cars around start jumping up and down, but not worse than the bus, that became very similar to a coke tin can that you shook too much and added, for jiggles, mentos while still closed.

And I was that mean, angry, pissed off mentos, while the three monsters in front of me were the face of the stupid cretins who shook me, and now they were pushed back, and were out of balance.

So I grabbed Shirou, my bag, and jumped out, using the newly created open window as how it should be used.

As an emergency exit. It was even written on it.

Annabeth would have had to get out herself.

The leftmost monster jumped at me, having regained its bearings, but I rose my left arm and shouted, keeping Shirou, paler than death, behind me:

"Wunjo!"

My shield flied to my arm and I used it to bash the monster's face, or at least try to.

But with a beat of her wings it corrected and just landed on it, and then it woundlessly used my defense as a trampoline.

The ugliest ten I would ever had give to an athlete, and then I was almost hit by a whip coming from another Fury.

Luckily it had been raining a lot lately.

Water is my shield!

I got my closed right hand up and a wall of water, as tall as me, got up alongside, and the whip was stuck there, not able to hurt Shirou.

That did leave me open, for a moment, because the one I had the name for charged, or dived, at me.

At least, they thought so, because the pen I had in my hand lost its cap, and suddenly I had a kebab of a Fury in front of me, with the blade going through its ribs, the water shield falling due to me not paying attention.

There were shouts of anger from the other two beings, but I had already let go of the sword and shouted another word:

"Thurisaz!"

Fun things about Arias, and Runes: they are strange, and have many meanings, and connections.

So when my spear flew into my hands, and I threw it at the whip armed monster, it was still under something in the ballpark of the meaning of the word.

Naturally, I hit it. Shirou, if nothing else, was good at making sure you fought well.

And hit I did, and now two Furies were becoming golden dust.

So, with two down, I charged the last monster, who hissed, and prepared-

Only for a knife to come through her throat.

And Annabeth to appear, her cap now in her hand, and her face as white as a sheet, holding said knife.

The last Fury didn't have much more to say, and became dust soon after, nothing remaining.

"Jackson! What the hell was that!?" Annabeth shrieked from her position, her breath starting to come really fast.

Not the moment, though, because before that I needed to check on Shirou.

He was breathing, almost unnoticeably, but breathing.

Almost like he was sleeping, really, but right now there wasn't much…Damn it.

I could feel the atmospheric pressure drop, so we-

"Jackson, we need to move, now! The mortals are already-"

Not important. I had already lost mom, I wouldn't lose Shirou as well.

Annabeth had taken out the bags, that was good, so I grabbed two of them and then carried Shirou as well.

And, while the unimportant people shouted behind us something about "stopping", we just started running towards somewhere, going through the fields and forests of the area.

Or at least somewhere that wasn't here.

During the exchange, I reactivated our pendants, while Annabeth put on and off the hat, while the lights of the police came closer then far then closer then again far.

And then it started raining.

Not…the best situation.

Not at all.

At least I shielded us from the rain, but Annabeth didn't talk at all during the exchange, her eyes just darting around, while Shirou was still fainted.

And we continued to walk, for one, two then three miles, Annabeth leading and not speaking up, while I could feel Shirou's breath on my back, while handling extremely uncomfortably the bags.

Then Annabeth spoke up, suddenly:

"So… this is how the mortal world is."

I didn't stop, but I did ask, curious:

"Don't you live there? That "camp" of yours is in the US of A as much as anything else in the country."

"You know what I mean." No, I don't. "After all, you trained a lot, so your mother must have been also a demigod." No, she wasn't. At least I don't know if she was. "And you know how to use your father's-"

"Not my father!" I shouted, and some drops fell on me at my outburst, and I quickly focused again on the magic, invisible, umbrella, and marched forward while Annabeth followed, and continued:

"Ok, god that spawned you. I wanted to see how they lived, and how they reached their height when they are so much…less than us."

Splendid. It wasn't really the moment

I shut her off: "Look, as much as having magic powers is cool, humanity has been able to reach those same results without them, and almost always without having the so-called gods helping us. Now, what was the point?"

"Well… Luke is the only one I know well that went out, and he spoke really badly of the mortals, so I wanted to see for myself, because it seemed strange that the same horrible people built so much, and Chiron talked good about them."

Uh.

I turned towards her, and she was…embarrassed?

Ashamed?

Really, not the time.

"I just didn't expect for it to be on such an important quest, but beggars can't be choosers." She went on, but I was kind of sure she was just going over her previous embarrassment.

I didn't particularly care, with the fainted Shirou and all, at the time, but now yeah, she was very justly embarrassed.

And probably had an inkling that Luke had fed her a lot of stupid manure.

"Ok, so your idea of a trip to the…mortal… world was joining a quest that could kill us all?" I shifted the bags and the Shirou in a more comfortable position while walking: "Couldn't you have done a more normal thing and just gone to school? You would have had better reasons to hate the "mortals" then."

Idiots, professors, bullies, professors, boys and professors would make sure of that.

"I cannot do that. I…"

She stopped speaking, and when I turned, her face became very complicated, only for then to continue, her tone sad and annoyed:

"I can't, I stay at the camp for the whole year."

Well, that was a bummer.

And so, we continued to walk, this time an heavier silence hanging like a rock on me, the rain bouncing aimlessly above my impromptu magical umbrella, the night falling all around us, until I saw a neon light, with some kind of name, and that was the best damn sight in a day, what looked like a fast food joint.

The best damn smell too, because Shirou hadn't been able to cook anything, nor sneak out to cook anything.

A pang inside my heart, but I marched on.

Maybe they would have pity for three children lost in the forest and give us just enough time for Shirou to wake up and give us a good plan.

When we came out of the forest, the store that the neon sign was above wasn't something really worth remembering, but it was much more than what we had at that moment.

Shirou would have called it "unremarkable", but maybe for the very realistic statues in front of it, that the now moon light was not letting us see many more details.

There was also a certain feeling electricity, of my hair getting up and of my breath almost feeling liquid, but that could be just the fight we had just gone out off. At least that's what I thought at the time.

Maybe I should have paid more attention, thinking well about it.

Unfortunately, the most important thing is that it was open, and it was warmer than the hurricane we were in, and that it had warm food.

Something that without a Shirou we wouldn't get soon or, if there had been photos done on the bus, at all for the next weeks.

The moment we crossed the road, though, the statues became…a tad too many.

Just a bit.

Like, thirty or forty too many, of cats, dogs, men and women and even mythological beings and all not looking exactly happy.

Downright scared, most of them.

But Shirou was more important than my own fear of garden furniture, so I pushed forward, Annabeth just behind me, and, after I turned off the umbrella, which left us drenched in water in a few seconds, we knocked on the door.

There were no sounds inside, no shuffling, no breaths, nothing, until the door opened and a woman came out.

She was covered from head to toe in a black cape, only a small slit where her golden, and they were golden, peaked out.

The only other parts of her body that weren't covered were her hands, that looked so tanned that they were giving a bronze like feeling.

The moment she saw us, her hands went to her mouth and a melodious voice came out, concern dripping from it:

"Darlings, you must be freezing! Come in, come in!"

She gave us space to enter, and we used that space, our shoes quenching and dirtying all over the floor, which was very much not a fast-food joint.

It was a fast-food joint with a side of creepy statue, scared statues, and creepy scared statues.

"Please pay no heed to the mess, but old Aunt Em has never been good at keeping order."

Who was aunt Em.

"Oh, I am aunt Em, dearies! Sorry, I am somewhat...forgetful, at my age."

Uhuh.

She was sharp.

But I, being the one with a lot of luggage, didn't care at that moment, I only wanted to put Shirou somewhere safer than outside.

So, with all that though, aunt Em lead us through the statues, of horses, of humans, of cats and of many, many owls, my skin had goosebumps all over and my instincts were blaring like a firefighter's truck, and my legs wanting just to turn around and leave, run away.

Then we reached the dining part, with many tables with chairs of different colours, and still other statues, some besides, some on the tables.

We were given a table on the corner, one with an owl on it, on that had a bench-like sit that aunt Em let me lay Shirou on it, who now had a better color than before, then she went away to cook something fast for us.

While waiting, I did study the owl, while Annabeth took out her maps to get an alternate route, I guess.

It really was good.

Its pupils were expanded, and its feathers were sculpted one by one, and its beak was open, and the...sculpting went down to the... throat?

Too curious for my own good, I touched it and I followed the instructions Shirou gave me to "structurally analysis", or at least my own steps to it.

The history is always there.

My circuits burnt warm, hidden by the pendant, and I could feel the sculpting of the…bones.

Of the lungs.

Of the heart.

It's unknown, unseen, unheard.

It was alive once. I was sure of that. I could feel that in its last moments it had landed on a branch, then it tried to flee in terror.

Only to be hit by curse.

I will know, see and hear it, so to know see and hear dangers against those I care.

That curse was petrification, an old one.

A powerful one.

Coming from;

"Annabeth." I ordered, my voice a low whisper while my right hand clenched inside my bag, grasping my spear, and my eyes zeroed on the opposite direction from where the monster was: "Get Shirou out. This is something that will want to kill you."

Annabeth turned questioningly towards me, but I shooed her and maybe she understood something, maybe she was spooked just enough.

Maybe she was just clever, and that was a big maybe at the time.

But she took the still fainted Shirou, put on her cap, and moved out as fast possible, Shirou becoming invisible alongside her, and then I heard a window open somewhere beside me, and the sound of rain, then closing again.

Then I felt that cold sensation again, that sense of goosebumps, of hair standing up, of my mouth not having more drool.

And I heard two heavy steps behind me, and the sound of hissing snakes.

And I smelt the odor of food.

Then, with a quick action of hand, I took the shield out as well with my left hand and I could see behind me Medusa.

She was pretty, even if monstrous, even if she had snakes on her head and hands made of bronze, her posture was like mom when she wanted to look taller and meaner.

Her eyes were indeed gold colour, and had a snake like quality on them, and from her mouth came out two wicked fangs.

But there was something mournful, so much that I couldn't fit, maybe the lack of smile, maybe the void gaze.

But then she smiled open, wide and above all hungry, and her posture changed from tall to almost crouched, and her melodious voice came out just as predatory:

"So you made her daughter run away. You are much more honourable than your father ever was, child of Poseidon!"

I didn't say anything, and when she started cycling around me, I, while reinforcing my legs, started doing that too, my back in her direction.

"You know what your father did, don't you? What he forced on me?"

I didn't answer, but already knew what Poseidon had done.

Shirou had been through with the myths, and had given details that Mom wouldn't give, above all after the Talk.

And he had been through at teaching me how I should use any moment an enemy spoke to prepare, which I did by Reinforcing myself.

"He forced himself on me. I was a friend of Athena, I lived in her temple and kept it safe and clean, and when he was angry because he lost the city, he went to me."

I was trembling, but also preparing. The water around was still present, and maybe I could have used it to give me an edge, and give some more time for Annabeth.

"Then when I, after I was finally left alone, went to Athena, she rejected me, she cursed me!"

Her anger and despair made the shield almost tremble, or maybe it was my own disgust.

I was the one who had to help them to save Mom.

And I was the one who would be using her memories to prepare to kill her.

"It was my beauty, not Poseidon himself, she said, and so she I was to be the last thing anything would ever see!"

She was moving with small twitches, snarls coming from her mouth while she hit tables and destroyed statues.

The droplets of water, now, were almost ready, alongside a mighty stomp.

"So I ran, and went to my sisters, who gave me back a life, only for then to be cursed again with hunger! And then, one day, I was alone, with blood on my hands and on my lips and on my teeth and my sisters Euryale and Stheno no more! I can't never see them again without wanting to devour, devour, devour!"

She was crying golden, or at least something that resplended, I could see it from the reflection on my shield.
And while she was crying, I didn't speak, I didn't give any feeling out, and then I thought of the first part of the Aria.

Let my breath become tre-

She immediately sprinted, and with a swipe she threw me like a doll through tables, which splintered and broke my skin, and the statues cracked and fell all over me, which kept me down for a moment and left me pained.

The problem was that in that moment a bronze talon bit on my back and my right arm, my lungs unable to take in air due to the pressure, and I had to muffle a pained cry, and Medusa finished, her tone mournful:

"I can't stop that, I am sorry. I will make this as painless as possible."

I focused on the water under me, in the pipes and in the bottles and in the droplets, busting it against her and tried to kick and punch the ground to get up, shockwaves and small earthquakes at each and every hit.

She didn't move one inch, she was like a boulder, and I could feel her breath coming closer, while I kept my eyes down to not die as fast while the talons on her feet dug into my now wet and warm back.

I didn't want to die there, not before mom was saved!

I choked back another cry when I heard a sudden boom, and a crack of my arm's bones, and then I didn't have any more weight on my back, or on me anymore.

I was left gasping for breath, each intake both sweet as blue pancakes and painful as all hell, but then, in between the drum of my hearth and the flute of my wheezing breath, I heard Shirou speaking:

"While making our fellow adventurer spirit me away, it may have been better if you did actually have the ability to fight back against Medusa, no? Well, shut your eyes for a bit, I already took my own nap."

"You...sarcastic...meanie."

I was able to breathe that out and look up at him.

He had a tacky golden mantle, a strange war scythe, with a long handle and small blade, and a jagged multicolored knife, which looked more like a stylized bolt than anything like a knife in the belt of his pink riding trousers.

I then had to look down again, too tired and in pain to keep my head up more.

"That spear... I recognize it. Perseus had it. How do you have it, young man?"

Her voice was like a child who had her parents bring her to Disneyland for the first time.

"More like a distorted mirage of it, but it will do its work."

Shirou's voice wasn't sarcastic, not in the usual sense.

He sounded more…sad? I wouldn't be able to tell more, because now I only felt my own pain at each breath, and my sense were going worse than a squirrel in a sugar high.

"So that's also the veil? Truly remarkable for the gods to have given such boons to you, maybe I will finally rest for a while thanks to them."

I could hear the slow shuffling from behind me, and my goosebumps and hair didn't go down at all, and I could smell iron and dirt.

Then I heard air moving and the vibrations of metal against metal, again, and again, and again.

Three, five, seven times I heard it.

Oh water, creator of life, close my wounds.

Then a maddened laugh came from somewhere above me, and from behind me, while my pain started to finally fade.

"You are much better than Perseus, at least you fight me openly! Give me your name, I want to remember such a morsel as you!"

Shirou didn't answer, which was strange, I know that he usually would answer at such talk.

Then, three, five, seven more exchanges.

The floor shook at each of them, and the statues around fell and broke all around.

Then those seven became thirteen, seventeen, twenty-one.

And then, a gasp of pain, and something heavy falling on the ground, and the feeling of my goosebumbs became far less.

Then that sweet voice arrived to my hears, weak, and happy:

"Ah, so that's Harpe. Truly, Athena, you couldn't be more wicked."

A few heartbeats, and no answer, I heard that voice again, now almost begging:

"So, what are you waiting for, young man? I cannot turn you into stone, and even if I slowed you down somehow, you are still much better at fighting than I am."

A few steps, then Shirou, after a few heartbeats and my own hair standing up for a moment, spoke up and chanted:

"Rule breaker".

There was silence for a moment, then Medusa screamed in pain, so much pain, and I felt like I had to run away from the state, from the continent, from this world.

Then, just as it came, silence.

And no feeling.

Then, a few steps, and Shirou took me up by my jacket and started to move me delicately out, his steps slow and almost like a robot, no words given while the weapons he had used faded into blue motes of light.

AN

Well, I wrote this fast, by my own standards at least.

Wanted to do this because, due to what I did the previous chapter, I wanted to become a bit more responsible.

Also, I do like writing, and it is quite helpful to just unload a lot after these days.

Also, thanks to the paid (who I asked if he wanted to give the name, but didn't answer so I am erring for the side of caution) and the three free (which I don't know, again, if I should post the names).

Studying law makes it so that you become paranoid of these things.

Now.

P a treon . com (slash) Manram

Ko-fi . com (slash) manram

If you want to help me financially, please donate, and if you want to help me become a better writer, please do review and favourite.

Have a good Easter for all who practice it.

Also, I think the next update may be for Sword of the imperium. I have an itch to continue that story, then I will probably jump back after that.