Percy Jackson was having a bad day, even before he was possessed by the goddess of all things nasty.
It started when Annabeth appeared at Percy's apartment during ten in the morning, announcing that she'd had a bad dream– a vision from her mom, Athena, the goddess of wisdom.
Annabeth decided that, instead of going to the movies, they should spend their Saturday heading to the bottom of Manhattan and taking the ferry to Governors Island, where Athena had warned her that trouble was brewing.
As soon as they arrived, a magical freak hurricane slammed into New York Harbor. All the mortals evacuated Governors Island, leaving Annabeth and Percy stranded at an old fort with a crazy, wanna-be god named Setne trying to tear apart reality using two ancient Egyptian crowns.
Oh, and giant, flying, fire breathing snakes. Did he mention the flying fire breathing snakes?
The good news is that cavalry had arrived. Sadie and Carter Kane, two magicians who Percy and Annabeth happened to have met during the months before, and they had a plan to combine Greek and Egyptian magic to take down Setne.
The bad news? Setne had already stolen both crowns and Riptide , Percy's pen-sword, forcing Percy to merge with the vulture-goddess Nekhbet in order to stop him.
So there Percy Jackson was, in a glowing purple vulture avatar fighting a crazed god-sorcerer in the middle of a divine storm… all so he could steal his hat.
That hat was not coming off, either. Percy spiraled into the storm, shaking Setne, trying to knock the crown off his head, but Setne must have fastened it to his pompadour with superglue. He blasted Percy with fire and flashes of light. Percy's bird exoskeleton deflected the attacks, but each time, the purple avatar dimmed, and his wings felt heavier.
"Percy Jackson!" Setne bellowed, writhing in his claws. "This is a waste of time!"
Percy didn't bother responding. The strain of combat was quickly taking its toll. During their first encounter, Carter had warned him that magic could literally burn up a magician if he used too much at once, and Percy wasn't eager to find out if that applied to demigods too. Every time Setne blasted him or tried to wriggle out of his grip with his near-godly strength, Percy's head throbbed. His eyesight dimmed. Soon, he was drenched in sweat.
He hoped Sadie was helping Carter. He hoped Annabeth was finishing whatever super-weird spell she'd been chanting so they could trap Setne, because he didn't think he could keep this up for much longer.
They broke through the top of the cloud layer. Setne stopped fighting, which surprised Percy so much he almost dropped him. Then coldness began to seep through his vulture avatar, chilling him down to his bones. It was a subtler kind of attack – probing for weakness – and he knew he couldn't allow it. Percy curled his vulture feet tighter around Setne's chest, hoping to crush him.
"Percy, Percy." Setne's tone made it sound like they were a couple of bros on a night out. "Don't you see what an incredible opportunity this is? A perfect do-over. You of all people should appreciate that. The Olympians once offered you their most valuable gift. They offered to make you a god, didn't they? And you – you lovable idiot – you turned them down! This is your chance to correct that mistake."
Percy's avatar flickered and blinked like a bad fluorescent tube. Nekhbet, his brain buddy, turned her attention inward.
You turned down immortality? Her voice was incredulous, offended.
She scanned his memories. Percy saw his own past from her dry, cynical point of view: he stood in the throne room of Mount Olympus after the war against the Titans. Zeus offered him a reward: godhood. Percy turned him down flat. He wanted justice for other demigods instead. He wanted the gods to stop being jerks and to pay attention to their kids.
A stupid request. A naive thing to wish for. You gave up power. You never give up power.
Percy struggled to keep his grip on Setne. "Nekhbet, those are your thoughts, not mine. I made the right choice."
Then you are a fool, the vulture goddess hissed.
"Yeah, pal," Setne said, who apparently could hear her. "I gotta agree with Nekhbet on this one. You did the noble thing. How did that work out? Did the gods honor their promises?"
Percy couldn't separate Nekhbet's bitterness from his own feelings. Sure, he grumbled about the gods all the time, but he'd never regretted his decision to stay mortal. He had a girlfriend. He had a family. He had his whole life ahead of him – assuming he could stay alive.
Now … maybe it was just Nekhbet in his mind, or Setne toying with him, but he started to wonder if he'd made a huge blunder.
"I get it, kid." Setne's voice was full of pity. "The gods are your family. You want to think they're good. You want to make them proud. I wanted that with my family. My dad was Ramses the Great, you know."
Percy was gliding in a lazy circle now, his left wing carving the tops of the storm clouds. Setne's crown glowed more brightly. His aura grew colder, numbing Percy's limbs and turning his thoughts sluggish. Percy knew he was in trouble, but he couldn't think of what to do about it.
"It's hard having a powerful dad," Setne continued. "Ramses was the pharaoh, of course, so most of the time he was hosting the god Horus. That made him distant, to say the least. I kept thinking, If I just make the right choices and prove I'm a good kid, he'll eventually notice me. He'll treat me right. But, the thing is, the gods don't care about mortals, even their children. Look into the vulture's mind if you don't believe me. Behave like a good little boy, act all noble – that just makes it easier for the gods to ignore you. The only way to get their respect is to act up, be bad and take what you want!"
Nekhbet didn't try to convince Percy otherwise. She was the protector goddess of the pharaohs, but she didn't care about them as individual humans. She cared about maintaining the power of Egypt, which in turn kept the worship of the gods alive. She certainly didn't care about noble acts or fairness. Only the weak demanded fairness. The weak were carcasses waiting to die – appetizers in the long dinner of Nekhbet's eternal life.
"You're a good kid," Setne told Percy. "A lot nicer than the goddess you're trying to host. But you've got to see the truth. You should've taken Zeus's offer. You would be a god now. You'd be strong enough to make those changes you asked for!"
Strength is good, Nekhbet agreed. Immortality is good.
"I'm giving you a second chance," Setne said. "Help me out, Percy. Become a god."
They turned in the air as Nekhbet's consciousness separated from Percy's. She'd forgotten which of them was the enemy. Nekhbet favored the strong. Setne was strong. Percy was weak.
Percy remembered the way Setne had been strip-mining the Duat – cutting fissures in reality, destroying the entire cosmic order to make himself immortal.
I'll just take the bits and pieces I can use, Setne had told Sadie.
Percy's thoughts finally cleared. He understood how Setne operated, how he'd beaten them so badly up till now.
"You're looking for a way into my mind," Percy said. "Something you can relate to and use against me. But I'm not like you. I don't want immortality, especially not if it rips the world apart."
Setne smiled. "Well, it was worth a try. Especially since I made you lose control of your vulture!"
An explosion of cold shattered Percy's avatar. Suddenly he was falling.
His one advantage: he'd been holding Setne in his claws, which meant Setne was directly below him. Percy slammed right into him and locked his arms around Setne's chest. They plummeted together through the clouds.
Percy shivered so badly that he was surprised he could stay conscious. Frost caked his clothes. Wind and ice stung his eyes. He felt like he was downhill skiing without a mask.
Setne cried out, desperately trying to break free from Percy's grip. He nearly succeeded, Percy was worn and cold, his face was covered in frost and his shirt was drenched..
Wait, Percy thought.
With a familiar tug of his gut, Percy willed the water and frost around him to constrict Setne. Percy pushed forward, aiming to fall into the harbor instead of onto the island. His strength growing as he got closer to the sea. Setne's eyes widened, noticing what was happening. The sorcerer waved his arms beneath them, and opened a fissure in the duat with a bolt of lightning.
The two went tumbling into the duat, and reality itself twisted around them. Percy's sense of direction scrambled as they fell through a kaleidoscope of swirling colors, illegible hieroglyphs, and shifting landscapes.
They both landed with a thud on what seemed like empty air, they grappled each other, Setne's hands around Percy's neck.
"Just give up , Percy Jackson." The sorcerer.. no– the god , hissed, all traces of his friendliness disappearing, "Nekhbet has forsaken you, I have fully ascended, you stand no chance ."
Percy shoved Setne off of him with more strength than he knew he had. Percy struggled to his feet, feeling the weight of exhaustion and the oppressive atmosphere of the duat bearing down on him.
"That's not going to happen," he growled.
Setne laughed, a harsh, mocking sound. "Oh, really? And how do you plan to stop me without the vulture goddess's power? You're outmatched, Jackson. You've always been outmatched."
Ignoring the taunts, Percy surged forward, tackling Setne to the ground. They grappled in the duat, each trying to gain the upper hand. Setne clawed at Percy's face, trying to push him off, but Percy's anger and determination fueled him. He kicked Setne off him and scrambled to his feet, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
"You're nothing, Setne.." Percy said, his voice hoarse. "You think you're all-powerful, but you're just using borrowed power. You don't understand what real strength is."
Setne's eyes blazed with fury. "You're wrong! I have the crowns, I have the power of the gods at my command!" He raised his hands, and a bolt of dark energy crackled between them.
Percy lunged forwards, grabbing Setne's wrist. The god screeched in anger, and released dark energy throughout reality. Strange hieroglyphs flared to life, glowing with ominous power, and the duat beneath them began to dissolve.
Percy instinctively held his breath in anticipation as they fell through the duat again. Reality spun around them like a tornado as they were spat out into the vast emptiness of outer space. The sudden cold vacuum disoriented Percy, and he felt as though his eyes were bulging out of his skull. He struggled to focus, but the sight of Setne's triumphant smile was greater than his agony.
"You should've quit while you're ahead." Setne sneered, "You should have accepted my offer. Now you'll die here, alone in the cold void."
Percy glared at Setne, and Setne met it with a manic grin. "Oh don't be like that, sure you're dying, but look at the big picture." The god looked around with a gleam in his eye, his voice filled with manic enthusiasm. "Look at this solar system! So poorly designed, so chaotic, so unaesthetic.. You see, when I become supreme ruler of the Universe, everything's going to be much nicer looking. There won't be empty space, everything will be orderly, perfect. I'll reshape the cosmos in my image."
Rage bubbled up inside Percy. Ignoring the pain and disorientation, he lunged at Setne, but the sorcerer caught his arm with a vice-like grip. With a cruel smile, he snapped Percy's arm. Percy screamed in pain, but no sound came out. The agony was blinding, and he instinctively clutched at his broken limb.
Setne's fist drove into Percy's gut, forcing all the air out of his lungs. Percy tried to breathe in, but only sucked in nothingness. His lungs felt like they were collapsing, his vision dimming and turning hazy.
Percy spotted the sun in the corner of his vision.
Someone, please he prayed almost instinctively, help me out .
The sun flared slightly, but nothing happened. Apollo, it seemed, had a healthy fear of having his essence destroyed.
Setne's mocking laughter rang in Percy's mind. "You see? Even your gods have abandoned you."
Setne kicked Percy away, and turned to look at the planets below him.
"The earth," he mused to himself, "I'll probably lock this one up and make a new one, can't have her waking up and ruining my plans."
Tears welled in Percy's eyes. Percy has had his fair share of near death experiences, and death had always been a possibility, he'd been to the Underworld and back at the age of twelve for Styx's sake. But as he drifted in space, his eyes threatening to pop, his blood cells unraveling, and his vision fading, the threat of dying had never been realer.
Percy Jackson's eyes drifted to the Earth below him, where nearly everything he'd ever known and loved was. His thoughts drifted to everything he'd been through, the battles, the friendships, Annabeth, his family . His life had been a series of near-death experiences, but it had also been filled with moments of incredible joy and love. As he felt the Fates closing in, ready to snip his life thread, a primal survival instinct surged within him. He needed to stop Setne, he couldn't let everything be destroyed, he needed to save his family.
Memories of past battles flashed through his mind. He remembered the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, when he was surrounded by telkhines and had summoned water from within to cause the explosion. He thought of escaping the Mansion of Night in Tartarus, when he had jumped over the several-hundred foot width of the River Acheron to save himself and Annabeth. His vision turned red, and his gut twisted.
Power rolled through his body, a torrent of saltwater exploded outward, healing his wounds. His body began glowing purple, the Avatar of Nekhbet reappeared around him, empowering him and allowing him to breathe in the void.
Setne's expression twisted from triumph to shock. "Impossible!" he spat.
But Percy, now fully empowered, didn't waste time with words. With a fierce determination, he surged forward, the vulture avatar amplifying his strength and speed. He struck Setne with a powerful blow, sending the sorcerer tumbling through the void.
"You talk too much," Percy said, grinning, his voice steady and resolute.
Setne glared at Percy with pure hatred in his eyes. He charged at Percy, but Percy, now rejuvenated and empowered by both saltwater and the vulture goddess, knocked Setne back with a powerful blow to the gut.
Setne stopped, and shot pure energy towards Percy. The beam grew in power, absorbing energy from the duat. Percy charged towards the beam, deflecting it and tumbling into Setne.
Nekhbet, inhabiting Percy's body, sensed the duat around them. " You're not the only one with fancy tricks ," she rasped. The fabric of the duat itself began binding Setne. Reality folded in on itself as the god was binded by the duat. Setne yelled out a spell, and a fissure opened up in his binds. The sorcerer-turned-god broke through his bonds, and tackled Percy, once again sending them into the duat.
Setne hissed and shook his head. "You're one hell of an opponent, Jackson," he said, before hitting Percy with a beam of pure energy. Percy deflected it with a forceful swipe, then lunged forward, chasing after Setne through the chaotic landscape of the Duat.
Percy hit Setne with a blast of saltwater, before attacking relentlessly. Setne, however, seemed a bit preoccupied. His eyes were wide and he fell as he succumbed to blow after blow.
Percy noticed Setne's confidence waver for a moment and pressed on. "What's wrong, Setne? Running out of tricks?"
The sorcerer shook his head with rage, his eyes filled with fury, and he unleashed a powerful spell that launched Percy back. "You think you've won, but you don't even know where we are," he snarled. "That blast took us out of the universe and put us in a plane far outside of it."
He's right Nekhbet hissed, I can feel my influence fading. My power is the only thing stopping you from losing yourself. If I lose my bearings, you will cease.
"Cease?" Percy croaked, "Cease what?"
Setne met Percy's eyes, silver bolts of power crackling in his hands.
"You'll see," Setne spat, before launching bolts of raw power around him, shrouding the duat in a silver mist.
Percy hissed and bolted through the mist. The sorcerer took off, and Percy flew after him.
" Go away !" Setne shrieked,
"No way, dude." Percy said plainly as he tailed behind him.
The two dodged and weaved throughout the duat, each sending blasts of energy at the other. The two weaved to the duat, until they reached a tunnel shrouded with hieroglyphs and Ancient Greek symbols.
A bolt of power hit Percy, and he hissed in agony. His vulture avatar began flickering, growing transparent, and his brain began feeling foggy. Percy shook his head and continued forward.
Setne darted quickly with Percy right at his tail. The sorcerer moved carefully, each twist and turn was with precision as if he were searching for something.
Suddenly, Setne stopped. He grinned, and sent a ripple of power towards Percy, stopping the demigod in his tracks.
"Have you ever wondered how exactly your gods check up on their prisoners in Tartarus?" Setne mused.
Percy blinked, caught off guard by the random question.
"Let me tell you this," Setne started with a grin, "They don't take the scenic route." He smirked and stretched his arm outwards, grabbing onto empty air. Suddenly, a lever materialized seemingly out of nowhere. An elevator door appeared and creaked open, billows of fire released, and massive, clawed hands gripped each side of the door.
Massive, pillar-like snake legs stepped out of the door. From the flames emerged Thoon, the giant born to kill the Fates. The giant was wearing a tattered robe, his hair was white and wily, his pillar-like legs were scaly, and a colossal, six-foot meat cleaver was held in his right hand.
The elderly giant looked around in confusion until his eyes landed on Percy.
Thoon, towering and menacing, advanced towards Percy. "I don't know what's going on, Jackson, but I've been dreaming of this for a long time." he rumbled.
Thoon charged towards Percy, drawing his massive meat cleaver. Percy swiftly moved out of the way and sent a torrent of saltwater at him. The giant stumbled backwards, before slicing towards Percy. Percy weaved underneath the attack before lunging. Punching the giant in the gut and staggering him. Percy felt a tug in his gut, and summoned a blast of saltwater.
Percy looked around, nervousness gripping him. He may have had the upper hand at the moment, but he couldn't defeat Thoon, not alone, not without a deity to help him, he thought.
You're not alone , Nekhbets voice started in his head, breaking him out of his thoughts. You're hosting a god .
Percy paused, "Right.." he said sheepishly, before charging at Thoon with renewed vigor.
Thoon, having recovered from Percy's attack, swung his massive meat cleaver at Percy. Percy deflected the blow off of his avatar's wing, and lunged at the giant. He kicked the giant clean in the chest, his avatar's talons tearing scars across his torso.
Thoon spat a ball of magma at Percy, which caught him right in the chest. Percy tore it off, and quickly moved out of the way of the giant's fiery breath. Percy summoned all his strength and courage before lunging at the giant, sending it back several yards.
With Nekhbet's guidance, Percy launched himself at the giant, dodging its massive fists and striking where he could. Thoon roared in fury, swatting at Percy with his claws, but the half-blood fought on, determined to protect his world from destruction.
Setne, the sorcerer-turned-god, took advantage of the distraction to search for a way out of the duat. Percy knew they couldn't let him escape, not with the power he wielded and the danger he posed to the universe.
But with Thoon bearing down on him and Setne plotting his escape, Percy felt the weight of the battle pressing down on him. It felt like everything was turned inwards, something shifted but Percy couldn't identify what . Percy's head shuddered, and he felt like he was missing a part of him. The feeling of forgetting something filling his head.
Pay Attention ! Nekhbet hissed in his mind.
Percy shook his head, and dodged a blow from the Thoon. Together, they could defeat the giant, but they needed to work together, their powers combining to overcome the giant's strength. With renewed determination, Percy fought on, each blow weakening Thoon's defenses.
But as the battle raged on, Percy began to feel a strange sensation creeping over him. He felt his vulture avatar slowly grow more and more transparent, and the feeling of forgetfulness clouded his mind. It was as if a part of him was fading away, slipping into the void of the duat.
We need to end this . Percy thought to Nekhbet, he felt the vulture goddess's silent agreement. Percy flew above the giant, before diving down. He caught one of the giant's meaty fists with his vulture avatar's claws. Thoon blew a torrent of fire at him, but the vulture avatar defended Percy. He felt a sharp tug in his gut, and gallons of water engulfed them.
Thoon roared, and swiped at Percy with his cleaver, but the demigod ducked out of the way. Percy gripped Thoon's hand and snagged the giant's meat cleaver in a single motion, before fluttering away.
"Hey!" The giant roared, "Give that back!"
Percy dodged out of the way of the giant's swipe, before lunging towards the giant's head, meat cleaver in hand. With a single swipe to the neck, the Thoon's head came rolling off, and the giant faded into dust.
Percy fell onto the ground, and his vulture avatar shattered. His body began glowing a soft blue, his skin started turning transparent. The soft purple hue of Nekhbet's power was holding Percy together like string. Percy got up, despite his brain pounding against his skull.
Desperate to hold onto himself, Percy focused on his memories, his identity, anything to anchor himself in the chaos of battle. But with every passing moment he began to forget. It was as if his very essence was being erased, consumed by the vast emptiness of the duat.
Setne, sensing Percy's weakness, pressed his advantage, launching a vicious beam that sent Percy flying.
The sorcerer quickly turned away, tearing a fissure in the duat. But Percy mustered all his strength, all his essence , and lunged at Setne, preventing him from going through. The god yelled out in rage, but Percy was too drowsy to pay it heed.
With each moment, Percy felt a part of himself fading. He felt Nekhbet's influence waning as well.
Setne too appeared to be weakening. As they grappled, Percy started to forget who he was, his memories slipping away. Nekhbet, aggressively reminding him to keep fighting, kept him anchored to his identity. He managed to land a powerful blow on Setne, slamming him into a wall of hieroglyphs, and they went tumbling back out of the duat and back into space.
I'm losing my power in this plane of reality . Nekhbet hissed in Percy's mind, You need to go back in, you've left..
Nekhbet's voice grew fainter, her words fading into the void. Panic surged within Percy as he struggled to hold onto himself, to remember who he was and why he fought. But with each passing moment, his sense of self slipped further away.
Without the vulture avatar, Percy was simply glowing purple, a beacon of divine energy. He continued to fight Setne, driven by an instinct he couldn't name. His identity was fading, yet he kept on fighting.
Where am I? Who am I? What am I doing?
Percy and Setne met hand to hand again, Percy grappling Setne. Setne yelled out a spell, and Percy was sent flying.
Percy's mind twisted, he tried to recall anything he could.
"I have to say, Jackson." Setne said, pure hatred dripping through his voice, "You heroes are harder to take down than I thought. But it's over."
Percy's eyes widened. His skin began regaining its opacity. That's right, I'm Percy Jackson, he remembered, I'm a hero.
Setne tensed, his body began sucking up cosmic energy like a black hole. His body darkened, his aura flared, he muttered something underneath his breath and sent a flare of pure, divine, energy at Percy.
Percy's eyes flared with power, his body began glowing, and he shot out a bright purple stream of hieroglyphic lights.
Maybe it was the last of Nekhbet's influence, or maybe it was sheer intuition, but the bright hieroglyph met Setne's attack perfectly, and absorbed it. The hieroglyphic beam was sent back to Setne at impossible speeds. The sorcerer-turned-god tried to move out of the way, but he wasn't quick enough.
Setne cried out in sheer agony . His skin tore and shredded, bright green and gold ooze pouring out of his wounds. He vomited out a chunky, viscous, rainbow.
A pillar of bright white fire, two crowns, a burst of the Duat's energy, and Riptide tore out of his gut.
Percy flew towards the sorcerer. A bright stream of purple, in the shape of a vulture, escaped Percy's body and took the crowns, taking off into the duat. Percy grabbed his sword, Riptide, and stood looming over Setne.
Setne shivered, tears poured out of his face and bloodied snot crusted his upper lip. "Wait!" he croaked, "Stop, please, it's not too late. You don't remember, of course, it's a shock you still exist, but we can still be gods. I'll restore you, I'll fix you. You don't know why we fought because it's not right . Help me, please, we can rule the cosmos!"
Percy shook his head, and lunged at the sorcerer, burying his blade into Setne's heart. The sorcerer let out a terrible screech. The sorcerer's skin crackled, his body thrummed with energy, and in a final, desperate, attempt, Setne went explosive . In a colossal blast, Setne dissolved. His essence spread throughout the universe.
Percy was sent flying by the explosion. His skin burnt, his clothes were reduced to ashes, and the force of the blast sent him hurtling towards the Solar System at impossible speeds.
Unconscious, Percy went tumbling through space until he was pulled in by Earth's gravity, plummeting towards the planet. Nekhbet's last remnants of power protected him from being turned into paste upon re-entry. He tumbled to the Earth like a meteor, landing on an empty dirt road, leaving a massive crater. His body was littered with scars, his limbs were bent unnaturally, his clothes were burnt away, and he was covered in bruises.
Percy laid unconscious, bleeding, and unmoving on the dirt road. A few minutes passed, and rain began pouring overhead, healing the unconscious Percy's major wounds.
A few minutes later, an unknown figure approached Percy's unconscious body, their steps cautious but purposeful. The night was eerily quiet, the stars above twinkling with a cold indifference to the battle that had just transpired. The figure knelt beside Percy, examining his battered and bruised form.
"Alien or not, you're lucky to be alive," the figure muttered, a hint of surprise in their voice.
The stranger, a man, apprehended Percy's still form with cautious curiosity, their gaze scanning his battered body. With a swift movement, they pulled out a device from their pocket and examined Percy's vital signs.
After a few tense moments, the man spoke into a sleek communicator device clipped to their jacket lapel. "I've located the unidentified celestial object. It appears to be humanoid. Yes, it is alive."
There was only silence, but the stranger nodded into his device anyway. "Not Kryptonian," he stated, "But not human either."
The stranger turned around, "Mercy, come pick him up."
The underbrush shuffled, and a regal woman appeared from the darkness. She was wearing a waistcoat suit that was somehow in perfect condition despite the weather.
She nodded at the man almost robotically, and swiftly, effortlessly, picked up Percy. Without a word, she carried him away with the man tailing behind her, his steps regal, leaving the cratered dirt road behind.