Authors Note: The fight continues! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! (This is an unexpected short A/N. But to be fair, I was thinking of doing it like this and blah, blah, blah...)
Chapter 14: Snakes. It had to be snakes.
"The name isss Python, devourer of the Delphi Oracle, and ssscrooge of the great flood left by Zeusss. Explorersss, didn't you two sssay you were? How would you feel exploring my inssside, hmm? All you have to do, isss ssstay ssstill..."
Perseus and Artemis were frantically looking everywhere, trying to see where the thing speaking in their minds will come out from. The room they were in was very much pitch dark, the only light source coming from the lit torches and the small overhead windows.
"We have to light the torches; I don't know how but we can't go running around blind." Artemis said, clutching her torch tightly.
"Or...we can just get out of here now." Perseus said, staring at his shadow.
"What?!" Artemis said, with an incredulous expression on her face. "Perseus, there's probably a super big monster on us right now, how will we-"
"Artemis, I can literally move through shadows!" Perseus shouted, taking hold of her hand. "Don't you dare let go, we are getting out of this place now!". But as soon as Perseus tried to shadow travel, he was immediately met by a force that hurt ten times more than the time when Ares had smacked him with a shield on the face. Giving out a cry of pain, he immediately let go of Artemis and dropped on the ground, clutching his sides.
"Wh-What?! Perseus, what happened? Why did you-"
"Isssn't thiss interesssting. My prey isss trying to ssshadow travel but can't? I've never met one who couldn't. Then again, I never met a lot of people. But it ssseemsss that the ancient magic in here isss ssstopping you. Either meansss you're quite young or haven't fully developed your powersss in order to break free. Today isss really my lucky day!"
"Artemis, can you teleport us out?" Perseus asked hopefully but that was quickly went when he saw the dejected look on her face.
"I'm sorry but I can't! Not with you along, otherwise I could..."
"Then do it! Go get Apollo, your mom or anyone. I'll probably be able-"
"NO WAY! I am not leaving you behind with that, that thing. Don't you dare think of playing hero now, I'm going to be by your side whether you like it or not!" Artemis shouted.
"How sssweet, thisss isss making my fangsss hurt. But it looksss like no one will be leaving thisss temple tonight."
"Okay, first things first, let's light all the torches so we can see that stupid thing. Then maybe kill it with the fire?" Perseus asked, drawing out his sword.
"Let's light the torches first, then we'll focus on killing it." Artemis replied, nocking an arrow.
Perseus nodded, silently thanking the Fates on seeing that he was still able to make the wisps. Making it grab his torch, he then made sure to find every single torch out there, thankful that there was still some flammable substance covering it.
"My prey can't sssee in the dark? What a ssshame. It wouldn't make any difference though; the both of you will be consumed by darknessss once again sssoon."
Soon enough, Perseus was able to get the room fully lit, making everything visible. However, there seemed to be no sign of the monster anywhere.
"Where did it go? It has to be here; it couldn't have just walked away." Artemis said, slowly moving towards an open doorway up ahead. Perseus trained his eyes up ahead, getting into a defensive position. He immediately stopped though when he felt his back hitting something that was definitely not there when he was scanning the room before.
"What the-" Perseus said, immediately turning around only to be faced by a close up of a large face having orange eyes and a set of fangs longer than his arms. The face drew back and then lunged forward, aiming for Perseus. Knowing that there was no way he could dodge the strike, Perseus made a split-second decision and raised a wall of earth that managed to block the beast. But the force of the impact made the wall crumble and sent Perseus flying backwards, where Artemis was, who was staring at the monster with new found fear.
"A child manipulating the shadows and the earth?! What are you?!" Python cried out, shaking the debris off him.
"Perseus, are you alright?" Artemis asked kneeling beside him.
"I am actually, even after having a wall blow up at my face." Perseus said, coughing. On looking up, he noticed there were lots of ledges around, high enough that Python may not be able to reach them.
"Artemis, we are going to try and go on that ledge, maybe get some height away from that...snake?"
"But I thought you weren't able to shadow travel, how would you-"
"I can't get out of here true, but maybe I could still move around here through the shadows." Perseus said, grabbing Artemis's hand and then slipped into a shadow. He was once again met by resistance, but this time it was considerably weaker than the one before. Pushing through, Perseus was able to land where he was supposed to be, steadying himself on the narrow ledge. "Are you able to use your arrows here?" he asked Artemis.
Artemis nodded, once again readying her bow on the monster, who was slithering around calling out his prey. "I'll manage, what are you going to do?" she asked.
Perseus didn't answer, opting to analyze the monster he was going to face. The Python was almost as long as the length of the Olympian throne room, and very thick as well. What Perseus didn't expect was that the face looked more draconic in nature, instead of the usual snake head he thought it might have. It had numerous small horns jutting on its head, with spikes lining along its spine as well. Its tail had a pincer attached to it, which was dripping with poison.
"I could maybe try holding it down with the wisps, and then you will shoot it? What do snakes even hate, considering Python might have the same attributes." Perseus said out loud.
"Apollo said that snakes might hate fire. None of them went close to him while he was out gathering herbs when he was carrying a torch. Or it could be the smoke? I have that medicinal alcohol if you need it" Artemis replied, still aiming at the monster.
"Let's try the fire then." Perseus said, digging through Artemis's bag and taking out the bottle. Using the wisps, he made sure it grabbed the bottle and a torch, and proceeded to drench Python with it while also lighting the alcohol with fire. However, it didn't seem to work as Python merely shuddered and it began to sway gently.
"Fire doesssn't affect sssnakesss that much my prey, though they do hate the sssmell of the sssmoke. I on the other hand, find the sssmell quite sssoothing. Thatsss what attracted me over here in the firssst place, the fumesss, the sssmell." Python calmly replied.
"That went nicely." Perseus muttered, preparing himself for what he was going to do. "I'm going to go with holding it down with the wisps, maybe even land a blow or two with my sword. Artemis you are going to shoot, I'll try to get it close to you so you will be in range. Shall we?"
"We shall." Artemis replied, launching an arrow at the Python, making it break from its trance. It reared its head back, letting out a mix of a roar and a hiss.
Perseus then went through a shadow again, this time coming out behind Python. Raising his hands, shadow wisps were immediately created, launching towards the monster. Perseus was able to soon hold it down, making sure to hold the monster everywhere tightly, as Artemis managed to get her shots from above. But right before their eyes, Perseus and Artemis were once again left speechless when he saw the Python change in shape and size, immediately breaking free from the wisps. It immediately enlarged back to its original size, and if snakes could grin, Python was definitely doing that.
"Are you sssuprisssed my prey?" Python rasped out. "It'sss a ssshame I can't be bigger than thisss, I would have easssily devoured you then. But it doesssn't matter, like I sssaid I will eat you."
"Errete es korakas!" Perseus shouted angrily, raising another stone wall to block an impending strike from the pincer. "That's it, you're dead you moldy worm!"
Perseus then charged forward, using his powers to create platforms to jump and climb up on. Meanwhile, Artemis managed to keep Python distracted from what Perseus was doing with her arrows, but none of them managed to do any serious injury as it kept bouncing from the monsters' skin. Though this allowed Perseus to jump on Python's face, immediately taking its eye out. Crying out in pain, Python began to swing its head all over the place which made Perseus lose his grip on the sword, making him fall. He quickly raised another stone platform from the ground, which allowed him to break his fall and not get hurt.
"Fool! My sssenssse of sssmell isss ssstill intact! Taking my sssight away wasss hardly an achievement!" Python rasped; the sword still stuck in its eye socket.
"You still seem to be in pain though, and that is enough." Perseus said getting up. "Artemis! See if there's another bottle of alcohol lying around." he shouted. "And you! Stay still!" Percy said, launching stone spikes, shadow wisps, and unknowingly, floating rocks on Python who was admittedly having a hard time dodging all this while being half blind.
Meanwhile, Artemis was cursing up a storm up there, trying to find the bottle in the small space. She turning the bag upside down, she managed to get it out, only to have it fall down from the ledge on to the floor where it broke into pieces. "No, nononono NO!" Artemis shouted, gritting her teeth as she saw her friend starting to tire once again go into the defensive as Python was now able to attack him again. "This cannot be happening; this is not happening..." Artemis muttered, a silver aura forming starting to form around her. Clutching her bow, she took out an arrow from her quiver, only to see it was glowing a silver color.
"What..." Artemis said, but left the thought for later as she once again began her onslaught of arrows on Python. This time, the arrows managed to impale on its skin, making the monster bellow in pain. Python then decided to change tactics and went to attack Artemis instead but wasn't able to get a hold on her. Artemis easily jumped from one ledge to another, as she landed shot after shot on Python. Perseus was able to stop its movement by raising several platforms around it.
"Artemis! Get ready!" Perseus shouted, getting her attention. He then raised more stone platforms, leading to Python. Artemis immediately understood, jumping on the platforms. She then jumped over Python, sending an arrow to its face making it completely blind.
"Nice one Artemis!" Perseus shouted, grinning like crazy.
"Thanks, that was actually cool." Artemis shouted, landing on a ledge and also grinning.
"You will pay for thisss you immortalsss! I will feassst on your flesssh asss you ssscream your way into the afterlife! Ssstarting with you, archer!" Python cried, slithering up the many platforms Perseus created, while listening and smelling where Artemis was. On finding her, he lunged but missed as he crashed on the wall. However, the impact caused cracks to start appearing which led to the ledge Artemis was standing on to get unstable.
"Perseus!" Artemis said, falling to her knees. "I don't think the ledge- AHH!" she cried as the ledge crumbled, making her fall.
"YESSS! My firssst blood!" Python cried, as it went for Artemis, opening its mouth underneath her.
Perseus's heart stopped as he saw the scene before him. Something then took a hold over him, as ichor boiled in his head, making him snap. A slanted stone pillar, larger than anything he had created before, emerged from the ground and pinned Pythons' head to the wall. The pillar also managed to break Artemis's fall as she tumbled along the slope, finally landing on the ground. Perseus ran towards her, ignoring the squirming monster as it tried to break free.
"Artemis, are you alright? Can you hear me head spinning? Oh no...your head is bleeding!"
"Shut up...you're too loud...Percy." Artemis muttered touching her head. "My head feels sticky..."
But Perseus wasn't listening, instead he was staring at Python who was still struggling against the rock crushing his face. Perseus lowered the pillar, only to pin it again below Python's face. He then walked up the pillar, his entire body glowing an eerie white. "Looks like the predator has become the prey." Perseus noted and said aloud. More stone spikes started to come out from the ground, as they slowly pinned and impaled Python on the wall.
"What...who...are...you." Python rasped, struggling to speak.
"Me and Artemis are not just explorers, we are hunters as well. Sadly, you're not the first monster to know that." Perseus replied, his entire body now glowing.
At the bottom, Artemis was slowly losing conscious, but managed to focus on Perseus and Python. The last thing she saw before fainting was Python being engulfed in fire. The weird thing was, the fire looked to be white in color...
Apollo was having a great day. Not only was he fully prepared with his music and poetry piece for next week's concert, but his father also promised him a gift if he could win. Now all he needs to do is to 'wow' the audience with his awesomeness, make sure to crush Cletus the satyr in the competition, and possibly secure a date with Ourania of the Nine Muses. And it's not like he would be dating his teacher, he was only taught by Clio, Erato and Thalia. So, it would be totally fine.
"Hello Apollo, didn't expect to see you over here." a voice said behind Apollo. On turning around, he was suddenly graced by the beautiful and outwordly presence of Ourania herself. Her lush brown hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall, her bright blue eyes made the morning sky pale in comparison in terms of color, her rich melodious voice flowed through his body with ease, her flawless-
"Are you trying to familiarize yourself with the stage? Apollo, are you listening? Hello, Mr. Sunshine, you're drooling you know."
"Agh...agah...yeahhh- I-I mean yeah I'm drooling; I mean listening to what you were saying. I was definitely listening; I have the honor of being the most attentive student of the Muses of course. Definitely not drooling of course. It's probably drizzling, hence the, uh, liquid on my chin. And shirt.
Ourania covered her mouth in order to stifle her laugh. "I believe you Sunshine. Are you excited about your first live concert?" she asked.
"Oh yeah, definitely. I'm like, through the roof excited you know. And stop calling me Sunshine, that's embarrassing for me." Apollo said, pouting a bit.
Ourania giggled. "But It's a perfect nickname, my sisters said so themselves. You're like the sun, all bright and cheery to most people. And I say most because I know some people don't like you that much, just like they don't like sunshine on their skin. And it's nice to see you're not that nervous, I think you'll be just fine."
"Oh...but that was used only when I was a kid, so the name might be a bit outdated. And thanks, for the compliment. Sooo, are you rooting for someone to win?" Apollo asked.
Ourania had a thoughtful look on her face. "Hmm, I was going to root for Cletus like the last time, maybe even Merida. But after seeing your performance last week, let's just say that you might be the front runner for who I want win this year." Ourania said, smiling.
Apollo was definitely in Elysium, Ourania was going to cheer for him, for first place as well! He immediately started thinking of something witty to say when he was suddenly bombarded with visions and images, though this time they remained for quite some time instead of barely a second. He saw an old temple on a mountain, Perseus looking at something fearfully, Artemis falling down, green smoke everywhere and a woman sitting on a stool accompanied with hissing noises. It was too much for Apollo to bear as he fell down on the ground, holding his head.
"Apollo! What happened to you just now? Is your head hurting or-"
"I'm fine Ourania, just a mild headache, I think. Maybe the stress is getting to me. I'll be fine, I promise. How about we meet up later, before the day of the concert. Or just at the concert, anything is fine. Okay bye!" Apollo shouted as he ran out of the outdoor music hall, and immediately flashed to Delos. On arriving however, he realized something that made him slap himself.
"Idiot, they can't be here. That temple thingy is probably where they are and it's obviously not here in Delos." Apollo thought as he started pacing around. "Think Apollo think! Where can Perseus and Artemis can go which would allow both of them to shadow travel as the only method. Artemis couldn't have dragged him to Athens or something, it's too far, she doesn't have a connection to it. Definitely not Kichyros, it's a city Perseus can take her to but also too far. Did mother mention any places? Artemis did ask her about nearby places and the only noteworthy place is..." Apollo immediately paled once he came to a realization. "Delphi" he whispered, and immediately summoned his bow and flashed over to Delphi. While Artemis was left with some details, Apollo's mother did fill him in with the monster currently residing in their grandmothers' sacred temple. And Perseus and Artemis didn't know about it.
Landing at the outskirts of a city, Apollo searched frantically for the temple, which he quickly located. He then ran towards it, reaching in a few minutes due to his enhanced speed. He then readied an arrow on his bow as he entered the temple, watching out for anything that could be a threat. He soon reached the dome room and was greeted by an incredible sight. Stone pillars and rubble were everywhere, along with a bunch of misshaped skeletons. Pinned on a wall on the other side was some kind of snake, or something else Apollo thought. It looked burnt and as black as the night, with its skin fallen off and several stuff very much visible. Apollo soon found his sister lying on the floor and immediately went to her. He noticed the cut on her head and immediately healed it with the limited healing powers he had developed over time. Luckily enough, the cut was healed fully.
Propping his sister against the stone pillar, he then began to search for Perseus, finding him immediately when he flashed upwards to gain some height. He then landed on top of the pillar crushing the burnt monster by, whatever it was crushing it with. Perseus was still awake but barely, as he stared unfocused on the monster. Apollo reached to pick him up but immediately reeled back when he saw him properly. "What in my father's name happened to him?!" he thought, and brought him down, where he propped him besides Artemis, who was starting to wake up.
"Apollo? You're late you know; mother is not going to be happy. OW! what happened?" Artemis muttered, as she flexed her now sprained wrist.
"I should be asking you that. What were you thinking, dragging Perseus here as well when you don't even know how safe this place will be." Apollo replied, taking Artemis's hand to heal her wrist. "That was literally irresponsible of you, both of you actually. Now I'm waiting for Perseus here to wake up."
Artemis merely nodded until she registered Apollos' words. "Perseus! Is he alright, did he get hurt? Wait is Python dead, or-"
"Woah there, slow down sis. Perseus is fine, look he's coming around now." Apollo said gesturing to Perseus who was looking around curiously. "I'm guessing Python is taken care of?" Perseus asked.
"Um Apollo? Am I hallucinating because Perseus is looking ... different?" Artemis asked.
"What do you mean I look different? Wait, why does my voice sound different?!" Perseus questioned aloud, massaging his temples.
"Everything is different about you" Apollo grinned. "If only I had a mirror, cause dude, you look ripped. I'm almost jealous."
"Wait what?!" Perseus yelled, standing up. The first thing he noticed was that he was tall, like taller than Apollo. His skinny body was packed with muscle but thankfully not the bulging ones which Ares had. His hair seemed to have grown a bit as well, and way messier than before.
Apollo let out a low whistle while Artemis just stared at Perseus. "Dude, you aged up quite a lot. I think this is the biggest jump I've seen you take. You're probably older than me too. What happened, did Hestia's talk made you finally mature?"
"Huh, that's...something." Artemis muttered with awe.
"Of course not! Don't act daft." Perseus chided, turning around as he inspected his body. He then noticed the charred remains of Python stuck on the wall. "Looks like Python has been taken care of" Perseus noted.
"What is that anyways." Apollo asked, helping Artemis up. "Did you call it Python? Wait don't tell me that's the monster in here?!"
"You knew?!" Artemis said, shocked. "How come you knew but not me?!"
"Because right now, I'm currently more mature than you." Apollo said, smirking. "Not to mention, I was supposed to come by here to get rid of it. But it seems like you two managed just fine."
"We barely managed Apollo; Python was quite tough. But how did you manage to get the fire to kill it anyway?" Artemis said, directing her question to Perseus.
"I...I don't know really." Perseus admitted. On seeing the twins confused faces, he explained further. "Like I know I killed it with fire and all, but I'm not sure how... I kinda blacked out before I can see what really happened."
"Same, I also passed out before I can see anything clearly. But I'm pretty sure the fire was white in color...or was it grey?" Artemis muttered.
Apollo snorted. "There's no such white or grey fire sis. There's your regular orange fire, and then Greek fire which is green. Nothing checks white. And fire was definitely involved though, look at it! I'm still confused as to how. Hey Perseus, did you get some sort of fire powers from Hestia or something?"
Perseus shook his head. "Nope, I don't have anything like that." he said, still staring at Python. "Wait, shouldn't it have already turned to dust?"
"True..." Artemis muttered, drawing her bow and launching an arrow towards Python's head. As soon as the arrow hit Python, the monster immediately turned to a whitish grey colored ash instead of dust.
"Okay, that's really weird." Artemis commented, staring at the large pile of ash. Perseus walked to it, picking up a handful and letting it fall down. "Seems like my sword got melted as well. Alright, who wants to leave this place?"
"Me" Apollo and Artemis said together, and the trio trudged towards the exit.
"How did you even find us" Perseus asked.
"Vision" Apollo simply replied, taking in the temple. "This is a really cool place you know. The whispers give it a really creepy vibe though."
Artemis stepped back to look at her brother. "There are no whispers around. Are you sure you can hear them?" she asked.
"Uh...yeah totally. Let's also add that to the things we don't understand." Apollo quipped, hoping to diffuse the tension. But he was also contemplating the situation as well.
"Wait a minute, what am I going to tell my mom about my age-up" Perseus said, worry etched on his face. "There's no way I can tell her that this is due to a fight with a huge snake, I just got out from being grounded today!"
"Tell her what I asked you, that the 'talk' made you mature." Apollo said grinning, stepping aside to dodge Perseus's fist.
"Shut up. Oh wait, I know! I can tell her that you dared me to age up a bit by a year or two, but I overshot. That's a good excuse." Perseus said
"Boring, and what's the deal adding me in? I need compensation if you are going to drag me down. And no, the cousin card is not going to work." Apollo said.
"I won't tell mother that you were late in coming home." Artemis simply said. "So suck it up, or get banned from going to Olympus for a week."
Apollo just stared at his sister as if to say 'really?!', but in the end gave up. "Fine, we'll go with your dare story."
"Cheer up Apollo. How about you two come over to my place, I have cookies baked and all. It'll be fun." Perseus said, patting his shoulder. Pretty soon, cookies and nectar milkshakes were distributed. Hestia also arrived back home from the forges, wondering about the cube when she came across the annual debate of if cookies taste better plain or with milk, courtesy of the twins.
"Milk makes them soggy!"
"No, they add flavor to them which you can't get easily."
"There is already milk in them during preparation."
"I'm surprised to see that you two are here, since Perseus wanted to go out so badly. Where is he anyway?" Hestia asked, interrupting the twins.
"I'm behind you mom." Perseus said. Hestia turned to find a young adult munching on cookies and looking suspiciously like Perseus. "So, what happened in the forges." he asked.
Hestia promptly fainted.
"What made you age up kid? I know it was something big. Was it the 'talk'? A crush on a goddess? Ah, definitely a crush on a goddess, why else will you age up?" Ares said grinning at Perseus, who was in the armory, finding a new sword. It was a few days after the incident with Python, due to which Perseus was here in the first place
"Shut up Ares, gods you're worse that Uncle Hades. And I already told you, it was a dare that went wrong." Perseus said, inspecting a double-bladed sword. "Do you think this is my style? Or a longsword will be better."
"None kid. Single bladed is more up your alley. Or, a personal recommendation, these." Ares said, handing Perseus a gauntlet. Perseus took it, wondering what a metal glove had to do with a sword, and wore it. On wearing it, Perseus immediately noticed a trigger handle attached on the palm which he pushed by closing his fist. A single blade popped out of the gauntlet, gleaming in the sunlight.
"This is cool, not going to lie." Perseus commented, swinging his arm around. "Blade is a bit short though, maybe I can have a custom one made by the cyclops." he said, taking the gauntlet off. "Thanks Ares."
Ares shrugged. "Don't mention it kid, it was just a hunch. But you can never go wrong with a claymore let me tell you, best bladed weapon out there. May be heavy, but the swing, the impact, and the-"
Suddenly, the sky seemed to darken confusing the two gods. Then it immediately brightened back, but the sky was too bright, not to mention the weather had suddenly spiked up as well.
"What in the world? What's up with the sun chariot!" Ares exclaimed, staring at the glowing yellow ball that was moving everywhere and then descended downwards. "Is it supposed to do that?!" he yelled.
"I highly doubt it." Perseus replied, shivering due to the sudden drop in temperature. "Di immortals, is Helios drunk? What is he doing?"
"He better not be showing off to some random chick with those moves, he'll literally kill her with them." Ares muttered, immediately covering his eyes when the sun chariot came back up, only to launch itself into space. "Hope the constellations kill him there. That is if they can be alive."
After a few more minutes of watching the sun chariot mess with the world, a large thunderbolt was seen shooting out from Zeus's palace. It struck the sun chariot, though it didn't damage it. The sun chariot then looked stable while a shooting star like object came out of it and plummeted down.
"Welp, looks like Helios is going to face a solid smackdown from Zeus later on." Ares said. "Want to spar kid?"
"Yeah sure." Perseus replied, grabbing a nearby sword. After an intense but rather short fight which had Perseus as the winner, the sky turned a brilliant grey in color signifying an emergency council meeting. The two immediately flashed to the throne room where the other gods were also present, Artemis and Apollo included who were sitting in front of Hestia's throne. Ares went to sit in his throne while Perseus went to join his friends.
"Well then, since everyone is here, we shall begin. Now I'm sure you know why you all are here today for this meeting." Zeus began, ignoring some of the confused looks on the gods faces. "Today, the sun chariot had gone out of control, setting many forests and cities on fire, while simultaneously freezing some as well. Which is saying something since it hardly snows here."
"Countless forests, fields, produce! All gone in a flash." Demeter lamented, gaining eyerolls and a sympathetic glance from Artemis and Hestia.
"Yes sister, I said it already. My statues have been destroyed as well. Now, surprisingly the culprit was not Helios but his son, Phaethon. Guilt and a dumb oath on the river Styx led to Helios to let his son ride the sun chariot for a day, which turned out quite well of course. Helios is now heartbroken though, and is planning to retire because of this situation. A bit overkill if you ask me, but hey, stuff happens." Zeus said.
He then cleared his throat, as he began to speak again. "And now for my next announcement. Since the chariot is going to need a new driver, we obviously have to find a replacement. And since the sun chariot rides through my domain, I am pleased to announce that I will be the new rider of the sun, thus becoming the new Greek god of the sun." Zeus finished, smiling.
In five seconds, major pandemonium broke out in the throne room, with everyone against the idea except for Ares and Hera, the latter thinking she'll get the mantle of the moon if her husband gets the sun.
"Looks like the day of the loopy sun has caused more problems." Apollo said, shaking his head. "You know... I could be the new sun god. What do you guys think."
"I can actually see it happening you know." Perseus said. "And Artemis can be the new moon goddess if Selene steps down."
"Me a moon goddess? I'm not that opposed to it now that I think about it." Artemis muttered, wondering how riding the celestial bodies even works.
"Alright, how about this!" Athena yelled, trying to get a hold of the situation. "We'll ask the Fates on who the new potential sun god/goddess. And their word will be of course final so deal with it!"
"Fine...the Fates can select the new sun deity." Zeus muttered dejectedly. Suddenly the hearth flared up, and a note came out of the fire. Hestia went to pick it up, glancing at Zeus. "It's addressed to us. It says 'The sun deity will be revealed in due time. As for now, we have convinced Helios to keep the title for the time being. Selene also wishes to step down as well so the new moon deity will be revealed then as well. Along with a special surprise. -Lachesis.'" Hestia read out. "I guess that solves our problem." she said.
"Alright then, council dismissed." Zeus said, flashing away quite hurriedly, the other gods following suite.
"What do you think the special surprise is?" Apollo wondered out loud. "New chariots?"
"Who knows. Perseus, hunt now. Yes or No." Artemis said.
Perseus groaned. "You know I have Poseidon's training today. Maybe tomorrow.
"Fine, but you owe me those cookies you made last time. And don't forget the milk!" Artemis said, flashing out.
Apollo shuddered. "She is no longer going to be my sister if she's going to continue with the milk argument. See ya later Perce, I have to catch up with Oura...our new prank! Yeah, our new stellar prank and nothing else. Bye!" he shouted, flashing away as well.
"That was weird." Perseus noted, noticing that Poseidon was walking up to him. "Hey uncle Poseidon, how's it going in the oceans."
"Relatively well Percy, Nothing to drastic." Poseidon said, grabbing Perseus's shoulder and teleporting to the outskirts of his underwater palace. "You know, I've seen that look on your friend Apollo's face before. He's definitely infatuated with someone. What about you Perseus, have you set your sights on someone?"
Perseus laughed. "Hopefully it won't end to badly for Apollo. And no, no one in particular really for me."
"Reallyyyy, what about, say, Artemis? Or Athena. Wait, please don't say Athena."
Perseus had a disgusted look on his face. "No way Athena, she's like an annoying older sister. And Artemis...she's really nice but she's only a really good friend. Best friend really."
Poseidon didn't look convinced. "Sure..."
"I could ask the same for you." Perseus grinned. "How are things going with Amphitrite?"
"Very well actually. Delphin managed to convince her that I won't be such a bad husband to her and she said that she might think about it and give me a chance! Best thing ever let me tell you."
Perseus was definitely surprised, but happy on hearing this. "That's great Uncle Poseidon, hope it works out the two of you."
Poseidon nodded. "I hope so as well. Now, enough relationship talk, let's get back to business. Starting with levitating rocks, which in a way is like levitating water which is why I'm teaching you. Now, focus on the ground..."
The next thirty minutes was spent with Perseus managing to get pebbles and smaller rocks to move around, but unable to make them break out from the ocean floor and walls. On the other side, a large sea serpent was gliding along the water, but not doing anything dangerous.
"*sigh*. Those pesky serpents are back, seriously, why do they keep coming when you are out. I swear if Oceanus is sending them over, I'm going to topple over his palace." Poseidon muttered, turning the serpent into a school of fish that immediately fled.
"Not a huge fan of any kind of snakes right now." Perseus said, forming a rock ring around him. "But why Oceanus specifically?"
"Because ever since I became the supreme god of the seas, with the oceans as my domain and mortals worshipping me, Oceanus has become quite mad about it. Doesn't help the fact that I'm trying to woo one of his many granddaughters."
Perseus frowned. "Wait...if Oceanus is your dad's brother, doesn't that make Amphitrite your...niece?"
Poseidon immediately facepalmed. "Percy...what is rule number one when it comes to romantic Olympian relationships mostly? I'm pretty sure your mother mentioned it."
Perseus sighed. "Never look too deep into it, ever."
"Exactly, so like I said before, drop the relationship talk before I start getting second doubts and then feed you to a sea monster." Poseidon said, before groaning. "You have got to be kidding me! More of them have come now! Perseus, stay here and practice, I'll handle the monsters. Be right back." and he swam away.
Perseus figured that Poseidon would be able to handle the serpents so he continued to work on his powers. He didn't realize that a figure was behind him, which was not Poseidon.
"Hello there young man! This is quite a sight!" The figure said, making Perseus turn around in shock. "My gosh. A son of the night, breathing perfectly fine underwater and doing terrakinesis? I've been on this land for countless centuries, but I have never seen something like this before!"
Perseus drew out his sword, facing the figure. "Who the heck are you?" he asked.
You're actually going to draw a weapon on a defenseless old man? How rude. Though it's alright to be cautious, I guess. But I mean no harm. I am unarmed you know." The figure cried out. Perseus noted that he was indeed an old man, also breathing perfectly fine so definitely a water deity. He had a scraggly white beard decorated with seaweed and long hair that was drawn into a ponytail, with a weird green shine to it. He more or less looked like an underwater based grandfather.
"That's a nice-looking sword you have there, though you couldn't get anything better? I'm sure the gods would have provided you with decent weaponry."
"You didn't answer my question, whoever you are." Perseus replied.
The old man's eyes widened. "Oh yes, introductions! My bad sonny. The name's Pontus, old man of the sea. Name ring a bell?"
Perseus frowned. "Pontus? Wait...you're not the Pontus, are you? Primordial of the sea and the first deity of water."
Pontus laughed. "That is me young man. Oh, don't try to bow here. It's quite difficult underwater. Now, will you give me your name?"
"I-I'm Perseus...sir." Perseus replied, not sure as to how to behave in front of someone like Pontus. Being casual and friendly with the other gods didn't help his case at all.
"Oh, no need to be so tense young man. I'm an easy-going person to hang out with. Mostly. So tell me, what is a child of the night doing here?
Perseus decided to answer the deity's question for the time being. "Well, my uncle Poseidon figured that he can maybe help me learn more about...wait a minute. How did you know I'm a child of Nyx?"
Pontus let out a booming laugh. "I can smell it child, not to mention you have her hair color and eye shape. I've known Nyx for a long time now to know this stuff. Oh! Looks like the young sea god has managed to kill most of my serpents. Let me just send some more over." Pontus said, snapping his fingers. About twenty more sea serpents were created, and Perseus distinctly heard some curse words coming from far away.
"You're the one sending those serpents?! Why go through all that trouble?"
"To meet you of course my boy! Poseidon said it himself, they only appear when you come along so I have to distract him in some way." Pontus replied.
"But...why are you so interested in meeting me?" Perseus asked confused.
Pontus shrugged. "I'm just curious, very curious in fact. It's not every day you meet a godly child of Nyx, who for some reason is making rocks float."
Perseus looked at Pontus expectantly, who then smiled. "You are wondering if I know your parentage in order to answer my question? Sadly no, either your father is nonexistent or...yeah that's the only explanation I can give. Sorry young man."
Perseus shrugged. "It doesn't bother me honestly, but it was worth a try. But that's it, just because I'm a child of Nyx, you a primordial deity that hasn't been sighted for almost six hundred years, just shows up out of nowhere to meet me. There's definitely something more, am I not wrong?"
Pontus smiled. "You are a very intuitive child; you remind me of a young Oceanus. Sadly, yes, I am hiding some things which you definitely should not know. I'll be taking my leave though, can't stick for long without Poseidon noticing. But we'll definitely meet again young man, quite sooner than you think. Oh, and a quick tip. Try lifting rocks from the ground by first cracking the ground beneath you. It will be much easier, trust me. Now go help your uncle over there." Pontus said, disappearing within the water and leaving a very confused Perseus behind. Deciding to ponder over this later, Perseus swam towards the horde of sea serpents, wishing he could have a break from fighting snakes.
And that's a wrap everyone. Man, I really enjoyed writing the Python fight scene, longest one out there. And of course, Apollo's description and comments on Ourania. That was really hilarious. Things are definitely starting to heat up, and Pontus! Who expected him to show up, anyone? Well then, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you guys again on Saturday. Bye!...\/