Chapter 13:

Red Angel

Day███ :

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-Lamia has been sighted at several refugee camps around the world. Everytime she appears somewhere she kills all the children she can find before leaving again. I suspect she can teleport or something because she has been seen in both India and Greece in the span of 2 hours.

Casualties: Unknown but limited to children under the age of 10.

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-Typhon has moved from China to Japan. The fight is still ongoing but despite taking heavy damage, it appears only the Greek Gods can permanently harm it.

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-Grain spirits are rampaging through the middle of Texas but their progress has been halted by-

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-The Ichthyocentaurs have been forced to retreat to the depths. Haven't heard anything from them ever since.

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.-I got confirmation that the solar flare completely reduced Spain to dust. No survivors.

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-The Amazon forest has forcefully expanded itself and covers large cities and the capital of Brazil. According to the news the dryads there have gone insane and started consuming people to expand the forest.

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-Ţ̴̧̟̖͈̮̫̱͈̏̋͐̓́̈́̉̓̚͠h̶̛͓̞͔̫̖̠̬͙͖̗͇̎̏͌̏̎͊̊͠e̶͕͍͖̭̦̹͑͒͋̑̏̂̊̑̏̊̐̈̎̊̌ ̷̭͈̥̰̤͓̏Ǹ̸̻̊͊̍̓̚i̷͖͎̲̼̙͖͎̣͓̫̞͉͇̓͗n̵̨͓̰͙̣͔̤͕̯͐̾̋̽͛̀̍̓̚͝t̶̡̧̨̛̤̳̘̥͔̺̪̅̋̈́̈̋̔͑̒͗̓͆̓͑͘h̶̤̻̱̞͎̯̠̿́ ̶̡̫͉̞͇̱̦͖̯͉̈́͛̒̓͋̆̇̓̔̔́͝͝N̶̨̨̡̨̥̞̭͉̗̱̻̣̘͊̈́ͅͅő̵͙̦̺̮̟͉͒m̴͕͔̪͕̤̟̱͍̩̐͌̓̆̈́͊̊̓͜-

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A deep guttural roar came from behind Percy. His pen stopped mid sentence and was lifted up into the air.

He turned around and got up from his chair. His hand flashed towards a switch he had installed before.

The room caved in.

With a gasp Percy shot up.

His hand was already reaching for Riptide while he got to his feet. His eyes adjusted to the darkness of his surroundings.

It was only after one full minute of silence Percy realized he was safe again.

He pocketed his pen and dropped down on his sleeping bag. Still drenched in sweat Percy blindly reached for his backpack and opened a water bottle. He greedily began to drink it.

Only after he had emptied half of the bottle did his heart begin to calm down.

Percy fell asleep, suffering no more nightmares that night.

Percy could spot the fire from miles away.

It was a small blip of orange in a city that had gone completely dark. Minneapolis was a city that hadn't been all that lively before Olympus declared war on the world but now the city looked somehow more dead than before.

Percy noticed the fire while getting ready to sleep. He had found a nice rooftop and prepared his stuff when suddenly a small light lit up somewhere downtown.

Now, that wouldn't have been suspicious if he didn't spend that entire afternoon wandering the city and came to the conclusion no living soul was left alive. There were no monsters, signs of panic or battle. Just corpses in carseats, in front of the tv or still in bed.

Percy concluded all the people that lived here had most likely died on their first day, before they could realize the message on the news was no joke. Percy hoped for them that it had been painless. Every single arrow had been a headshot after all.

There had been a noticeable lack of monsters in Minneapolis, so going deeper into the city wasn't an issue, despite the usual risk of course.

Percy considered his options.

The flickering light could be a trap. Most likely it was. Drawing poor survivors in like moths to a had seen it being used before. Lighthouses, fake refugee camps or poisoned oasis. Nothing he hadn't seen before.

But a small part of him still held hope that the entire world wasn't a nightmare. That he'd find someone from Camp Halfblood or Jupiter. Someone that held all the answers.

Percy stared at the light, half expecting it to disappear right in front of his eyes.

He knew it would be some kind of monster. But still...what if it was someone who needed his help?

With a deep sigh Percy began to collect his things and climbed down the ladder.

It wasn't cold. For some reason the hot summer air still lingered, like a disease or a plague. Overstaying its welcome. Percy knew it should've been a lot colder by now, but the weather being unnatural wasn't unnatural anymore.

Still Percy couldn't help shivering.

He felt he was being watched, being led like a

Percy wasn't sure whether he should be quiet or not. He was invisible but some monsters could hear him, others could sense him through other means.

His footsteps echoed through the quiet streets. Sometimes he stopped to check if he was still alone but he stopped doing it when it became increasingly clear there was no one else but him.

He came to a stop in front of Minneapolis' city hall.

The building had a Greek design with tall pillars holding even taller pediments.

A majestic statue was placed on a pedestal. Although it had gotten slightly dirty it was still imposing and beautiful.

The blindfolded lady stood high above Percy.

For some reason the artist had given her a real bronze sword to hold in her left hand.

Her right hand was missing, for some reason cut off at the wrist.

The doors of the city hall had been thrown wide open. Inviting the whole city to come inside, or maybe it had been left wide open because there was no one left to intrude.

A faint light originated from inside.

Percy swore the light had been much brighter when he'd first seen it.

The city hall looked as regal on the inside as on the outside.

A spacious entrance hall with a marble floor, big swindell stairs and beautiful paintings on the walls.

In the middle of it all this greatness sat a small girl next to an even smaller campfire.

The fire had been placed right on top of the expensive floor and lacked wood or coal. Instead it was fueled by blackened bones and something else. There was something in the middle of the fire Percy couldn't make out.

More important was the girl poking the fire with a stick. She sat with her back turned to him. Her stick continuously poked at the fire in an attempt to make it rise higher. It wasn't working.

She briefly turned her head in his direction before focusing on the flames again.

Her expression was hard to make out but it was far from what Percy expected.

Actually, he didn't know what to expect.

For weeks he had been reading and seeing what the Gods had done. Seeing how they ruthlessly killed without any mercy.

Every logical thought told him they were absolute monsters.

But they were also family, allies and friends on some occasions, his heart disagreed with the logic laid out by the mind.

His entire train of thought felt insane to him, but so was his reality.

He had fought for them, bled. For 4 years they considered killing him because of some old Prophecy that said he might end Olympus. But he didn't. He saved them.

And then Hera happened.

But after all of that Percy thought he had finally found peace with them and started seeing them as just a very complicated family.

And then they'd declared war.

He hadn't seen a God or Goddess since that day.

But there she was.

Percy was unsure on what to do. Reach for his sword? Run away and hide?

"I know you're there." She spoke, her voice still the same as he remembered. It echoed throughout the building and left through the doors.

The girl still didn't bother to look at him but kept her eyes on the fire.

She reached out to something next to her and studied it. It was a human bone.

She threw it into the fire, briefly causing it to rise, before it settled again.

"Please join me. It's getting cold out there."

Wordlessly Percy took off his cap and approached the young girl.

She patted the ground next to her, gesturing him to sit down.

Still dazed Percy followed her command.

"Perseus Jackson," she spoke, still not looking at him. "Why is it we always meet under circumstances like these?"

She threw another bone into the fire.

Percy ignored her question. "How did you find me?"

"I saw the fire you caused in that amusement park." A small smile appeared on her lips. "I bet all of the gods could see it. I hope you don't mind. I used it as a sacrifice. I needed something to keep me going until I could find you again."

Percy studied Hestia. Although he couldn't see her face completely, what he saw disturbed him. Her cheeks had sunken in, her pale skin was dirty and her hair was disheveled.

He knew Gods could change their appearance however they wanted it but sometimes they lacked the will or power to do so.

Percy uttered only one question. "Why?"

Hestia's smile dropped. "Because I wanted to see you. I had to, before everything gets worse."

"You're not here to kill me?" Percy asked.

Hestia shook her head. "No. I would never."

Percy couldn't help but to laugh. The hollow sound echoed through the room.

Hestia stayed silent and waited for the demigod to calm down.

"Sorry," Percy mumbled when his laughter faded away.

The Goddess of the hearth just waited patiently.

Percy pocketed his sword and looked for the right words. "It's just that, so far, the Gods have been trying to kill me everywhere I went." A dry laugh escaped his lungs. "Not just me, I mean, have you even seen the bodies?"

The stick Hestia held broke into two with a loud snap. The sound echoed throughout the empty city hall.

The eerie silence was broken when Hestia chuckled softly. "I have." A sad smile played on her lips. "I've heard and seen billions of people praying as they were killed by monsters, unnatural disasters or diseases that were banned from this world eons ago. Mothers, children. Young men who try to fight the horrors outside. I have heard all of their prayers. Still do."

Percy felt like asking why she didn't do anything. To accuse her, call her a monster and shout his lungs out.

He didn't. He already knew Hestia was powerless.

Still, she was a Goddess.

"Hestia...Why are the Gods trying to kill all humans?"

Hestia tossed another bone into the fire. This time the flames didn't go nearly as high. The darkness in the room increased. Percy thought that the darkness felt alive, like a festering sickness. Trying to worm its way into Hestia's fire.

Hestia turned her face away from him.

"I wasn't told why." She quietly said. "They held the vote without me and didn't give me any details."

Percy frowned and tried to see if the Goddess was lying. He couldn't tell, she kept her gaze on the little fire.

Desperately he uttered, "B-but, how? I thought all the Gods were in on it."

Hestia shook her head, her hair fell down and passed through the fire.

"You wouldn't know it but not all the Gods agree with the Council. Only the important Gods get to know why we declared war." The Goddess shook her head. "All the minor Gods that couldn't aid in the war were given a choice. Stay out of this war or you'll be marked as an enemy. If you want to know why you'll have to swear on the Styx to aid the Council." Hestia pulled her hair, her voice was quivering. "After seeing what happened to Notus I fled Olympus. And I...I just couldn't do a damn thing."

Percy pulled her hand out of her hair.

"It's not your fault. No one could have done something."

"I just," she sighed and closed her eyes. A dirty tear streamed down her cheek. "It's like I barely recognize my family. They've been cruel before but never like this. Never so focused and senseless. I can only watch as people scream for help."

"I am going to figure out why," Percy suddenly declared, to his own surprise. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this and find a way to stop this."

"You still think you can fix this?" Hestia stared him dead in the eyes.

Percy's heart beat intensified under her piercing gaze.

Percy knew he had to lie. He had to, because if it was all for nothing...No, he had to keep going, he had to believe he could escape this sick nightmare. "I know this nightmare can end. Kronos, the Giants, Gaia. We drove them back against all odds. We won the war. We, I can do that again."

Percy was glad he wasn't under the oath of the Styx, or else he would have vaporized on the spot.

Hestia kept looking him in the eyes.

Softly she spoke. "And when the time ever comes, you think you can kill the council?"

Percy didn't answer that question.

"It must be mind control," The demigod tried. "Someone is controlling the council."

There's no way the Gods would decide to get rid of humanity. They can't be that cruel.

It was clear to him now. Find who or what controls the council and kill them.

No matter the cost.

"They held a vote," Hestia said, her eyes drifting back to the fire. "They still act the same, but now instead of discussing the latest gossip they talk about which ways they can most effectivly murder humans and demigods."

"They have to be mind controlled." Percy insisted. "You sure there's nothing odd that happened before they declared war? Please, anything that might help?"

Hestia stopped to think. Her eyes were staring into the fire while her facial expressions contorted. She likely didn't have great memories of the past months.

"There was an investigation. We wanted to find out the reason behind the great stirring of the last denia," she paused to throw another bone into the fire. This time the flames didn't even react. "It might sound important to you but to us immortals it was just a routine task. Hermes and Athena went down into Tartarus, they thought that the answer might be found in the depths. The vote to end humanity was held a week later."

"So that must be it, the reason." Percy felt somewhat relieved to hear that news. "That means we can find the reason and reverse the damage!"

He'd figure out the small steps in between later. Like always, like before.

"There's no we." Hestia quickly quenched his hope.

Percy paused. "What do you mean?"

The Goddess gave Percy a weak smile. "Percy, it's over. Olympus won already. What you're seeing is just the aftermath of the war, the clean up."

"We are still around," Percy argued. "I know there are still other demigods around, it might take a whole lot of work but..."

Hestia shook her head. "You still think too small. You try to comprehend this war with a mortal mind. There are bigger pieces moving around then just the monsters you can see. Power balances, ancient rules and old forces lurking from the chaos. Olympus is waging wars on multiple fronts right now. But however it ends, humanity will perish."

"But I can still save people…" Percy tried.

"You can't. Aphrodite has cursed humanity with infertility." Hestia grimaced. As if some part of it was even remotely funny. She cracked a smile. "Even if the mortals manage to survive everything the Gods throw at them, Olympus only has to wait for humanity's complete extinction. There is no happy ending this time. Only tragedy."

Hestia closed her eyes. She leaned into Percy while small tears fell down her face.

"I just wanted to see you once more, that was the only thing that kept me going."

Percy opened his mouth but couldn't find anything to say. He barely knew what to think.

"I'm so sorry Percy." The Goddess cried.

The flames died down and the darkness of the night descended down on the pair.

Percy patiently waited for Hestia to light the fire again but she didn't even bother with it.

It wasn't until sunlight shone through the windows that Percy noticed that the Goddess had disappeared.

With his mind somewhere else Percy began to get up.

Percy shivered as a cold breeze passed through the doorway. The cold air chilled him to the bones.

Still feeling lightheaded, Percy knelt down to start the fire. Only then he'd noticed it.

The thing that served for fuel last night, the thing he couldn't identify through the flames was now fully visible in the pale light of day.

It was a vase. Or as a Titan once called it; a Pithos.

It lay broken and charred, its contents long gone.

Percy started a prayer but stopped midway through when he knew no one was listening.

Hopeless, he started to sob.

The world felt much colder.

A/N I know Pertemis was requested but I thought it would be fun to add Hestia to the story.

Tell me what you think of this story so far and I'll see you all in another month or so.

-CaptainMoonShine-