Zoe's POV:
Watching the two girls dissociate was sort of funny at first, but it quickly turned into irritation. I know I had plenty of time to help young girls get over boys, yet from everything I heard and understood, they have no reason to act this way. No conscious reason for any of this to make any sense. I've seen it far too often and the only way to get through is the harsh truth. They may not like it, but throwing a pity party will only add fuel to their emotions. That isn't needed at the moment... What we need is to save Artemis... and that boy, I guess.
"I can not even begin to believe thou two!" I shouted at the two sulking girls crying over something this pathetic. It's pathetic how much attention they want. Ignoring the fact that someone saw the whole interactions through the mist. The other's can handle it and will, "Are thou seriously this seel!?" I kept pushing even though they just stared off into space. "Hey! Snap out of it!" I slapped them. They needed it.
"What was that for!?" Thalia jumped sneering. Good, at least she had some semblance of her normal self. Annabeth only growled back.
"Because thou art morons!" I yelled back. To which they didn't respond and honestly I was getting pretty sick and tired of how blind they are. "I can not believe I am about to say these words, but Aphrodite was right." I nearly gagged at that. Those words left an awful taste in my mouth. "When I agree with the goddess of love about something, it has merit." I'll hate myself for this.
"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked. As smart as she is, she is an idiot.
"This was never even about Perseus. For either of thou. Especially thee daughter of thunder. Though in Annabeth's case it makes more sense." I sighed and sat down. I have had plenty of practice consoling girls over heartbreak. Nearly all of them were young and stupid thinking similarly. They make a delusion and get hurt over it. Not all. Definitely not all. Men can be vile, but women can be foolish. I know because I was in the same boat once.
"Then what is it about?" Annabeth growled, again. That stubbornness is all too familiar.
"Pride. Annabeth, your pride was hurt to the point where you are seeking validation through the one who broke it. He outperformed, outdid, and called out your foolishness. So what do you do? Attempted to fix it, by attempting to prove the wrong thing. Even I managed to see that you took his advice the wrong way. Your slight bonding only reinforced your behavior and caused it to grow into a feeling you deemed to be love."
"That's not-" I cut her off before she could argue.
"Thy denial is only going to cause more ache. You are wise beyond your years, with that you should realize the truth... *Sigh* Thy fatal flaw is going to make it difficult, but don't let this pride rule you. Thee hast the potential of becoming a mighty warrior. Don't let a man take that away from you." I finished. I doubt she will take it to heart, but she definitely needed to hear the whole truth. Not the cryptic crap that Aphrodite spat. "And you." I pointed over to the daughter of thunder.
"I don't need to hear this. Especially from some good for nothing man hater." Ah yes, the insults that follow closely by denial. "I'm fine." There it is. This is why I dislike dealing with children about this sort of thing. They make everything so damn complicated.
"No, you're not. Thalia, what reason do you have to even like Perseus?" If she can give me an honest straight answer, I'll drop the subject. That will not happen, but it's the principle of the thing. "From I could gather, you had little interaction with him. No bonding, so to speak. No romantic gestures. No rescue from death's clutches. No adventure. Only fighting. Hate. Insults. Bad blood. Along with no line of understanding. So why? Thee pushed him away and expect what exactly? Why exactly do think you like him?" Every sentence I needed to drive in a nail to the coffin, as the saying goes.
"..." She pursed her lips and turned away. Typical.
"Cause I know," She whipped her head around and glared. Her eyes demand an answer, an answer she herself didn't fully know. She truly is blind. "Thee didn't like him for him. Nor his charisma. Or his gleeful nature. No, you liked him for something else entirely. Greed."
"What?" She downright glared with a threat of a wolf pack, but that won't make me back down. I've dealt with wolves far fiercer than her.
"Don't misunderstand, I'm talking about your fatal flaw; you crave power. The desire to wield it or have it close is haunting, isn't it? Oh Percy is just overflowing with it. Even I can attest to that. It irks you that you can't have it. Aphrodite's declaration saying you should let it go was agonizing, wasn't it? It wasn't out of love. It was out of a need to have power. That flaw of yours is deadly. You jumped at the chance to have raw, uninterrupted power and twisted into some sick delusional thinking that it was out of love... The same thing happened with Luke, didn't it?" The second I brought Luke into the fray, she snapped.
She lunged forward retrieving her spear. Her anger was all too easy to predict. I sidestepped letting her slide past me and elbowed her in the nose. "This has nothing to-" Thalia began clutching her nose, but I cut her off.
"Of course it does. It is engrained in your very being. This "love" is nothing more than your fatal flaw reaching out. It is tempting you with power, causing you to become obsessed." She lunged again, but I easily dodged it. "When your mind found out you'll never have his power, your emotions created a false narrative." I caught her spear and kicked her in the gut pulling her weapon from her grasp. Before kicking her once more to the ground, "This feeling isn't real. It's something your mind came up with to learn to deal with it." I sat on top of her and watched her eyes. They twitched, scanned, and swirled. I don't know what is going on with in the walls of her mind, but I didn't fail to notice the range of emotions; everything and nothing.
"Stop it!" She cried out struggling to no avail. Getting her on the ground was all too easy. Her emotional state being this compromised really speaks to the volume of it.
"Give thou one good reason, one real reason, on why you're so infatuated with the boy. Do that and I'll let it all go." I gave her an ultimatum of sorts. Once they realize it, hopefully she'll end up on the road to recovery.
"I like him because- It started when- when he- NO!" Realization crossed her features, but was quickly concealed with anger her eyes flashed with the new knowledge with an ear ringing scream a loud and bright strike of lightning to slam into the ground to my left, reflecting in her irises filled with rage. I didn't flinch nor dared to. She needed to be grounded to something and that something is gonna be me. "No... No." She muttered softly. I'm assuming she came to a conclusion. I know a thing or two because I've seen a thing or two. Huntresses don't get this old without picking up a few things.
Demigods, gods, monsters, and spirits alike tend to forget just how powerful and detrimental a fatal flaw can be. It's called fatal for a reason. The flaw is engrained and drives a person to go beyond the normalcy of what is deemed acceptable. Power, greed, ego, status, and any other flaw can be summarized into something instinctual. Our bodies need it, desire it, will do anything to obtain it. If it breaks then so do we. There are times we can cure the flawed character, and times all focus must go into protecting others from the harms they cause. Even if it is to themselves.
Annabeth and Thalia, especially Thalia, were forced to ease the dread of love by believing it was just that, love. But it wasn't. No demigod can ignore the call of their flaws. Most can't even tell it's controlling them. I sure didn't. "You want to believe it is love because then it would mean you aren't flawed. That you can finally bare to hold a semblance of normal. You want it so desperately because the truth is terrifying. We have all created an illusion at some point. But don't be stupid and start confusing that with reality... It will only inevitably lead to self destruction."
"Well that is just lovely! Thank you so graciously for saying that our feelings are a deformed variation of our flaws. Thank you so very much!" Annabeth finally managed to say over her stupor while Thalia glossed over. I know it is a lot to take in at one time, but this is the best way to help. We Hunters of Artemis know how to help, girls. Boys are another matter entirely. I won't dare go anywhere near that subject.
"There is still a lot you don't understand and plenty that I haven't said. I apologize for the bluntness, however it was the only way to get it through thou stubborn skulls. But let me say this, the love of a child will never make sense to anyone outside of that child. For some it will be perceived as forced, others will think it's atrocious. Or adorable. No one will ever truly know. And this," I gestured to them," is just that. You're both still young, and yes, still kids. I will never really know why or how it came to this infatuation. I do, however, know my eyes have never fooled me. And they show that you're the ones that have gone complacent to that flaw. Please understand that you will never outpace a fatal flaw, but you can tame it in a way that it becomes a strength. It affects everything about thou, so use it." If only more people understood that.
"Well that was a lovely sentiment. I think I'm just gonna go cry myself to sleep." Thalia mumbled to which Annabeth nodded her head to.
"I've offered this once before and I'll offer it once more... You don't even have to answer me now... Care to join the Hunters of Artemis?" I smirked as I stood up out reaching my hand to the both of them. All they need is a healthy way to grow, not the endless scribbles of a child's lost mind. And yes, Thalia and Annabeth are still children.
Triton's POV:
"It's a strange sight to see, isn't it?" I whispered in the lady stalker's ear. She was a tall, slim girl with frizzy red hair, a freckled face, and green eyes. She is wearing an oversized light blue t-shirt and some paint splattered jeans. Weird.
"AHHH!" The girl yelped jumped from her little perch. Good to know I have still got it.
"WHa-what are you talking about?" So that's how she was gonna play it.
"It's not everyday you come across a mortal that can pear through the mist." As I spoke the confusion expression on her face grew rapidly. To the point it came out as a look of constipation.
"The what now?" She asked dipping her chin a little.
"The veil that covers the quote on quote 'normal' mortal's eyes." I doubt any explanation I can give will force her to forget what she saw. I could just wipe her memory, but seeing two Olympians and demigods gathering while showing off power would make it difficult. Plus, I don't want the headache... It might not even work, the mist was thicker than usual to cover up any unusual mishaps. Yet, she still saw. Impressive I must say.
"Seriously? The what?" She asked perplexed. I sighed and decided to take a slightly different approach. Someone was shouting off to where the lady quest members chatted with Aphrodite. Zoe must be knocking some sense into them. Finally.
"Have you seen things that only can be described as nightmarish monsters? Or spirits that fade in an out of vision? Or perhaps deities manifesting themselves, or objects, like you so stealthily witnessed?" I wasn't trying to look threatening, but as I continued she took a deep gulp and took a hesitant step back.
"Nooooo..?" Yea she was lying.
"You're not in trouble kid. I'm merely curious," She took stock of the situation by looking around as if lost, "What's your name?"
"Uh, it's- Hold up! I'm not saying anything until you explain what the hell I just saw!" Damn, she finally got to her senses. I was hoping for something simple and quick so we can get the hell out of here. I've wasted enough time as is.
"Perhaps another time. Grover! We're leaving!" Now where did that goat run off to? I turned around walking away, "If you want some answers girl, just ignore it. Trust me, you wouldn't like the world behind the curtain." That had never worked before, but I can't spare enough to care at the moment. It's just another headache I can not afford to have.
"Wait! Can you please explain what the hell those things are?!" That's curious. I turned around as she was dramatically pointing at the far end of the plaza. Some five skeletons were coming our way.
"Son of-" I muttered as Grover came barreling from around the corner sweating profusely. Another three skeletal monsters following closely behind. "Run kid! Now!" There was no room for discussion. These monsters won't care for mortal casualties. Luckily she heeded my warning and sprinted off, I heard. Finally someone with the common sense to do the smart thing and run.
I rolled my shoulders while cracking my neck. I can try subtle, but... "AHHH! They have guns!" that. A couple shouted causing mass panic. The workers tried ushering the civilians away in a calm manner with little success. Parents picked up there children running like hell haseth descendeth. Some stupid people lagged behind trying to watch, with their other half of stupid hiding behind the smallest benches possible. They really should have just ran when they had the chance. Like the mist prying mortal. I doubt we'll ever see her again though, people like her don't tend to last long. Just look at- never mind.
Now it looks like I am going to have to fight them. Oh no, what a pity. What ever shall I do?
I smirked pulling out my trident from the depths of nowhere. And then I heard the whiney little bastard. I can't exactly take my attention off the monsters stalking towards me, however I have no choice. I swiveled my head just enough to catch a glimpse of the Ophiotaurus swimming happily in a damn fountain. Just our luck. "Grover! Move your ass and figure out what the Ophiotaurus wants!" That was an order. From my position it didn't take long for him to choose between these freaks and that slightly less than a freak monster. Now, where are the girls?
Eh, it doesn't matter. The mortals nearly cleared out which means, they have a clean shot at me. Bullets? I could take those. How should I handle it? Hmm... Charge? Yeah okay.
I relaxed my breathing, digging my heals into the concrete, sinking lower to the ground as I ready to push off. The concrete cracked below my foot. I exhaled and all Hades broke loose. Every gunshot was the one that crammed silence into a tiny hole, that forced fear on those on the receiving end. Not me though. Every blast to the gentle air was the one that forced a choice to be made. It was as if that sound had become the murderer, a brutal shout from the coldest of 'lungs.' My dead sprint was short lived, I jumped up kicking the first skeleton in the head, knocking him down and back. I ducked a shot at my head stabbing the shooter in the chest. And he just looked at me. Right, only bones. No time to dwell on it. I pushed further until his back hit one of his buddies that fixed a bayonet on his weapon.
At least some form change was nice. The sword fight is supposed to bring a sense of chivalry and fair-play, yet that is the stuff of the bards tales and legend. Here in the opening there are no gentlemen, only long knives beneath the heavens. Only monsters fighting a deity. I swept the two's legs and rolled forward. "Uh, Triton! Bessie hear has a clue!" Of course Percy had to name it. I elbowed a skeleton on the pelvis, didn't do much. Of course the name also had to be something foolish too. I almost want to laugh.
I hopped onto my feet twisting my favored weapon around my body, not letting the monsters get to close, "Well, what is it!?" All I got was some silence, that means he is working. For the times sake, I let my grip loosen ever so slightly urging it to slide down my hand until I held the hilt. And extended my arm, stabbing the freak in it's two eye sockets and the bridge of the nose. Not relenting, I palmed the hilt compelling it to dive deeper with a crunch. Instincts kicked in moving my leg to kick an incoming monster.
"San Francisco! He says that way!" Grover screamed over the chaos. Finally, now we're getting somewhere. I tugged on my trident ripping the skull from the monsters neck before grabbing it. Consciously keeping my fingers away from his mouth and threw it at another one getting ready to aim. Oh that would have made Percy laugh.
"Good, let's go!" Bianca cheered shooting an arrow from across the courtyard, nailing one in the head. Behind her were the others from our troop. Jeez, what in the hell was taking them so long? Actually, I don't care.
I ducked, hopped, and rolled next to two more skeletal monsters. The other's reforming. In a very untypical type move, I swung my trident like a bat, managing to knock three more down to the ground. I felt a tingle across my neck, jumping back just in time for lightning to light up our new friends.
I didn't waste anytime sprinting to where Grover was conversing with 'Bessie.' With no time wasted, I wrapped my arm around his waste and threw him over my shoulder sprinting to my late comrades. They took cover behind some bench or whatnot and are waiting for me. That's rude. Good thing they provided cover fire. Bad thing, they won't like what is coming next. Good that they are next to the actual filled side of the damn. Bad that this is going to be another shock to their system. I closed in on them ignoring the recovering monsters behind us.
Once I was about twenty feet in front of them, I willed the water to rise up. Rise high up above the wall, then let go. All to late they realized what was happening. The water crashed all six of us in an instant and we slipped away from the Hoover Damn. I won't waste any more time when now we have a good idea where Percy is.
As the water cleared everyone huffed and puffed shaking from the cool water. We landed somewhere that was colder, wetter, and has more trees. Now where could that be? I surveyed the land slightly because my eyes got stuck on the sputtering members of this quest. In my mind all I'm seeing is a bunch of fish out of water with the way they are wobbling about. At least they are completely awake now, "Good thing Percy wasn't here to witness that mess." I muttered. Then chuckled. That definitely would have gone differently if Percy was with us.
"What's so funny?" Bianca asked wringing water from her hair.
"Oh, it's not you guys. I simply remembered Percy wouldn't be allowed anywhere near that damn dam by mortals."
"Why's that?" Zoe questioned, clearly out of the loop. Or she just doesn't know or remember.
"He is one of the most wanted criminals in this country. Or have you forgotten that tidbit of information?"
"I knew he looked familiar!" Bianca realized. "What did he even do to get such a reputation?"
"Only he can tell you that. And by the looks of it, we are incredibly close to getting him to do that." We are so very close. In the same state close. Perhaps even closer than that.
There is a reason I went down this road for the girls. And yes I did plan this. I'm sorry if it's not what was wanted, but I felt like I needed to grasp what a fatal flaw really is. Which I think I did. I hope you can forgive me for this spin. I wish you all enjoy and I wish you some great upcoming days!