"So, how was it you said we would travel to the mountain?" Zoe asked.
Percy had entered the old shack, back in his human form.
Zoe was worried when she saw his arms and neck absolutely filled to the brim with fresh scars.
A quick smile from him, however, had quickly eased her worries.
Percy was slowly becoming one of the few, if not the only, men she trusted, saw as a friend, even.
It would not do for him to die so soon.
He had told them to gather outside. That they were going to go to their destination right now.
So here they now were, tracking through the snow, nearing the mountain summit.
"I didn't," Percy told her, a concerning smirk on his face.
Now, normally, Zoe would kill any male for even looking at her like that.
But she trusted him enough by now to know he wouldn't do anything.
This, however, did not mean his smile was not disconcerting to her.
To add to her unease, she could see an unpleasant look on the faces of her other two companions.
As if they knew what was going to happen.
As the quartet climbed over one last edge, they had finally reached the summit.
Zoe had been here before, her Mistress seeing this as one of the last places in America not yet touched by civilization.
As they walked onto the plateau, she could see a new person standing there.
For a second, she almost thought it was Poseidon who had come to offer his aid.
But when both Freya and Freyr took off at full speed and threw their arms around him, she knew this was someone else.
She thought back to every conversation she had with the others.
The answer came soon enough.
Njord, Norse God of the sea, leader of the Vanir.
Their father.
While in looks, he did seem similar to Poseidon, his clothes were very different.
Where Poseidon usually looked like a fisherman who was using his free time to take his children to the beach, Njord looked more like a hunter.
His shoulder guards were fur-lined, and leather straps ran from them to his vambraces, which were made from metal and looked like scales laid over each other.
A loose bear fur was hung from his belt, covering his waist.
His leg guards looked similar to his vambraces, though these looked more amber in color.
Only a thin leather cuirass could be seen covering his chest, only just peaking out between the several pieces of fur adjourning his body.
His black hair was tied back in a ponytail, a few strands of hair still dangling beside his face.
Zoe was slightly perplexed.
While it was not unheard of for Greek gods to give affection to their families, it was also not that common.
An unfortunate consequence of having such a weird family tree as the Greeks.
So, while it certainly was not true that she had never seen godly displays of affection, she had definitely never seen it like this.
Percy's siblings had flung themselves around their father, and he had gladly caught them, returning their affection with an amused smile and a hearty laugh.
Zoe felt like she was intruding.
It seemed like they had not seen their father in a long time, and here she was, just awkwardly standing off to the side.
By now, the two had let go of their father, opting to hush in whispered words.
She tried to look away, to give them some privacy, but in doing so, accidentally laid her eyes on Percy's form.
Which he so happened to have seen.
He slowly started moving her way.
"Something on your mind?" He spoke.
"No, nothing, really. It's just…" She hesitated, wondering if she should tell him.
She made up her mind quickly, however.
"Looking at them, with your father… It reminded me of my less-than-stellar father figure," She told him, staring off in the distance.
As Percy listened to her, he could hear the sadness in her voice.
"Does it sadden you, to know that we move to fight him?"
"No, I hold no love for that scum of a man," She said, her old English accent becoming thicker with the emotion in her voice.
"No… That life was not woven into my threads. It was not the path foreseen by the Morai."
Percy regarded her with a sad look, but before he could answer, she continued.
"I do not regret how my life has gone. My Mistress filled the position my mother never did, and I would willingly give my life for her."
There, she had told him, for some reason, one of her greatest insecurities.
She did not know why, but she had started to trust Percy.
He was kind, honest, and respectful. Nothing at all like him.
"You are going to make it home, Zoe. I promised you this, and I don't break my promises. You are my friend, Zoe, and I will make sure you and your Mistress will make it home."
She did not know how to react.
She should be counting herself lucky, then, that Percy took this as his chance to walk to his father.
"We will be leaving. Father has kindly offered to help temporarily break the magical barrier around Mount Tamalpais."
As one, they all looked to the God of the Sea.
However, much to Zoe's surprise, there was no big spectacle.
No chanting, or magic flowing through the air around them.
He simply waved his hand, while leaning on his axe.
While Zoe still expected some kind of theatrics, Percy seemingly knew that this was it, as he immediately started talking.
"Okay, Zoe, sammœðr, gather around," Percy said, gaining a serious look on his face.
"We are leaving."
With a sad look, the children of Njord gave their father one last hug.
As they walked over to their brother, Freyr started talking.
"Are you completely sure that we can't just walk there?" Freyr said, looking sick and nervous.
"Hel, can't those Greeks help us? They can teleport, right?"
His answer was an unamused look from his brother.
"If I may, could you tell me what's going on? From the way you are talking, I take it we are flashing there," Zoe began, cutting off Percy's retort.
"My Mistress has flashed me before, and it is not bad. Maybe a bit disorienting for the first few times."
Freyr choked on his spit, sputtering, as his eyes widened.
"She did what?! That is definitely not what we were talking about! Why would you even think that?"
Whatever the answer Zoe had expected, this was not it.
"I do not know, what I said wrong. Our Gods flash often. I will admit, it is rare for them to do it with mortals, but not unheard of."
As she looked around, she could see that no one had reacted in any way she had expected.
Freyr was still sputtering and Freya was looking away from them, her cheeks flushed with red, while Njord and Percy simply just stood off to the side, both grinning like madmen.
"Zoe," Percy started. "Flashing, in modern English, means something else, entirely."
Zoe just looked at him in confusion, not understanding what he meant.
"Brother, Please explain what the Hel is going on here?"
"Allow me to answer this," Njord spoke up.
"You see, in their culture, Flashing, is what they use to refer to a Godly deity displacing his or her physical form, basically they teleport."
Zoe nodded in agreeance, still not seeing the error in her words.
"Well, Zoe, let me explain to you, in return," He continued.
"In our realms, there are but a few who acquire the ability to teleport. Some, like me, bend the form of the of their strongest domain."
He slightly waved his hand as he spoke, a small shape of water condensing in the air.
"Others, like Odin, use their bond with their sacred animal to travel. In his case, his ravens."
It was here, where Percy picked back up.
"Then there are some like me. Some of my kind, the Jotnar, were blessed with a gift. One that we call, Runewalking."
Zoe listened intently. If things kept going as they were, it might be smart for her to start remembering some of the things he would tell her.
You see, we Jotnar are very closely connected with the runes that uphold our magic," He continued.
"Rune Walking is the practice of cutting ourselves loose from the restraints of our physical bonds and connecting ourselves with the runes that form the very layers of our world."
"In other words. I will be de- and reconstructing our bodies, in order to quickly travel to our destination."
Zoe looked at her friend in utter confusion.
"That sounds very… Convoluted."
Percy nodded at her remark, a sour grin crawling onto his lips.
"Yes, it does. If you have any other way, I'm all for it.'
As he patiently looked at Zoe, Percy could see that she, in fact, did not have any better alternative.
"Very well, in that case, gather round, boys and girls. It's time to leave."
As the four gathered in the middle of the plateau, Njord spoke again.
"Son! Do make sure to get everyone out alive. I would rather not have to tell your mother her children are wounded or dead."
Before anyone could respond, the runes on Percy's body started glowing a harsh blue.
The light, almost blinding everyone but Percy, kept getting brighter and brighter until the runes seemed to fly off his body.
As the runes formed a line in the air, they started looping around the quartet in circles.
Before anyone could even marvel at the display of magic, they disappeared with nothing more than a mere pop.
Njord was left standing on the plateau all by himself.
Just before he, too, left, he spoke out softly, one last time.
"Good luck son, make me proud."
They popped back into existence several hundred yards away from the mountain foot.
It took all Zoe had not to let her breakfast crawl back up her throat.
While she succeeded, Freyr did not seem to be so lucky.
He was bent over, hands on his knees, with his sister standing next to him, rubbing his back.
Zoe pointed her angry gaze at Percy.
"You could not have warned me that it would hurt?"
Percy looked sheepish, though not apologetic.
"I know, I know, but I did get us here, right? You have to give me that."
With a huff, Freyr, who was finally able to stand upright again, spoke to his brother.
"I swear, this is gonna be the last time I'll ever let you move me like that. The minute we get back, I'm going to ask Dad to teach me how to do it normally," He said, with a mock irritated look on his face.
"You do that brother, let us hope that your domain won't fall into ruin while you spend several hundred years learning that particular skill," Freya spoke with an amused smile, as she started walking towards the mountain.
Freyr looked away with a huff but still chose to follow his sister.
Percy went to walk after them when he noticed a nervous look on their fourth companion's face.
"Are you alright, Zoe?"
"Yes, I am. It is just… It has been so long since I have last seen my home. I am scared of what may come," She spoke.
"Will my sisters be there? How will they react to seeing me?"
True to her word, Zoe indeed seemed to be scared.
Percy wished he could help her, but he couldn't.
He had always been close to his family.
Hel, he even had familial bonds with several deities far removed from his bloodline.
No matter how much he didn't want to say it, they had a job to do.
He would protect her if he could, but her head needed to be in the game.
"Zoe, I cannot tell you what they will say. Frankly, I don't really care.
Zoe looked up in slight anger.
"What?"
Percy held up his hand to stop her from replying.
"Let me finish. I simply do not care, and neither should you. Have you not found a family that you chose? One that loves you and protects you without asking back?"
He looked at her intently, looking for something in her eyes.
"It's ok to be scared. We all are sometimes, but we need your help right now, Zoe. I know what is in that garden," He said, seeing her head shoot up in shock.
"I do not want to kill Ladon, and I am sure there will be more challenges before we reach the summit. I need you to handle the drakon, but to do that, you need to get your head in the game. I am not your leader, and I will not give you orders. I am asking you as your friend."
"Can you do this?"
Zoe wanted to be angry.
Who was he to talk to her like this? But he was right.
She had left this life behind. She had a new life and a new family.
Forcing herself to get over the last bit of her anger, she gave him a nod.
"Good. Let's go then."
With his cloak billowing behind him, Percy spun himself around, marching after his siblings, Zoe close behind him.
It took a few minutes to reach the garden's edge, but they knew immediately when they had reached it.
In front of them, appeared four women.
The Hesperides.
It was Zoe who took the liberty to step forward.
"Sisters," She said, a cold gaze in her eyes.
"We are not here for you. Simply let us pass, and we will not disturb the Garden."
"We see no sister, only a traitor," The oldest one spoke.
Percy tried to recall anything he had learned about the Hesperides.
He knew that besides Zoe, there were four.
Their names eluded him, however.
He spoke up nevertheless, knowing that some politics would probably be necessary.
"If you do not want to talk to her, then please talk to me. She speaks truly. We only wish to safely pass by."
The Hesperides focussed their eyes on him, all in confusion, but clear anger was apparent on the eldest's face.
She went to speak but was interrupted by a pained grunt let out by Percy.
As he looked down to his shoulder, he saw an arrow, embedded in his shoulder.
"Faen!"
Percy let out a curse as he pulled the arrow out of his shoulder.
He threw the arrow down as he, and the others, readied their weapons, assuming defensive positions.
"Stop talking. This one here is in no way allowed inside."
The group collectively looked toward the voice.
From the shadows of the foliage, a man dropped.
He was covered in a long black cloak, a cowl covering his face.
Bones, beaks, and paws were hung from his belt, seeming like trophies.
"Lelantos," Zoe said, recognizing the man from stories.
"He is the Titan of the tracking aspect of the Hunt. We have a Hunter who was… Fathered by him."
Perc nodded, mentally preparing for the fight undoubtedly ahead.
"Lelantos. You are of my domain, so I will give you one chance. Leave now, and do not stand in our way, and you will live to fight another day."
While Percy wanted to hope that the Titan would agree, he knew it was not to be.
He did not know this enemy, but he had a mission.
One he would complete, no matter what.
He had a Goddess to save.
"Nah, ah, ah."
Lelantos wagged his hand at the questers, two push blades in between his fingers.
"You're not getting rid of me that easy, Jotunn."
Percy tried his best not to let the shock show on his face.
In no way, whatsoever, should this Titan be able to know what he is.
The Jotnar were a mystery to even the Gods of the Norse realms.
So, Percy couldn't understand how this Greek Titan knew what he was.
"They said you would be nigh unbeatable, but you don't look so tough."
Lelantos looked at Percy with an unimpressed look.
"But enough of this. Your axe will make just the perfect trophy, and I have the place to put it in mind."
Lelantos hurtled forward like a tempest, his movements agile and powerful, as he closed the distance between them with the relentless force of the wind.
Percy caught the Titan's knives on his axe blade, getting slightly shocked by the surprising power behind it.
His siblings and Zoe were about to jump in, and help him, but were interrupted by the Hesperides.
As the four slowly strolled into the path of the Questers, pained looks on their face, the youngest slowly walked towards Zoe.
"Zoe… We really are sorry, for pushing you out, back then. But we had… Have, a sacred duty to fulfill."
Zoe looked at her sister, seeing a small tear roll down her cheek.
"Arethusa, I…"
Zoe went to speak but was stopped by her younger sister laying a hand on her cheek.
"And that is why… We cannot let you in."
As she closed her eyes, she let out a loud scream.
Two words.
"Ladon, wake!"
Percy had been fighting Lelantos for nearly half an hour by now.
By now, it was clear that he had underestimated his enemy.
One thing that was often the same with Hunt deities, was that what skills they had in hunting, they often lacked in fighting skill.
His thought process was once again interrupted by an attack from his enemy.
By now, he had exchanged his push daggers for two longer daggers and a bunch of throwing knives.
Percy had answered by changing his large axe into two smaller ones.
They had been exchanging blows.
For every axe buried in Lelantos' gut, Percy got a knife in his leg or arm.
Percy could hear the battle with Ladon rage behind him.
Though a battle was probably not what most would call it.
Zoe was trying to calm the beast, as the children of Njord tried directing the heads away from her.
But the tiny moment of distraction was enough for Lelantos to make use of.
Percy was jolted back to his own fight by several knives embedding themselves in his chest.
He let out a pained grunt as he tried going back on the offensive.
He threw one of his axes at the Titan, immediately jumping after it.
Just before he reached Lelantos, the thrown axe rammed into the Titan's shoulder, forcing a howl from his lips.
He smashed his other axe into his kneecap.
Lelantos let out a scream of anguish.
"You fucker! Εἰς κόρακας σὺ καὶ οἱ θεοὶ σοῦ!"
Percy took his opportunity, pulling both his axes out of his enemy's body.
He readied his leg in front of himself, using his strength to kick Lelantos several yards away.
Lelantos slowly stood back up, but he knew he was beaten.
He could barely remain standing, his leg gold from the ichor pouring out of the veins in his leg.
He was smart, no matter what his fellow Titans would say.
He was extremely resourceful, and if he could not win, he'd try to stop these fools here, and now.
The cause would not die with him.
Using his domain over Air, he shot a blast of wind at Percy, launching him a short distance back.
It would not let him escape, but it would buy him the time he needed.
He pulled his bow, laid an arrow on the string, and aimed.
At Zoe.
When Percy saw, he knew he would not get there in time, so he did the only thing he could think of.
He prayed.
He prayed to his father. To his teachers. To the Allfather himself, hoping for a miracle he could, for once in his life, not deliver himself.
And a miracle he got.
From the edge of the garden, came a flock of ravens, runic symbols in white paint adorning their feathers.
Each flew in a different direction.
His sister and brother were the first to go, disappearing behind a curtain of feathers as the birds crashed into them.
And just before the arrow hit, Zoe too, was gone.
Percy looked away from the last bird, rapidly approaching him, and looked to Lelantos.
He was visibly confused.
Distracted.
Seeing his chance, Percy threw one of his axes, once again embedding it into the Titan's leg, dropping him to the ground.
He lunged for the Tracker, preparing his axe for one final strike.
And lopped his head clean off.
And with that, he too, disappeared from the garden in a curtain of feathers, the still imbedded axe, too, disappearing.
The garden was left destroyed and bloodied, the headless corpse of the once proud tracker of the Titans, left to rot in its center.
Heya, Spartan here!
Hope you guys and gals enjoy the chapter.
So, I took quite a bit longer than usual, but here is the chapter!
Next one, Atlas and Artemis!
As always lots of thanks to the people who are helping me.
Thanks for reading the chapter, I hope you enjoyed.
Check out TemplarHalo on AO3.
Check out Arkkkk on Fanfiction,net.
Check out Sol PJOFan on Fanfiction,net.
Spartan, signing off.
"Εἰς κόρακας σὺ καὶ οἱ θεοὶ σοῦ!" = "To the crows with you and your gods!"