Chapter 35
As much as Percy hated to admit it, he was wrapping up his mission on Earth. He'd put together every scrap of information he could find from the safehouses he raided, and put together enough information to get the name of the leader of the whole thing. The guy who had orchestrated the bombings in London that had claimed so many. The name, gave him the location, and the location signed his death warrant.
When Percy tracked the guy to a specific house, he started planning the raid, and found that the easiest way to go about it, would be to use the line of sight he had from a building almost 4Km away, and put a bullet in his brain. And that had been his plan until he looked down his sniper scope and finally laid eyes on the man who had caused such devastation. He needed to be up close and personal. He needed to see the light fade away from behind the eyes that had seen such horrors.
He used the scope to look around the room and saw it was empty, except for the target. Picturing the room in his mind, Percy shadow travelled in, right behind the guy. He unsheathed his knife and simply tapped the guy on the shoulder. He turned, confused, and his eyes immediately widened in terror. Percy slid the blade into his throat.
As he looked down at the man who was simultaneously bleeding and suffocating, Percy wondered if he would remember this moment in the centuries to come. He knew he would remember meeting Annabeth, and proposing to her. He knew he'd remember finding her and his mother's bodies. He'd remember the moment he realised Jack had been the one who'd shot them dead in that alley.. And even though it hadn't happened yet, he knew he'd remember the moment he finally got his revenge on his brother. He'd remember the feeling when Chaos had recruited him into her Army He'd remember the first moment he laid eyes on Sara. He'd remember their first kiss, the first time they had sex, the time she told him about where she was from, and all the painful times they'd had to say goodbye. He knew he'd remember standing over Frank's body in the cold NYC morgue, still unaware that it was him, and he'd remember seeing him on the tape in Estelle's apartment. He'd remember the look of pure pain in Hazel's eyes when he confirmed that Frank was dead, and he'd remember the look in her eyes when she executed the man who had killed the love of her life.
He knew with absolute certainty that he'd remember each of those events, and certainly many more important milestones to come. But for the life of him, he didn't know if he'd remember this exact moment. All those others, he could picture them down to the tiniest detail. But when he looked back on this moment in 300 years, would he remember the color of the guy's shirt? Would he even remember the city they were in?
No, he decided as he stared into the evil bastard's perfectly unremarkable brown eyes. No, he wouldn't remember this man as vividly as he remembered the massive carnage and hundreds of deaths he had caused. That was just sad, he decided.
He'd remember that he did it; that was never in any doubt. He'd remember that he took out the evil fucker who had hurt so many people. But the details would fade, he was sure. They would blend together with all the other times he would do similar things.
After a few seconds, the guy finally died. Percy watched intently as the intrinsic quality that every living person held, melted away into nothingness, and whatever it was that made a person a person faded away, and all that was left was an empty husk. A collection of meat and bone and tissue. He was gone. There was nothing anyone could do for him. Percy slid the blade out and wiped it on the guy's clothes. He didn't want the blood of this scum to soil his perfectly good knife.
Maybe it was the fact that this was nothing special. He'd thought it would be. But it was just another raid. There was nothing about this that would stand out in his mind. He hadn't had to do anything particularly noteworthy or difficult. The subject of the raid stood out, but the act itself was no different than anything he had done dozens of times before.
He tried to figure out how he felt. He didn't know, really. There seemed to be two general directions for this to take. Either he'd feel guilty about taking a life, which Percy had thought was unlikely given the frequency with which he eliminated the filth of humanity. Or he'd feel satisfied that he'd accomplished his mission and dismantled a network designed to harm the weak and the innocent.
He was definitely leaning towards the latter, but he wasn't quite there. It felt empty to him. Hollow. Maybe he was damaged. Maybe that was why he wasn't feeling the things he was supposed to feel. But then he figured his feelings on the matter where completely irrelevant to anything and everything. He'd accomplished his mission. He'd done his job. That was all that mattered, wasn't it?
He'd been excited on the way over. Eager to get it done. To get some semblance of payback for all the families of the London bombings. Then he'd gotten into the zone for the mission, and that excitement had given way to pure concentration on his target. And then he'd looked into the man's eyes, and felt absolutely nothing at the sight. No boiling rage, no anticipation, no nothing.
Just to be sure, Percy went through the house and executed the lieutenants. There wouldn't be a power struggle, or a transition to another leader. He had cut off the head of the snake, and now he was going to hack the body into tiny unrecognisable pieces.
After wading through the sea of blood in the house, Percy simply shadow travelled away. He still felt nothing. Maybe just a sliver of pride.
—-
The next day, Percy was pretty down. His disappointment with the previous night's raid was coming out. He had really hoped for something more than he had gotten. But it had felt so mechanical. Almost routine.
'Yes, I just put this knife into this spot here, and then the person dies, and then I move on to the next thing.'
He felt like he was just supposed to move on and do the next thing. Except, there was no next thing. This was the end. He'd cut off the head of the snake. He'd decimated the rank and file. He'd made sure that the money he'd collected from the safehouses was disposed of properly, so no one could use it for ill. Surely they didn't have any more money to play wth. And there was no one to spend it anyway. They were done. Completely and utterly defeated.
He spent the whole day training his Squad, making sure they were ready for anything that came their way. Especially now that he was, presumably, going back to Chaos' realm. It wasn't his mission to deal with the camps of monsters. He had accomplished his only mission on Earth, so logically he should be leaving. That left his Squad to continue the search alone. If he couldn't be there personally, then he damn well wanted to make sure they were ready for whatever came next. That was as close as he could get, to actually being there with them on the battlefield.
So, he trained them and he taught them as best as he could. After a very long day, Percy, Artemis, and everyone else let their soldiers retire for the night. He checked his laptop, and found a very mysterious message waiting for him.
"Thursday, 5 p.m." and then a string of numbers which Percy instinctively knew were coordinates that led him somewhere just off the coast of Hawaii.
Chaos was picking him up. He'd be going back to her realm to finish his training. He wasn't going to be seeing his friends again for potentially hundreds of years.
Maybe that was why he hadn't felt better when he'd killed his big fish. He had known that would mean saying goodbye to virtually everyone he cared about.
He went to bed pretty annoyed that night, and had a restless hour of sleep. In fact, he woke up feeling more tired than he had when he'd gone to bed. He hoped his morning run would clear his mind and make him feel a bit better. But it didn't. He felt just as frustrated as he had before, only now he was out of breath, and he smelled worse.
Thursday was only 2 days away, which made him bumb up his training with his Squad. He felt like he had so much to show them, and so little time to do it. If he had to potentially leave the security of the mythological world in their hands, he wanted them to be as strong as possible. So he put them through their paces, and to their credit, they performed quite well. He had chosen his soldiers well.
Everyone in Percy's inner circle noticed his foul mood, but none of them questioned him outright. No one but Artemis. Naturally.
"So, what's got you in such a shitty mood?" she asked him out of the blue as he was eating his dinner.
"What?" he question irritably.
"Don't take that tone with me," she warned, "You've been off ever since you came back from that las job. Did something happen?"
"Nothing happened."
"Don't lie to me either."
He sighed through his nose, and felt his frustration reach critical mass.
"You know, if I wanted your opinion, I'd ask for it," he bit out.
She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, generally looking unimpressed. She didn't say anything. Just stared, waiting for him to crumble.
And he did crumble. He felt himself deflate like a balloon. All that frustration that had been building in him since the raid just evaporated.
"I'm leaving," he said, his voice thick with emotion.
"Leaving where?"
"Back to the place where I was before I came back to Earth."
She blinked. For a few seconds, she seemed to not know what to do with herself. Then she sat down next to him.
"Wow. That never even occurred to me. I kind of forgot you'd be leaving at some point."
Percy looked over at her and was a little surprised to see that she looked legitimately disappointed. She sat down next to him, but didn't look at him. She just stared off in the same direction as him.
"Yeah, so did I. But I don't really have a choice. I need to go. I just feel like I'm letting everyone here down."
Now she did look at him.
"Letting who down?"
He shrugged, "I don't know. Everyone, I gues. The Squad, my friends, you, my dad, my sister, my step-dad. How is it fair that I just get to show back up in their lives for a couple years, and then waltz away again?"
They sat in silence for a moment.
"Percy, you're not letting anyone down. Not at all. The Squad will be fine. I'll be right here with them, and I'll make sure nothing bad happens. Your friends will be ok as long as you explain why you have to go. They won't like it, but they'll accept it. I will be more than fine. It'll be nice not to have a smelly boy like you around anymore," at that, she bumped his shoulder with hers, and offered him a playful smirk which made him smile a little.
"Your father will be ok. He'll be very moody, and generally make everyone wish they didn't have to be near him for a while, but he'll be ok. Your mortal family will live and grow, and have their own full, complete lives. They'll miss you of course, but they'll be happy. I'll keep an eye on them for you. I promise."
Percy felt strangely touched. She was willing to do all that for him? It was certainly nice of her. Just the idea that she was making sure Paul and Estelle were ok would be a load off his mind.
"Thank you, Artemis," he said genuinely.
She just smiled at him softly for a few seconds.
"And I'm sorry I called you a raging bitch all those times."
She blinked, non-plussed.
"You know," he clarified, and tapped the side of his head indicatively.
She huffed out an indignant laugh and shoved his shoulder, not-too-gently.
He laughed, and said nothing. Just enjoying the sight of her shaking her head ruefully, likely wishing she had never come over to talk to him. But there was a smile on her face that she was probably desperately trying to hide, quite unsuccessfully.
They sat together in comfortable silence for another minute, and Percy found himself trying to memorise the feeling of being with her. Thinking back on how much he'd hated her when they'd first become reluctant companions, it was hard to believe that he'd got to the point where he would actually miss her company when he was gone.
"When are you going?"
He felt the smile fade from his face.
"Day after tomorrow."
"And you haven't told anyone else yet, have you?"
He shook his head.
"Well, in that case, I'll let you do that. Goodnight, Percy, I'll see you tomorrow."
With a final smile, she got up and went to her tent.
Sighing deeply, Percy got up and went in search of Hazel. He wanted to tell her first, so he could make his offer. He found himself scripting what he would say, and how he would say it. How could you even pitch something like this? That had never been a problem for Percy. Chaos had told him who she was, and offered him vengeance against his brother, and he was hooked.
He found her in her tent, reading a book. She looked up at him with a small, questioning smile as he came in, and he hesitated.
"Are you busy?" he asked, trying to stall for time.
"Swamped," she told him with a sardonic eyebrow raised.
He chuckled awkwardly.
"So, uh, I kinda wanted to talk to you."
She nodded, "Yeah, I figured."
"Do you mind of we go sit down somewhere?"
Now thoroughly confused, but trusting, she nodded. Percy took a few steps closer, put a hand on her shoulder, and shadow travelled them both to a small cafe in New York that he liked quite a lot.
They sat down together, ordered coffees, and shot the shit while they waited for them. Eventually, they got their drinks, and Percy, making sure they couldn't be overheard, took a second to gather himself.
"So, you know the place I was when I was away?"
"No, Percy, I literally don't," she said with a smirk.
He chuckled a little, but it was forced.
"Well, how much do you know about Kronos?"
Her eyebrows shot up, and he realised how bad that sounded.
"Just tell me who his parents were."
"Uhhh," she began uncertainly, "Uranos and Gaia, right?"
"Exactly. Do you know who their parents were?"
She shrugged, "Chaos made them herself, right?"
Percy nodded, "And what do you know about Chaos?"
"Not much. There's virtually nothing known about her. She created the Universe, and had her kids, the Primordials, and then presumably, she faded."
He paused. This was the moment of truth. There was no going back after this. But then he thought about how she listless she seemed since Frank died, and how he only really saw a spark of the way she used to be when he took her on raids.
She needed this.
"That's not entirely accurate."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"She never faded. She just kind of took a step away. And she formed an organisation, which she called Chaos' Army."
Hazel blinked.
"Why?"
"Because she's an egotist."
Hazel sighed in mild frustration, "No. Why did she form an Army?"
"Oh, right. Because the universe is a really big place, and there are a lot of planets with a lot of really shitty people. She can't really intervene herself, so she started recruiting. And that's what she did with me. She brought me over during my fight with Jack because I was too badly injured to survive the fight. She healed me, and I signed up."
Hazel sat back, eyes wide.
"So," she started a few moments later, "You've been working for the creator of the universe?"
"Yeah. Me and a few billion others. It's a big place."
"So… that's where that girl Sara was from? She was part of Chaos' Army?"
"And that's how you can do all the things you can do? Like the strength and speed, and the shadow stuff?"
Percy nodded.
"Holy shit."
Percy nodded again.
He let her sit in silence for a few minutes, as she processed what he had just told her. He understood that it was a lot to take in.
"Why are you telling me all this now?"
Percy hesitated.
"When Chaos took my in, I was lost. But she gave me a purpose. Something to do with my life. And I think she can do that for you too."
Her eyes went wide.
"Wait… you want to recruit me?"
"Well," Percy was uncomfortable now, thinking she might turn him down, "I think it would be a good opportunity for you. A change of scenery, and the chance to do learn to do a lot of cool stuff and save lives while you're at it."
She stared at him.
"Look, you can say no, if you want, just don't tell anyone about this."
"No, I'll do it."
She sounded determined. Resolute.
He watched her carefully.
"Are you sure? This isn't going to be easy."
"When have any of us ever turned down a challenge?"
He smiled a little.
"Fair enough. Look, I just found out I'm leaving the day after tomorrow. There's a ship coming to pick me up off the coast of Hawaii. I'll bring you with me; it's more direct that way."
"The day after tomorrow?" she echoed.
"Yeah. So I think we should get some rest for tonight, and say our goodbyes tomorrow."
"Right, yeah, ok. Shall I pack?"
Percy blinked.
"Pack?"
"Yeah, for Chaos' Army."
"Uhh. No, they'll give you everything you need when you're there."
She nodded, and sipped her coffee, deep in thought.
He just stared at her for a few seconds before shrugging and turning to his own drink. He hadn't had the opportunity to think about stuff like that when he'd been recruited, so maybe it was a fair question to ask, but it was just weird to him.
"So what's it like over there?" she asked a few moments later.
Percy paused and thought about how to answer that question.
"Well," he started slowly, "I'm still in training, so I can't speak to what it's like in the actual Army, but it's pretty weird from what I've seen so far. It's all really individual, for starters. There's no teamwork stuff. Because of that, it's really competitive, and most people just hate each other. No one really talks to one another, and most days it's just a big pissing contest. The instructors are really tough, too. They're all full members of the Army who have at least 1000 years of experience, so they know a lot, but they're pretty harsh. But if you can just keep your head down, you should be fine."
"That sounds… Rough."
"It is. But if my dumb ass can get through it, you'll be fine."
She smiled, and Percy could tell she was getting less worried and more excited. She was going to be ok. Now he just had to figure out how to tell the others.
—-
Some time later, Percy took Hazel back to camp and she went straight to bed. Percy sent his dad an Iris Message.
"Son?" he asked when he answered.
"Yeah, Dad, it's me. You ok?"
"Yes yes, I'm fine. I just finished settling a dispute between a school of salmon and another school of trout. Messy stuff."
Percy nodded like he knew what the hell was going on, and hoped there wouldn't be follow-up details.
"So, why are you calling?"
Breathing a covert sigh of relief, Percy said, "Well, there was something I wanted to talk to you about. Do you have a minute?"
"Of course."
"Great. Well, I just found out that I'm leaving soon. Thursday at around 5 o'clock."
Poseidon's face fell.
"But… but we only just got you back."
The old god sounded heartbroken.
Percy couldn't meet his gaze.
"Yeah, I know, dad. I was hoping we could spend tomorrow night together? Do some father-son stuff as a goodbye."
"Yes, of course, we can do that. I'll leave the planning to you. I don't really know about these things. How long do you think you'll be gone for this time?"
"I really don't know. It could be a lot longer though. But I'm sure I'll be back eventually."
"Eventually," Poseidon echoed quietly.
Percy said nothing.
"Alright, well, send me an Iris Message with the details when you have them. I'll see you tomorrow night, my son."
"Thanks dad. See you then."
Percy swiped his hand thought the mist, and breathed a small sigh of relief. He'd been expecting a bit worse. Now he just had to plan a fun night out with his dad, and they could get a proper goodbye.
Percy spent the rest of his night working out like a man possessed, while planning a fun night with his dad, and finally collapsed for his hour of sleep several hours later.
—-
Percy woke up with a desire for good coffee. It was a desire he found in himself quite often, but this was his last-but-one morning on Earth, so he was going to get his fill. He knew several good spots in New York, so he shadow travelled over there and walked around until he found a place he knew.
It was a very modern-looking place, all white and brown wood, and plenty of glass. But the coffee was good and that was what counted. The downside of a place with good coffee, was that people tended to go there to get some. The bastards. As soon as he walked in, he saw the line stretched half-way through the space of the shop. Percy sighed, and almost decided to try his luck somewhere else. But he just sucked it up adn got in line.
He saw all the same reactions he typically got from people when he walked into a confined area. They looked at him like he was a hippo, about to lose control and start trampling people at random. It was slightly offensive, but he was used to it by then and made a point to keep his hands in his pockets, as un-threateningly as possible, and his eyes on the board above the counter, even though he already knew what he wanted.
It took a few minutes, but people lost interest in him, and started focusing on their own immediate needs. Their drinks, their wallets, and most popularly, their phones. All except one person.
A woman right behind him in the line, had her eyes locked onto him. He could smell the pheramones coming off of her. She wasn't scared or nervous.
She was horny.
Percy could tell without looking, that she was somewhat tall, with the legs of a supermodel. She had a lightly toned figure, and she just felt healthy.
And she seemed to be hot for him.
He made a bet with himself that she had brown hair. That was the sort of thing he couldn't tell without looking, so he liked to make bets with himself about stuff like that. It kept things at least somewhat interesting.
Brown hair, and brown eyes, he decided.
He looked over his shoulder and immediately locked eyes with her. She was stunning. Seriously beautiful. He was wrong about both of his bets, of course. Her hair wasn't brown. It was blacker than anything he had ever seen. It was so dark, it almost seemed to be sucking in the light around it, like a black hole. And her eyes weren't brown either. They were the most shocking blue he had ever witnessed. He wasn't sure what the official term for it was. Arctic blue? Whatever the hell it was called, it was mesmerising.
And then he realised she was smiling at him.
And perhaps more troubling, he was smiling back. He did not remember ordering his facial muscles to contract that way. With a concentrated effort, he wiped the smile off his face, and looked away from her.
After a few more minutes of trying to ignore her gaze on him, he got to the front of the line, ordered his latte, collected it, and sat down. He was determined to enjoy one of his final mornings on Earth. No distractions, just good coffee.
The woman slid into the seat opposite him, coffee in hand, the same smile on her face.
Percy stared at her.
"Would you like me to move?" he asked, totally confused.
The woman quirked her head, "Well that would ruin the whole point of me sitting here, wouldn't it?"
She spoke with an english accent, and he couldn't help but bite his lip at the sound. She had a fantastic voice.
"You're very direct, aren't you?"
"Yes, I find that tends to work best."
"I imagine it does. I'm Mark."
And there it was. Just a flicker of surprise. She hadn't expected the name 'Mark'. Which meant that she knew his name was Percy. And the fact that she knew his name without him telling her, meant that this was no random encounter.
Instantly his defences went up, and he started trying to place her face. But he knew for a fact that he had never seen this woman before in his life. He'd remember, that was for sure. So, he just had to continue the conversation, and hope for something more to go on.
"Daisy," she said reaching out and shaking his hand.
He started wracking his brain for anything to do with the name 'Daisy' but he was coming up empty. Nothing in his personal life, and nothing related to Greek or Roman mythology.
"So, you got a last name, Mark?" she asked teasingly.
It was a good move on her part. But he'd been taught too well not to recognise it. She knew Mark was an alias, and a good alias could tell you a lot about someone, if you knew how to read the signs. Percy was perfectly capable of picking a name with absolutely no significance to anything, but he didn't want to give this woman anything to work with.
"Actually, I don't. Some kind of birth defect," he deflected jokingly.
She laughed but he could see her calculating. She thought he hadn't caught on to her act yet, so she was weighing up whether she wanted to press him for a last name, or simply play along. He saw her decide that it wasn't worth raising his suspicion for a name that might not even amount to much.
"How tragic!" she played along jokingly.
He shrugged playfully, "We all have our burdens to bear."
She giggled along.
"So, do you have a last name? Or do you have a defect too?" he questioned teasingly.
He saw her panic momentarily. To her credit, she recovered fairly quickly.
"Rose," she answered.
Well, that just confirmed the fact that she was giving him a fake name.
"So, it's 'Daisy Rose', is it?" he questioned.
She laughed awkwardly, clearly thrown off her game.
"Yeah, my parents were assholes."
Something in the way she said it. Like it was a lot more true than anything else that had come out of her mouth since she sat down. Percy knew from experience, that the best liars quite simply told the truth. There was a good chance she was telling the truth about that. Which meant there was a possibility that she was from the Greek world. It wasn't confirmation of anything, but it was definitely suggestive.
"So, what are you doing here?"
"Here in the coffee shop, or here at your table?" she teased.
"Either," he replied with a smile.
She shrugged vaguely.
"Neither answer is particularly complicated. I'm here at the coffee shop because I want coffee. I'm here at your table because I think you're cute."
Despite the fact that this woman could be a dangerous murderer, he couldn't help but blush.
Acting more confident than he felt, he leaned in closer, "Well then, I suppose that puts us in a very interesting situation."
She followed his lead, leaning in, "Really? What situation is that?"
"You think I'm cute; I think you're cute. What do you think we should do about it?"
"Good question," she said softly.
Just then, he felt a buzzing in his pocket. He blinked at the interruption, actually a little annoyed. He leaned back and checked the phone in his pocket.
"SOMEONE HERE IS TRYING TO KILL YOU"
He read it, read it again, and then one more time. Instantly, his eyes snapped to the woman claiming to be 'Daisy'. Her left hand was on the table, but her right hand seemed to be resting on her leg, out of sight.
He scanned the cafe, but couldn't see anyone there that immediately raised his alarm. No one except the mysterious 'Daisy'. Everyone else seemed to be perfectly normal.
"Something important?" Daisy asked, gesturing towards the phone.
'You could say that, yeah' he thought.
But instead, he said, "Actually, yeah. I totally forgot, I'm late for an appointment. But here, let me give you my number. Call me sometime."
He borrowed a pen from a passing waitress, and wrote a series of meaningless numbers on a napkin and handed it over. He left without pausing to glance at her again.
If the mysterious message on his phone was accurate, then he assumed someone would start following him.
As he joined the throngs of New Yorkers going about their day, he felt someone behind him. Someone who had just exited the cafe after him. But it wasn't Daisy. The figure behind him was also female, but she was older, shorter, and out of shape. This was who someone sent to kill him? He almost felt insulted.
Trying to pretend as though he didn't know anyone was following him, he led his pursuer through a complicated route, using his knowledge of the city to his advantage. He wanted this to go down in a less populated area. Despite her physical shortcomings, there was no way this assassin wasn't good at her job if she was being sent after him. So he wanted the fight to have the least impact, and, he hoped, fewer eyeballs.
Eventually, he stopped outside a building that looked pretty quiet. There were few people on the street, and it was a bit out-of-the-way. Or at least, as close as you could get in NYC.
He pretended to fumble around at the lock, and try the buzzer, but he was just waiting for his tail to catch up. When he felt like she was close, he stepped closer to her.
"Uh, excuse me, ma'am, I'm so embarrassed, but it looks like I just locked myself out. Do you mind if I make a call on your phone? My wife should be somewhere in the area, she can let me in."
The older woman, who he now saw had non-descript brown hair, and very pale blue eyes which he couldn't help but compare unflatteringly to the beauty of Daisy's, blinked in surprise, but quickly composed herself.
"Yes, of course, here you go."
She fumbled with a phone for a few seconds, unlocking it, presumably, and handed it over to him.
So she had a phone. That basically ruled out any demigod. Very few, besides Percy, could carry around a phone without sending up a beacon to any monsters in the tri-state area.
He typed a few numbers into the keypad in the phone app, and held the phone to his ear. He was about to start talking, faking a conversation with a non-existant wife, when someone actually answered the call.
"Hello?"
The voice was male.
"Hey babe," Percy said, cringing inwardly at how confusing this was going to get for this poor guy.
"I think you have a wrong number there buddy."
"Yeah, I'm right outside, but I locked myself out again."
"Uhh, hello? Dude, I'm telling you, this is a wrong number."
"Yeah, I know, I know. Look, you're at Rachel's, right? Do you mind swinging by quickly? Or I could just go over and pick up the keys?"
"Hellooooo?"
The guy on the other end sounded desperate now.
"Ok, yeah, that's perfect. I'll be there in like 10 minutes. I love you."
"No, dude, I'm not your wif-"
Percy ended the call.
'Probably swearing to never answer an unknown number again.' Percy thought, unable to hide the smile on his face.
"Thank you so much," he said to the woman.
"Oh, no problem," she replied, reaching for the phone.
He handed it over, and felt her hand twist just a little, in his grasp. On instinct, he rotated his wrist and grasped the hand, dropping the phone in the process.
There was the tiniest little needle sticking out of the ring on her finger. Percy knew, somehow, that it was poisoned.
"Interesting ring you got there," he said, staring at it.
The woman stared at him for a second before she tried to shove her hand forwards, hoping to meet flesh.
Percy swatted her hand to the side and sent his elbow crashing into the side of her head.
She dropped like a bag of hammers.
Percy dragged her into a nearby alley, using his senses to check if anyone had noticed. The whole thing had been relatively quiet, and the street was mostly empty, so he didn't think there was a huge chance of being seen. And he'd been right. No one had been looking their way during the critical moments, and the few bystanders had missed the action.
He laid her out on the concrete behind a dumpster, and fished through her pockets. He found a wallet which strangely had no ID of any kind, and a few bucks in cash. No credit cards. That was frustrating, but it did tell him something. Whoever this woman was, she was a pro. The ring was so subtle, he doubted he'd even notice if she bumped him with it. Chaos' first and second blessings made him immune from most poisons, but there still might have been something in there that could do him some serious damage.
That plus the fact that there was nothing on her with her name in it, was pretty suggestive. He took another look at her phone. Hey lock screen was a bland photo of a sunset, and there was a 16-digit password. No thumbprint of facial ID either. She was good.
He started trying to wake her up, when he realised she wasn't breathing. He'd crushed her skull with the elbow. She was dead.
She must have been mortal. He hadn't even hit her that hard. The fact that it killed her, meant she was just a normal human. No way anything supernatural would die to that.
Disappearing the body, was pretty easy. He just shadow travelled them both to the middle of the ocean, let her go, and shadow travelled back. Her body would likely never be discovered, and even if it was, then it would be way too deteriorated to be identified, or linked back to him. He was fine.
Now back in New York, Percy started walking towards the Empire State building, a plan in mind. Daisy, had clearly been on his side. She had beent he one to send the message. That was why her hand hadn't been on the table, at the exact moment that he had been sent the message. Not to mention the fact that she had seemed so sure that the message he had received was significant. So, whoever she was, she was on his side.
Then he thought of the assassin. She had also known who he was. And she'd clearly been told where he would be. The amount of people who knew who he was, and where he could be at any given time, was spectacularly low. It was a number limited only to gods. And the only god who had ever tried to send assassins after him, was Zeus. Percy figured that was why he had used a mortal assassin. Less chance of it being linked back to him. And Zeus didn't know that Percy was immune to most poisons.
If the person trying to kill him was a god, then it meant there was a pretty good chance that the person helping him was the same. A goddess with pure black hair, and shockingly blue eyes? Percy couldn't think of any. But a goddess staggeringly beautiful enough to make him blush like that? There was only 1. And all those months ago when Percy had told Artemis about his enhanced senses, she had told him that there was a council of gods within the Olympians working against Zeus to keep him safe. And the single goddess who could make him blush, had been part of that council.
By the time he had scared the attendant into giving him the key to the 600th floor, Percy had figured it out.
He walked through the stunning streets of white marble, until he came across a row of gleaming palaces, each with their own personality. But he didn't take the time to examine each one. He focused on the one that was nausiatingly pink.
He knocked on the door and waited for a few moments. It was answered by a handmaiden.
"Do you know who I am?" he asked the stunned girl.
She nodded timidly.
"Tell her I'm here."
And with that, the door closed, and Percy went back to waiting. It was another few moments before the goddess of love and beauty opened the door.
"Percy, my darling, please come inside."
If there was any doubt whatsoever that she was the goddess of beauty, the mere sight of her displelled it instantly. For starters, she was wearing virtually no clothing. Just a tiny nighty, and that was mostly see-through anyway. She had long golden hair that rolled down her back in never-ending waves. Her eyes were vibrant green, like grass after rain. She was tall, at nearly 6ft, and very thin, but not like she was sick in any way. She was athletic, toned, but soft all the same.
In short, she was magnificent.
He had to fight to keep his head in the game.
"Lady Aphrodite," he started, to keep her on her toes, "How are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine, sweetheart. Now, please, call me Aphrodite. Or Aphy. That's what my friends call me," she finished with a wink that made his blood go haywire.
"Aphy, then," he said with a grin.
She looked genuinely delighted at that. She was good.
She led him to a sitting room that looked like a unicorn had vomited hearts and rainbows and the color pink all over the place. It was vaguely nauseating to look at.
"Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee? PIneapple juice?"
He furrowed his brow, "Pineapple juice?"
She just grinned like it was an inside joke, but said nothing.
"Coffee, please."
"Coming right up. Don't go anywhere."
She disappeared into another room while he reluctantly took a seat on a pink couch covered with heart-shaped pillows. He let out a deep sigh. A few minutes later, the Goddess of Beauty reappeared. She passed him a cup and sat down close enough to him that their thighs were touching. He took a sip. It was a perfectly-made latte.
"So, what can I do for you?" she asked in her magnificent voice.
"Well, I got into a bit of a fight earlier today."
"Oh, yeah? How'd it go?" she asked casually.
"Not bad. But that's not why I'm here."
"Ooookay," she said, clearly confused, "So, what's up?"
He pulled out his phone, opened the text he had received in the cafe and showed it to her. She read it and tensed slightly. He barely even picked up on it. Her eyes went wide and she brought a playful finger up to her lips.
"My, oh my!" she whispered, pretending to be scandalized, "Is that why you're here? Seeking asylum? Oh, please say yes! I would be more than willing to keep you right here for as long as you need!" she said seductively, as she leaned into him.
"You know," he said as if she hadn't spoken, "I have a little theory, my Lady."
"Please call me Aphrodite!" she said with a dazzling smile.
He grinned at her.
"Would you like to hear my theory, Aphrodite?" he asked, leaning into her ear and making his voice as husky as he could. He saw goosebumps appear on her flawless pale skin.
"I'd love to." she replied, matching his tone.
"Do you mind if I ask you a question first?"
"Honey, you can ask me anything you want right now," she said seductively.
"How did you know how I like my coffee?" he whispered to her.
She froze. A second went by before she looked up at him to meet his eyes. He thought he detected a hint of fear in those astoundingly beautiful eyes of hers, but it evaporated, only to be replaced with a coy look.
"Well, darling, let's not forget that I'm a Goddess. I know all kinds of things."
"Coffee-related things?"
"Lot's of different stuff," she said. There was a slight edge to her voice now. Like she was losing her composure.
"Do you mind of I share my little theory with you, Aphrodite?"
She paused for a moment, before the coy look came back. It looked less natural that time.
"But of course, sweetheart! I'm all ears!" she finished with a wink.
He leaned in as close as he could without actually kissing her. Once he was sure that he had monopolized her attention, he pressed the call button on his phone, to call the number that had sent the message. All of a sudden, the silence was broken by a loud ringing. The Love Goddess' eyes went wide. He smirked victoriously and leaned back, crossing his legs. She stayed exactly as she was, seemingly rooted to the spot.
"I KNEW there was more to you than this bullshit," he said, gesturing at all of the pink around her pallace.
She sighed, and leaned back, and crossed her arms across her chest. Her posture was slightly defeated. For once, she looked natural. She wasn't sitting with her back perfectly straight, pushing out her breasts, and there was no sex look in her eyes. She looked so… genuine.
"How did you know?"
He snorted, "Please. The real question, is how didn't I know earlier?"
She shrugged, "I've had a long time to perfect my image."
"Which leads me to my main question. Why?"
She paused for a moment, thinking it over.
"Honestly? I'm not totally sure. I think people just assumed I was some brainless idiot, so I just kind of… let them. It started out as kind of a pain, but after a while it got… fun. I like that I've been able to fool them all for so damn long. They don't have a clue. In fact, no one's ever realized. Until now, I suppose."
"Sounds like a pretty tough job, keeping that to yourself for all these years."
She nodded, and shrugged slightly, "I guess. But like I said, it's pretty fun. Eventually, I started getting a little kick out of pretending to be so ditzy. You have no idea how much easier it is to manipulate people into doing what you want, when they think you're clueless."
"Yeah, I bet. But why come to the cafe to warn me?"
She shrugged, "Like I said, people don't really pay much attention to you when they think you're dumb. Zeus was acting weird all week, and this morning he let slip that he was expecting a very important call later today. I put it together and figured I'd warn you. I didn't think you'd end up figuring all this out."
"Nicely done," he said appreciatively.
"Thank you very much."
"I thought the English accent was a good touch. Definitely threw me off a little."
"Yeah, I actually hadn't planned on that. You started talking to me and it just came out."
"Shame you had to ruin it with a lame-ass alias like Daisy Rose," he said teasingly.
She kicked him lightly, "Yeah, screw you for that by the way, I was cringing myself into oblivion over that. And you were just there like, 'I don't have a last name, it's a defect buuuuhhhhh'" she said in imitation of him.
He couldn't help but laugh.
She just watched him, arms still crossed, shaking her head, but there was a smile starting to spread across her perfect face.
Eventually, he calmed down.
"Seriously though, thanks for the warning. I'm not sure how that would have gone down if you hadn't given me a heads up."
She shrugged, "You'd have been fine."
"Maybe. Nice to know someone's looking out for you though. I guess I'll miss that."
She quirked her head in question.
"I just found out I'm leaving Earth. I'm going back to the place I was when I disappeared for all those years."
"Really? That's a shame."
Now it was Percy's turn to look at her questioningly.
"Is it?"
"Don't you think so?"
"Sure, I think so. But why do you think so?"
She shrugged, "I dunno. I guess it was nice to have someone know the truth about me. It would have been nice to have you around for a while."
He smiled, "If you like it so much, you could always tell someone."
She wrinkled her nose, "Nah. I like that you figured it out. I think it'd be more hollow if I just came right out and told someone."
"I suppose I can understand that. It'll probably mean you'll be lonely for a while."
"Well, I've had plenty of practice," she said, her eyes suddenly distant.
He found himself feeling pretty sorry for her. He knew what she was going through, just on a much smaller scale. He had never told anyone, even Annabeth, that he wasn't actually a moron during his Camp Hald-Blood days. He'd felt so alone during those years, that part of the joy of being with Sara was that he didn't need to put on an act anymore. He'd found someone he could be himself around.
Maybe if he wasn't leaving, he could have been that for Aphrodite. And he still could when he came back. But that was going to be a long in-between.
They said goodbye, so soon after saying hello for the first time, and Percy shadow travelled back to his Squad's camp.
—-
He decided to tell them at lunch. That way, they had the rest of the day, until Percy went to meet his dad, and then most of the next day too. That would probably be enough to say goodbye.
No, it wouldn't. But it would have to do.
He got the reactions he would have expected. They were disappointed, feeling as though they had only just got him back, and it was unfair that he had to leave again so soon. But when Jason thought out loud that at least they knew he was leaving, rather than him just vanishing one day, and they wouldn't have to worry about him, the rest followed his train of thought, and it seemed to help. Percy knew that diner, breakfast, and lunch, were going to be painful. He hated goodbyes. He was not good at them. But if it gave his friends some comfort while he was gone, then he'd do it.
The rest of the meal, was swapping stories and full of laughs. Percy didn't really talk much. He just sat there and tried to soak up their presence as much as he could. He hoped that if he thought of his friends while he was gone, it would be memories like this that would come to mind first.
They wrapped up their meals, and Percy spent the next several hours putting his Squad through their paces. He was absolutely certain that they hated him more than any of them could put into words, but if this kept them just a little safer while he was away, then he'd sleep a little easier.
He had them doing timed runs, carrying heavy weights on their backs, mountain climbing, forrest navigation, and even taught a few of the scouts how to scuba dive, with some gear he'd rented. He figured it was unlikely for another Son of Poseidon to take his place and facilitate their travel underwater, so he wanted them to know how to handle themselves underwater. Plus, they'd be able to teach any other scout that joined after he left.
By the time he was done with them, they, without exception, collapsed into their bunks to sleep and recuperate. Percy let them. Ordinarily, they would still have certain duties around the camp. Many of them would pull security around the perimeter, in case of an attack, and there were a few other jobs for them to do, but given how hard he had just pushed them for hours on end, he decided that they could relax for a while.
The hunters ended up filling in. The hunters typically didn't participate in any training sessions Percy had for the rest of the Squad. They were part of the Sqaud, but they never seemed to take part in any of the group jobs or activities. Part of, but separate. There were a few who did participate. In fact, the hunters who participated were the only ones younger than 50 years old. They were willing to overlook the fact that Percy was a guy, and just learned what they could from him.
After a quick shower and a change of clothes, Percy shadow travelled away from camp to meet his dad for their night out together.
—-
"I cannot believe you just did that to me!" Poseidon, the Lord of the Seas, grumbled as he and Percy walked out of the cinema.
Percy, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, said, "Yeah, I know, I'm sorry."
"I mean really, your own father!"
"I thought it'd be good."
"How?!"
Percy just shrugged helplessly.
They had just watched The Meg 2. Percy had thought it would be a good way to say goodbye. He figured they'd have a fun time watching a cool movie, and it would just be great. Then the movie had started.
"Well… do you want to get diner?" Poseidon asked.
"Sure. What do you feel like?"
"Honestly, I'll go anywhere with alcohol. I need it after that travesty."
Percy rolled his eyes, and hailed a cab. There was an Indian place that had just opened kind of nearby, so Percy gave the cabbie the address and they were there a few minutes later. Soon enough, Poseidon was downing whiskeys, while Percy nursed a beer and they both did their best not to pant too hard at the spicy curry they had both ignorantly ordered.
"Sweet Chaos, Percy, what in my brother's name have I done to you recently to deserve tonight?" Poseidon asked his son with a wheezing laugh.
Percy did his best to mask the panic at the mention of Chaos' name, and just laughed.
"Look, Phaal Curry may not have been the wisest of choices, but it's still pretty good."
"It's nice, sure, but I'm going to need to go on a steady diet of Ambrosia and Nectar to heal the burns it's making in my stomach."
"Well, imagine being human."
"Human. Sure," Poseidon said wth an eyeroll.
"Fair point. Still tough."
"If you say so."
They gave up a few bites later when the dish was simply too much for them, and Percy swore he saw a few of the waiting staff exchange cash.
"Listen, Percy, I've been thinking about something recently. I've been meaning to talk to you about it, and I suppose I'll have to do it now if I want to at all."
Percy looked up from his beer, a little worried.
"Sure. What is it?"
"It's just… Percy, when you think about your future, what does it look like?"
"Future? Uh, well I suppose… I don't really know. I haven't really thought about it. Why do you ask?"
"Well, it's just, not very many of my children have ever made it this far in life. I'm sad to say, most of them are dead before they get to half your age. So I was just wondering, what's next for you?"
Percy felt something inside him go cold. It was something he hadn't really thought about at all. But as he did think about it, he started to realise it wasn't something he had ever put any real thought into. He'd been to young to think about it seriously before he found out he was a demigod. Then, when he'd found about that he was part of a race with a historically low life-expectancy, he just hadn't thought about it. There had been a brief window, where he could picture some kind of future life with Annabeth, but then that whole thing had come crashing down. Then with Chaos' Army, he'd just focused on putting one foot in front of the other.
"I dunno, I suppose I'll keep doing what I'm going for a while, and then figure something out," Percy answered without really saying anything.
"Oh. I see," Poseidon said pointedly.
"Look, what do you want me to say? I've just never really thought about it. But I like what I'm doing, I'm good at it, and I help a lot of people by doing it. I'll keep going for as long as I can."
"Percy, you're not mortal. You don't retire at whatever age, and then collect a pension. I'll keep going for as long as I can, means going until you drop. If you want to stop eventually, then you have to pull yourself out."
Percy rolled his eyes, "I think I've got a few good years left before I have to do that."
"You know that's not what I meant."
Poseidon was right. Percy did know.
"But you're not interested in pulling yourself out," Poseidon concluded.
Percy said nothing.
Poseidon sighed deeply, almost mournfully.
"So many people assume that it must be so glorious to be a god. Hard not to, what with Zeus lording it over people as the ultimate reward. The greatest boon a demigod could ask for. I've never seen what's so wonderful about it, myself. I suppose I have nothing to compare it to, but I have to imagine that there's considerably less stress involved with a mortal life. You just have to worry about yourself, your family, and your friends. No earthquakes and tsunamis to manage. No kingdom of warring factions to keep in line. Considerably less blood on your hands. But you know the hardest part? It's the repetition. Humans don't live nearly long enough to see it, but we can't help but be aware of it. The wheel turns, and nothing is ever new. Kingdoms and empires will rise, and they will fall. Evil dictators will take postions of power, and they will be ruined. Good people will do their best for their fellow man, and be beaten down for it. It all seems so simple to us, but the humans will never understand. They'll see the same thing happen, that's happened a hundred times before, and will happen a hundred times again, and laud it for its originality. But the funny thing is, we gods fall into the same trap. Zeus will make a grab for more power, and we'll all push him back. That's when he'll swear up and down that he'll be better. And he will be for a while, but it has never lasted, and it never will. But we see it, and we think 'Maybe this time will be different'. And it's the same thing with out children. That is, without any shred of doubt, the worst part about being a god. Seeing our children die, over and over again, powerless to help them. They're born, and we swear that this time will be different. And for a time, it will be. They will do things that none of our other children have done. They'll accrue their individual feats and accomplishments, and we'll feel vindicated that this child is different. This one won't end up like the others. But they always do. They all meet the same end, ultimately. They die, painfully, after having led a short life of pain and misery. Then our next child is born, we swear it will be different, and the cycle repeats. Always has, and always will."
Poseidon looked up from the table to meet Percy's eyes.
"Except you, Percy. You really were different. You're one of the oldest half-blood children I've ever had. I was so scared when you disappeared, that one day I would hear a story about how you died. Every day, I'd expect to hear something that would confirm my outlook. But I never did. And then you came back, stronger and more powerful than ever. I thought, 'Maybe this time will be different. He won't end up like the rest'. But perhaps that was naive of me. It seems you've become addicted to this lifestyle. The constant thrill and adrenaline and danger. I can underrstand that. But my son, I beg of you to learn restraint. Please don't spend the rest of your life, gambling with it. Because you will lose, eventually."
Poseidon leaned back and sighed.
"It is my fondest for you to be bored to tears for the rest of your life. But I know you'd rather be in some warzone or another, and I won't try to keep you from that. Just please, think about what I've told you tonight. Eventually, your luck will run out. You must retire before that happens. Go meet a beautiful woman who makes you feel dizzy when you look at her, marry her, have children with her, and settle down in the most boring place you can find. Spend your life with the people you care about, and leave the fighting and the bloodshed to someone else for a change."
—-
Percy woke up the next morning, his father's words ringing in his ears. He couldn't get them out of his head. Especially the part about retiring. The woman who made him dizzy, the boring house that they would love, and the children they'd raise. The life after all the violence. Was that even on the cards for him? Annabeth had been the obvious choice. The first love of his life. That wasn't any kind of option any more. The only other woman he could think of, would be Sara. But he couldn't picture something like that working. She had spent her entire life in Chaos' Army, and he couldn't even imagine her leaving and doing something else.
With a frustrated sigh, he rolled out of his bed, dragged his clothes on, and left his tent. To his vague surprise, he saw that the camp was bustling. He was usually the last one to bed, and the first one awake, but apparently that wasn't the case today. He saw his Squad going about their regular jobs, and they each nodded at him when they saw him. The hunters were milling about, doing various chores of their own. Some of them nodded too, and a lot of them glared.
"Well, good morning, sleepyhead," Artemis said with a coy smile as she walked over to him.
"What time is it?"
"Almost 12."
"It's noon?"
He couldn't believe it. He'd gone to bed at around 6. That meant he'd had nearly 6 hours of sleep. He hadn't even known something like that was possible for him anymore.
"Almost," Artemis shrugged.
"Wow," was all he could say.
"Yeah, I noticed that you were still fast asleep about 2 hours ago. I thought about saying something, but I figured you must have needed the sleep. Lot on your mind?"
"You could say that."
"You said goodbye to Poseidon last night, right?"
"I did."
"Did he give you a guilt trip?"
"A guilt trip? No. Just some advice."
"What kind?"
Percy hesitated.
"Realistic."
Artemis looked at him through narrowed eyes.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just bummed about leaving."
She softened.
"Yeah, listen… I just wanted to say, I'm glad you came back. I'm glad I got to know you, and I'm glad you stayed with us for so long. I know we kind of got off to a rocky start, but I consider myself very lucky that I got to really meet you."
She gave him a tentative hug, and he returned it gently, very surprised that she had said that.
"I'm glad I got to know you too," he found himself saying.
The hug lasted a little while longer before they pulled away. She offered him a small smile and walked away. He found himself watching her as she left. He wasn't really sure why.
—-
It was time. Percy and Hazel said their last goodbyes, hugging each of their friends in turn. Just as they were about to leave, Percy took one last look at them all gathered together, trying to memorise each detail of their faces. He had no idea when he would see them again. That was probably what hurt the most. The uncertainty.
He dragged himself away, and shadow travelled himself and Hazel to the coast of Hawaii. The coordinates were on the other side of the island, so they would need to take a bit of a walk to get there, but neither of them minded very much. Hazel didn't speak the entire time, which was fine by Percy. He was happy enough to let her process all this on her own. Anything he could say, would only make it worse.
The dropship arrived at 5 p.m. exactly, and Hazel stared at it in bewilderment. Percy couldn't help but grin.
"You ain't seen nothin' yet."
A/N: Ok, that's all folks. That's gonna be the last Earth chapter for a little while. The next chapter is going to be the rest of Percy's training with Chaos' Army, and then I've got a few other things planned after that. It won't be too long before he goes back to Earth though. I'm not particularly interested in telling a lot of stories in this part of his story. Not in this fic, at least. If inspiration strikes, I might write it up, and post it as a separate fic, tie-in. But yeah, hope you enjoyed. See ya in the next one. Stay safe.