Authors Note: Let me just start by sating, I'm once again the worst by leaving you guys hanging for an update. I have no excuses this time. Second of all, ffn should really have some kind of messaging/update system to let followers know about authors stories. Cause I find it stupid that the only way I can give an update, is to post a chapter. Only it isn't a chapter, just a note saying the next chapter will come in a while. But enough talk, let's get on with the story.
Chapter 28: A really bang-up week
"It's so unfair, my father having to send Perseus away. I get that it's the Ophiotaurus, but why am I stuck with a dumb lion monster that can't even speak proper Greek." Artemis said, glancing at Hecate who was seated beside her, writing something on a scroll of paper in her hands. "When I could be with Perseus in the ocean, fighting off any threats and what not as we should. And maybe...other stuff."
"Mhm. And you being with Perseus would be beneficial for you and for him I'm guessing? I can see that." Hecate said, staring at Artemis who was lying fully on a sofa. "And what do you mean by 'as we should'?"
"We're Olympus's hunting duo Hecate, don't feign ignorance. And because we're... ugh, why am I doing this again?" Artemis asked, getting up.
"Because you need someone to vent on, and since I'm your friend and a bit of a listener, I'm happy to be the one being vented on." Hecate said simply. "Now, what is your relationship status with Perseus?"
"We're...kind of dating? Like, we went on one improv date, and before that I was his date to the wedding. But we aren't courting each other actually. That my father has to agree to. Which is unfortunate if he doesn't agree." Artemis muttered.
Hecate shrugged. "I was told that he was expecting you guys to announce your engagement at one time, I think it was when you both were asking for the hunt? I doubt he'll say no."
"Hecate, this is Zeus we're talking about. As unpredictable as a rainy day, and stashes lightning bolts in every corner of Olympus because his paranoid ass has to be prepared for a surprise attack. He might even lock me in a tower if he believes I need 'protection'. Or even more absurd, a 'guardian'." Artemis said with a deadpanned voice.
Hecate snorted. "Why do I have a feeling it will be your guardian."
"Better him than anyone else." Artemis said with a sigh.
Creepy ticking noises started echoing inside Hecate's living room. The aforementioned goddess sighed as she made her way to a black box attached to a wall, where two cones were connected through it with a rope.
"Lord Hades, I have a patient with me for therapy." Hecate said, holding each cone next to her ear and mouth.
"WHAT?!" Artemis cried.
"How may I help you?" Hecate said, ignoring her
"Uh, there's an Aphrodite here to see you."
"The love goddess? What does she want now."
"I don't know, but can you please see her now. She's poking the eye sockets and holes of my skeletal guards, and they're enjoying it."
"...Send her down." Hecate said, putting the cones back. A few minutes later, the love goddess had showed up, swinging a sword.
"HYAAH! Pretty cool, right? Ares got me this sword as a present if I were to date him."
"You're cheating Hephaestus with Ares?" Artemis asked, a bit aghast.
"Nope."
Hecate frowned. "But the sword..."
"i just took it while he was in a trance. It was meant for me, so it is rightfully mine." Aphrodite said, tilting her head to the side. "I didn't know you needed therapy Artemis."
"I don't, the mad goddess over here wants to roleplay." Artemis muttered while she got up from the sofa. "And you ask horrible questions Hecate."
"They were valid question, so shush. Anyway, why are you here again Aphrodite?" Hecate asked.
"Well, you see Hecate, Hecks. Hey...Hex! Can I call you Hex?" Aphrodite said. Hecate just stared blankly at her.
"Okay Hex, you see. I actually want to learn some magic. And since you're well-tuned with it, I figured I'll ask you." Aphrodite said.
Hecate still had a blank look on her face while Artemis was trying hard not to burst out laughing. "You want to learn magic. Like, spells and hexes and all that stuff?" Artemis incredulously asked.
"Of course, I need some attack power in me. And while I might use a sword occasionally, I want something that's my style."
Hecate raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you want to learn stuff like this. No offense, but I figured you would spend your time learning mundane stuff, or do some love stuff with you as it's goddess."
Aphrodite giggled. "Of course I would do all that stuff. I already have Athena ive me a book on etiquette and basic knowledge. I just want to look amazing and beautiful during battle, and magic fits that perfectly."
Hecate glanced at Artemis, who shrugged. Aphrodite seemed to look serious for this. "Alright then, we might be able to work something out."
"Yaay! Thank you so much." Aphrodite squealed, giving a Hecate a big hug (which the latter did not like). "But why are you here as well?" Aphrodite asked Artemis.
"Like I said, Hecate wanted to roleplay, thinking me venting about my situation with Perseus will help."
As soon as Artemis's uttered those words, Aphrodite's face immediately hardened. "Situation with Percy?" she asked.
"Yeah, Zeus sent him off like two days ago to find that snake-bull. Artemis here is still pissed she didn't get to join him, and mad at her father. Well, that's the drama you get from a somewhat couple." Hecate answered.
Aphrodite visibly relaxed, letting out a breath she kept in. "Oh, so that's the problem. Well, I can't help you with that. But I can give brilliant love advice, especially for you ladies." she said with a wink.
"Humor me." Hecate said with a smirk.
"Okay. So, if you're going to get a guy's attention, you have to going to bat your eyes like this." Aphrodite said, as she made her eyes and lashes comically big, and began batting them while wearing a toothy smile. "And then, you will pucker up your lips, like thish." she said, with kissing noises soon following.
"That's your love advice?" Artemis asked, shaking her head. "Even I know better to not to do that."
Aphrodite pouted. "That's my pet crabs' advice. And if you insult Sebastianos, you insult me. An believe me, I doubt you may want that with what I'm capable of." Aphrodite said haughtily.
Artemis and Hecate glanced at each other and shrugged. They weren't familiar with what Aphrodite was really capable of, though they also didn't want to know either.
"So Artemis, how was that place you went to in order to kill the Manticore. Was it deserty, foresty, icy, barreny-"
"Those aren't words Hecate. All of that is made up." Artemis replied.
Aphrodite frowned. "Aren't all words made up though? They had to come from somewhere."
"Yes. And no." Hecate said with a deadpanned voice.
"I honestly don't know if that's a clever or dumb statement." Artemis said, shaking her head. "The area was fine by the way, quite habitable. Saw some settlements on the way. But don't get me started on the Manticore now. One of my worst hunts let me tell you, and not because it was difficult, it was stupidly easy."
"Easy?"
"Yep. Dumb monster was lazy as hell, and quite week. I almost wanted to like heal it or something so I could get a fair fight out of it. In the end, it was wasting my time, and I banished it far away into the desert. Hopefully I never see it again." Artemis muttered, taking a swig from her cup.
"That sounds really anti-climactic for sure." Hecate said, patting Artemis's shoulder. "I think an Ophiotaurus hunt would have been much better, and more thrilling as well."
"Plus, alone time with Perseus." Aphrodite cooed.
"Why did I come down here." Artemis grumbled. Suddenly, the entire room began to shake violently, making everything present fall to the ground. The three goddesses struggled to keep themselves outright as they were thrown about, like they were inside a barrel rolling down a hill.
"What in the world is happening right now?!" Hecate cried, as she crashed into a wardrobe.
"This can't an earthquake, right? We're literally miles below tectonic plates." Artemis yelled out. A series of multiple lightning bolts, spears, fire balls and water balls soon crashed into the room, next to the goddesses' feet.
"The council, looks like multiple members are calling us." Aphrodite noted.
"So this is not an underworld thing?" Artemis asked, fear laced in her voice. With no time to waste, the three goddesses immediately flashed away, soon materializing in the throne room. They were greeted with the sight of Zeus, Poseidon and Ares armored up, Athena and Demeter also preparing themselves, and other gods like Apollo and Hermes quickly popping in.
"What is all this-"
"Olympians! The earth is right now experiencing an earthquake with a scale of something which has never seen before. Poseidon's scouts have found a fissure erupted in the water body at the left of Athens. There is something gargantuan approaching, which means we have to proceed with caution!" Zeus announced, slamming his thunderbolt on the floor. Most of the gods nodded in affirmation, while some looked a bit apprehensive.
Hermes gulped. "We're...going to be fighting a huge monster? Something that all of us have to participate in?!"
"Oh no, ohhhh no. If this is what I think it is... I didn't expect this to be happening today!" Apollo cried.
Before the gods could properly register Apollo's words, a gut-wrenching roar tore across the mainland, which was even heard by the Olympians. They immediately rushed out to the sky deck, which allowed them a view of the full Greek region. At the location mentioned before, storm clouds were brewing everywhere as a large looming figure emerged from the sea, with water and the dark clouds obscuring its view. The sea surrounding the figure was literally boiling and steaming, with no sign of the figure stopping its growth. The Olympians watched with bated breath at the threat they were going to face, their emotions ranging from apprehension, rage, confusion, and fear.
"Are we...really expected to fight that?" Aphrodite asked timidly.
"It's getting bigger and bigger." Hera muttered. "There's no sign of it stopping at all."
"Come on, it's just big! What are you guys so afraid of?" Ares taunted.
Another roar tore across the horizon, as the boiling water turned a purplish-green color. The sky immediately darkened into a sickly yellow color. The figure while growing in height, slowly expanded with height as well, revealing a set of leathery brown wings. Soon enough, the figure had grown way above the clouds at this point.
"...He's big." Poseidon whispered.
"Massive." Athena agreed. "I have never seen anything of this caliber before. I really don't like our odds."
"Oh come on, like Ares said, he's only big!" Zeus shouted. But even a kid would notice in first glance Zeus's body quivering with fear. All the gods present were glancing at each other nervously, and there was already a crowd gathered on the deck, pointing and screaming at the looming monster. "Six of us present over here defeated the titans for crying out loud. There's more of us than ever before, we can send that guy back to the pit where he presumably came from."
"We don't have our main Olympian though." Demeter said, glancing at Hestia. "Can't we call Perseus over, wherever he is. I'm sure the Ophiotaurus will no better than to let itself get captured.
Zeus was about to argue back that Perseus was definitely not needed for a threat that could be over within minutes, but one look at everyone's faces made him stop. His sister did kinda have a point, besides, they may probably need all the firepower in their arsenal, front and center. And Perseus literally had that, in a way.
"...Fine. Hermes, get prepared to pick him up." Zeus bellowed as he swiped his arm in the air, making a rainbow. "Iris, show us Perseus immediately."
"Service unreachable." Iris's voice piped up.
The gods immediately looked confused. Zeus blinked, and then narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by unreachable? You can show any person on earth or in the underworld to some degree."
"My powers are limited to the lands beyond us milord." Iris said a bit fearfully, either because of the threat or Zeus. "I can't contact anyone in those places."
"...Are you saying that Percy...isn't anywhere close to the Mediterranean?" Artemis asked everyone's dreaded question out loud.
"My son...is in the land beyond us gods?" Hestia asked calmly; her fiery eyes boring down on Zeus. Before he could answer, a shockwave of fire erupted from the monster, spreading everywhere. A deep rumbling noise was then heard, alerting the immortals as they stared at the newest threat to the gods of Olympus.
"CRRRRAAAWWWWGGGHHH"
"Tentacle!" Umbra cried out.
"Hard port to right!" Perseus yelled, as he raised his brace. A shield was then formed which managed to deflect a tentacle, and some water that landed on him due to the impact.
"Maybe we should swim around it. I doubt he's light enough to turn around." Umbra said.
"There's the tentacles to consider though, we can't risk it." Perseus muttered. "Umbra, try to swim towards that ice berg. It'll be a while until it reaches the center. Going around the Kraken may not be the only I feel." he said.
"But how?! There's no way I can swim-"
"I'll anchor us on it. Don't worry about anything else, just swim!"
"Got it. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming."
While Umbra was chanting, Perseus formed and then used his grappling hook on the iceberg, which was located at just the edge of the whirlpool. On seeing that the hook was secured tightly, Perseus immediately jumped from Perseus's back, and managed to hold himself on to Umbra's tail.
"Um Perseus? What exactly is your plan here?" Umbra asked nervously.
"It's kinda dumb, and maybe a bit vague. But better trying it than to face instant pain." Perseus said, tagging his arm back. He immediately surged forward, and would have gone flying into the air if he hadn't left Umbra's tail. Perseus felt himself push forward against the current, along with Umbra as well.
"Come on Umbra, push harder. That iceberg isn't going to stay at one place." Perseus grunted as he tried to push Umbra ahead.
"I'm trying. Current...too strong." Umbra cried out, her markings glowing a brilliant blue. "P-P-Perseus! I...I..."
"Umbra?!" Perseus yelled with worry."
"I'm going to turn around! I'm going to- just hold on tight!" Umbra shouted, immediately turning clockwise with Perseus on tow. Her markings were now pulsing, and Perseus watched with bated breath as the blue vertical mark from her tail suddenly lit up, extending all the way to her Alpha symbol. Umbra's eyes then glowed white as an energy beam surged from her mouth, pulsing all the way at the Kraken, and hitting it at its side. Umbra then directed the beam at the water, making a makeshift projectile in a way as she and Perseus (who almost sunk under her) made their way towards the iceberg, Perseus's grappling hook somewhat speeding things up as well.
"Umbra this is awesome! You can- veer left!"
"Grghh?"
"Left, left, left!" Perseus cried. Umbra did as she was told, and narrowly missed an approaching tentacle. Perseus glanced at the Kraken, only to find its eyes trained on them. The Kraken let out a deafening roar as it opened its mouth, the whirlpool surrounding it churning faster and faster.
"We have to get rid of the whirlpool. Think Perseus, think. What did Poseidon say was the cause of whirlpools." Perseus thought, as he watched the tentacles swinging everywhere.
"I think I can still breathe underwater." Perseus muttered. Suddenly, pain erupted on his back as he felt himself crash onto something. He glanced behind to find himself finally reach the iceberg, which lucky for him was not yet sucked in by the whirlpool.
'Oh man, that hurts. Umbra, that's enough. Stop the beam, we reached the iceberg."
Umbra slowly nodded as the energy beam began diminishing in size. Perseus then managed to get the orca on the beg, while the Kraken watched all this and screeched loudly.
"It doesn't look happy." Umbra said tiredly as the two watched the whirlpool slowly growing in size.
"I need you to distract the Kraken from me. Shoot beams at it and what not. I'll try to stop the whirlpool." Perseus said, glancing at Umbra. "You okay?"
"Not really, the synergy beam was a real toll." Umbra said with a gasp.
Perseus smiled. "That's what we're calling it. Here, take some ambrosia, it might hopefully help."
"*slurp* Oh, this is some good stuff. It's kinda tingly, but rejuvenating."
'Don't get too attached, I don't want you to potentially combust." Perseus said, as he trudged to the edge of the iceberg.
"How are you going to do that?! Stop a natural occurrence that is." Umbra asked.
Perseus glanced behind and smirked. "This one isn't naturally occurring." he said simply. And then jumped into the frigid waters, leaving behind a gaping Umbra.
"My master is an idiot. A cool idiot actually." Umbra thought. She then began to charge up her beam as she waved her fin at the Kraken.
"Yoo-hoo, you big slimy pillar of mucus! You're going sink down faster than a... whatever sinks down the fastest." Umbra said, firing the beam at the Kraken, who was patiently waiting for his godly food to arrive. Speaking of the godly food, Perseus was swimming down the waters, and finally found what he was looking for. The source of some whirlpools, a set of tentacles located at the bottom of the Kraken that was able to twist around repeatedly, causing a whirlpool of sorts to form on the surface. Perseus swam deeper, until he was right below the rotating tentacles. He then swam a bit up, and immediately felt something hit his head at top speed, that would have probably whacked his head clean off his shoulders if not for his somewhat remaining invulnerability. Instead, he flipped over, and was soon caught in the onslaught of tentacles as he was pushed back and forth repeatedly.
Perseus shouted some curse words, muted by the bubbles. He then formed a shield to lessen the impact, but that didn't stop the ongoing shoving he was now facing. Forming a sword, Perseus then swung it forward, making its way mostly through a tentacle. Perseus tried to pull it off, but was slowly getting a bit dizzy.
"Come on you bugger, get off." Perseus muttered as he pulled hard. And then mentally slapped himself. "I can retract it back for crying out loud." Perseus thought, bringing the blade back. He then formed it out again, this time lighting the blade with hellfire. The black colored blade took on a chrome look with the white flames enveloping it. Perseus then raised the sword in front of him, and as an upcoming tentacle came in contact with it, the sword sliced through the tentacle like a heated knife against butter. Steam and a blue colored liquid sprouted out of the severed tentacle, as Perseus hacked and slashed his way through the tentacles. Back on the surface, Umbra had managed to severe off a bit of the Krakens head when she noticed the whirlpool was slowly decreasing in size. Umbra then swam to the wavering current, and shot one final synergy beam at the Kraken as she was pulled around, the current taking her for a ride. Down below, Perseus was finished severing the tentacles and then began to make his ascent, not before using his sword to properly finish of the monster. The Kraken screeched with agony as it trashed around, and then completely stilled. Umbra watched with bated breath as the Kraken began to fall behind, an inky blue liquid now surrounding it. The Kraken then fell into the water, and its lower half began to show up. The lower half was cleaved vertically in half, it's insides also floating out as well. Umbra wrinkled her nose at the sight, and then finally noticed Perseus coming to the surface and immediately swam to him.
"Perseus! Don't tell me you defeated him from the inside, because that would be disgusting." Umbra asked.
"Something like that." Perseus said with a cough as he tried to climb on top of Umbra, only for her to back away. "Huh?"
"No way I'm letting you ride my back when you're covered with all this...stuff." Umbra gagged. Perseus glanced at his hands, only to find them stained with the blue liquid. He felt something move in his head, and plucked out a long sucker of sorts, a blood vessel, that was still moving.
"EW!" Perseus and Umbra cried together. Perseus swatted the sucker away, only for it to land inside Umbra's mouth.
"AHH! Get it out of me, get it...hey. This actually tastes really good." Umbra said, slurping the sucker into her mouth. "I want more."
"Looks like the Kraken is disintegrating so... sucks for you." Perseus said as he watched the Kraken slowly melt within the waters. "Come on, get me up now. My body heat isn't going to handle this cold forever you know."
"I want ambrosia then once we reach your final destination." Umbra grumbled.
"Mooooo!"
"...Did you...hear that." Perseus said slowly.
"You mean that moo noise?" Umbra asked.
Perseus immediately clambered on top of Umbra as he glanced everywhere. The very same noises that the Ophiotaurus was making were heard again, and Perseus was adamant on finding, and holding it down properly this time. A loud moo was then heard from a nearby glacier, which Perseus reckoned that it was where the Ophiotaurus was.
"Umbra, get me there. I think the Ophiotaurus might be there."
"Didn't it disappear into thin air? Why would it still be here?" Umbra asked, swimming forward.
"I don't know, maybe it teleported to safety? I hope it's not injured." Perseus muttered. The two soon reached the glacier, which towered above them. After some debating, and idea tossing, Perseus left umbra behind at the waters while he made his way to the top of the glacier, using a pickaxe and the grappling hook. On reaching the top, Perseus immediately saw the Ophiotaurus, lying on the ice.
"Oh man, it can't be dead right." Perseus muttered as ran ahead as he switched his boots to something akin to icy surfaces, only for the Ophiotaurus to once again disappear in to red colored mist. Perseus's right eye twitched as he seriously contemplated to start blowing stuff up (when he got back his powers) when he heard soft singing close by.
"Little angel on earth, all alone without his master..."
"The hell." Perseus muttered glancing around. A loud whooshing noise was heard above him, making Perseus look up. Floating in the sky was person with a lean figure and flowing blue hair, piercing golden eyes filled with mirth, and the most peculiar of all, one wing attached at the back of him that shone with a metallic shine. A person, that Perseus thought he would never see in at least another three millennia, or never at all.
"Mados." Perseus whispered as he watched the ex archangel of Ouranos slowly descend down. He looked the same when Perseus saw him the first time, though his face had some blood red scarring. His armor was different, more detailed and royal looking with patterns reminiscent of flowers dotting around it. And were those heels?
"Perseus." Mados acknowledged, stretching out his wing. "You look like shit."
"You should have seen me before, I looked amazing with my windswept hair and all. I didn't expect to see you at all you know. Since I figured you would have been gone for good." Perseus said, slowly coming to a fighting stance.
"That might have happened, with how much you traumatized me." Mados said softly. "But I can be persuaded. With the right amount of persuasion of course."
"Right..." Perseus muttered. "Nice wing you have their, why only one and not two?" he asked. "And why does the metal look so familiar." he thought.
"I'm glad you noticed, since you burned off my original one." Mados said, walking around Perseus. "I only wanted one, since it's symbolic for me that my lord keeps my other wing. I don't want to replace the love he still keeps for me." he said with a dreamy smile on his face.
"I shouldn't have asked." Perseus grumbled, drawing a sword and shield out.
"Oh, we're fighting now huh?" Mados said excitedly. He then drew his weapon, a thin longsword that sent a slight shiver down Perseus's spine. "That's not ether frost, that's not ether frost."
"Oh this isn't ether frost." Mados said, unknowingly answering Perseus's inner monologue. "This is stygian iron, courtesy of my new master. Ouranos is still my top one, no one can truly replace him."
Perseus faltered. "Stygian iron? But that could only be...no, it definitely can't be Hades. ...Erebus?"
Mados smirked. "Neither of them. The pit had to make do since someone stole his prime resource. Stygian iron was quite easy to get honestly, according to him that is."
Perseus internally groaned. "Tartarus. Let me guess, he probably asked you to bring me down to him because I took his hellfire. What is it dead or alive?"
"Both." Mados said, licking his lips. "But I prefer dead!" he shouted, immediately rushing forward. Perseus readied his shield and parried Mados's sword away, leaving room to attack. But before Perseus could move, Mados extended his wing and shot up in the air.
"The wing is of the same material if that's what you're wondering." Mados called down. "Too bad there's no eclipse tonight, aerial fighting is out of the question. Too bad there's no speck of dirt either for your terrakinesis. Too bad there's hardly any sunlight to produce a measly shadow for you to use as well. TOO BAD YOU'RE IN A LAND WAY BEYOND ANYTHING REMOTELY GREEK. NO POWERS, NO HELP. YOU, LYKOFÓS PERSEUS, ARE GOING TO DISINTEGRATE BY MY BLADE!"
"Ah shit." Perseus muttered, raising his weapons. Mados drew his wing back, where metal blades began forming from them. He then whipped the wing back, launching a series of blades at Perseus. Perseus raised hi shield as he ran around, dodging the projectiles left and right, one hitting his shield as well. Mados drew his wing back, and the metal blades were lifted up into the air and went on to reattach themselves back on to the spine of the wing.
"Nifty trick." Perseus thought as he took a swig of nectar from his bottle. He was going to need all the power the godly food would provide him this this time. Perseus then tried to jump and get a hold of Mados, but he easily dodged them. Perseus then formed a throwing spear in his hands and launched it at Mados. The spear grazed Mados's leg, but that didn't work either.
"Aw, is ickle-wittle Perseus missing his wings?" Mados cooed. He then launched another series of stygian blades at Perseus, while he went to get the spear.
"Oh no you don't." Perseus muttered as he took out his bow and shot arrow after arrow at Mados. Most of them managed to hit their mark, but Mados had already gotten hold of the spear by then. He grinned evilly at Perseus, and then flew off to the water where he then dropped the weapon.
"Oops." Mados said, covering his mouth. "Never leave your toys attended."
"You bastard." Perseus muttered, but before he could do anything, Mados launched himself at Perseus, arms extended. Perseus quickly made a shield and blocked the upcoming barrage from the fallen angel. Mados clawed and tried to grab Perseus, but couldn't because of the shield. Perseus shoved him ahead and then formed a sword which he then tried to impale Mados with. Mados whipped his wing in front of him, and used it as a shield to block the strike. Only a dent and a few sparks were created from the block.
"My wing! Umbra ore is truly something." Mados muttered. He then launched some of his wing blades at Perseus, who blocked them using the shield again. Before Perseus could do anything, Mados came forward with the long sword as he began to strike Perseus down. Perseus fell to his knees and then kicked Mados at his ankle, and immediately sidestepped. While doing so, he formed a sword and brought it down on Mados's head, only for his wing to come and block it again. The two were locked into position, Perseus gripping his sword with both hands as he tried to weigh down on Mados, while the latter was on his hands, struggling to get up. Perseus then began kicking and stepping on Mados while he slowly lowered down, only for the angel to let out a guttural roar as his body sent out pulse of red energy, which sent Perseus flying back.
"You're strong...even without your powers, you're strong." Mados gasped as he slowly got up. "But I still have some power in me Olympian, though it didn't leave you burnt as I hoped it would."
"Allow me to do the favor then." Perseus growled, lighting his hands on hellfire. Mados's eyes immediately widened with fear as he took a couple of steps back. "No, anything but that." he whimpered.
"How did you find me here anyway." Perseus shouted. "Were you following me or something?"
Mados looked uncomfortable as he continued to stare at the fire but then cleared his throat. "In a way. I merely just led you on a wild goose chase, far away from Greece. And it was definitely lucky for me that a Kraken was around these waters, made it easier for me to lure you to it. Though I did kinda expect the Kraken to win..."
"Wild goose chase? What do you mean by luring me? I only came here because Zeus found out about the Ophiotaurus, and that sea creature..."
"Yes...the Ophiotaurus..." Mados said with a sadistic grin on his face. Mados then snapped his fingers and a pool of red mist erupted from his palm, and collected on the ground where it solidified into the Ophiotaurus. Perseus watched with shock as the creature glanced at him and gave a low threatening moo, and once again disappeared into red mist.
"Imagine my shock and surprise, when I realized that I actually managed to fool the king of the gods!" Mados cried. "An illusion, a measly illusion prompted the wannabe sky god to send his top Olympian on a mission that was doomed from the start. Is your king that senile?"
"The Ophiotaurus was never real." Perseus whispered.
"Of course it wasn't real, if Zeus had bothered to check with Hades or any of his allies in Tartarus, he would have known the Ophiotaurus was still being regenerated in a natural protected bubble. But no, Zeus wanted this to be a hush hush job. And he failed with that cause other Olympians already know as well!" Mados cried, flying up into the air. "And best of all, the Olympian god sent away, is not there...to deal with the upcoming threat."
Perseus had already tuned Mados out at this point as he felt his ichor boil. Not hearing what he had to say, Perseus let out a battle cry as he leapt into the air, grappling hook in hand. He threw the hook at Mados, where it managed to get caught on the wing. Perseus immediately tugged his hand back, and was moments later on top of Mados as he struggled to stay balanced with the extra weight.
"Geroff me you bug!" Mados cried. Perseus wasted no time in punching and stabbing Mados with his fist and knife. Mados tried to protect himself with his wing, but Perseus didn't care as he continued his barrage. In the end, Perseus was ripping a blade one by one and throwing it out.
"I don't like people who waste my time." Perseus growled. "Or those who threaten my family. He then grabbed Mados's hair and pulled it up, making the two of them fly higher up the air. Mados was screeching as Perseus spun him around in the air in order to get a hold of him, but Mados wasn't backing down. He then used the blades lying on the ground to fly up and pierce itself on Perseus. Perseus felt ichor pool in his mouth, but didn't care as he lit his entire body on hellfire, the dark purple aura now surrounding him. Perseus grabbed the spine of Mados's wing and began tugging it out, while MAdos managed to get a hold of Perseus upfront. The two were now falling straight first into the glacier, while the two of them continued to trade blows, and scratches. The two then finally landed on the glacier, leaving a sickening crack that more or less split it into two. Perseus and Mados each began to slowly get up from their fall, both of them panting loudly. Perseus slowly tried pulled out a blade lodged in his side, but then left it as he felt the ichor almost pool out of the wound.
"Why must you always go for my hair." Mados muttered as he stared at his charred hair. "You're fighting way more brashly than before, I never expected you to-"
WHAM!
"Stop talking for two minutes please." Perseus muttered, trudging towards Mados as he struggled to lift the block of ice from him, a result of their impact. Perseus took the block from him, and then picked Mados up by his neck, the angel struggling from his grasp. In a last-ditch effort, Mados tried to do his shockwave again, only to release a bit of air from his lower half of the body. Mados gulped and then tried another last ditch effort. Kick Perseus on the crotch.
"...Really? I have armor for that. And please, this isn't a bar fight. Have some class."
Perseus then threw Mados hard on to the ground again. Cracks were starting to appear everywhere now on the glacier, and Perseus wasn't sure how long this was going to last. He glanced at Mados, who for some reason had his slightly destroyed wing on top of him as a shield. Perseus scoffed, summoned a short pole axe from his brace and began smashing it against the shield. Muffled screams were heard from underneath the wing shield as Perseus tore his way through with the axe, and soon enough, Mados was staring at him with fear in his eyes, and his wing cleaved in half.
"Here's Percy." Perseus said with a grin, and then raised his axe. Suddenly, the surface beneath him began to rumble, making Perseus stumble back. Large cracks were now appearing everywhere as the glacier slowly started to split into pieces. Perseus watched with bated breath as he slowly descended down, with water pooling everywhere as well. Perseus took a step back, only to stumble into a chasm that was formed from the earlier impact of him and Mados in the air. The last thing Perseus heard before his body crashed into the water was a delighted screech, and the cry of an orca.
"..."
"Mhm."
".er..us."
"Hmm."
"P..se.."
"Oww..." Perseus groaned, clutching his head. He could hear a voice speaking to him, but for some reason, it sounded triple.
"Perseus, you are awake right? This isn't sleep walking right."
"Artemis?"
"What, no. It's me, Umbra. Your animal buddy. Oh please don't tell me you got amnesia."
"No, I know Umbra." Perseus muttered as he squinted his eyes. It was too bright for him, but he could make out a big blackish-white blob in front of him, which would definitely be Umbra.
"Where are we." Perseus muttered.
"The entrance to the Mediterranean. You were passed out for like a week. I don't blame you though, your injuries were quite serious looking. And falling from thirty feet into ice cold water? Who does that?!"
"That, was not my intention." Perseus said as he stared at his reflection in the water. He still looked like how he did after fighting the Kraken, only worse. His cloak was ripped to shreds, and armor badly damaged. He was missing a shoe and his entire body ached with pain.
"I look worse than shit." Perseus muttered, glancing at Umbra. "What happened after I fell?"
"Well, I found you. Almost immediately since I was circling the block. Found this during my rounds." Umbra said, nodding at a familiar looking spear next to Perseus. "I figured it might be yours, saw Nyx's guards use the same thing. Then, I carried you off on my back all the way here. Took longer than I expected because you kept slipping off, spear was difficult to hold on to, and I was crazy tired after the whole Kraken ordeal. I didn't dare touch any of your wounds, wouldn't want to worsen them."
"Oh. Thanks Umbra, you really have been a lot of help." Perseus said, and then gasped immediately. "Okay, now that I'm awake...maybe you should take me to the Greek mainland quickly huh?" Perseus said slowly.
"Or you could use that rock a sea serpent gave me." Umbra said.
"Rock."
"I don't know, maybe the piece of bark has some answers." Umbra said, nudging a translucent rock with weird color changing mist, to Perseus. Perseus was immediately confused on seeing it, but his eyes then widened as he took hold of the rock, only to drop it immediately.
"Ow! I think my fingers are broken." he muttered, only to feel the pain leave his fingers almost immediately. Perseus glanced at them and the rock and then at Umbra, who merely shrugged. Perseus then gingerly took hold of the rock, and immediately felt warmth flow through him as he felt his wounds and pains slowly heal.
"Oh, that feels gooood. Who said ailment stones were at the bottom of the prime list, this is a godsend." Perseus said with a content sigh.
"Whoa, your bruises are healing. And the one leg bent in a funny angle." Umbra noted. "Quick, remove that blade from your side as well so it can heal."
"That thing is still there?!" Perseus cried, as he reached for the blade. He immediately pulled it out, expecting to see some ichor flow out. But nothing like that happened, and Perseus watched as the wound closed up.
"Oh that's it, I'm going to call Pontus 'Grandpa P' without any questions." Perseus said with a laugh as he slowly got up. He wobbled around for a bit, but managed to stay upright until he plopped himself on Umbra's back.
"Okay, I believe we should head on to Greece now. I have been gone for an awfully long time, don't want everyone to be worried." Perseus said, patting Umbra's back. After checking to see everything was in place, the two made their way back into the sea, and straight towards the Greek mainland.
"Hey Umbra, I've been meaning to ask. What happened to Mados? Wait, do you know who I'm talking about?" Perseus asked.
"Hmm, lanky guy with a sadistic smile and burnt blue hair? Yeah, I saw him jump from the glacier, with some slanted pointy thing in his arm. I didn't want to take any chances, so I fired out a synergy beam at him. He then fell into the water with a plop, and I never saw him again."
"Huh, that's good to know." Perseus said, fidgeting with his brace. The two were slowly picking up speed as they made their way through the waters. However, Perseus noted that the closer they were going towards Greece, the darker the clouds were becoming. It wasn't until the entire sky was yellow in color that Perseus figured something was really wrong. The two finally made their way into Greek territory, until Perseus suddenly froze and then began to levitate. His body began to glow a deep blue, and then he fell down back on Umbra's back.
"Whoa, what was that just now." Umbra asked.
"That my friend is the sweet receiving of my powers." Perseus said with a content sigh. "Oh it's good to be back! Ow, and it seems like the prayers have returned. I'll check them later."
Umbra didn't know what the big deal was, so she moved on ahead. But it was only seconds later that she abruptly stopped.
"I can't go ahead." she whispered. Perseus glanced at her and then at the water ahead, which was a purplish-green color.
"That isn't poison by any chance, right?" Perseus said slowly.
"I don't care what it is, I know it's dangerous for me." Umbra said, backing away.
"Hey, it's alright you don't have to go through that. Tell you what, I'll go on ahead with my powers. You hang around here, I guess. That alright with you?"
"Yeah, and come back soon. I want to see this Greece place you've been talking so much about."
Perseus chuckled. "You're a fish Umbra. I'll see what's going on with this poison. Be back in a minute." he said, sinking into his shadow, and promptly freaked Umbra out. Perseus then shadow travelled all the way to Arcadia, where the hunt was. But on reaching there, he saw that the clearing was deserted. There was no sign of his hunters anywhere at all, which greatly confused Perseus. "They couldn't have temporarily left; the tents would have been here." he thought. Perseus looked up to see that the sky was still yellow. He felt his domains act up, mountains and eclipse and wondered what the cause was for the latter. He floated up in the air, and to his horror, he saw a giant humanoid storm rip a mountain from the ground, and chuck it far off into the horizon. Perseus immediately shadow travelled a bit ahead to the storm, where he immediately noticed that the mountain that had been ripped, was currently laying on a now destroyed village. Perseus's mind was immediately bombarded with a slew of prayers and offerings, all of them saying or asking the same thing: Save them from the storm.
"I leave for like five days and it all goes to shit?!" Perseus exclaimed, as he stared at the storm. There was no way Zeus, even in his prime, would have been able to conjure something like that, and it looked to monstrous to be his creation. Perseus watched as the storm began to walk away, leaving flaming trails behind its now visible snake tails, and a deep rumbling laughter.
"Psst, Percy! Percy over here!" A voice shouted. Perseus turned around to find Hermes hiding behind a tree, looking like a little kid caught stealing. Even though he looked to be in his thirties.
"Hermes, I would love to share greetings and what not, but first tell me...WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE!"
"SHHHH!" Hermes shouted. "Typhon will hear us."
"What do you mean by a natural disaster hearing us-"
"Not that typhoon, the Typhon! The storm giant you saw just casually walk by!"
"Yeah! What is up with that!"
"We can't be here, he'll sense us. We have to go to Crete, where the others are. Not that there are any."
"What are you tal-"
"Perseus! I' promise, I will explain everything. Can we just please move now!" Hermes said pleadingly. Perseus hesitated, but then nodded. Hermes then grabbed his neck and the two began to speed their way across the country. The two then reached Athens, which Perseus was horrified to find that it was flooded with poison. Before he could say anything however, Hermes then flashed the two of them in a fairly large cave. Perseus blinked as his eyes adjusted to the dim light. The first thing he saw was a satyr, sharpening a set of reed pipes, and laying on a bed was...
"Uncle Zeus?!" Perseus exclaimed.
He didn't look good at all, his strong muscular frame reduced to that of a floppy, flabby skeleton. He was lying on a bed, as still as fly, and with his eyes crossed.
"Perseus." Zeus said, in a weird way. "Good to see you, I shouldn't have sent away. What happened though to Ophi...Ophi..."
Hermes sighed and then leaned forward to press the sides of Zeus's neck. "Ophiotaurus! I don't need help in speaking son."
Hermes sighed. "You will, if you're going to explain to Perseus on what happened."
Zeus grumbled, but gave in. "Perseus, while you were gone...a monster that rivalled the likes of the titans emerged from the depths of Tartarus. If you already saw it, then you don't need to tell me how powerful he looked."
Perseus frowned. "I get that so far, but that still doesn't explain why 1/3rd of Greece is facing the apocalypse, I can't see any of us Olympians except for Hermes, and you're lying here bed-ridden for some reason."
"Zeus sighed. "My tendons have been ripped from my body."
Perseus blinked. "Run that by me again?"
Zeus then launched into another explanation, where the gods and their allies launched an attack on Typhon, only for them to be scared away shitless, leaving Zeus all alone. Zeus then put up a valiant and glorious fight (Zeus's words) but was defeated in the end. To make sure he would be incapacitated forever, Typhon ripped out Zeus's tendons, something that keeps the muscles and bones together, from his body, and his thunderbolts for good measure to use as toothpicks.
"All of them ran away?!" Perseus said to himself, as he found the sentence ludicrous. They couldn't have...they...
"I was left alone until Hermes, and Aegipan over there, found me. Told them to bring me to my childhood home here in Crete, and we've been hiding out, trying to come up with a really good plan. And we may have one."
Perseus was lost in his thoughts; not hearing Zeus's words. "Is Artemis alright? And my hunters? What about my mother, Apollo, Hecate, Aphro-"
"They are all fine Perce, all of them." Hermes reassured. "The gods are hiding out in that little area just right of Greece, where Artemis was hunting the Manticore. Hestia is with your hunters in Olympus."
Perseus let out a sigh, when his eyes widened. "Wait, how come this Typhon hasn't taken over Olympus yet?!"
"Other forces have come together in order to distract him. Hades's dead, Poseidon's army, the constellations and star spirits. Heck, even Selene and Helios came to help, busting out their chariots. But as always, Typhon defeated each and every single one of them."
Perseus nodded slowly, his eyes hardening. "So what's the plan again may I ask?" Perseus said. On learning it, Perseus began to space around the cave, muttering to himself.
"So Aegipan will distract Typhon with his music, hopefully getting him to sleep as well. Hermes will then steal Zeus's tendons and bolts from Typhon's purse. Then Hermes would stitch the tendons back, and Zeus will then go nuclear on Typhon. This is not even a summary; this is literally the entire plan guys. We need more input."
Hermes nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I doubt some musical notes is going to deter Typhon at all, not for long that is. We need another distraction."
"Well, any suggestions?" Zeus asked.
Perseus closed his eyes as he thought of the various possibilities one could maybe weaken Typhon until Zeus rolled around. Truth to be told, Perseus was contemplating to go out there and fight Typhon, but he just came from a really bad trip. But then again, not only was he super healed with the ailment stone, the sudden rush of power on entering Greece was dangerously spiking up. And his eclipse domain was acting up...
"You're going to go out there to fight, aren't you?" Hermes said, receiving a shrug from Perseus. "If I'm not mistaken, that seems to be the sign of an eclipse happening right?" he said pointing at the sky where the moon was slowly nearing the sun. As if it was going to cover it.
"Solar eclipse. Where the moon covers the sun, leaving the sky dark as night, and a glowing ring in it. First time something like this is going to happen with me as it's god." Perseus stated.
"Wait hold up just a moment. Didn't you make the red sky one like ten days ago, and a similar one like a week later? How many times is this supposed to pop up, cause this is starting to get frequent and freaky." Zeus shouted.
"Well...the first time was a natural occurrence. The second time, me and Artemis didn't even realize but we were doing the lunar eclipse sub consciously. It was kinda weird." Perseus said.
Zeus blinked his eyes, only for them to stay closed. "Ae you saying you two subconsciously controlled the moon to make the sky red?!"
Perseus frowned. "You can control clouds and wind related disasters." he pointed out.
"Yes! Wind, clouds, even a bit of rain. You, you are controlling celestial bodies, with or without my daughters help! Ow ow, my throat is sore."
"What my father means to say is, you'll probably have no problem beating Typhon senseless. Probably of course." Hermes said hastily.
Perseus sighed, and then looked outside. "It's happening soon, am I going to go challenge Typhon or not?"
Aegipan looked nervously at the gods and kept his mouth shut. Hermes nodded and then glanced at his father who was staring at Perseus. And then his eyes crossed again.
"I can't take this anymore. Aegipan, sing! Hermes, steal! Perseus, beat the living shit out of Typhon, otherwise I'm going to be royally pissed!" Zeus shouted as he flailed on his bed. Perseus gave a short nod to Zeus, and then glanced at Hermes. "Prepare everything we need. We will be going now." Perseus said, his eyes immediately turning into burning blue flames.
"Hoo boy, I'm getting tingles just by looking at you." Hermes whispered as he stared at Perseus's eyes and slowly growing blue aura. "They are blue this time."
"That sounds wrong in so many ways." Perseus said, glancing at the cliff where Aegipan was perched. "Nice satyr, plays good music as well."
"He's immortal you know, won the 145th annual Olympian talent show. Pretty cool." Hermes said as he began pacing around.
"You're getting jitters. Look, I'll be fine, and I will be able to subdue Typhon along with Zeus's help. It'll be fine." Perseus said.
"Yeah but, this feels...real you know? Something truly bad happening to us gods again. And worst of all, our generation literally made a fool of themselves by running away. Dad's generation at least stood up to the titans, what are we going to do?" Hermes said nervously. "What if we'll die?"
"We won't die." Perseus said.
"Hypothetically speaking, if we die...what will be your biggest regret?" Hermes asked.
Perseus raised an eyebrow. "My biggest regret. Let's see, not confessing to Artemis sooner. We could have been a couple by now. Heck, we aren't even one now really."
Hermes nodded. "At least the two of you shared a kiss."
"Yeah. Not enough though." Perseus said with a sigh. "What about you?"
"Oh I have no regrets." Hermes said quickly. "None."
"Then what was the deal with the questi-"
A large booming noise was heard, making Perseus and Hermes turn around. Approaching them was the Typhon, leaving mass destruction behind as he trudged forward. But then the giant stopped.
"He noticed Aegipan. This is our cue cuz." Hermes said, giving Perseus a one-armed hug. "Don't die out there."
Perseus didn't respond, he instead slipped into a shadow. Soon, he was in the center of the shadow plane, a void where shadow beings like himself used. Perseus took a couple of deep breaths as he huddled himself closer, letting his power flow. He concentrated on the shadows surrounding him, felt the earth shift outside, and the hellfire coursing through his veins. He felt the sun, moon, and earth align into something uncommon, something he was given the domain to. Something...he was going to use to once again save his friends and family.
Perseus snapped.
Typhon was grumbling as he stared at Aegipan, wondering how a puny little goat-man was not screaming and groveling at his feet. While this was happening, the solar eclipse was finally formed, which took Typhon by slight surprise. He wasn't told about anything like this in Tartarus. Suddenly, Typhon felt a strange presence behind him, and slowly turned around to find something that would be remembered for centuries.
Perseus was standing just a couple of hundred feet away, decked in a new set of armor and cloak. Shadow tendrils were everywhere around him, and a series of jagged rocks tipped with celestial bronze was surrounding him. Perseus was floating in the air, his now dark blue aura pulsing with power, and literal blue flame eyes boring down on Typhon. His hellfire wings were also spread open, and so was his braces with the attached blades, coated with hellfire as well.
Typhon gave a lazy roar as it struggled to get up on its feet, but Perseus wasn't waiting, he launched the shadow tendrils ahead as they wrapped themselves around Typhon, trying to encase him in it. Typhon let out a monstrous roar, but due to the music's charm, his drowsy brain wasn't really registering what was happening. Perseus then more or less pinned Typhon down, and launched his next attack, a series of rock/celestial bronze spikes on Typhons crucial parts. Perseus then surged forward, while simultaneously growing in height until he was at least sixty feet tall, and took hold of Typhon and crashed him through the cliff. That wasn't enough though as Perseus kept on pushing forward, until he and Typhon were now on the other side of the cliff. Typhon had managed to get an arm out and grabbed Perseus, only to drop him down as he desperately tried to put out the hellfire burning his fist.
Perseus smirked, and then launched a series of blows and punches onto him, each one leaving a burning patch of hellfire to stay. Perseus then flew up as he easily dodged Typhon's grasp again. Typhon then let out another roar as his fingers split and solidified into thousands of snakes, all of them spraying poison at Perseus. Perseus cracked his neck, and then flew straight through the poison using his wings as a shield and landed another blow on Typhon's body. Perseus then went for the snakes, cutting out each and every single head out there. However. He didn't anticipate Typhon to quickly get his bearings, and was soon swatted out like fly from Typhon's body.
Perseus managed to steady himself mid-air, and he hurriedly looked back. He couldn't keep up his power display for too long, and really needed Zeus to show up and kick some butt.
"Puny...god." Typhon rumbled as he tried to get up, and failed. "Will run away...just like rest. No one, to save...you...now..."
"Who said I needed saving." Perseus muttered, as he immediately charged forward, blades and hellfire out. As all giant things, Typhon was slow in trying to stop Perseus, which allowed him to pierce itself straight into Typhon's throat. Typhon screeched as it coughed out a black liquid. Thunder then began to rumble, an arc of electricity tore across the sky, with Zeus at the helm of it.
"EAT VOLTAGE!" Zeus cried, striking down the bolt straight inside Typhon's mouth. Perseus had already flashed away from Zeus's carnage, and then popped up next to him.
"Nice of you to join me Uncle." Perseus said. Zeus took one look at Perseus, and immediately frowned.
"I don't like the fact you're taller than me." Zeus muttered. "And wings, why don't I have wings. Wings for me makes perfect sense."
"Not now Uncle, we have more pressing matters." Perseus groaned as he stared at the electrocuted Typhon. "How are we going to send him to the pit?"
"We can't, our power and godly presence isn't enough to destroy him, or make a gateway to Tartarus." Zeus said. "We shall take him out of Greece, and bury him on some random land, under some mountain maybe.
"And how do we get him out of here?" Perseus incredulously asked.
"By launching him into the air!" Zeus thundered, brandishing his master bolt. He then launched a series of bolts onto Typhon, making him spasm and jump a bit into the air.
"Hold him up with your tendrils!" Zeus yelled at Perseus, who nodded. Another series of shadow tendrils erupted from the ground and took hold of Typhon by his body and limbs. Perseus was sweating bullets as he struggled to pick up Typhon into the air. The eclipse was going to fade soon, he had to act fast. Perseus let out a guttural cry as he almost felt his bones snap as he raised typhon high into the air. Zeus once aga in was launching lightning bolt after lightning bolt on to Typhon, and shoving him out of Greece.
"There, you see that island with the volcano? We'll bury him under there." Zeus shouted, throwing Typhon into the sea. "Just a bit Perseus, we're almost there."
"Eggnnnghh nggghhh." Perseus grunted as he fell on one knee in the sea. He glanced ahead at the island, so close, yet still so far, as he struggled to lift Typhon with his tendrils. If only, if only...
"Hang in there sonny. I already healed you once, don't go getting hurt on my accord." Pontus's voice popped inside Perseus's head. Warmth and energy immediately rushed inside Perseus, the same feeling he felt when he used the ailment stone. With a resurgence in strength, Perseus quickly scrambled forward with Typhon in tow, and immediately threw him into the ocean, just next t the island. Zeus shrugged, and then threw the volcano he was carrying right on top of Typhon. Smoke began streaming from that spot, as a huge gust of cold wind blew out of the volcano, into the sky. Zeus and Perseus watched with bated breath at where Typhon laid, only to find no sign of any movement coming anywhere.
"I did it! I subdued typhon by putting the volcano on top of him. Of course, you helped Perseus, but- Perseus? Perseus, easy there, easy." Zeus said as he grabbed a now normal sized Perseus in his palm, and watched him relax into the hand. It was truly a bang-up week for Olympus, and Perseus.
A bit anti-climactic I feel, but the myth was even more anti-climactic. The Typhon one. Okay, I have an announcement to make. I won't be posting this Saturday as I have some uni work to do. Summer vacation is getting over, which means constant reminders from university on stuff one has to do. But I will be back next week, not just with a DOUBLE UPDATE on Wednesday and Saturday, but an update for the shenanigan's fic as well. I really kept that story on the back-burner huh, but a return is soon. Other than that, thank you guys so much for reading this story, sorry once again for the unseen delay, and I will catch you all on next week. Bye!...\/