All rights belong to Rick Riordan
I am so Pathetic
(Thalia)
"Thalia!...Thalia open your eyes!" Percy shouted frantically from somewhere above me as I lay rapidly bleeding out on the sidewalk.
"Oh for fucks sake! Thalia you are not dying, so open your damned eyes and listen to me." Percy swore angrily shocking me into opening my eyes and looking up at the golden-eyed Titan Lord standing a few feet away, Maelstrom in hand.
It was only that I noticed that the screaming had stopped; all around us everything was silent now, as everything that could be seen except the two of us was now frozen.
Raising my hands back up I expected them to still be covered in the crimson fluid but to my surprise they were now completely immaculate. Realising this, I quickly patted myself all over my chest and sure enough finding myself uninjured, despite knowing that I had been fatally wounded mere seconds ago.
Finally my brain began to work its way off of shock and back onto adrenaline as I took in more details about the whole situation. From the crimson coating that ran the length of Maelstrom slowly dripping off the point to the subtle fact that my assailant's head and hands were now at an impossible angle in relation to the rest of his body. The hand that had held his weapon was now several inches below where his wrist was finger still on the trigger. The final other detail I noticed was the significant amount of sweat that was now coating Percy's brow.
"Thalia get your ass up, we need to get out of here now!" He demanded impatiently, his tone giving off the impression this was not a suggestion. His breathing was becoming ragged the longer he stood there.
Not wasting another second I quickly dragged myself to my feet. Only noticing once I was upright that the sidewalk where I had lain was still coated in my own fresh blood. The only reason I was still alive is that Percy was quite possibly the only person (excluding Harmony) who could have saved me in this scenario.
Pushing that thought aside for the moment I hastily grabbed my new possessions from where they had been discarded by Percy in his effort to protect me; despite the rush required I was loath to leave my new possessions behind after all this. That done I ran back to the Titan's side and grabbed his hand before suddenly finding myself being transported away from the site.
However, when we arrived I quickly realised we had not travelled to far, when I began to hear the sound of screams travelling up the road outside to the alley we now occupied. Likely as a result of the now dismembered and decapitated mugger falling apart in front of them for no visible reason. The mystery of the second pool of blood would never be answered.
"Percy what actually happened back there?" I asked turning towards my cousin only to watch helplessly as he fell past me and heavily onto the floor, seemingly unconscious before he even landed from the exertion. Little did I know that in his panic at the sudden turn of events he had not only frozen the immediate area surrounding us but most of Manhattan from Harlem all the way to The Empire State Building. It was no wonder to think that freezing over a million people (along with a fair few monster and even gods) had quickly cost him his stamina, especially in an already weakened state from the events of the last week.
However, with him down for the count there was not much I could do on my own. Not without attracting too much attention of the wrong kind. Considering we had just killed a man even if in self-defence. Neither of us had a phone and if I did make a call it would only attract as much monster attention as possible aid. I didn't even know anyone I could call in this situation let alone their phone number off the top of my head.
Thinking to myself quickly I ran through different scenario's in my head before biting my tongue as I narrowed it down to two. There were two places we could go in Manhattan, quickly discounting Olympus from that equation as it would raise too many questions for both of us. I decided to try and go with the second option.
Just in case though I leaned over Percy and began to search through his pockets, after almost burning my hand on the collapsed spear/baton in one, getting a chilling sensation from another. I was finally able to find the familiar ballpoint pen that he had carried for years. Whilst I had borrowed Anaklusmos before training reasons from him, this was the first time I could have possibly be putting my life on the line with it.
But there was a reason Percy still carried the 'simple' weapon with him at all times despite having so many more dangerous ones now like Maelstrom and Hurricane other than just to reminisce. The sword was still exceptionally dangerous to all forms of 'mythical' threats but without being too dangerous. Unlike Maelstrom the sword could not kill mortals and was not able to permanently kill immortals. Considering what had just happened I had been reminded that the first was still a credible threat regardless, but at least with the blade I could channel some of my own powers through it. The sword might go through them but the lightning bolt wouldn't… well technically it would…whatever.
Leaving Percy where he lay and pocketing the pen, I ran out the alley and onto the roadside and began to frantically wave my arm around hailing a cab. After a few failed attempts one of the iconic yellow cars finally pulled alongside me. The Hispanic looking driver gazing at me even as he sported a crooked grin.
"Listen I need your help getting my friend out of here, he has collapsed and…"
"Lady I drive the cab, if your friend cannot get to me then I am not taking him nowhere. I ain't no ambulance." He told me bluntly the smell of tobacco on his breath crossing the cab and out the passenger window.
"You help us and I will give you a thousand dollars right here and now." I implored grabbing onto the open window frame of the door. I could have tried to use the mist but cash was more likely to work and wasn't likely to wear off at some point.
For a few seconds, he seemed to be thinking the offer over thinking it must have been a bluff. But after looking at me and the expensive clothing I now wore he seemed to think that just maybe what I was offering was the truth.
"Alright Lady I'll do it but this looks funny I ain't helping you. Now I'll take that money you promised." He said holding his hand out expectantly.
"Five hundred now and five hundred when we are in the car." I countered pulling the bills out of my bag. After a few seconds he nodded and took the notes from me and stuck them in his shirt pocket before climbing out of the driver's door.
"This better not be no scam. Now where is this friend of yours?" He muttered in annoyance as I lead him to the unconscious figure down the alley.
Thankfully at least once he spotted Percy he didn't complain about the situation and instead lent down to try and pick him up unsuccessfully on his own. With the fact that Percy even without wings must have weighed around one-hundred and eighty pounds and at six feet significantly taller than my helper I was forced to help him. One of us under both arms as we slowly dragged the Titan back to the car, unfortunately our actions could not be described as the gentlest as we fought to get his limp body into the car and accidentally smacked his head off the door frame, twice, before finally getting him inside.
Whilst I left the now cursing driver to get back into his own seat, I made one final trip back to the alley to grab my bags before spotting the discarded blade of Maelstrom still laying where Percy had dropped it. Of course with it being impossible for me to move it myself I was only able to throw a few bags of trash and some damp cardboard on the bloody blade in an effort to hide it from being found, before Percy could come and retrieve it at some point.
That done I hastily threw my bags in the trunk and climbed in the back seat where I was confronted with the driver's hand waiting expectantly. With a sigh I reached into my bag and pulled out the balance of the owed money.
"So then where am I taking you and your boyfriend?" He asked facing forward and pulling out into the street, fortunately not seeing the blush that quickly appeared on my face.
'Calm down Thalia we have settled this, remember.' I thought to myself in annoyance before giving him the address.
"You sure he doesn't need a doctor?" He asked curiously once I did.
"He suffers from epilepsy and occasionally he collapses badly. Once I get him home he will be ok." I lied before telling him the address.
"If you say so." He muttered before focusing on the road.
Now that I had a few seconds to think about what had just happened I realised just how close I had come to dying… again. I had legitimately thought I was done for, after everything I had done and achieved in. It was going to end there on the sidewalk with no way of defending myself.
Were it not for Percy being there, it would have. The blood-stained floor where I had lain had showed me that. There was no way of refuting the fact that I owed my cousin my life, despite all the shit I had done to him, all the things I had said that could anger or annoy him. He had proved his statement about doing anything to help us Hunters, no matter what the truth. Even if it meant that he had to take a life to do so.
For the next ten minute of our traffic slowed journey the car was silent before slowly the figure next to me began to stir.
"Thalia…" He said weakly opening his eyes which had thankfully returned to 'normal'.
"Relax… Just rest up until we get home." I told him trying to be reassuring watching as the driver's eyes gazed towards his rear view mirror for a moment. Fortunately Percy didn't need to be told twice about resting and was back unconscious almost immediately.
"He isn't my boyfriend before you say anything again, he is my cousin." I pre-emptively told the driver.
"I guess that's unlucky for him then miss. Well unless you are one of those southern cousins." He joked as I groaned.
"Here's another two-hundred bucks, please be quiet until we get there." I told him giving him almost all the remaining physical money I had remaining. Sure I had more on the credit card but still almost dying had suddenly made me lose my enthusiasm for spending anymore today. Once we re-joined the Hunt who knows how long it would be before I got another chance to do so?
Still at least I would get another chance, something I could not say I thought of twenty-minutes ago.
For the next twenty-five minutes we silently drove through traffic, the sleeping figure next to me almost unmoving apart from the smallest of chest movement. Now I would have wondered asked Percy at some point in the future would he ever have nightmares over what had happened, but now he was an immortal. He no longer had dreams in his sleep; he had actually said it was a mixed blessing. He was no longer plagued by the horrible things that he had seen and done in the past wars, but that those visions were also a keen insight into what was going to happen.
There were times where I wished I was so lucky. So many times I had woken up imagining the smell of smoke and the heat of flames all around me. Only to realise, that I was again suffering a nightmare of that darkest day.
Pushing that dark memory into the past I watched as the cab slowly began to shift lanes towards the sidewalk before coming to a stop outside a vaguely familiar apartment building.
"Hey Percy… Percy you need to wake up we are here." I told him gently nudging his shoulder with my hand rocking him from side to side, slowly however he begin to stir.
"Where's here Thali…Oh" He said turning towards me before looking past me and recognising the builder over my shoulder.
"I didn't really have much choice. Sorry." I told him as he visibly gulped.
"It's fine besides I really should talk to my mom more often than I do." He said sighing before grabbing the door handle and slowly pushing it open.
"Percy be careful." I told him only to watch as he almost immediately fell out the door before pulling himself upright from the door frame just in time.
"Lady next time you need a ride don't hesitate to ask." The suddenly happy cab driver said turning around to face me.
"You mean the next time I want to spend fifty times more than I should, sure why not." I muttered sarcastically before climbing out of my own door.
"You told me how much you wanted to pay, not me." He shouted back cheerfully as I reached into the trunk and grabbed the bags within. I mean sure he was right but that was beside the point, if I didn't bribe him he wouldn't have helped. Suddenly burdened with the full weight of my shopping spree I realised that maybe I had gone overboard. This was so much easier when Percy was carrying them, as it was he could barely carry himself for the time being.
Slamming the cover back down, the cab honked his horn before pulling back out into traffic. The lights on top staying dark as my tobacco-breathed assistant decided he had earned an early end of shift.
Easily catching up with the slowly moving Percy, we walked towards the front doors of the apartment complex.
Reaching the doors Percy pulled on the handle only to find the doors locked, before using the door as an aide he walked over to the intercom and pushed a button for a few seconds.
After an uncomfortable thirty seconds the speaker began to make noise.
"Hello?" Sally's voice came through curiously.
"Hey Mom." Percy said simply.
"Percy? Why would you need to use the front do-." She asked confused, I mean from a logical standpoint, she knew her son could both 'teleport', appear out of shadows and indeed fly. So him using the front door was likely more of a surprise that his visit in the first place.
"Hey Mrs. Jackson it's Thalia, I will explain once we come inside if that is ok." I cut in before the intercom abruptly cut off and I heard the electric magnet holding the door closed deactivate and a beeper went off signalling us to enter.
After a quick look at Percy I hurriedly decided to kick the door open and throw my burden inside wedging it open before placing myself under his left arm and helping the ashen-faced Titan into the foyer.
"This sucks." Percy complained as I helped him into a nearby chair.
"Well I mean, it could have been worse. I'm still alive at least." I said trying to be cheerful, despite what had happened to me.
Interrupting the pair of us we both were distracted as the closest elevator dinged and began to open revealing a brunette woman holding a young child to her shoulder who upon spotting the two of us ran over to us almost out of breath. Sally must have quite literally grabbed her daughter and ran down to meet us.
"Percy are you ok? You look ill? Why did you come here by foot? Where's Artemis? Wait Thalia… What happened to you?" Sally asked in rapid succession not giving either of us a chance to answer any of her inquiries.
"I'm fine mom, just really tired from overusing my powers." Percy explained wearily as Sally placed the toddler on the floor and faced leaned down to look at her son. I had never met young Andromeda but even I had to admit that the curly haired young girl desperately hugging onto her mother's leg was adorable to look at. It was clear that she took after her mom in appearance in comparison to Percy who had inherited more of Poseidon's features.
"Percy, you know better than that. Just because you are an immortal now doesn't make you invincible." She criticised sternly as Percy merely nodded in affirmation.
"Perhaps we should talk about this all upstairs. Here isn't exactly the right place." I pointed out noticing a couple about to enter the building.
"Yeah." Percy agreed as we watched the couple unlock and come through the doorway.
"Morning." We all greeted politely as they looked at the four of us.
"Percy? Damn I haven't seen you in years." The boyfriend of the two said seemingly recognising him much to my chagrin at this extra commotion.
"Oh hey Dwayne. Yeah I have been living over in California for the last two years or so. Just popped back to visit my mom and visit family." Percy responded stretching the truth a little but it wasn't a lie either.
"That's good to hear I thought you had gone missing, I guess you were telling the truth Mrs. Blofis."
"From what I remember Dwayne, you were the one who made up all sorts of strange stories to tell your folks. Such as when you were at study club when you were really playing video games with Percy." Sally countered causing the young man to suddenly cower from the unassuming woman in front of him.
"So anyway… Is this your girlfriend? As I am sure you have heard my name is Dwayne and this is my girlfriend Claire, remember she was in our class at Goode before you left." He explained as Percy looked like he did not remember anything I stepped in for him.
"Hey nice to meet you, my name is Thalia. I am not Percy's girlfriend but his sister-in-law, or I will be." I explained watching with amusement as both their eyes automatically shifted to his ring finger where the silver band proudly resided.
"Damn bro, we need to have a catch up at some point." Dwayne said turning his attention back to me and suddenly I felt myself being looked up and down. Fortunately it didn't take more than a few seconds before his own girlfriend realised what he was doing and hastily grabbed him by the elbow and began to drag him towards the elevator.
"You know where I live bro, if you want anything just let me know." He said as he was pulled inside the elevator.
"I want my copy of Halo 3 back." Percy muttered bitterly when the door shut.
"You remember what video game you lent him but nothing else about who was in your class." I remarked with amusement.
"It has been three years, a lot of head injuries, a complete memory wipe and a fragmented personality since then. Besides I didn't pay attention to anyone in class because normally I was changing school after a semester. Turns out I just got kidnapped by Hera instead." He complained sure enough he had a point but it was still a case of misplace priorities.
"Stop trying to find excuses. Now come on and let's go home." Sally commanded as Percy slowly rose to his feet unsteadily.
"Thalia if you pass me your bags, can you give him a hand?" Sally suggested, rather sheepishly I did as she suggested. Hoping to hades that she would not look inside some of them.
Bracing myself against Percy again we followed Sally to the elevators behind the tiny figure of Andromeda who was frantically trying to keep up with her mother before grabbing onto her leg again.
"She's adorable." I whispered to Percy.
"Yeah, it is a shame that I cannot be around more for her though." He said with a sigh before we too entered the elevator and began to ascend the building.
(Percy)
To say that I felt pathetic was an understatement, the fact that I was suddenly rendered barely able to stay conscious, let alone walk was ridiculous. While I would not say that I would not have done what I did given the sudden circumstances of what had happened. I could certainly have done better at it, but I had panicked and this had resulted in me killing someone and rendering myself comatose.
Frankly it might sound inhuman but I had no tears to shed for Thalia's would-be killer, he had brought it upon himself with his actions up to that point. You attack my family or closest friends and you can consider your life forfeit, maybe this thought process was as a result of the losses I had suffered over the last few years. Perhaps it was an early onset of my feelings as a soon to be father or maybe it was simply as a result of the fact that I was seemingly getting further and further away from my former humanity. Whatever way it was, I did not have the luxury of time to consider it at the moment.
Instead I was more focused on doing my part to stumble my way down the corridor towards my mom's apartment. It was embarrassing that my sister that was not even two years old yet could do better at keeping up with my mom than I could even with Thalia helping me.
Finally however our strange little group made it to our destination and I smiled slightly at the site of Andromeda banging her tiny little hands against the door as if to knock. Opening the door so the little girl could run in first and then quickly dropping Thalia's bags inside before coming back and helping her with bringing me inside before I was seated in the nearest reclining chair.
"Thank you." I said sincerely to the pair of them as Thalia removed her jacket and sat down across from me.
"Percy I haven't got any nectar but I think there is some Ambrosia here somewhere" My mom said quickly heading into the kitchen and reaching around on the top shelves before finally pulling down a sealed plastic container that must have been up there for the last few years. Fortunately it didn't but even if the immortal food did have a use by date, in my current condition I would not have cared if it was mouldy and still eaten it regardless.
Bringing the pot over I had to laugh at the almost over the top measures she had taken to make sure no one ate the contents by accident. Whether it was the fact the lid was taped down, had the words do not eat written on in marker and had scribbled a drawing of a skull and crossbones just for emphasis.
All of which did little to stop me as I almost strangely energetically tore the lid and tape off in one motion and began to devour the contents like I hadn't eaten in a week. Which whilst not correct, I had also not eaten a lot other than donuts either.
As I swiftly annihilated the Ambrosia like a famine victim my mom turned her attention to Thalia for a second.
"Thalia I almost didn't recognise you. You look so different now." She asked logically looking at the now young woman sitting down.
"Yeah I sort of had a growth spurt." She said laughing nervously rubbing the back of her head.
"But I thought you were a Hunter now; you were supposed to stop aging from what I know." My mom asked tilting her head looking confused.
"She shouldn't but in my absence she and Harmony decided to have a wonderful idea." I butted after swallowing the last of the Ambrosia.
"Wait who is Harmony?"
"Good question will let you know when she actually knows. As it currently stands you could say that she is what would happen if you combined the personalities of Artemis and Diana and times the power level by a lot." I said simply looking down at the now empty pot with disappointment nevertheless the immortal food had an immediate effect in making me feel somewhat alive again even if still extremely tired.
"Wait so Harmony is a fusion of Artemis and Diana? How is that possible? What does that mean? How did that happen?" My mother inquired quickly, at the last point both me and Thalia started blushing.
"It might be better if we start at the beginning Mrs. Jack-Blofis." Thalia suggested correcting herself now that my mom was remarried.
"Call me Sally dear, as much as I love Paul, his surname is well…" My mom admitted turning red herself.
"Where is Paul by the way." I asked only now noticing his absence this whole time.
"At work, he won't be back until this evening. Do either of you want a drink?" She said walking back to the kitchen as Andromeda walked into the room cradling a stuffed lion teddy to her chest before falling forward onto it and rolling to one side giggling.
"Coffee please, black all the sugar." I called out still desperately craving anything that would give me energy back.
"Tea please Sally, white with no sugar." Thalia added politely.
"Since when did you drink tea?" I whispered across to Thalia curiously.
"For ages, you just never asked or noticed. Besides coffee tastes like crap." She responded sounding blasphemous to me. Admittedly my fiancée also had a deep dislike of the drink so maybe it was a Daughter of Zeus thing.
As we were focusing on the my mother filling the kettle our attention was removed from the small child that had silently moved across to where Thalia's bags were now piled and with one big pull of her tiny little hands on a bag handle the whole lot fell over. Thankfully not in her direction but sliding to the sides.
Thalia for her part was quick to leap up to rescue the girl in case she was in trouble, but that not being the case she slowed down before freezing altogether as something slowly rolled out of a bag before coming to a stop after a few extra rolls.
I couldn't help but look from the offending object to the crimson faced girl back to the object. For a tense few seconds this state continued until the toddler began to reach towards the purple item at which point Thalia made a sudden dive towards it in an effort to keep it out of her hands.
At which point my mom poked her head back out of the kitchen at the sound of the commotion. Only to be met by the sight of Thalia cradling a ten inch purple sex toy to her chest as a small child began to wail behind her.
"I can explain!" The blushing girl shouted as my mom took a deep breath.
"Please don't dear." Mom said averting her eyes from the 'toy' and walking past and picking up the crying Andromeda and starting to comfort her as she walked back towards the kitchen whilst Thalia hurriedly threw the object back into a bag and pushed that one to the back of the pile.
"Kill me now." Thalia said sitting on the floor looking like she wanted to cry from embarrassment.
"After what I just did to save you, no way you get to suffer this one." I responded cheerfully as Thalia sat there dejected for two minutes.
"Anyway ignoring what just happened can the pair of you please explain what is really going on? Start from the beginning." My mom said carrying a small tray full of drinks into the room. Andromeda like a limpet trailing just behind now happily eating a double stuffed Oreo with both hands.
"Well, this might get a little awkward." Thalia muttered as I took a breath and began to explain everything that had happened since I last spoke to her at Christmas.
(Thalia)
As awkward as it was to be caught holding a dildo by one of your closest friends mother. It held nothing compared to the squirming that Percy suffered as he tried to explain what he knew about Harmony and the current theory on what caused her appearance.
For my part it was just, By the way I have a girlfriend and well… To which Sally had simply shrugged and said she was happy for me and it was my choice. Then again we hadn't yet got onto my transformation.
No it was Percy's sudden sex life that was getting the scrutiny from his mother.
With the fact that she knew obviously about the pregnancy of the two goddesses that constituted Harmony, that Percy was not still a virgin was a simple matter. However Percy's own nervousness around his mother's questions kept causing him to dig a deeper hole as he just kept on blabbing out 'personal' information.
"Mom. It is not like I can turn her down." Percy defended sounding like a child.
"She is lucky she is not here as well or I would be giving the pair of you a scalding. What would Leto think of your actions." Sally said sternly as Percy shrunk further into his seat. Given the opportunity I could quite easily image the seemingly all powerful goddess acting likewise under the disapproving look of the mortal woman.
"Yeah about that, she is kind of facilitating it, so that she can spend time with Zeus where Hera can't find them." Percy admitted as Sally took a deep breath before face palming.
"See isn't dealing with Immortals fun. Hey Percy tell her about the bit where Harmony blew a hole through Iraq." I chimed in watching with amusement as Sally slowly looked past her open palm with narrowed eyes towards me causing me to gulp.
"She did what?"
"Thalia stop helping." Percy begged.
"Annabeth's alive… Sort of." I told her without prompt, hades the woman could be absolutely terrifying. It was hard to imagine that the same woman who used to show us baby pictures of Percy could be so scary when she wanted to be. No wonder Percy feared her disapproval so much I would happily deal with any monster or worse before incurring her wrath.
"She is? How?" She asked in surprise as all of the intensity went away in an instant as the 'survival' of our friend trumped everything.
"Well technically she is not alive but from what has been described she is also not properly dead. She exists as a pseudo goddess fragment of Anna Minerva outside of the Underworld. To leave she needs to use an intermediary such as her mother or the still damaged Athena Parthenos. Before you ask yes she knows everything about me and Artemis, she is happy for us both. But it is impossible for me to meet her, at least that we are currently aware of." Percy said with a mixture of emotions as his voice became quieter the more he explained.
"Percy I am so sad to hear that, but I am sure that you will find a way somehow. You always have done before, I mean look at Harmony." Sally said trying to be upbeat.
"Besides she has got death breath keeping her company now." I added adding my cheerful grain of salt. I mean I was definitely going to be having a few words with my cousin about said relationship when I next saw him but he would still be able to go back to Annabeth. He would just be sporting a black eye for lying to me for so long.
Whilst I was thinking about this though I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Percy had suddenly stiffened as his head slowly turned towards the door.
"Mom you need to grab Andromeda and go to the back room now!" Percy commanded almost panicked before someone gently knocked on the door three times.
Not questioning her son's words she hurriedly did as he said running out of the room with the little girl clutched to her chest.
Staggering to his feet Percy drew the silver blade of Hurricane and held the blade to one side as he walked towards the door. I too stood to the other side uncapping Riptide earning a surprised glance from Percy before he refocused on the front door before once again the knock was repeated.
Grabbing hold of the inside handle with his free hand, Percy suddenly swung the door open before the pair of his brought out swords around against whatever the threat was only to both freeze and recoil back at the suited person stood there.
"Da-Dad what the hell are you doing here?" I said in panic dropping Riptide as Percy who was a fraction away from the god's throat jumped back and fell on his ass.
"Dad? Thalia? What on earth happened to you, what did you do Perseus was one of my daughters not enough for you!" Zeus bellowed at the figure on the floor as he jumped to conclusions.
"I didn't do jack shit, your daughters conspired that on their own between themselves. I said it was a stupid dangerous idea… now in the politest terms, what the fuck are you doing here?" Percy demanded back after pulling himself back upright and sitting cross legged on the floor.
"He's telling the truth this was all me and Harmony." I added watching as he almost instinctively pulled a face at the goddess's name.
"I would rather be anywhere but here for your information. However when you go around breaking the ancient laws it becomes my problem." My father complained before allowing himself in before anyone could protest.
"What laws- oh, right." Percy began to retort before realisation hit him. Immortals were supposed to stay out of mortal affairs and not get involved. Which meant that cutting someone's head off was a big no-no, no matter what the circumstances. Unlike when it was the case with Marina's rescue, Percy had no such loop hole in effect today when he killed that man.
"Father Percy had no choice when he killed that guy, if he hadn't I would have been killed." I implored in his defence before he could respond.
"Thalia do not lie to me, you were already mortally wounded when that man was killed. Perseus killed him after he shot you." My father explained sternly shocking me at the revelation that he already knew what happened.
"So what, would it have made you happier to know that instead I was dead?" I responded bitterly as his face betrayed no emotions.
"Thalia." Percy said raising a hand in an attempt to stop me.
"No. Tell me father would you have rather that I had been killed instead of that man? Would it have made your job easier if that had been the case?" I demanded walking up to within a few inches of my father.
"It would have saddened me but that is how this should have happened. Were it not for Perseus's interference-Slap." My father stopped after my right hand made contact with his cheek.
"You're the worst, only you could complain that someone broke the rules to save your own daughter's life because it would inconvenience you for a few minutes. How many times have you broken the rules? I was born because you broke your own fucking rules you hypocritical piece of-."
"Thalia enough, this is not about you now but what I did." Percy interrupted me rising to his feet and looking my father in the eyes.
"You're the Guardian of the Hunt, protecting me and the others is your job, he agreed to that himself." I said looking for alternate excuses despite already knowing the flaw in that statement.
"True but you are not currently a Hunter either; you are just a demigod like any other currently. On the flip side your father is doing his actual job as god of Justice" Percy explained with a sigh as my father nodded seemingly already knowing the truth of that statement.
With that I was all out of excuses from my part, Percy too looked resigned to the truth of the situation; he knew he had messed up in that situation. There were many ways that he could have saved me and not killed that guy but he hadn't and now he had to deal with the consequences.
"So what are you going to do then? You are the one holding all the cards this time Zeus. I have not got enough strength to defend myself, Harmony is half-way across the world and none the wiser, likewise with my father. For the first time in years I am at your mercy but know this, you so much as a lay a finger on any of the women in this apartment. I will claw my way out of Tartarus so fast you had better hope that Harmony gets to you first. I will use the dust from your corpse as Nemea's litter tray." Percy said both ominously as his hands balled in fists. Despite the absurdity of that claim it was well within his normal realm of strength to do so to the King of the gods.
"I have no quarrel with your mortal family; else I would not have come here personally. Not only are you like a cockroach, likely to survive such an effort on my part at smiting you down. Any actions taken against your mother would be seen as tantamount to an act of war by your father. Not that I would live to see the evening once my… Daughter found out." My father said referring to Harmony with such hesitation, despite his usual bravado he was clearly and for good reason terrified of the goddess.
"If that is the case, we are an impasse; you cannot lay a finger on my head without her taking yours. So now that acts of violence are off the table what have you got for me?" Percy said with a clearly rising sense of confidence. His Fiancée's very existence was enough to keep my father's usual gung-ho attitude of punishment under control. For a few seconds I was sure I could hear the sound of Zeus's teeth grinding together.
"You know you cannot hide behind her forever? She will likely return back to normal eventually." Father said narrowing his eyes.
"If that day comes you need to remember that I am normally more powerful than you. This is the only occasion that you will get to hold that over me, because the circumstances that have left me like this will not happen again." Percy told him coldly as electric blue eyes were met by golden before the god eventually looked away. Smiling with satisfaction at his symbolic winner I noticed that Percy briefly glanced towards the exit.
"In light of your prior assistance in the last two wars and due to potential schisms in the pantheon's that could result from anything more severe. I sentence you toanadditionalyearwiththehunt." He said extremely quickly and getting quieter so that it was almost impossible to hear.
"Say that again." I said blinking.
"He has to spend another year with the hunt." My father said again in irritation as Percy now smiled.
"Oh no! How will he manage to put up with another year of sleeping with your other daughter?" I said feigning horror as my father glared at me.
"To be fair if it stays like it is, I don't think I would last another year. Besides Zeus you are forgetting something, I am Titan I don't have to follow your rules anymore. Isn't that right Themis?" Percy declared looking back towards the doorway as an extremely tall beautiful woman walked in and I could have sworn my father gulped at the sight of her.
"Perseus you knew I was here? How astute. Hello Zeus long time, no visit." The Titaness said glaring at my father. Now I was no expert on everyone my father had slept with but the sheer amount of bitterness radiating from her told me everything I needed to know. Now whereas he clearly still carried on his secret relationship with Leto, it was clear this one ended badly.
"Of course, it stood to reason if he turned up for me breaking the rules then you would at some point. I just thought it would be amusing to keep him around for long enough, until you did." Percy said cheerfully before collapsing backwards onto a chair almost tipping it over before it slammed forward heavily.
"I have never disliked someone so much, that I cannot kill, more than you Perseus." Father said through clenched teeth.
"You do that and you have a third war on your hands, with how many of your side would stand with him. I do not think that we would lose again." Themis said coldly and it was easy to forget that it was due to Percy that the whole peace between Pantheons was a thing in the first place. If Zeus did try and get rid of him, it would likely result in Poseidon, Hades, Harmony shifting sides and several others of the Olympians either joining them or staying out of it.
"That's the difference between you and me Zeus. I can kill you. I just choose not to because no one else wants the job. That and I actually intend to keep it in my pants and be loyal in my relationship with your daughter… Now if you have done your job can you kindly get the fuck out of my mom's apartment. I don't trust you around women, children or livestock." Percy said venomously leaning forward as his eyes very briefly flashed gold, sure he was basically powerless currently but that was only a temporary setback.
"You will learn respect to me one day; you are still a mere child." Zeus said angrily before disappearing with the sound of thunder as I looked away.
"And you will learn my size ten boots will fit perfectly up your ass." Percy grumbled before slouching back.
"I do not know if you are actively trying to keep the peace or declare a war between the pantheons." Themis said with amusement looking at her fellow Titan.
"Mostly option A, because Option B wouldn't last much longer than an afternoon. The amount of paperwork and meetings afterwards is not worth the hassle. He knows he cannot do much to me without repercussions against him, whereas the other way around no one would actually care about what I did but instead who was going to do his job now. He knows this, so it is just like baiting a grumpy bear." Percy said shrugging.
"That may be the case but sometimes even logical people do stupid things from time to time. Zeus came here personally this time, next time he may not need to be so direct and send someone else who is not bound by rules and that would give him deniability. All of the gods have mastered this over the last few thousand years. Why else would your grandfather have gone to such extreme lengths to procure human mercenaries? A human kills a human or demigod no-one raises an eyebrow. No matter the circumstances, you kill a human, people are made aware." Themis said cautiously.
"Yeah I get it, but I acted on impulse. I know I could have done better but what was done is done. So what is my punishment from you?" Percy asked with a sigh.
"Perseus you are to attend any and all council meetings for the next three years no matter what the circumstances are." She said and I looked towards Percy's face expecting him to be horrified at the prospect but instead he began to grin. I could have sworn he said he hated going to those, unlike my father's decree, this should have actually been a punishment.
"Deal." Percy said cheerfully taking the Titaness by surprise.
"Why do you seem so happy about this? All you normally do is complain when summoned." She asked curiously.
"Because like always you keep messing up my name. As I have told you countless times my name is Percy, Perseus is the other side of me. You are actually doing me a favour of punishing him for me for all the stupid shit he gets himself into." Percy said smugly as I face-palmed and the Titaness of Justice stood their silently for almost a minute realising that she had indeed messed up on a technicality.
Sure enough his birth certificate read Perseus Jackson, but he rarely if ever identified himself by that name. Whereas his aspect only identified by it and never Percy. It was only the old folk amongst the pantheons that addressed him by his formal name. There was no stipulation that both had to attend only 'Perseus'.
"Well played." Themis said at last with a look of resignation. Despite it being her domain, she was the one who had made the proclamation in such a way that Percy could easily sidestep the punishment and foist it onto his problematic other half.
"I wouldn't be surprised if there is suddenly a lot less meetings called once he attends, he is going to complain constantly every time. The real question is who will really be getting punished by the end of it?"
"Oh." The Titaness said simply realising the implications of Perseus of all people being forced to attend every meeting.
"Have fun with him. He can be a handful… before you go, do you have any food?" Percy suddenly asked as his stomach rumbled.
Muttering something complete unknown to me in some extremely old version of what I assumed was Ancient Greek, she waved her hand over the table producing a spread of both mortal foods and Nectar and Ambrosia.
"Thanks Themis." Percy said hurriedly grabbing a glass of Nectar.
"Daughter of Zeus, may I have a word?" She asked suddenly looking at me before walking out of the room, looking at Percy he simply shrugged whilst holding the glass to his mouth. Now if you had asked me three years ago to walk out of the room with a Titan, the answer would have been a resounding hell no. But it was becoming clear that the group as whole had a bad reputation due to a few bad members of the group having anger issues, rather than an innate desire for destruction as they were initially put across to us as.
Deciding to trust her, I walked out of the room and found her halfway down the corridor.
"You wanted something from me, Lady Themis?" I asked confused.
"I merely ask that you keep an eye on him. Despite his 'issues' he is the greatest hope for our pantheon to rebuild itself and prosper."
"What you mean like have a load of kids, because at the rate they are going…" I said jokingly before being cut off by a glare.
"No not like that. At least not completely anyway... Were it not for him we would still be spread out around the world or Tartarus in our unending prisons for all of time. However, he chose to free us and give us a second chance without any one suggesting it of him. For that we are all eternally grateful to him. At that time though we found there was very little that we could do for him as thanks, his heart and mind were clouded with darkness. Very few could get anything positive out of him, he would do whatever was asked of him but there was no joy in his life. He lived for the simple reason that he was incapable of dying." She explained mournfully.
"Yeah he told me that he tried to kill himself."
"Yet in the space of half a year he has changed completely to being almost unrecognisable. Leto's daughter has had such an influence on his outlook on life that it is hard to believe that he is the same person as he was during that time. I have seen him smile and joke more times today whilst supposedly being punished, than I had in a year." She said smiling herself as I wondered about exactly what he was like in the weeks and months after Annabeth's death. It was almost impossible to imagine the sarcastic, witty idiot in the room behind me as being anything but that.
"So what do you want from me then? Shouldn't you be talking to Artemis then?"
"Perhaps one day but she too has an unusual, almost unnatural mind-set. It is difficult to explain but that goddess is not normal. You may have noticed things but did it ever seem like her emotions were restricted or artificial. Now that she is in a relationship with him she is like a different person completely."
'She is literally a different person.' I thought to myself but I wasn't sure if the Titaness was even aware of Harmony.
"All that I would ask of you is to try and keep an eye on him; do not let him lose the light that he has regained in his life. I fear that if something terrible happened again, it would destroy him and then everything will be lost for all of us."
"With respect I am just a demigod, compared to all of you I am just an insect."
"So was he. Look at how that worked out. You saw today what happens when he perceives that those he cares for are in danger. He doesn't think he just acts, what would happen if there was a time when he was unable to do anything or worse he does the wrong thing and that cannot be undone. That man he killed today is gone, soul severed without chance of judgement. He did what he did out of a desire to do well, however the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Oceanus and Tethys are still out there. Know this, they may wait for a day, a week or a decade but both of them will not let go of a grudge. At some point they will return and they will target him and those around him."
"So what you are saying is that if they do, you want me to not let him kill them?"
"No, unfortunately I fear that we cannot truly have peace and prosperity. Unless both my brother and sister are killed or at the very least locked away in the deepest and most inescapable prisons imaginable. They have been consumed by hate for this new world; it is the more merciful thing to do if they are simply put out of their misery. I just hope their end is swift and they do not do anything rash before they meet it. Keep one eye on him and another out for them. If all goes well in the near future, we have big plans for him." Themis said cryptically before walking away leaving me alone to think about what she had said.
"Aargh, why is today such a mess. I just wanted to go shopping and now I am having the hopes of the Titans thrust upon me. Why can immortals just tell you the truth? This is bullshit!" I screamed quietly to myself before taking a deep breath.
'Reyna I miss you.' I thought sincerely the other girl was far calmer than me and able to understand a situation like this much better. I was not one for diplomacy; I would fight the problem into submission that was my style.
Even if that hot headedness ended up creating far more problems in the first place. Case in point a certain war game we had played (and won) recently.
Still there was little I could do about anything now, standing alone in an empty hallway. So turning around I walked back towards Percy's moms apartment where I began to hear Sally giving Percy hell before I even made it back inside.
(Percy)
Whilst I was curious to know exactly what Themis had wanted to talk to Thalia about privately. My own pathetic current state and the need to correct that issue as quick as possible hampered my ability to spy on the pair, so instead I was forced to stay put and eat the food the Titaness had kindly provided. Starting with the divine food and drink before working my way towards the 'normal' foods.
It was during that transition period that I remembered I had sent my mom and sister running to the back room out of fears for their safety. Now that the king of the gods had left it should be safe for them to come out after all.
'Hey mom all clear now.' I mentally told her reaching out to her consciousness across the apartment.
Several seconds later she rushed into the room head swivelling around as if expecting to find a disaster zone. Instead, finding me sitting alone with a ham and cheese sandwich poking out of my mouth and a table spread of other items.
"Percy what happened, who was it?" She asked eyes still frantic.
"Zeus… It's ok he is gone now." I said initially through a mouthful of bread before hurriedly swallowing it and finishing.
"By gone you don't mean?"
"Nothing so dramatic, he went home with his tail between his legs like usual. He knows he cannot do anything to me without his daughter doing a lot worse to him. Likewise if anything happened to either your or Andromeda then Dad would be against him as well as me. Where's Andromeda?"
"I put her to bed, if that is the case, why was he here in the first place? I don't normally get social calls from the King of the gods. As much as he probably knows more about what is going on with my own son than I do." She said narrowing her eyes on me as I slumped down further into the chair under her withering gaze.
"First I told you most of what has been happening recently at Christmas. Second he is going to be my father-in-law so it is not that strange that he knows a lot about what I am doing. Thirdly… I killed someone and therefore broke the ancient laws." I admitted wincing as her eyes went wide.
"Who? Why?" She asked in shock.
"I have no idea who they were, they tried to mug then shot Thalia, and I saved her and killed him. I would do it again in a heartbeat to protect anyone that I cared for." I said calmly pulling myself up straight as she looked at me comprehending my words.
"After what happened with your step-father I am not one who can judge you for it. However you can be better than that." She said at last. It was easy to forget that the now happy woman in front of me had suffered under that pig of a man for years, before she had turned him into work of 'art'.
"I know, but when I saw one of my few remaining best friends have her chest explode right in front of me, I admittedly panicked. There were many things I could have done in hindsight, instead I nearly put myself in a coma, brought the potential judgement of two deities down on this place and put you in danger. All because despite how powerful I have become, I am still capable of being completely pathetic and powerless with one wrong move." I told her bitterly closing my eyes in self-loathing, however after a few seconds I felt the comforting sensation of her arms wrapping around my neck from behind.
"And as long as you understand that fact there is still hope for you. You do not need to be all powerful to achieve happiness; there is satisfaction in striving for the supposedly impossible. Your father offered me whatever I wanted in life, yet I would have felt like a cooped up canary in a world I did not belong. You were born with the gifts and curses of both worlds, though you are now an immortal there is nothing stopping you from trying to rebridge that gap between the two. The gods and Titans have the power to make the world better for everyone; they have just always been too short sighted to see the potential of doing so. However it is clear that you have the potential to usher in a new era if they were want to just listen." She proposed softly all the while still embracing me.
"They would never go that far, they are too entrenched in their ways and customs."
"Are they? I can think of a lot of established precedents that you have managed to change or get rid of. My future daughter-in-law is more than proof of that. Oh, did you two finish on deciding names yet?" She suddenly asked going off on a tangent leaving me surprised at the change of subject. I mean the idea was worth considering but that was not something that could be done overnight.
"Yes and no. Artemis is already fixated on the name of her, I mean our daughter as being Arianna. As a portmanteau of Artemis and Diana I like it and they both seem to agree to it. As for the boy they want me to come up with any suggestions but I don't know at the moment." I explained. The truth was I did not have a clue where to start, Arianna had come out of me messing up which goddess was which and the goddess had latched onto it as a good idea. I had had no such brainwave when it came to our other child, I had the idea of naming him after one of the fallen heroes we had lost through the years but none seemed to fit right.
"Arianna Jackson." My mom mused cheerfully.
"Well not technically as goddesses generally don't have surnames but yeah I suppose so." I conceded with a shrug.
"You know what I said about changing things, start there. I am not letting my grandchildren not carry on the family name. Hopefully the Blofis name ends with your sister when she grows up and gets married." She said playfully pouting as I chuckled to myself.
"You are still young enough to have more kids, plenty of time to fix that." I joked cheekily earning a pinch on the ear.
"I had enough issues with one child that caused enough chaos in sixteen years to last a lifetime, what little motivation I had left has been sucked away by Andromeda, I had forgotten how much stress a child could bring you. Even with Paul around it sometimes feels even worse. Give it a few months and the pair of you will not be quite so frivolous with your sex lives, not when you know what it can lead to."
"So are you saying we should do it more often now then? Harmony would love that idea." I joked even as I pictured myself needing a new pelvis within a few weeks if that was the case.
"No I am not saying that!" She shouted in exasperation as I felt a soft fist bounce off my head as I chuckled.
It was at this moment that Thalia walked back into the apartment and suddenly gained my mom's attention.
"Thalia are you ok? You were shot?" My mom asked shifting back into the worried parent mode again. Ironically enough, probably showing more concern for Thalia than the late Miss Grace had ever done to her own daughter.
Still for the next ten minutes mom's attention was off of me and onto the girl. As she grilled her on her transformation and the reasoning behind it. Generally she just repeated the same things that I had disapproved of myself in that it was unimaginably stupid thing to risk your life over.
Eventually though she had to concede that the beautiful young woman in front of her was a far cry from the androgynous girl that she had met a few years ago.
"Still I didn't expect you to put your skill handling a spear to use with another kind of shaft." My mum said cheekily pointing to the offending bag from earlier as Thalia instantly began to turn crimson and began choking on a sausage roll.
"Mom, really?" Even I had to challenge that one.
"What? I am just saying my opinion of the Hunt has changed recently. At least I haven't got to worry about you attracting the attention of all the Hunters. The last thing you need is unwanted sexual tension building up between an isolated group of girls and only one man." She said clearly joking causing me to nervously laugh as well. Best not to mention the kiss from earlier or the fact that I was almost certain, that Reyna had feelings for me as well at one point.
As for the other Hunter's dear gods I hoped not. I mean some of them were cute or even attractive at least in the older physically ones but once again I had sworn to remain faithful to my future wife/wives. The girls were free to do as they wished now but I was firmly off the menu.
"Imagine that Percy, Tania making the moves on you. She would have you beat her in a fight first though." Thalia said laughing as this time it was my turn to freeze.
"I am going to guess Daughter of Ares, doesn't like Percy by nature." My mom guessed correctly.
"You met Clarisse before picture that but slightly younger and smaller and traded out the camo for silver. Other than that exactly she is exactly as you can imagine, brash, rude and hates me for the sin of living."
"I wouldn't go that far, she just hates you being within fifty yards of her some of the time. But then again with the way she talks sometimes I think that she just hates existing on the plain of living." Thalia summarised the girls penchant for trash talking and criticising those she had no chance against. Her reality check against her own sister at the War Game had done little to fix that issue with personality despite her injuries sustained.
"Well she hasn't tried killing me in a few months so that is clearly some progress. I mean technically her actions are what made me and Arty start the relationship in the first place. So I guess I owe her something for that." I remarked suddenly thinking back to that night when I had woken back up to find the crying goddess leaning over me. When I had done the craziest thing and confessed my true feelings to her and my surprise when she reciprocated them. I mean sure she had been tempted to also kill me as well but luckily she didn't.
That had been six months ago and yet it felt like an eternity. So much crazy stuff had happened since, by contrast becoming a true Titan had been one of the more tame things to occur in that period.
Whilst I was musing this over I looked about the room before my eyes passed over the clock on the wall and my ichor froze. I had been so weak that even my innate sense of time had shut down until I was suddenly reminded. Hurriedly my brain did the math to calculate the time zone differences between here and Greece and the answer was not good.
Though it was only just the early afternoon here now, on Delos it would already be the middle of the evening. I had left the Hunt and more importantly Harmony unattended for almost ten hours now. The most surprising thing however was that she hadn't come here and dragged us back by now. Especially after what had happened earlier in the store. So either, I was wrong and she was not able to monitor my actions, she knew and was going to chew us out when we returned. Or something was keeping her pre-occupied for the time being, which considering what she was capable of was the least likely.
"Mom I know it is rude of us but we need to go ASAP, if we don't Harmony may literally kill me."
"I highly doubt she is that bad, Artemis and Diana never gave me the impression of being that unstable."
"She blew a hole through a country to break into another Pantheons Underworld, I would say he is being truthful Sally." Thalia said hurriedly grabbing her bags as I rose to my feet, still uncertain in my movements but significantly better than I was earlier.
"Wait you mentioned that earlier, you mean that explosion in Iraq was her? I saw that on the CNN they said it was a pipeline failure." She guessed correctly.
"Yeah that is a fake news. One of my aspects got slightly kidnapped and Harmony took offence and kidnapped the goddesses who captured me." I explained simply as she rolled her eyes.
"That is almost as unbelievable as that sob story you gave the press back in Los Angeles after escaping the Underworld. How you were kidnapped by a crazed biker who for some reason chose to ride a greyhound of all things."
"Hehe I thought we did pretty well in fairness. That flight scared the crap out of me the whole way back though."
"Now you are the one they are scared of."
"There is still one though that I am scared of and I am keeping her waiting. Say hi to Paul for me and give Andromeda my love. I will be back as soon as I can, I promise." I told her smiling before hugging her close for a few seconds.
"I will hold you to that, besides next time you are here I want to hear some names." She joked causing me to chuckle.
"No promises, I have got a few months yet. I am sure something will come to mind." I said before letting go and grabbing onto Thalia's shoulder.
"You too Thalia, don't be a stranger, you can bring Reyna next time it would be nice to meet the girl who can make you act crazy. Bye bye." She said waving before averting her eyes as we flashed out of the room.
One short stop at Artemis's Palace to collect the unconscious Perseus and let Thalia get changed into one of Artemis's own outfits. And finally we were good to go towards our destination across the world.
Now I had no idea about the actual topographical layout of Delos, having never actually visited the barren island. Though I had seen it a number of times from the Moon Chariot as the goddesses and I passed over Europe and she would point out places of interest below. Still arriving on the shoreline of the island at the first attempt was good enough for me as I released my grip on Thalia's shoulder and dropped Perseus's arm letting him slump roughly onto the rocky beach.
Freed from my burdens I began to walk into the surf. Taking comfort as the frothy water washed around my legs not even bothering to stay dry though I did decide against the tail, the rejuvenating waters on my skin quickly easing all of my weariness and discomfort. These tidal waters were my domain after all, as a result they refreshed me better than any other thing imaginable.
For five minutes I simply lay there floating on the surface of the water staring up at the moon and stars above, allowing the salty liquid to comfort my long abused body. Still the strangest thing I noticed though was the absence of nearby life, even here in the shallow marine waters there was nothing. No fish, no seaweed, nothing. I knew of what had happened to this island in the past but to actually sense it was almost chilling. The fact that Hera had essentially killed everything on what could be considered this island was a harrowing reminder of what the gods had been like in the past when angered.
Were it not for the still detectable living bodies of my counterpart and Thalia I would have felt almost completely isolated from the world of the living for the first time since I gained this ability. I understood why Artemis had reservations about coming to this cursed land, there was nothing here, and there would NEVER be anything here. Delos was a place with no future, no matter what anyone wanted to do about it.
Coming to this conclusion I slowly made my way back to shore where Thalia sat leaning back almost slack jawed looking back at me. Looking down I realised that my wet clothes were basically glued to my body and the formally white shirt was basically transparent.
"Didn't we already go over this?" I said sighing, as I instantly dried out my clothes.
"So? I can look; I mean you saw me in lacy underwear earlier. I say we are even." Thalia said with a mischievous smile.
"You quite literally had to bribe me and force me to do that. Though I don't remember ever getting paid for that."
"Oh year I spent that on the cab fare. Sorry but you will have to wait until next time." She explained half-truthfully. I mean yes she had paid the driver but nowhere near what had she owed me. But I was unconscious at the time so I didn't know that.
"Somehow I doubt I will." I muttered under my breath.
"For the time being leave everything here, the last thing we want to explain is your interesting choices in purchases. It is going to be hard enough for you to explain your physical changes without the sexy lingerie and toys. It would make it rather obvious that there was someone you were trying to impress, and I am not taking the fall again. I will sneak it into your tent later on." I explained watching as the girl blushed again. The pale colour of the rest of her body in the moonlight, contrasting deeply with her rosy tinted face.
"I could have kept them hidden. I thought you couldn't enter our tents."
"I am the Titan Lord of Time, a bit of fabric cannot stop me besides a two year old managed to discover it; I am not explaining why you have one to Marina and Jacqueline. I have enough issues with them knowing that I am in a consensual sexual relationship with your sister. Who I am surprised is not… already here. Something is wrong with her; this is too out of character. I want to know what is going on." I said suddenly feeling very worried as I summoned my wings and took flight. Below me Thalia too began to fly upwards until we were above the cliffs and able to see down on the island itself.
By virtue of the island being a barren rock with little signs of life, it was not hard to spot the campfire and tents of the Hunt. Nor the great golden feline shining in the firelight. As we got closer it became possible to spot the smaller figures seated around the fire.
However even from the air it was easy to tell apart the goddess from her hunters at night because unlike them she quite literally glowed in the dark. So it was simple enough for me to recognise that she wasn't with them. Actually her (our) personal tent had also not been erected, which considering the fact that the fact she could do it with a click of her fingers was worrying.
'Where are you?' I thought to myself as I continued to look close in on the camp. Once I was directly above the camp my senses confirmed that with the exception of clearly Zoe they were all demigods.
However as much as I could sense them, my own pet was quick to notice my own presence as the lioness looked up directly at me. It was not long before a couple of the Hunters noticed where she was looking and saw me floating above them. I mean a dozen wings that are made out of glowing imperial gold is not hard to spot in a dark sky.
'Wait here for a minute, let me find out what is going on, something is wrong.' I told Thalia before descending to the ground.
Landing on the ground and folding my wings away I was almost surprised by the fact that several of the Hunters almost looked happy to see me. I mean sure some of them were friendly with me but when even Tania looked almost relieved I was here I knew something was wrong.
"Percy thank the gods, you need to come with me now." Zoe said stepping forward immediately not even giving me a chance to say hello. Her urgency however clearly told me that Harmony was clearly in some form of trouble.
"Where is she? Is she alright?" I asked; almost panicked myself as I thought about what could have happened to the woman I loved.
"Physically she is fine, emotionally though… She is a mess. You'll see, this way." Zoe said sadly before grabbing my hand and pulling me after her.
'Thalia I am going with Zoe, distract the others. Something is wrong with Harmony.' I told her almost emotionlessly. Inside however I was freaking out about what could possibly be affecting Harmony mentally.
"The rest of you wait here, Thalia will be here shortly. You will have some questions for her, for the moment let me try and deal with Harmony. Even If I can just get some answers about what is going on I will let you know." I said sincerely turning towards the rest of the group.
"You better be back." Tania muttered on her own causing all of us to look at her in shock.
"What?! I am just saying, you know anyone else that can do anything about her?" She said suddenly on the defensive, sure she had a point I was likely the only person other than perhaps Leto who could deal with Harmony on an emotional level. Still the thought of her being worried about me even if only superficially would have made me laugh under different circumstances.
Luckily for her however, the sudden appearance of Thalia from above was more than enough to distract everyone else. Not so much her method of appearance that was already heralded before her arrival but her actual changed appearance.
'Your up, good luck.' I told the daughter of Zeus as Zoe too looked at her wide-eyed before switching back to me.
"Let's go while they are distracted." I told the demi-titan quickly as the hunt suddenly devolved into a messy barrage of questions behind us. In normal circumstances I may have felt bad for Thalia but this was her choice and nothing to do with me.
Slipping off into the darkness the two of began to descend down the hill the campsite was constructed upon.
"Zoe what is going on with Harmony?" I asked once we were a few hundred yards away from the camp.
"I don't know for certain but I believe that she is punishing herself over one of her perceived failures of the past. We were visiting the place of Artemis's birth when we discovered a few relics that were out of place. Once she touched them however I think she understood what they possibly meant and the revelation of their presence crushed her. Has she ever spoken to you about my predecessors? The first two Lieutenants." She said whilst still walking, in contrast to me she barely made a sound as she walked on the rocky slope.
"The first broke her oath and the second died, right? Then it was you and eventually Thalia who is the fourth." I replied thinking back on a memory from one random night on the chariot.
"Yes and no. The first didn't actually break her oath that was just cover story; she was just not allowed to stay with the Hunt any longer. She is actually still quite happily alive on Olympus as far as I am aware… As a goddess. Zeus just simply refused to allow two of his daughters to exist outside of his direct supervision, nor would he allow one to command over another. So she was forced out of the Hunt, as far as I am aware she has still maintained her vow of chastity this whole time."
"I thought all of the first hunters were nymphs, how could she become a goddess? Why didn't I know this? If she was before your time how do you know this?"
"She was a nymph, but also a child of Zeus and a nymph who was also fathered by a god. Making her three-quarters divine in the first place. As I said the whole affair was covered up, she was forced to stay away from the Hunt after her ascension and Delia took over from her. I only learned about her centuries later when we quite literally walked into her whilst traversing the wilderness and someone stepped foot in one of her traps. Now as you can imagine one laid by the goddess of traps and nets is not one you can easily escape, Artemis had to summon her to release the hapless daughter of Hermes or else amputate the leg."
"You seem to avoid using her name, who is she?" I asked noticing that Zoe only referred to the mystery goddess as she."
"I cannot say it, none of us can. It is one of the conditions written into our oath. Such was the shame of her supposed betrayal of us. How else was we supposed to turn our backs and harden our hearts from one of our own leaders? Ask Harmony later if that is what you want to learn, you will probably meet her one day. Considering you made Artemis break her oath after all."
"It is not like I wanted any of this to happen!" I retorted in instinctual annoyance. I never wanted any of this to happen I was quite happy with our relationship being platonic. Aphrodite fucked both of us over that day, not just Artemis.
"I know that but she likely doesn't, besides as you can imagine of a child of Zeus she has more in common with Thalia in terms of personality than either I or Delia did. As a nymph she did not have any of the special powers a true demigod child would have, but in terms of a skill set aimed at catching something alive, she is almost unrivalled. You and Artemis may have dominion over hunting but you both are better at killing your target once found." Ok I was now officially getting curious about this first Lieutenant but from what I understood if she was still alive and accounted for then she should not affect Harmony in a severely adverse way.
"You mentioned Delia a few times, was she the second, she died right?" I asked and for the first time Zoe stopped walking.
"So we all believed, but from the evidence I have seen. I am beginning to doubt that, there are too many coincidences in place on this island. You can sense life, what do you think about this island?"
"It is a wasteland; both the island itself and the nearby ocean are all dead… no some things struggle to survive despite the conditions." I corrected feeling the slight sense of grasses and other small patches of vegetation. From below though, I could sense one enormously powerful signature that could only be Harmony.
"Exactly life somehow still exists here when it should not; the spring waters and shores are lifeless. No birds fly in the sky and yet somehow those grasses still struggle to survive. If Delia was truly dead then so to would be this island. This is likely what is causing a crisis in Harmony's heart. As her hunters we want to stand by and support our goddess, and our fellow sisters. Even those that we thought were lost; if she commands it I will find proof of Delia living or dead. This time we will not give up without evidence of her fate. But first we are relying on you to break through the shell she has erected around her heart." She said sadly as I stood beside her and looked over a small cliff looking into the mouth of a small cave below my feet. A very faint silver glow emanating from within.
"Don't worry I will." I told her confidently patting her on the shoulder before hopping down several meters to the cave entrance below and with a deep breath I entered the birthplace of Artemis and Apollo.
Due to the tiny size of the cave it was only a matter of seconds before I spotted the curled up figure. Knees pulled up to her chest as she looked away from the entrance, her beautiful long auburn hair was dishevelled all around her on the floor.
"Harmony…" I said softly walking a few steps towards her before pausing. Upon not receiving any form of response from the goddess I carried on a few more steps.
"Harmony, I am here to help you… Zoe told me, I know about Delia." I said and upon uttering that name the goddess's body stiffened almost subconsciously even as the atmosphere became a lot more crushing.
"Listen we want to help you, if need be we will all help you, if she is still alive we will find her." I said struggling to stagger forward until I was within a few feet of her before being forced to my knee.
'I should have found her; I am supposed to be goddess of the Hunt. Instead I gave up; I got bored of looking… I forsook her because it was easier than carrying on. I am pathetic, not fit to bear my title. Even now instead of going out and looking for her, here I am wallowing in my own self-pity because the truth could hurt me more.' Harmony's voice said bitterly in my head, her words and emotions filled with intense self-loathing.
'We can all be pathetic at times, less than a few hours ago I was forced to rely on a mortal cab driver to get out of trouble. I am who is supposed to be more powerful than all the other Titans. Instead I was face down in an alleyway in desperate need of assistance.' I said and even if just a little the pressure decreased a little allowing me to crawl forward towards her.
'So why don't we both just admit that despite everything we have going for us, we can both be just pathetic as anyone else in life. The difference is that I refuse to be defined by one mistake, so why are you?' I asked feeling the pressure lifted at last as I climbed the small ledge she was laying on and pulling her upright and embracing her against me tightly.
"Because I am an idiot." She said quietly causing me to chuckle even as my lips touched against the nape of her neck.
'Welcome to the club.'
AN. So in the act of creating a cliffhanger to get your attention I ended up fucking myself over by having to write a 14000 word chapter to then correct it, whoops. Obviously with the fact that Thalia appears at the end of a Dragon's Journey she was never in any danger of dying. Well technically she would have died if anyone but Percy was there, so she got lucky... unlike her would-be killer.
Now I know that some of you are going to be annoyed that Percy would kill a mortal with so little concern for his actions. however understand that he is a flawed character, he has the correct morals but they are not some unbreakable code that he will not stray from. His actual flaw is loyalty he will do anything for those he cares about, even if he does darken his own soul to do so. Hence why Themis was telling Thalia to keep an eye on him, even the Titans acknowledge that his mortal heritage is the source of his unique strengths and weakness in comparison to them. They do not want him to fall down the same dark path as Kronos and the others went down.
Of course they also have plans that he is not aware of either, but the time is still not yet for those to come into fruition. You can probably work out what they have planned and he won't like it.
Just also a subtle reminder the story does actually have Antagonists, they are just not in your face about it all the time. If they tried to flex their strength and fight a straight forward battle, they would be getting cleaned up with a vaccuum cleaner and mop afterwards. This is not a action/adventure story and never really has been. It is for simple descriptions a Rom-Com/slice of life story that occasionally has Hobo's get mutilated and main characters shot through the heart (out of spite, i love all of you).
I may have changed the story from 'canon' but as you may have realised that the 'First' Lieutenant is Britomartis. Who I noticed on the wiki and liked the idea of, having never actually finished TOA myself due to Apollo/Lester just being annoying to read. Besides wow Piper that didn't take long to move on. Got to cash in on them diversity points...
Also when the fuck did Percy gain a little sister, Rick you are being blatant now with this copying shit. Keep this up and I am going to want my Disney money too. My mortgage isn't going to pay itself.
Anyway... Next chapter we can finally start to investigate the mystery of Delia.
As always I look forward to hearing from all of you, though there may be a delay whilst I play through Elden Ring for a bit. Hopefully this will tie you over for a short while in the meantime.