"Jason, I can kind of get. His brain's all wonky right now; he thinks he really cares about her, and that kind of love can make you do some weird stuff," The hissing sound of Riptide and Ilvis grumbled against the pavement, echoing the sound around me and making me feel like I'd just stepped into a den of snakes. "But you, Piper? Why the hell are you trying to defend her? She hasn't even talked to you in months! She's the reason things are so tense between you and your dad! For all you know, she's been meddling with your love life, too!"
"I don't…know..." Piper shook her head. She glanced back at the high school, tears forming in her eyes. A cloud passed over her, drizzling her with rain. "I can't…Percy…"
I looked closer at her. As we made eye contact, her eyes glazed over, and her expression was all dreamy. The dagger in her hand began shaking.
She wouldn't…
The world began bending and stirring, its colors draining as the scene in front of me transformed into shades of gray. I looked between her and Aphrodite, my scowl deepening.
Sure enough, there was a line of pink stretching between Piper and Aphrodite- barely visible, even to my keen eye. A similar line ran between Jason and Aphrodite.
"You're dead," I said simply, turning back to Aphrodite. "You walk in here, get my friends killed, and you want to mind control the rest of them? Tell me, Aphrodite, what the ABSOLUTE FUCK DID I DO TO YOU?"
I'd never been this angry before.
It felt like a pulsing heat, rising up from deep within my body. It was this simmering fury that ignited all my senses. It manifested in all kinds of ways- the taste of bile in the back of my throat, the throbbing ache in my temples; a tightness in my chest so raw and hard that it made it hard to breathe.
I could taste the taste of iron on my tongue from biting down on my cheek hard enough to draw blood.
"I'm not doing it on purpose," Aphrodite begged, raising her hands. To her credit, she did look incredibly distraught. She swallowed thickly. "I think it's my powers doing it unconsciously! I've never had this much love around me; I don't know how to handle it! It's like if you took a—"
I saw red- and no, I know, everyone says they see red when they get mad. You probably think I'm exaggerating, or something, but my anger really was tinged red- it was so obtrusive, so powerful, that it clouded my vision and blurred the world around me.
"I don't care," I somehow intoned around clenched teeth, my face bared in a snarl. My head ached from the hard set of my jaw. I tried to reign in my anger, but it wasn't working.
My hands, white-knuckled and tense, trembled around my swords.
Aphrodite flinched. "Percy, you need to listen to me, there are certain balances that need to be maintained. I can't let you walk into the Underworld knowing you're going to try to free souls."
"Save it for someone who cares," I bitingly replied. My eyes locked onto the black key in her palm, "I'm getting that card back."
I turned back to Piper and activated [Serenity Inducement].
I wanted to see if I could break her free of Aphrodite's spell before I was forced to, well, break her free of it.
I felt the warm energy of Hestia's power flow through me.
You know that feeling you get when you're wrapped in a ton of fuzzy blankets, with a nice hot coffee in your hand and some chill music playing? Yeah, it was like that feeling, but on steroids. Like someone took that feeling, bottled it up, and dialed it up to a gazillion.
It was so powerful, even I forgot about my anger for a brief, fleeting moment. I walked up to Piper and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked at me with an uneasy expression.
"Hey, it's going to be okay," I said softly. My fingers burned with warmth as I rubbed my thumb across Piper's shoulder blade. I really didn't want to fight her if I could avoid it. "Just take a deep breath and try to relax. You don't want to fight. We don't have to fight."
Her movements slowed. The tightness in her muscles loosened. Her breathing slowed, and her breaths began coming out more evenly. Hestia's power began to take effect. The tears in her eyes began to recede.
I could see the tension fading from her face as she relaxed into my touch. It was like all of her worries and anxieties were melting away.
"Thanks, Percy," Piper said, her voice low and steady. She offered me a reassuring smile, "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"No problem—" Before I could fully turn, my instincts kicked in, and I ducked under a wild slash from Piper. Her face was set in a frown again, and tears were rolling down her cheeks.
[Gamer's Mind] struggled to keep my emotions in check- in that moment, I could feel the ardent emotion of betrayal and anger swirling inside me, crashing against each other like waves in a stormy sea.
In my mind's eye, I saw an image of Piper and me, camped out on the banks of the Hudson. Right before Medusa's Lair, we'd had a conversation. I could still feel the coarse grass under my palms, and see Piper's angry look:
"Why?" Piper said, resting her chin on her knees. "Why is it that you're forced to accept this life given to you? Aren't you a little bit resentful at Po- your dad for leaving you to this life?"
My fists clenched and unclenched on my swords, my breath coming in short, sharp bursts. Beneath my rapidly building anger, I could sense a deep hurt, a feeling of betrayal that cut to the very core of my being.
The two emotions battled for dominance inside me, crashing against each other like waves in a storm-tossed sea. As I looked at Piper, one moment, anger would surge to the fore, overwhelming the hurt and the pain. The next, the betrayal would rise up again, drowning out the anger with a fierce intensity.
I turned back to Aphrodite, a bit miffed that my powers as Hestia's champion were faltering. "You're forcing your will upon them, aren't you?"
"Not consciously, I swear on the River Styx!" Aphrodite screamed, lightning flashing overhead. "I just…I'm scared…" By the end of her sentence, Jason and Piper both turned back toward me, their weapons drawn.
I swallowed back the lump forming in my throat. I didn't even know I could get this angry- it was raw and visceral emotion. I was desperately trying to hold back- not just for Jason and Piper, but also for myself.
To be honest, I was afraid that once I unleashed my anger, it would be almost impossible to contain, like a wildfire burning out of control, leaving destruction in its wake.
"I love the both of you so very much," I said, switching gears as the raindrops kept rolling down my face. The words felt alien coming out of my mouth, "So I'll do my best to not leave any lasting damage."
"Percy, please," Piper begged, her voice shaking in the storm. Dried blood was splotching on her forehead, and her dress was covered in black marks. "We don't need to fight. I don't want to fight. I…"
"Not now, Piper," I said, as comfortingly as I could. I felt Riptide and Ilvis hum; they glowed with intense heat, the metal white hot as licks of Greek fire hissed angrily from the blades. "This isn't in your control right now. But I promise you, it will be okay."
Lightning surged overhead, briefly illuminating all of us in a bright light. Piper began crying again, and I shook my head. "You can't cry now, Piper. You need to be strong. You need to come at me with everything you've got. If you aren't trying to kill me, you won't be able to protect her," I said, anger flaring through my system as I looked back at Aphrodite. "And definitely not yourself. I've taught you, trained you. I know you can do it."
"I learned something when I was in Atlantis, you know," I called, turning to face Jason. "A brand-new form of swordsmanship. A form you definitely haven't seen. And, I can tell just from looking at you; you're weakened. Hurt. Do you really think you can fight me, beat me as you are now, Jason? In my own element?"
He really was hurt. I figured he was probably the one taking most of the Hydra's attention, and he had paid for it.
His suit was all torn and singed. I figured my mom wouldn't be too happy, and Men's Wearhouse would definitely be keeping their security deposit, but meh. That's going to be the least of Jason's problems, soon.
I saw the barely hidden exhaustion permeating through every movement, every slow inhale and exhale. Parts of his arm were a raw, angry shade of red, and his right thigh was completely exposed to the world.
"Why are you acting like this?" Jason asked, hurt and confusion seeping into his voice. He pretended to not have to lean on his hammer for support, "I just don't get it."
"What is there to get?" A scowl formed on my face again. "Your girlfriend is Aphrodite. She lied to you, the same way she lied to me. She's manipulating you, the same way she manipulated me. And now, just by being here, SHE GOT OUR FRIENDS KILLED!"
"I didn't know!" Aphrodite begged, still hiding behind Jason. "And I'm not manipulating him! I love him—"
"You loved me too, but that didn't stop you from stealing my emotions! It didn't stop you from lying to me," My grip tightened. "It didn't stop you from showing up at MJ's house that night."
"MJ—"
"NO!" I snarled, every muscle in my body tensing. It was like someone ran a current through my body, "YOU DON'T GET TO SAY HER NAME!"
The winds howled like a pack of wolves, their furious voices rising and falling in an unending symphony of destruction. The rain lashed against everything in its path, pounding against rooftops and windows with a ferocity that threatened to shatter them to pieces. The air thickened with the roar of the storm–a deafening din that was beginning to draw out all other sounds.
I originally began running toward Aphrodite, but Jason intercepted me midway, a serious expression behind his shaggy hair.
The wind wailed again as we met in the middle of the road, my swords clanging against his hammer. He flipped the head of his hammer away from me and tried to slash at me with the other end- a sharp, celestial bronze point at the stem of his handle.
CLANG!
Riptide and Ilvis made an X against the point. [Pyrokinetic] roared to life around me, igniting my entire body in a green blaze. The fire seemed to feed off my anger, and back into it.
I grunted, quickly pulling my swords back, and spinning around, flinging Riptide at Jason. It cut through the storm, shining a menacing green, like an oversized, glow-in-the-dark arrow.
Jason went to dodge it, but the storm picked up again, flinging it right at his leg.
Blue electricity sparked to life, running up and down his body as he haphazardly stumbled backward. As Riptide clattered against the pavement where his leg was, I blasted in front of him, crisscrossing the tip of Ilvis, trying to carve into his hand and make him drop his hammer.
He twirled his hammer in his hands, dodging my slash and wrapping my arm with the long stem of his hammer.
He flipped his hammer again, trying to catch me with a feint.
Spoiler alert: it didn't work.
With his level of exhaustion and his inexperience with using such a heavy weapon, he may as well have been moving in slow motion to me.
I snarled and pulled my fist back, channeling some mana into my knuckles and halting his strike in the air with a punch.
The middle of my fist connected with the hammer's handle, sending a shockwave of force rippling through the weapon. Jason's grip faltered, and I screamed loudly, pushing more power into the punch.
It slipped out of his grasp.
For a moment, the hammer seemed to hang suspended in mid-air, a glinting blur of metal against the dimly lit storm. Then, with a final, ringing clash, it smashed into the ground and skittered across the surface like a stone skipping across a pond.
The air behind me shifted. My instincts screamed: Piper!
I ducked under a slash that erupted out of the blackness of the night and batted Piper's arm down with Ilvis. She groaned in pain, and I sidestepped another jab, twisting into a kick that smashed into her stomach and knocked her backward.
Even though I tried to put as little strength in it as possible, training in Atlantis had thrown off my perception of what "little strength" really meant. Piper's scream of pain still ripped out of her body- she screamed like she'd been hit by a truck.
So for a second I just stood there, my muscles coiled tight like a spring. My breaths came in short, controlled bursts.
Control. She isn't Triton. She can't take those hits. Don't hurt them more than you have to.
It was hard, though.
Every inch of my body screamed with the need to unleash the full force of my strength, but I held back with fierce determination. I knew how much stronger than both of them I was- the absolute last thing I needed was to cripple one of them for life.
Or worse.
The tension in the air was palpable, a living thing that seemed to wrap itself around me like a second skin.
And suddenly- Aphrodite was upon me, swinging a sword made of pink, glowing energy.
Her jaw was set in a tight line, her lips pressed together so hard they turned white. Sweat dripped down her forehead, stinging her eyes, but she refused to blink as she pressed me.
Perfect.
I could feel the power coursing through my veins, like a river ready to burst its banks. Every muscle in my body quivered with the effort of holding back- I was stiff, like a statue carved from granite.
BOOM!
There was a shockwave, followed by a ring of energy and sound that exploded as I deflected Aphrodite's hit.
Despite her lack of battle experience, she was still a goddess. My shoulder ached from blocking the hit.
I blitzed her defenses pretty easily. The rainfall around us turned into spears of water that discharged at her back as she blocked my slash.
She gasped out as the spears hit her, hardening into monoliths of ice as they lanced through her back and blasted through. I capitalized on her moment of weakness and stabbed Ilvis forward, ramming it through her torso.
Killshots only for you.
I went to twist the sword out, when a gust of wind smashed into the side of my face, disorienting me and throwing me backward like a football, head over heels.
"HGGGRH!" Jason was waiting. As the gust of wind deposited me off, he wrapped his arms around me, trying to lift me up.
I rammed my elbow against his forehead. He shifted back, and I threw Riptide in the air. The storm caught it, twirling it overhead like a deadly version of a baby's crib mobile.
His grip loosened, and I slipped through, turning to face him. I dug my feet into the ground and inhaled sharply.
Over the summer, Triton forced me to learn proper boxing form. He claimed that it was essential to have proper balance, foot placement, and distance control to be able to throw punches accurately and efficiently.
I noted, grudgingly, that he was right. With a sudden burst of speed, I launched myself at Jason, my fists flashing like lightning as I rained down a flurry of punches. From this range, it was impossible for him to dodge.
My fists struck home with deadly accuracy, slamming into Jason's chest, face, and ribs with bone-crunching force. He grunted, staggered, and tried to fight back, but I was too fast, too skilled.
Too relentless.
I slammed my fist back into his stomach, and he doubled over. I grunted and slid underneath him, lifting him up and suplexing him into the pavement as hard as I could.
Just like that, Piper was back. She threw a few knives at me, which I wove around easily. I slammed my hand down on the ground, and a fault line opened up, causing her to stumble and jump.
The hairs on my arm stood up, and my body moved on its own, dodging Jason's bolt of lightning. It probably would've missed anyway, seeing as he shot it from the ground, but I didn't want to take any unnecessary risks in a fight like this.
Coppery blood formed on the split seams of my knuckles from where I punched the hammer, and I growled, steepling my fingers in the blood and staring at it.
The rain from the storm didn't wash it off my fingers. The red blood kept beading, dripping onto my fingers, and sizzling in the green fire.
Piper erupted from the rainfall behind me, but I smashed my hand down, again, and Riptide flung itself in front of her, granting me some breathing room.
I moved my other arm, jabbing it toward Jason, who was slowly getting up. The droplets of blood hovered in front of me for a moment, shimmering in the light. Then, they spun, hurtling toward Jason.
As they traveled through the air, the droplets began to shift and change, transforming into razor-sharp shurikens. They glinted in the light, spinning with deadly precision as they sliced through the air.
He roared and slammed his hammer down. The wind seemed to listen to him, slamming my blood shurikens down. The electricity from before was beginning to grow longer and more insistent, feeding off the storm and sizzling up and down Jason's body like a swarm of angry beetles.
Lightning armor, My brain supplied as I eyed the electricity warily. That was how he was still standing upright. I'll have to be careful.
I broke into a sprint again, scooping Riptide off the ground and launching myself at him. He flung his arm forward, and the electricity quickly surged away from his body, and into his waiting fingertips. It arced toward me, and I jumped through the air, barrel-rolling away from it.
It detonated against the ground behind me loudly, exploding chunks of gravel in every direction.
I slipped under his defenses again, drawing back my arm and summoning around a quarter of my full strength.
I channeled it into a single, devastating punch. The air crackled with energy as my fist struck home, blasting Jason away with a force that sent him hurtling through the air like a ragdoll. He landed in a heap, groaning and clutching his bruised and battered body.
I exhaled through my nose, my arm still aching from the strain of holding back. If I hadn't intentionally powered it down, I could've run my fist through his body like Jello.
"Reconsider what you're doing," I said in a final attempt to get Jason and Piper to stand down. My grip on my emotions was already beginning to loosen, "Because I'm just getting started."
I felt a surge of energy coursing through my body as I activated [Angelic Trigger].
My muscles slackened and tautened. My shoulders lost some tension. The emotional toll of [Pyrokinetic] began to lessen as my mind cleared up a little bit. My breathing was coming a bit easier.
My senses were heightened. I could feel every droplet of water rolling down my body, I could feel the cold air of the storm blasting through my sweater. The moisture in the air tasted sweet on my tongue, and I could hear the sound of my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.
If I focused, and I mean really focused, I could hear Piper's heartbeat, too, as she tried to sneak up on me.
I turned and started chaining together a series of slashes and jabs, every movement flowing into the next like a dance. My strikes were precise and deadly, and I could feel the impact of each blow resonating through my body.
It was like I was a sculptor, chiseling away at the marble. But instead of a hammer and chisel, I had Riptide. And, instead of marble, well…
I moved so fast that I was a blur, a streak of motion that was beginning to leave Piper dazed and confused. Despite her speed, she couldn't keep up with me, and I was starting to land more and more hits on her.
I kept switching between sword forms, flowing from [Moon's Dance] to [Atlantean Swordsmanship], to [Triton's Court] and back, each movement fluid and effortless.
They started off small, like nicks and cuts, but Piper's form was beginning to unravel a bit as [The Reaper] started stacking up, and even my smallest hits were beginning to hit like a truck.
"You're slipping," I said emotionlessly to her. She was completely on the defensive, and the dagger wasn't providing her with enough power to defend against my slashes.
[The Reaper] stacked all the way up.
My ring burned brightly on my hand. There was a metallic clink before it erupted into a blinding flash of light and sound- it was as if the whole world had exploded into a brilliant, white light.
My ears rang with the sound of the blast, and I could feel the heat of the explosion on my skin.
I saw Piper stagger, her movements sluggish and uncoordinated.
I seized the opportunity and launched myself forward, my movements swift and precise. I could feel the texture of the floor beneath my feet as I closed in on her.
Even though her eyes were screwed shut, she still had her instincts, but they weren't of much use.
I could hear her labored breathing as she struggled to stay upright, and I lunged forward, smashing the hilt of my sword into her shoulder.
She screamed in pain. The hilt of the sword dug deep into her skin, deeper than it should have gone by any stretch of the imagination.
Had I used too much power?
I could've sworn I heard the muscles in her shoulder rupture as she stumbled backward, gritting her teeth, and heaving. A sob worked itself out of her mouth. She held her dagger in her right hand and moved her arm up, gripping her left shoulder, only to wince in pain.
She retreated back a little, and I decided to press forward, just not at her.
I didn't forget about you.
I slashed my sword at Aphrodite, and the clouds roared, glowing with green energy.
The air crackled. From his heap on the ground, Jason realized what was about to happen and raised his hand, his fingers splayed wide as if grasping at something just out of reach.
A bolt of blue lighting shot toward me, and I shook my head as I batted it down with Riptide.
"Weak," I spat. The storm clouds above us swirled menacingly, "You said you'd been practicing. I guess you were too busy making kissy faces to learn anything real."
A low rumble filled the air, growing louder and more intense with each passing moment until the very ground beneath our feet began to vibrate.
"You call that lightning? Pathetic. I'll show you lightning." I pointed my sword at Aphrodite, and the clouds unleashed a bolt of lightning- it was a denticulate fringe of emerald green, crackling with a power that seemed almost otherworldly.
The bolt tore through the air like a spear, a jagged streak of neon green that illuminated everything around it.
As the bolt struck Aphrodite, there was a deafening explosion, a shockwave that sent debris flying in all directions. The air was filled with the scent of ozone, and the ground trembled as if struck by an earthquake. Ilvis went clattering out of her body.
"Amy!" Jason roared, looking back for a moment before shooting toward me, his right leg flailing limply underneath him.
He shouldn't have called her that.
"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU?" I screamed, meeting him halfway and delivering a nasty kick right into his injured thigh. I easily sidestepped his downward slash and kicked his ankle. He stumbled, and I snapped his neck back with the hilt of my sword. Blood erupted like a geyser from his nose, "HER. NAME. IS. APHRODITE!"
And then, with a sudden burst of motion, I heard someone else's heartbeat behind me. I felt a presence creeping up behind me, and my battle instincts flared to life.
Piper.
I'd thought she'd need more time to heal.
I growled in my mind. Piper wasn't a heavy hitter, but she was fast. Even if she was weakened, she could still be a problem. Especially if my attention was on Jason- she'd try her best to get hits off before I could even react.
Not that I was too worried. I'd fought the two of them countless times.
I trained Piper. I trained with Jason.
We've seen each other, worked together, worked against each other- for hours and hours, Medusa's eye has greedily drunk in every last thing about their mannerisms.
There are things about their stances that they haven't even noticed. Things that no normal human being should be able to analyze mid-fight, but I've seen them all. I know how long it takes for Piper to swing her dagger. I know how far her stride is, and how long her arms are. I know how her breathing changes when she's going for a slash or a jab.
Sure, I might not know how Jason's new hammer works, but he's got his fair share of tells, too. Prometheus tried his best to iron out Jason's quirks, but he's only human, after all. There are things he can't get rid of, even if he tries his hardest.
I don't have that problem. The Game lets me hide all my flaws.
With each subtle shift in Jason's stance and each flicker of movement vibrating off the winds of the storm behind me, I could see a thousand different paths the fight could take.
In my mind's eye, I could see the fight playing out in intricate detail. I found myself visualizing each parry, each thrust, and each countermove before it happened, anticipating every possible move Jason and Piper could make from this angle.
With each passing second, my mental simulation grew more complex, branching out into multiple possible outcomes based on every decision everyone could make.
And then, in a sudden moment of clarity, I saw Jason's next move before it even happened. I'd seen the look on his face a thousand times- the slight tension under his left eye, the scrunch of his nose. I saw his muscles tighten, and his eyes briefly flick behind me.
So, that's how we're playing it.
If he's looking behind me, that means he and Piper are coordinating to some degree. The tautness of his muscles indicates he's building up strength, but the whitening of his knuckles around the base of his hammer means he's restraining that strength for now, trying to keep it built up and ready, like a dam.
He isn't hitting first. If he was leading the attack, he wouldn't care about restraining his power, he'd let it all out and leave Piper an opening.
I tilted my head to the side, trying to focus through the sounds of the storm. The green fire on my swords was casting a source of light in a circle around me. Piper's shadow was growing larger, which meant…
I activated [Accelerate] right as the clock stopped in the fourth quadrant.
A rush of energy surged through my body. My muscles tensed and my heart rate quickened as my senses sharpened. With a burst of speed, I darted forward, cutting through the storm like a knife through butter.
I deftly feinted left, then spun right with Riptide angled sideways. Just as I had anticipated, Piper lunged forward. With lightning-fast reflexes, I spun behind her and smacked her back with the flat of my blade.
A resounding THWANG echoed from the impact, as she was sent stumbling toward Jason, who was forced to let go of his built-up power to sidestep Piper. I moved forward, ready to strike back, when my body erupted in pink fire.
Though it didn't hurt too much, it reminded me of the last Fall Ball- I'd been lit on the same kind of fire after my first kiss with MJ.
MJ…
For a second, I was lost. Lost in a world that I no longer seemed to recognize. Everything around me seemed foreign, yet eerily familiar at the same time. My mind felt clouded, my thoughts jumbled, and my emotions in turmoil.
Her breath smelled like cherry. She said, almost teasingly, "I've been waiting for you to make a move all night, you know?"
The air of the storm was thick with moisture, heavy and oppressive. The wind was howling, a low, ominous sound that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I could feel the weight of the storm pressing down on me, suffocating me with its intensity.
"I don't know what it's like for your demigod friends, but you were literally radiating power. It felt like I was next to a jet engine. You just…flicked a switch on, and destroyed it," MJ continued in her slow tone, as the song began to end. She put her other hand on my cheek too, grabbing my face lightly. "But you did it for me. You did it to protect me."
It was darkening, too. Visibility was beginning to drop.
"I'd do it again," I replied, my heart hammering. "I wouldn't…I won't let anything hurt you. Not now, not ever."
And then- I saw her face in my mind. I heard her voice and felt her touch. I could smell her perfume in my nose- it was like she was right next to me, her arms around my neck.
And then reality hit me like a ton of bricks, and I remembered that she was gone. Forever. Unless I got through this, and fast.
Focus, a voice murmured inside my mind. It was as if an iceberg had sprouted a voice, and it spoke with a cold, yet strangely soothing tone. You must take control of your emotions if you wish to emerge victorious from this battle.
I felt a shiver run down my spine as the voice continued. It was like nothing I had ever heard before, and yet it seemed to resonate within me, stirring something deep and primal.
I turned my gaze to Aphrodite, who was panting and looking at me.
The voice spoke again: Remember what she took from you.
And then, something changed. The wind picked up, whistling through the trees. It roared with primordial ferocity, shaking the windows of cars nearby. The temperature dropped sharply, and I could feel the hairs on my arms rising in response. It was as if the storm had taken on a life of its own, growing stronger and more menacing with each passing moment.
Our lips touched, and, for a moment, I swear nothing else mattered. A meteor could have hit the planet and wiped out all life, and I wouldn't have even cared. I pulled her closer to me, deepening the kiss. Zeus, she tasted so nice. Her hands closed around my neck, and she moaned softly into the kiss. The warmth from before radiated through my whole being.
Suddenly, I noticed something strange happening in the sky. At first, it was just a few snowflakes, dancing lazily in the wind. But then, they began to multiply, swirling around in a frenzied dance. Soon, the air was filled with them, a blizzard forming inside of my storm from before.
The snow was heavy, wet, and clinging, soaking through my clothes and chilling me to the bone. The wind whipped it around in furious gusts, blinding me with its ferocity. The snowflakes were like tiny knives, cutting into my skin and leaving a trail of icy pain in their wake.
The air was thick with the sound of the dull roar of the wind, and the staccato beat of the snowflakes hitting the ground. The world was a blur of white, a never-ending expanse of snow and wind and cold.
I could taste it, the sharp, bitter tang of the snow on my tongue. It coated my mouth, leaving me gasping for air. The air was so cold, it hurt to breathe, each breath a sharp, stabbing pain in my lungs.
"No amount of fire is going to help you out here," My voice rose again as I glared at Aphrodite. "NO AMOUNT OF ANYTHING IS GOING TO HELP YOU!"
Aphrodite gave me a sad look. She glanced back at Piper and Jason, who were trying their hardest to get back up, but struggling.
Her eyes closed in deep concentration. Her hands glowed with a warm, golden light. Light spilled forth from her fingertips, washing over Jason and Piper, mending their broken bones and torn flesh with a gentle touch.
It seemed to lift their spirits, filling them with renewed strength and vigor. The air around her shimmered with a soft, pink light, suffused with the sweet scent of blooming roses.
"Jason. Piper. We need to attack him at the same time," Aphrodite's voice was soft and soothing. "Piper, take him from the right. Jason, take him from the left. I'll take the middle."
Something was different.
I was surrounded almost instantly, the three of them closing in on me from all sides. How did they get here so fast? Piper had been out of commission with her shoulder. Jason had taken enough hits to at least slow him down, and now…
Sweat dripped down my forehead as I readied myself for the coming fight, my eyes darting from one foe to the next, searching for an opening.
Piper was the first to charge forward, her dagger whistling through the air as it arced toward my chest. I ducked beneath the strike, feeling the wind whistle past my ear. I lunged forward with Ilvis. The clash of steel echoed through the air as our blades met, sparks flying from the impact.
I could feel the vibrations running through my arm, the weight of my sword heavy in my grip as I pushed against Piper. I frowned to myself- she wasn't this strong before.
Jason circled around, watching for an opening, waiting to strike. Somewhere, off in the storm, I could feel Aphrodite's gaze burning into my back, a palpable sense of danger permeating the air.
PROOOOOOO!
Twin beams-long, blazing columns of pink energy- shot at me. I screamed and smacked the ground in front of me.
The impact was so hard that it seemed to shake the very foundation of the world. Dirt and dust exploded into the air, obscuring everything in a swirling cloud of chaos. The sound was deafening, a thunderous roar that echoed off the surrounding storm.
The ground itself seemed to rise up in waves, bending and churning like the ocean. The roar got louder, as if it were alive and angry at the violence that had just been wrought upon it. The asphalt cracked and buckled, the concrete shattering like glass.
It slammed into the pink beams, exploding everywhere in thousands of tiny pieces. I stood defiantly in the middle of the impact, rain lashing against my face, wind howling in my ears.
I wasn't going to back down.
I felt the thrum of the rain. The moisture in the air. I inhaled through my nose and spread my senses out.
My hearing tunneled. Piper's foot shifted. Jason's arm moved.
SCHWING!
Piper's dagger sailed through the air where my head had been a moment ago. Jason's hammer, now dented heavily from where I'd punched it, smashed into the ground next to me.
As I fought, I let the rain guide my movements. I listened intently, trying to tune out the roar of the storm and focus on the beating of three hearts. It wasn't easy - the sound was muffled, drowned out by the noise of the storm and the pounding of my own heart.
There.
The rain slowed, almost as if it was trying to tell me where the next hit would come from.
I turned in its direction, and I could hear the first heartbeat, faint and distant, but growing louder. I pivoted, striking out blindly, and my sword connected with metal.
Behind you.
Another heartbeat. This one was closer and more urgent. I dodged just in time to avoid a flying kick aimed at my head. I flung myself back, my fist connecting with a solid thud, and I heard the second heartbeat falter.
Suddenly, my arm exploded in pinpricks of pain; I looked down to see pink glass poking out of it, and that falter in concentration was enough for Jason to smash my knee with his hammer.
I grunted, not letting myself fall to the floor. I slid my foot back and rolled under another volley of pink glass from Aphrodite.
Piper's dagger nicked my arm, and I lashed out at her with a slash that would've smacked the weapon out of her hands, but Jason blasted me in the back with a bolt of lightning that knocked me off balance.
His left foot pivoted- he's pushing in.
I quickly calculated the angle and velocity of my next attack, determined the best countermove, and executed it as fast as I could. Jason's downward swing was easily countered, parried, and he was smacked backward.
But as soon as I pushed him back, Piper was already back on me, and Aphrodite was already slinging more pink energy at me.
I weaved under the pink bolts of energy and smacked Piper's ribs with the blade of my sword. She gasped and faltered for a second, and I used the [Thousand Hand Technique], flicking her in the forehead with my index finger. She flew backward.
The sheer number of opponents was starting to overwhelm my mental calculations. It wasn't that my mind struggled to keep up; it was the opposite, actually.
I'd learned so much in Atlantis and grown so much this summer. Keeping track of things like each fighter's movements, the different attack patterns, and the constantly shifting terrain was as easy as cake.
The problem was that I was too aware. I saw too many avenues being opened up before me.
The sheer number of people trying to hit me was starting to throw off my visualization of the battle. Every slight movement, every slight change in someone's heartbeat created dozens of other possible paths for them to take, making it difficult to predict their next moves.
The sounds of their grunts and shouts merged into a cacophony of noise. I was on the defensive now, opting to turn my brain off and let my body try to go on auto-pilot, but even that wasn't working as perfectly as I would've liked.
My heart raced, and I could feel my breaths coming in short gasps. My muscles began to ache as I dodged, weaved, and countered.
Then, their hits started landing. Jason smashed my fingers with his hammer as I was fighting Piper. I turned to face him, only to eat a blast of pink energy in the face from Aphrodite.
Piper slashed my arm with her dagger.
I dropped to the floor and flung my arms into the sky as two [Mirrors of Aphrodite] blazed to life in front of me, belching out putrid green dragons. The dragons roared and thrashed, flying toward Piper and Jason.
"How dare you?" Aphrodite growled, looking angry for the first time in the whole fight. She threw her hands forward, and the mirror vibrated, turning to me and exploding with pink blasts of mana the size of a semi-truck.
A fault line opened up underneath me, and I jumped inside of it, right as the two blasts of mana slammed into each other.
The result was a haze of heat and a shockwave so powerful it shoved me further down into the fault line, my lungs full of smoke.
I felt the Earth swallow me up as I plummeted downwards. The darkness enveloped me as I burrowed deeper and deeper into the earth, the sound of the storm still echoing around me like distant thunder.
I could feel the dirt and rocks scraping against my skin, the pressure building as I descended further and further down the fault line.
As I burrowed deeper, I began to feel a strange sensation – a warmth and a vibration that seemed to emanate from the earth itself. It was almost as if the ground was alive, pulsing with a powerful energy that I could feel in my bones.
[Pyrokinetic] and [Angelic Trigger] began blending together, the green fire arcing off my body and beginning to turn white. It lit up the dark Earth around me.
I took a deep breath and tried to focus my attention. Hours and hours of fighting experience taught me that there's always a way to break down a situation, analyze it, and find a solution.
It was like a puzzle. And, to win, all I had to do is find the missing piece. Or, in this case, pieces.
Think, Percy. I bit my lip. Think.
What changed? I was whooping Jason and Piper separately, and I'd destroyed them together, too. Both in the past and in the moment. Sure, having a third fighter was throwing off my visualization, but that couldn't have translated to this much of a difference, right?
My mind halted, remembering Aphrodite's little boost from before. Could it have really boosted their fighting skills that much?
I shot down the idea almost instantly. It wasn't like Piper and Jason were any stronger- if anything, they'd just been healed from their fight up to this point and were now actively working together.
I frowned again. That wasn't the entire truth, either. I'd seen Piper and Jason fight before, and they'd never demonstrated this much chemistry. Especially with Aphrodite, who, as far as I'm concerned, has never fought anyone alongside mortals.
Maybe their bond had something to do with it. Back when Aphrodite and I were bonded, we could see each other's thoughts and feel each other's emotions. Maybe she was using her bond with them, turning them into well-oiled fighting machines, taking instructions from a hivemind.
Either way, I needed to take her out of the fight for a second. With that sudden lapse in communication, they'd be sitting ducks.
A plan formed in my head. Jason and Piper were open books to me- I knew their skills inside and out. On the other hand, they didn't know about the majority of my skills, so, if I really wanted to throw them off…
My ring burned.
With a burst of energy, the air around me shimmered and wavered. And then, like magic, an image appeared– a perfect, lifelike copy of me, standing right next to me in the ground.
The hologram was so convincing that even I had trouble telling it apart from the real thing.
I could see every detail– the way his hair was slightly messy, the creases in his shirt, the blood from the fight starting to seep through. The fiery aura of [Pyrokinetic] and [Angelic Trigger] blending together.
The thing that caught me off guard was the look on the hologram's face. He looked haunted, like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. The lines on his face were etched deeper than usual, carving a map of exhaustion and pain.
His gaze was distant, as if he was staring off into the abyss. There was a burning fire in his eyes, an anger that I really wasn't used to seeing on my own face.
With a mental effort, I created a second, third, and fourth hologram.
With a nod, I sent the holograms racing up the fault line, ducking and weaving as if it were really me. After giving it a solid ten seconds, I rushed out behind them.
As I expected, Piper, Jason, and Aphrodite were slack-jawed at the copies of me. It gave me just enough time to figure out a way to remove Aphrodite from the fight.
Without warning, I raised his hand and summoned the water from the storm around me, channeling its energy into my fist and activating [Coalescence].
The water surged and swirled around my hand, forming a glowing orb of blue light.
With a roar of fury, I launched the fist of water toward Aphrodite, my arm extending as the orb grew in size and intensity. The goddess barely had time to react before the fist of water hit her, knocking her off her feet and sending her flying backward.
The force of impact rushed back into my own arm, shaking it. My shoulder burned with exertion- I hit her with three times the force I'd used on the metal drakon. If I'd hit Jason or Piper with that, they would've exploded in a shower of blood and guts.
The strength of the ensuing shockwave was enough to create a massive shockwave that sent ripples through the air, knocking over nearby trees and sending debris flying in all directions.
Two columns of water rose to my side as I surveyed my work.
"Aphrodite!" Jason screamed, trying to fly over to Aphrodite's fallen form.
With a flick of my wrist, I sent the columns crashing together, creating a spray of water that caught the light of fire around me.
Restrain him.
The water nodded as if it was sentient.
It crisscrossed together, creating detailed chains and loops that wove in and out of each other like strands of silk.
I flung the water at Jason, and it began swirling, each movement was deliberate and precise, as it followed the path I had envisioned in my mind.
The chains twisted and turned, wrapping around him like a pair of live snakes. He struggled and roared, but the chains held strong. I flicked my wrist, and the chains blasted into the sky, taking a still-screaming Jason with them.
As I stared into his eyes, I saw hatred and anger- both emotions I'd never seen directed at me from Jason.
I felt cold.
Almost as if the storm was listening to me, out of the swirling snowflakes, shapes began to form. At first, they were just vague outlines, indistinct and blurred. But as the snowflakes continued to swirl and dance, they grew more defined.
Soon, it became clear what was happening. Snowmen were forming out of the blizzard. They were tall and muscular, their bodies made of snow and ice, their faces carved with fierce, angry expressions.
I jabbed my sword at Aphrodite, who was beginning to stir on the ground. "Kill her."
And then, they began to move. It was as if they were alive, their bodies shaking off the snow and taking on a life of their own. They moved with a strange, loping gait, their snow feet pounding against the ground.
They were headed straight for her, an army of snowmen running toward them with a ferocity that was almost frightening. They carried weapons made of ice, swords and spears, and axes that glinted menacingly in the dim light of the blizzard.
"Divide and conquer," I muttered to myself as Jason tried to snap the chains and jump into action, trying to protect Aphrodite.
The air was thick with the sound of battle, the thumping of their snow feet, and the clash of their weapons against one another. The snowmen were shouting, their voices lost in the howl of the wind. It was a strange, otherworldly sound, a chorus of snow and ice and fury.
They just kept coming, their bodies impervious to the cold and the wind. They were like an unstoppable force of nature, a blizzard made flesh and bone.
Aphrodite began glowing a bright pink, and shards of pink glass began shooting out of her like a sprinkler, cutting through the snowmen. I figured I had two, or three minutes tops before they were done.
I blasted in front of Piper, who yelped as I showed up. She raised her dagger to block my first slash and sidestepped my second one. My third one- a cobra beheading grip-break- found its mark, and she was forced to loosen her stance.
I kicked her leg out, and she stumbled. With lightning-fast reflexes, I lunged forward, Riptide flashing in the dim light of the storm. A clash of metal rang out as she dropped to her knees, holding her dagger with two hands. Our weapons met again, sparks flying from the collision.
"I need to take you out of this fight," I said, feeling small bursts of energy from the snowflakes landing on me. I pushed my sword harder as she buckled. "I'm sorry."
"Percy," Piper said evenly, though her teeth were chattering in the snow, "Can we please stop to talk about this? None of it makes sense! I don't even get how my mom's involved, and now, what, we're going to fight? Can you at least explain?"
"Do you remember when we first met? Our quest to Santa Monica? There was a moment there when we got to the hotel room. There was a girl standing there," I snarled. "It was her. I called her Amy to keep the heat off her."
As the hurricane-blizzard fusion raged on, it felt as though the very earth itself was being torn apart. Trees groaned and creaked, their branches snapping under the relentless assault of the wind. Debris flew like missiles, crashing into buildings and vehicles with a force that seemed impossible to withstand.
"A year later, I went to my first high school party," I continued, anger beginning to bubble in my gut, again, "There she was again- Amy. That night, after everyone left, MJ…MJ and I were going to get food when I was inexplicably attacked by the Minotaur."
I paused, looking at the realization dawn in Piper's eyes. "At the time, I didn't know why. Now, I won't lie. I was originally going to skip this dance. You were right, I didn't want to see MJ with someone else, but I really was concerned about this many demigods in one place. However, when I talked to Hades earlier, he assured me it would be okay- he told me he would keep monsters away from us because his kids were involved."
"You think her presence attracted them here?" Piper wondered aloud. "How can you be so sure?"
"My uncle doesn't lie," I spat, my fingers tightening around the hilt of Riptide as I slashed it through the air, "And it's the only viable answer."
"So, why attack her?" Piper asked me. I knew she was trying to buy time, but it didn't matter. I wasn't losing this battle, "You said you'd kill her—"
"She took my only means of getting to the Underworld!" I roared. "Every second we waste up here is a second not spent saving our friends, Piper."
"Listen—" Piper twitched, her arm automatically pulling itself back up. Her eyes glowed pink, "What's happening?"
"She's using her bond with you to make you fight," I shook my head, "Pipes, I really do need to take you out of this fight. I can't hold back anymore."
Piper threw her dagger at me, and an arm blasted out of the snow, catching it and burying it. I shook my head, "You got me with that once, Piper, it's not going to work again."
But then, I felt a sudden tension in the air. A faint humming sound filled my ears, growing louder and more insistent by the second.
I looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound, trying to place its consistency. Then, it started beeping louder and louder.
My eyes widened- no way! There's no way Piper had a bomb–
As the blast wave of the explosion hit me, I knew I was in trouble. I could feel the force of it rippling through the air, threatening to toss me aside like a ragdoll.
[Frozen Over!]
As I closed my eyes and concentrated, I felt a strange sensation coursing through my body. At first, it was like a tingling sensation, starting from my fingertips and spreading up my arms like a creeping vine. Then, it was like a cold rush, as if I had plunged into icy waters and was slowly losing sensation.
But I didn't stop. I continued to channel my power, pushing the transformation further. The tingling sensation became stronger and more intense until it was like a surge of electricity running through my veins. The cold rush became a biting chill as if I was standing on the top of a mountain in the midst of a snowstorm.
And then, I felt it - the ice was forming. It started as a thin layer, like a sheet of frost on a winter morning, but quickly grew thicker and more solid. I could feel it spreading up my arms, encasing me in a glittering, blue-white shell.
The explosion reverberated through the crisp winter air, shaking the ground beneath my feet. At first, there was only silence, as if the world was holding its breath. But then, a deafening roar filled my ears, drowning out all other sounds.
As I looked up, I saw a massive plume of snow shooting into the air, a column of white against the darkened sky. The force of the blast was so strong that it seemed to bend the very air around it, like a shockwave radiating outwards.
The explosion had torn a hole in the snowy landscape, revealing the dark earth beneath. Smoke billowed from the center of the blast, obscuring my vision. It smelled acrid, like burning rubber and chemicals.
KREE…BOOM…BOOM…BOOM!
My icy form shifted against the blackened earth, before beginning to sprint toward the last place I'd seen Piper. My steps were heavy and hard, like bowling balls hitting the floor.
The blizzard hit me like a freight train, sending me tumbling and spinning through the air. Snow whipped past my face, blinding me, as I hurtled toward a point in the distance.
It was a terrifying and exhilarating experience, like nothing I had ever felt before. The wind howled in my ears, drowning out all other sounds. My hands and feet flailed, trying to find purchase in the air, but there was nothing to grasp onto.
The snow was thick and heavy, weighing me down, and making it hard to breathe. But I didn't give up. I fought against the storm, struggling to keep my eyes open, to keep my bearings.
Piper. I need to get to Piper.
The blizzard seemed to lift me up, carrying me on its back like a bird riding the wind.
I felt weightless and buoyant as the blizzard carried me higher and higher. Eventually, it let me float above the clouds, back into the storm. The snow fell away beneath me, revealing a horrifying panorama of the world below.
There was a radius of destruction centered around Midtown High. Paramedics and police officers were beginning to line the scene, yelling orders and trying to keep civilians from rushing inside to find their children.
I scowled, and the storm threw me back into the midst of the blizzard, skidding in front of Piper.
[Frozen Over] was biting cold, stinging my cheeks and making my eyes water. But I didn't let that slow me down. I pushed harder, carving deeper into the snow and kicking up a rooster tail of snow behind me.
I weaved under her next few hits, shedding the icy armor and sliding behind her. I batted away her next jab and threw all my weight forward. My fist smashed into her ribs with a loud crunching noise, and she gasped out in pain, stumbling backward.
I tried not to wince as she screamed out in pain. I had about a hundred pounds on her, so I knew my hit had broken her bones. The angle I punched her basically guaranteed that her ribs were poking into her lungs right about now.
I slashed my sword, and a block of snow smashed into her face, forcing her to the ground as she tried frantically to wipe it off.
I could've played it safe and injured her even more, to make sure she couldn't come back into the fight, but I felt bad doing it. She was still one of my closest friends- I didn't want to hurt her any more than I had already.
I glanced back at Aphrodite, who was finishing up the last of the snowmen.
"It's going to be okay, Pipes," I muttered, dropping to a knee to gather her in my arms. She began hyperventilating, taking choking, wet breaths as she tried to talk. I gently put my hand on her cheek to warm it- her lips were beginning to turn blue. With a flick of my wrist, the snow forming on her face instantly melted away, leaving streaks of liquid that were mixed with her tears. "I promise."
I sent a burst of magic toward the ground, and a massive chunk of ice rose from the earth. It was heavy and unwieldy, but I channeled my power into it, shaping and molding it with my mind until it kind of resembled an igloo.
I carved out the entrance to the igloo, and with another burst of mana, I created a fire pit at its center. The flames danced and crackled, casting a warm glow over the icy walls.
I gently placed Piper down next to the fire. I pulled some nectar and ambrosia out of my [Inventory] and left it in her lap. I closed the igloo off as I stepped outside and muttered to myself, "It'll be over soon."
"Percy!" Jason screamed at me as I walked back into their field of vision. His face was red and flushed. His suit was all but gone, with pieces of raw skin shining through, covered in sweat and the stinging red of hypothermia. The watery binds from before were still wrapped around him tightly. "What did you do with Piper?"
"She's in that igloo. She's fine," I gestured my head toward the structure I'd just been standing in. "What about you? Do you insist on fighting too? Still? That quad can't be feeling good right now."
"You need to explain yourself—"
"I'm done explaining," I snapped. I glared at Aphrodite, who was still standing beside Jason. "How about you ask your girlfriend to give me my key to the Underworld back? We can skip the whole, you know, fighting thing if we do that."
"I can't let you go to the Underworld, Percy," Aphrodite yelled over the wind, "I'm sorry. I really, really am. But you aren't in the right state of mind right now. I don't want you to do something you're going to regret."
They're all the same, The cold voice continued in my head. You and I both know that. The only way to get that key is to run through her.
"Jason," Aphrodite said, drawing Jason's attention to her. Without any warning, she grabbed his collar and pulled him into a kiss. and I could see the shock of her power coursing through his body.
It manifested as a bright pink aura- one that began to run up and down Jason's body, like a river of pure energy. It slowly repaired the holes in his suit and removed some of the cuts and bruises that had begun to form on his face. He began putting more weight on his right leg, too.
She swiped her hand downward, and the binds transformed into roses, which fell to the ground unceremoniously.
The glow seemed to pulse and shimmer, casting a warm, rosy light on everything around it. Jason stood there; his eyes closed in concentration, as the aura continued to flow and dance around him.
Suddenly, Jason seemed to grow taller, his muscles bulging with newfound strength. He stood up straighter, his eyes focused and determined.
"Thanks, Am- Aphrodite," Jason strode confidently towards the battlefield, his movements fluid and graceful.
My stomach dropped.
"YOU'RE GOING TO THANK HER?" I screamed. "I'VE ACTIVELY BEEN TRYING TO KEEP YOU SAFE, NOT HURT YOU MORE THAN I HAVE TO, AND YOU'RE GOING TO THANK HER?"
I felt a surge of adrenaline and anger as Jason came charging toward me, his movements matching my own with frightening precision. It was like looking into a mirror, seeing my every move reflected back at me.
I summoned the water around him, forcing it into chains, but Aphrodite played defensively, blasting it away before it could land on him and wrap him up.
Jason slashed his hammer. I dodged.
I matched his rhythm for a few more hits and then aimed a slash with Riptide at his calf while stabbing Ilvis toward his chest.
His eyes widened as he tried to choose what to defend. Before I could even break his skin, I felt a searing pain in my chest.
My vision exploded in pink, and I felt my body lift and flip backward, smashing into the snow.
I grunted in pain- my entire sweater had been burnt to a crisp, with soot on my stomach. The flesh was red and angry, and I swear, I saw it bubble.
I raised a hand, and some snow coalesced around my palm from the blizzard. The wound instantly healed as I smashed the snow down on top of it.
"I don't like interruptions," I called out, flipping into a [Death's Leap] behind Aphrodite, who reacted just a second too slow.
"You're not a fighter, Aphrodite. You should keep it that way," She gasped out in pain as Riptide carved through her shoulder. The Stygian Iron greedily sucked up some of her aura, and I followed it up with a kick to her stomach. Riptide hissed against her, pooling golden ichor around her shoulder as she wailed. [Blood Artist] glowed to life in the top right of my skin, and I felt Aphrodite's blood seep into my fingertips like honey. "It's so sweet of you to stay and help your boyfriend, though. So sweet."
The distraction was enough- as she fell, the card Hades gave me slipped up in the air, and I lunged forward, wrapping my hands around it and twirling it.
I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the image of my destination. The old-timey smell of Hades' train car came to mind. I tried to focus on the chair I was sitting in the last time.
And then, I could feel my body being pulled in different directions. My stomach churned as if I was on a roller coaster, and my ears popped with the pressure change. Suddenly, just as I felt like I was about to find myself in Hades' train, I was yanked back to the Midtown High parking lot with a jolt.
I stumbled backward, my knees buckling as I struggled to regain my balance. The sudden jerk had left me disoriented, and my head was spinning. The smell of brimstone and sulfur filled my nostrils, and I gagged at the harsh taste in my mouth.
ABOVE!
I raised my swords in the nick of time, blocking Jason's downward swing. My muscles screamed, exerting, and straining back against the hammer.
"I'M REALLY FUCKING SICK OF THIS!" I roared, my voice strained. Jason's eyes were glowing blue, rich with anger and emotion. I snarked back, "YOU WANT POWER? YOU WANT TO FIGHT? LET'S FIGHT!"
Jason growled, pulling his hammer back and swinging it sideways. I ducked under the swing and kicked forward. A blast of air blew my hair up as he floated backward, just out of range. "This ends now."
I let go of the restraint on my power. If he wasn't willing to let me pass, if he wasn't willing to see reason, if all he was going to do was fight and stand in my way, I wasn't going to show him any mercy.
I'd fight him as if I was fighting Triton.
I activated [Time Dilation].
In a sudden burst of movement, I launched myself forward, a blur of motion that was impossible to follow for anybody but me. I didn't want to have to do this. I didn't want to have to show him he was overwhelmed, outmatched, and outclassed in every way, but he really forced my hand.
Jason barely had time to react before he was hit with a barrage of blows that rained down upon him with the force of a sledgehammer.
My fists and feet flashed in a deadly dance, striking with precision and power. Bones cracked and blood spattered as I landed blow after blow, each one more devastating than the last. Jason remained suspended in time, but even if he wasn't; it wouldn't have mattered one bit.
Fighting me in this state was like trying to swim against a tsunami. He could try his hardest. Scream. Run. Pray to every god in the whole world, and I'd still get him.
In this storm, I was the only god that mattered.
Time resumed, and all of the hits began popping up like fireworks.
The first hit landed with a sickening thud, sending shockwaves rippling through the air. The second hit followed a split second later, the impact hitting with a delayed effect that sent Jason staggering backward.
The third hit came in quick succession, slamming into Jason's side with a force that knocked the breath from his lungs. The fourth hit landed a moment later, Jason's body jolting as the force of the blow reverberated through him.
His head smashed backward, blood flowing freely from his mouth. His chest caved in, the sounds of cracking bones reverberating through the storm. His leg cracked, snapping backward.
"JASON!"
I stumbled backward as a pink spell exploded against my chest. The air crackled with energy as it hit me square in the chest. A searing pain shot through my body, as if a thousand hot needles were being plunged into my skin at once.
I gasped, struggling to breathe as the pink light burned through my clothes and scorched my flesh. The smell of burning fabric and singed hair filled my nostrils, and I could taste the smoke in my mouth. My eyes watered as I tried to keep them open against the blinding light.
The pain was intense, a searing agony that coursed through my body like wildfire. I gritted my teeth and tried to push through it, but it was overwhelming. My vision blurred and I felt myself falling to my knees, gasping for breath.
Anger ignited within me, a fierce flame that somehow began burning brighter than the pain. I clenched my fists around the hilts of my swords, feeling the power surge through me like lightning.
How dare they hurt you? I recognized the voice now-it sounded vaguely like Oceanus-How dare they try to break you?
The anger fueled a surge through my body, and I felt it gush through my veins like molten lava. I summoned all the power I had and let out a primal scream as I unleashed it on Aphrodite.
The force of my power was like a hurricane, ripping through the air with a deafening roar. Aphrodite was thrown back, tumbling across the ground as she screamed in terror. The water around her, the snow around her- it all began turning into shards of glass, homing in on Aphrodite.
A new form of energy flowed through my veins, a raw power that pulsed with hatred. It was like nothing I had ever felt before, a force that threatened to consume me from the inside out.
I raised my hands, feeling the wind whip around me as I called forth the power of the storm. Lightning crackled in the air and thunder boomed in the distance as I summoned the full might of the elements to do my bidding. All of [Immolator's] forms activated at once, and dozens of lightning bolts exploded in the air in front of me in a strobing display of light and sound.
With a roar, I threw myself into the crashing lightning, unleashing the whole might of the storm upon her.
The wind whipped around me, lifting my hair and clothes as I hurled walls of rainwater at her. She tried to dodge, but it was too late. The wave crashed down upon her, burying her beneath its frothing surface.
My fingers tingled as I sent bolt after bolt of lightning into the water, reveling in the sound of her screams. I followed up, crushing my fist and turning the water into icicles that all pointed inward and began rolling around.
The blizzard began swirling around her, the snowfall transforming into cascading walls of water, sparkling as they took shape before me.
The water began to transform, its molecules slowing and hardening until it solidified into a sheet of glass. The glass sheet rose into the air, spinning and twirling in a dazzling display of light and color.
With a flick of my wrist, I sent the glass sheet spinning toward her. Aphrodite dodged and weaved, teleporting in and out of the storm, but the sheet of glass followed her, matching her movements with ease.
The anger roared in my gut again, and I commanded the glass sheet to shatter into a thousand pieces, each shard glittering like diamonds against the green fire coming off my body. Aphrodite stumbled back, her body bruised and battered from the onslaught of the glass.
Golden flashes of ichor fell into the storm.
The weird energy flowed through me like a river of fire again. It burned through my veins, filling me with a heat that threatened to consume me.
Kill her. KILL HER!
I hurled a ball of fire at Aphrodite, watching as it streaked through the air with a trail of smoke. It struck her directly, exploding in a shower of sparks and flames.
She tried lighting me on fire again, but I didn't care. The pain was still there, but it was secondary now. My anger was all-consuming, a white-hot fury that threatened to consume me. My body trembling with rage, I bellowed, "I'M GOING TO ENJOY RIPPING YOUR HEAD OFF!"
I turned back to Jason, who was panting and struggling to sit up.
"Aphrodite!" He screamed and raised both of his hands, but the lightning forming in his hands flickered out in the storm.
"Sorry, pal, that isn't going to work in here. Not anymore. But you need to stay down," I said. I flicked Ilvis up, switching it from its sword form to its lance form. I felt a tug in my gut, and the storm took the lance out of my hands. It rose up and then slammed down, stabbing down into Jason's leg, and forcing it into the ground like a stake. Jason screamed loudly as I shook my head. "You should've just let me take the card."
I turned back to Aphrodite, who was gasping on the ground, her body covered in bleeding slashes, burn marks, and still-solid icicles.
I grabbed her by the shoulder and held Riptide up to her throat. Her blood seeped onto my fingertips, and I scowled as I held the sword up to her. "Why did you have to come tonight?"
"I…wanted to be with Jason," Aphrodite gasped as I dug my fingers into her shoulders. "I just…wanted…"
"Do you know how many people are dead in there?" I whispered, screwing my eyes shut as I remembered Liz's body, broken and battered. MJ's body had been so horribly disfigured that I barely knew it was her. "That was the only place I felt normal- those were the only people who made me feel normal. And now they're fucking gone! Because of you! How's that fair?"
Come back to me, sweet boy. A voice said in my head. It sounded distinctly feminine, but I couldn't place it. Where are you?
"Answer me!" She didn't reply. Instead, she just stared at Jason, who was writhing and wailing on the ground. "How come you get to be with the one you love, but I can't? How come you get to break the rules and pretend to be a mortal, but when I want to save the people who died because of your mistakes; it's suddenly impossible?"
Percy? The voice was back. Come back to me. It's not real. You're safe. We're safe. Just breathe. It's just a memory.
"Percy," Jason moaned from the ground. I turned back to him, and he begged, "Please, don't do it."
"And why the hell not?" I asked, grabbing her tighter and forcing her into a kneel. I placed Riptide right under her neck. "She's useless. A love goddess who can't do shit, except meddle in my life, and everyone else's. She's manipulating you and Piper right now, and you're still defending her, moaning and groaning about her fate like some love-struck idiot."
It's not real. Follow my voice, my love. You're not fighting anyone. Just listen to the sound of my voice.
"Please," Tears began rolling down Jason's face. They made streaks down his soot-covered face, "I just…please don't."
"You didn't cry for me when you thought I was dead," I remembered, an ugly feeling somewhere between anger and jealousy rearing its head inside of me, "But you cry for her? It's only fair, I suppose. This is Stygian Iron, cousin. She won't be coming back, so say your goodbyes now."
"Jason," Aphrodite whimpered. She stared past me, looking at Jason with a watery smile on her face. "I…I love you so much. I'm so sorry I lied to you, but things were just so great! I didn't want to ruin what we had and lose you forever!"
"How rich! You didn't want to lose him," How sickening. Even in her last moments, all she could think about was losing Jason, not dying.
Maybe she really did love him, in her own twisted way. I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that, in a span of a few months, she somehow decided that being with Jason mattered more to her than life itself.
She did the same with you, Oceanus spoke in my head again. And you didn't even reciprocate her feelings.
That's right. She just has an addictive personality and a propensity for love. She just clings to it whenever it appears, with no regard for anything else, whether it's her own wellbeing, or everyone else's.
Wait…
And then, an idea formed in my head. I repeated her words from before, my eyebrows raising higher and higher with each syllable. "You didn't want to lose him…"
I stared back at Aphrodite. In a moment of epiphany, I realized that death was too easy for someone like her. Even if I killed her now, she'd fade into nothingness, and feel nothing. It would be over for her in a second. She'd die knowing she tried to protect the person she cared about most.
She didn't deserve that luxury. Not when me, and the dozens of other families out there right now would have to live our whole lives with this…this tragedy plaguing us.
My eyes burned with unshed tears.
Just like she said with Gabe, death was too quick, too painless for everything she'd done to me. I wanted her to suffer. I wanted her to feel pain. I wanted her to lose her love and be as lonely, weak, and destitute as she'd been when we'd first met.
Except now she'd felt love- it would be way worse for her than before.
I moved Riptide away from her, and turned to Jason, "You really care about her that much?"
"Yes," Jason groaned, his pant leg covered in blood, and his chest still leaking, "I do. Please, I'll do anything Percy, just don't do this!"
"You're right," I sighed, staring back at him. I blew a raspberry and stared up into the sky, my vision obscured by the blizzard. "I can't kill her. It would be wrong of me, and Zeus knows it would open up a whole can of worms, right? How about we make a deal, instead? You love her so much you'd do anything for her- prove it, then. Swear on the River Styx, right now- swear you'll never talk to her again. Swear you'll never touch her again, never look at her again. In exchange, I'll let her walk free, you have my word."
"What?" Jason tried to sit up. Ilvis sparked green, and his jaw tightened in pain, "What are you saying?"
"When I flew up there, I saw the lines and lines of families who won't ever see their loved ones again. You two should and will suffer the same fate, one way or another," I snarled. I palmed Riptide again. "It's just up to you whether she lives or not. So, hurry up and make your choice, or I will cut her up. Pick."
Jason took another pained glance at Aphrodite, but the look on my face must've been convincing. He relented, "I swear on the River Styx to never talk to, look at, or touch Aphrodite again."
Thunder rumbled overhead, and he laid back on the ground, screwing his eyes shut. I dropped Aphrodite, who had begun sobbing uncontrollably, to the ground, and walked back over to Jason.
Like I did with Piper, I dropped some nectar and ambrosia in his lap.
"Clean yourself up," I said to him, pulling Ilvis out of his leg and stuffing it back into my pocket. "And, for what it's worth, I didn't want to have to do this. Any of it."
I took one last look at him and twirled the key to the Underworld in my hand. I had a school to save.