Percy

I leaned slightly on my trident as I examined my handiwork around me. Even relying on its power, that particular stunt had weakened me quite a bit.

I should be more careful with pushing myself like that. I admonished myself quietly.

The monster army around myself and Artemis had splintered, unsure of where to go, or what to do.

Porphyrion was still struggling with the wound Artemis had inflicted on him as I turned to face the giant, spinning my trident experimentally as I strategised where next to strike.

I jumped, clearing the chasm separating myself and Porphyrion, already sprinting as I hit the ground, closing the distance between myself and the gigantes.

Porphyrion heaved himself up, blocking my strike with my trident with his spear, forcing me to jump back in order to dodge a backhanded swipe from his colossal left hand.

I found myself searching for a new strategy as I found myself on the offence, pushing Porphyrion back.

I found myself slamming the ground again with the butt of my trident, causing massive waves of earth to cascade away from me, engulfing any monsters unfortunate enough to have decided to charge after having seen my previous display of power.

'Perseus!' I heard Artemis call from behind me. I pushed Porphyrion away from me, a massive adrenaline rush coming over me.

I turned my head to see Artemis rushing beside me.

'Perseus! You can't keep running off like this! You're going to get yourself killed.' Artemis said angrily as she knocked an arrow on her bow and sent it flying at breakneck speeds straight into the head of a telkhine attempting to flee the chaotic scene.

'It doesn't matter. Kill Porphyrion.' I said monotonously.

'Listen to me Perseus, I don't know what's happening with you, but snap out of it.'

'Oh relax Moonshine, nothing's going to happ-' I began, before being backhanded by Porphyrion, slamming into one of the rocky ridges I had created earlier through the use of my earthshaker abilities.

Now let me tell you one thing about being backhanded into a solid rock wall.

It hurts.

Like a bitch.

I groaned as I tried to get back up, summoning water from the air to heal myself.

When I finally stopped seeing double and could focus, I saw Artemis and Porphyrion locked in a furious duel, Porphyrion trying to rally his shattered army to him.

I got back on my feet, tottering around precariously as I summoned yet again more water to me.

At this rate I'm going to be too fatigued to be of any use at all.

I felt a pinch of annoyance at myself for getting myself in this position, potentially endangering Artemis with my responsibility.

I frowned, pushing those thoughts out of my head, for now.

I'm going to have to face them sooner or later.

But that time was not now, as I ran straight back into the fray with a wild overhead swing of my trident at Porphyrion's right wrist.

The giant, who had just been locked in fierce combat with Artemis, coolly stepped back to avoid the blow.

'Perseus! Snap out of it, you're going to get yourself killed!' Artemis admonished from beside me.

I glanced at her, taking in the sight of her.

I shook my head. 'This is the end of the line, Moonshine.'

Artemis blocked a strike from Porphyrion's spear, pushing the attack off with both her hunting knives.

'Perseus what are you talking about?' She cried frantically as I parried a heavy blow from Porphyrion.

Porphyrion took a moment to recover. His spear started glowing, warping the air around it.

'Perseus, please, you're making no s-' Artemis began before she was slammed with the full force of the glowy spear.

I was frozen in horror for a second as I watched Artemis sail through the air, landing a couple metres away, unmoving.

For a moment, stretching into what felt like an eternity, nothing happened. I faintly registered the silence around me.

I guess my earthquake did more damage than I thought.

I turned back to Porphyrion, seeing him grin triumphantly as he spun his newly recovered spear experimentally, prepared for the expected onslaught from yours truly.

My blood boiled. Not only had Porphyrion hurt Artemis bad, it was my fault it happened in the first place.

Porphyrion let out a cry of pain as his form twitched unnaturally, first his legs, arms, and then neck snapping into awkward angles.

He collapsed onto the ground in pain, his spear dropping from his grasp.

I slowly stalked up to Porphyrion, relishing the cries of pain as the gigantes suffered in his broken form.

He was on his back, frantically trying to get up, his hands reaching for his spear, just out of range, stuck in the ground.

I made my way up to Porphyrion's side, squatting down beside him.

I groaned. There's no way I'm actually doing this.

'I'm having a shit day so far, so I'll make it quick. Where. Is. Jason?' I asked, trying to bring as much venom into my voice as I could manage.

Porphyrion let out a throaty chuckle. 'Still loyal to your little olympian friends. Cute. The son of Jupiter is being dealt with as we speak.'

My heart did a backflip. 'He's alive?'

Poprhyrion seemed caught off guard, taking a couple moments to respond.

'You didn't know. You didn't know! Your precious olympians didn't even tell you the sky-spawn is alive.' Porphyrion cackled, before making a strange choking sound, coughing up golden ichor.

'Where is he!' I demanded furiously.

'With the queen of the greeks. He will die as surely as she is imprisoned.'

Porphyrion started choking more seriously, rasping terribly as ichor started to leak out of his mouth, before he went completely still, the Giant dissipating in a cloud of nitrogen that stank of ozone.

I quickly walked away from the scene, rushing to check on Artemis where she had been incapacitated.

She lay in the centre of a crater, her skin littered with cuts and bruises.

I felt shame wash over me. My recklessness caused that. I thought dejectedly.

I gently knelt down to check her pulse, making sure she was still okay.

Do immortals even have a pulse? What even happens to an olympian if they're killed?

I tried to push aside the tangent.

I mulled over the best next course of action. The quest had been completed successfully, but the last two lines of the prophecy still made no sense.

Did we miss something?

Maybe, but my priority at that moment was to make sure Artemis was alright.

'Apollo!' I shouted as loudly as I could straight into the sky.

Was I a madman shouting into the sky?

Yes.

But I had just survived what reasonably should have been a suicidal assassination attempt of the giant king borne to oppose Jupiter, so cut me some slack.

I waited for a couple of seconds, fearing that the god was otherwise occupied, before a massive flash of light appeared in front of me.

Once the light had dissipated and I could finally see who was standing in front of me, I saw Apollo for the first time since our… interesting talk in the bathroom of the Arby's in the outskirts of San Francisco around a month ago.

He looked the same as always, dressed in faded jeans, trainers and a white shirt that was uncomfortably tight on his upper torso.

'My man Perce! Congratulations, I'm guessing you beat Porphyrion?' He began in an upbeat manner. After a second of taking in my sorry state, and Artemis at my feet, he instantly lost his jovial mannerisms. 'What happened?'

I sighed tiredly, running a hand through my dirty and matted hair absentmindedly.

'She lost focus, Porphyrion hit her with his spear, it must have been supercharged or something, because it sent her flying here.'

Apollo nodded, although his focus was clearly on his sister as he went to assess her injuries and apply nectar to any wounds she had sustained.

I stayed comatose, unresponsive to the outside world, until a small, plain metallic flask was thrust in front of me. I slowly looked up to see Apollo giving me a sheepish smile.

'Sorry cuz, with my sister like that I kinda forgot about you.' He explained abashedly as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

I nodded in acceptance, mustering whatever emotions I could to form the briefest of smiles. 'I'm fine, thanks Lord Apollo.' I said, trying to placate the deity.

I still took the canister of nectar nonetheless, my own pack forgotten before the battle.

I took a small swig of the stuff, tasting my mom's delicious brownies as always. I sighed in contentment as I took a couple more small sips, feeling my body rejuvenate.

Apollo snapped his fingers, and suddenly Artemis was gone.

'I have her in my palace, my equipment will speed up her recovery.' Apollo explained as he saw my raised eyebrow.

I nodded.

Apollo summoned an ornate gold chair and sat down across from me.

'I guess you're wondering what happens now?' He asked with a tentative smile.

I nodded, not providing any spoken answer. Despite the nectar, I felt drained after the events of the last couple of days, which were starting to catch up with me.

Apollo clapped his hands. 'Right! Well, as you are probably already aware, my sisters' prophecy isn't completely fulfilled as of yet.'

I frowned, wracking my mind for the verses of the prophecy we had discussed throughout the last month.

'And fortuna shall seal their fate, in a land curses hate.' I recited once it came to mind.

Apollo nodded sagely. 'That's the one right there. Now, you're aware that today is June 24th?'

My eyes widened in realisation.

'Today is the celebration.' I whispered quietly. 'But it should be okay then, right? Porphyrion is dead, me and Artemis killed him, it shouldn't be an issue.' I reasoned.

Apollo shook his head. 'In a land curses hate. Do you know anywhere like that?'

I shook my head dejectedly. 'Me and Artemis could never decipher that line.'

Apollo smiled. 'That's alright, there's really no way you could have known this.' He stretched out his arms dramatically. 'The Little Tiber.'

I stared at him for a couple of seconds in utter silence.

'You're pulling my leg aren't you?'

'Dead serious.'

'Enlighten me.'

'I thought you would have been able to put the pieces together, but whatever floats your boat I guess.'

'I'm not getting any younger.'

'The Little Tiber counteracts curses. Anybody under the influence of one who passes through the waters of the Tiber is cleansed of them.'

My eyes widened to what must have been a comical degree, because Apollo burst out laughing. 'Yeah, that's exactly how I thought you'd react. You don't disappoint cuz.' He chuckled good-naturedly.

My mind was racing at a hundred miles an hour as I processed the newfound information.

'So I need to return to New Rome?' I squashed down the heaviness in my heart at my words.

Apollo made a face. 'Actually, it's a bit more complicated than that. You see, New Rome is kinda under siege, there's going to be a big battle over it.'

I jumped to my feet without a second thought. 'You didn't think to mention that before? I need to go. When does that battle begin?' I asked forcefully.

Apollo checked his watch, before letting out a small sound of surprise. 'Wow, we have really been talking for a while, I have to say, very enjoyable company you are. As for the time-'

'Roughly half an hour ago.'

AN:

Another chapter done and dusted.

As always, will be adding extra content to this chapter later, so yeah, idk check that out if you want.

Does anyone even read these?

Reviews:

SandiaVida: Thanks! Hope this is alright.

HellRaiderS: Thanks for the support, trying my best updates-wise.

Chad: I don't usually reply to guest comments, but this one is kinda important so I guess I'll address for like the one person who reads these. It was a bit over the top in chapter 9 and 10, so I toned it down loads, but the gist of it is that we will see elements of this in the future in the ever-unfolding drama that is AU Pertemis.

Paddies weekend (Yes they made it an entire weekend.) Gave me like half a week off, plus I have holidays now, so I'll have much more time to write, so expect perhaps more updates, if not chapters then updates to earlier chapters, content drops are sorta becoming my thing lol.

That's about that.

Slán, Murph