Chapter 27:
The Stars Do Not Wait For You
The demonic birds spread their wings and cut through dry evening air. The sky was dotted with a thousand beady eyes that blinked in and out of existence like a red starry night.
Crimson stained beaks opened in an almost mechanical fashion before snapping close, creating a shrill sounding crack that vibrated through the air.
The cacophony of bird wings beating in the wind and ravenous screeching turned the big flock into a black amalgamation. A storm that shredded everything it touched, a living blender made entirely out of birds.
The Stymhpian birds were something Percy was familiar with and compared to Maenads they were actually quite fun.
"And that's another point for me." The son of Hades lowered his rifle.
The weapon had a sleek black color and a long and elegant shape that bent and curved for greater comfort to suit the wielder's goal.
It was a modified Barret M82. Nico had found it during his search for Percy and Khione kept it around for moments like these.
Nico let out a whistle and pointed the barrel at the ground.
It was a rather odd choice of weapon for a demigod but it was surprisingly easy to use for the son of Hades.
As the shot rang and echoed birds fell out of the cloud one by one in a straight line that paralleled the path the bullet had followed.
"You hit sixteen of them," Khione said, slowly counting the birds that slowly dropped.
The ice goddess sat cross-legged on a ragged blanket. Her long black hair flowed freely in the wind while she looked up at the birds raining down. In an alternate universe it could have been compared to a lovely girl stargazing, but the blood splattered on her pale face ruined that image irreparably.
With an almost childlike glee Khione grinned and counted the birds that rained down.
Some of the Stymhpian birds had their wings clipped while others had wounds in their chest. Some even dropped with their heads blasted off.
"Give it to me." Kampê stretched out her clawed dragon feet.
"Just don't break it." Nico handed the sniper rifle to her. "Might be a while before we find another one."
The flock slowly regained its composure and glared at the heroes below. Compared to the thousands of enemies the heroes were but a tiny island in a sea of black and sand.
The landscape continued to prove itself curious and curiouser the closer they got to their goal, Elysium, whatever that was.
The rooftop they found themselves on that particular night looked as if it had broken out of the ground. It provided a great view of the surroundings.
Next to his building four other skyscrapers were positioned with a small distance between each. Percy thought it looked like they formed fingers together, reaching out off the sand towards the sky.
No, not sand, ash. Gray colored dunes had swept over this land and reached out for a long while. As if some god had dumped out a cosmic sized ash tray on the land.
Parts of the original landscape still remained or broke through the dunes. Dead trees and their branches reached out to the pale heavens like bony hands. Clean picked bones were scattered atop the ashes in a meaningless rearrangement.
The citizens of this small nameless town all perished so far without exception. The bones told Percy it was a sudden and overwhelming end. No one escaped whatever fate befell them and left were nothing but clean picked bones.
Like a ghost of a gruesome killing the birds still lingered around despite the lack of anything resembling flesh or nature.
Nothing Percy hadn't seen before.
Kampê raised the fire weapon to her chest. Using her human appendages she awkwardly leveled the scope to her eyes. She struggled to find the proper way to hold it without the butt of the weapon stabbing in her breasts. It was clear that the most fearsome monster from the depths of Tartarus was absolutely clueless when it came to modern artillery.
Percy thought it was strangely cute. A thought that once he would have considered mad but now, stranded here and surrounded by monsters on all sides, absurd wasn't that strange anymore.
Kampê groaned and huffed indignities. Failing to properly align the weapon in a horizontal angle without injuring herself. She tried it once more but failed to aim the weapon properly.
The snakes around her lower body hissed nervously as she breathed in.
Sensing an opportunity, the flock dove down.
Khione snapped her fingers. An infinite dense cold Percy had only felt once before had gathered between the fingertips of the ice goddess before it was violently snapped.
A cold blast of wind erupted, followed by the sound of howling wind while cold air scraped past everything in its vicinity.
It was a brief chill but the sound the sheer cold created was enough to send the monsters into a frenzy.
Kampê pulled the trigger. A shot rang out while the weapon kicked back against its wielder.
Percy saw a few birds dropping down at the edges while the bullet passed through the cloud.
Khione scowled. "Only four. You are wasting ammunition."
Kampê sighed and handed the weapon to Khione. "Modern weapons are not meant for us Greeks."
"You just have to adapt," Khione quickly checked up on the right angle and scope.
Percy wondered where she'd learn to do such a thing.
Khione aimed the rifle and took a short breath before pulling the trigger.
Immediately the crowd exploded.
The bullet left the chamber, but instead of stopping, the corner of her mouth formed a grin,
She repeated the process from before two more times with such fluidity, Percy had a hard time believing she, a goddess, could do this.
From the clouds it rained birds. Like snowflakes they descended in front of her. By the dozens they were taken out.
The flock reacted with outrage. Khione responded calmly by sliding another clip into the chamber.
"Show off," Nico booed.
"Easy game, really." Khione gave Percy the loaded gun.
It felt ridiculously heavy to Percy but he didn't want to admit that to the goddess who just eliminated a triple digit amount of demon birds, and look stupid.
"It's a stupid weapon," Kampê groaned. "Look at how a true monster does this."
From her ever so strange waist a dragon head emerged, bubbling to through the surface of her scaly skin. Percy had seen it a few times, but Nico and Khione hadn't yet.
"That's something I wish I hadn't seen." Nico said with a pale expression.
The reptile head, like the rest of her body, was utterly out of this world, and only resembled the concept of dragon in its most basic features.
The dragon puffed and smoke bellowed from its nose hole.
The dragon's mouth split into something closely resembling a smile. Then, the mouth opened, teeth that were interlocked with each other separated and a huge gaping hole made place for where its mouth was.
The smell of burned vomit left its mouth and hung in the air.
The head opened its jaw and Kampê reared up in the same way a horse would.
A torrent of fire was unleashed from the dragon's mouth. Like a laser it cut through the fog, indiscriminately severing and evaporating everything that it beamed through.
The birds all screeched their protest of unfairness but their cries fell on deaf ears as Kampê continued to torch the living hell out of the gathered mass at the center.
Deciding it was too much, the birds fled and became a small black spot on the horizon.
"Ah, you spoiled our game," Khione said with a dramatic sigh. She shook her head. "Now what will we do?"
"We can discuss plans for tomorrow and how we'll reach Elysium safely," Percy suggested. "Wherever it is."
Khione and Nico exchanged looks, as they always did when anything about Elysium was brought up. Like parents trying to keep an ugly part of their lives out of their child's ear.
"It's a straight line," Nico said slowly, carefully measuring his words, "to our destination. We will reach it soon."
"Glorious mystery," Kampê chimed in, "How joyful."
"It's hard for your mortal minds to comprehend," Khione turned her gaze away from the fleeing demon birds. "But we gods can fine tune our perception to concepts and ideas. It's difficult to explain but it's why we know it if you mention us by our names or pray."
"Elysium," Nico airquoted. "Is a cognitive minefield for both sides. It's safer to just trust us."
"Oh well," Kampê stretched out her human arms. "Not knowing what is ahead or where we are going is part of the deal, right?"
She tapped Percy with a playful grin.
"I suppose so," the demigod said with a defeated tone. Though, he couldn't help but to think back to his conversation with Annabeth down in hell and with Hestia next to the empty pithos.
He was far removed from his destination, but he had one goal in mind.
"Oh well, I am getting drowsy." Kampê yawned, something which was mimicked by all the weird heads attached to her body.
"Same," Nico admitted.
"I'll take the first watch," said Percy.
His ears and mind still reeled from the annoying screeching sounds the Stymphilians had produced.
The small fire cheerfully burned its way through the dark. Percy took solitude in watching the flames do their hypnotic dance. Infinite patterns were created in the fire, none of them repeating ever. It was a calming thing, watching the fire. He could just let his mind wander and slip while his friends slept.
After his eyes had turned dry he pulled his gaze away. His eyes fell on his partner.
Kampê had fallen asleep first, apparently taking great exhaustion from her show of skill. The broken wings folded around her top body like a blanket.
Nico laid curled up in a sleeping bag, completely unmoving. The boy looked like he had peacefully passed away in his sleep.
That was just the way he slept.
Khione hadn't managed to find sleep just yet, or maybe she preferred to keep watch on him. The snow goddess had her legs splayed out. She was leaning back against the back of an AC unit. Her hair spilled down from her head while her eyes were turned to the wide and open heavens. She was silently stargazing, unaware of Percy studying her.
In the glow of the stars it was easy for Percy to forget the absurdity of the situation. He'd always seen her as 'The Enemy', a cruel goddess. She still was, but under the night sky while hiding from their shared enemies, she radiated a sense of safety and familiarity. Percy was struck by how beautiful she was.
Feeling bored, and wanting to delve into the sense of comfort the goddess strangely radiated, Percy got up from his spot near the fire and silently sat down next to her.
Together the pair stargazzed while the night helds its breath.
With the screeching flock covering the sky gone Percy could finally see the soft blue blanket of stars that looked down from above.
Now most of the world's lights had been snuffed out, the tiny specks shone beautiful once again, radiating their beauty upon a world that most likely hadn't seen them like this for decades.
Still, just like many things, the sky felt different. Still the same but something ever so minor had changed, something he couldn't quite grasp.
He tried to look for all the stars. Some of the constellations were unfamiliar. Others he was supposed to recognize had faded. He tried to look for Zoë Nightshade, but her constellation was amongst the many others he couldn't find.
"You see it too, don't you?" Khione whispered. Her eyes remained glued to the sky. "The stars are slowly fading out. One by one, they are facing their own end, preparing for the final breath of this world. Isn't it beautiful?"
Percy shook his head. "No, not really."
Khione tapped her chin. "I guess it might be different if you're mortal. But as an immortal, I've seen this same sky for eons now. Seeing it change, even though it's dying, it's good. Refreshing, makes you appreciate the little things."
"Appreciating the little things? A goddess?" Percy scoffed, he had to remind himself his friends were sleeping.
"I know, I wasn't expecting it either. But hey, here I am. Camping out with demigods," A wry smile formed. "It's not as bad."
"You would have killed us a year ago…you tried." Percy remarked dryly.
Khione nodded unapologetically. "We both had solid reasons for it." She turned her head to the side and saw Percy's deadpan glare. "Oh don't be so hung up about it. We were enemies. We both tried to get what we wanted and fought for it."
"You wanted to kill people."
"And you wanted to save them, opposing goals," Khione said matter of factly. "But now I've come to realize that maybe I was a bit too narrow minded."
"Quite the change of heart," Percy sarcastically said.
"Even monsters have hearts, you know? Might be something to consider for when you save the world."
Khione leaned back, readjusting the way her back hit the metal plating of the wall. Percy followed her example.
The way he enjoyed this momment with Khione made Percy think of other routes he could have taken.
Would he have fought certain monsters and gods the same way, had he known their true nature? How many lives ended in missery due to the sensless conflict between the Titans and Olympus? What was Percy's role?
"I too, would have done things differently," Percy admitted after a drawn out silence. He chuckled softly. "And it took only the end of the world for us to realize it."
Above another star slowly began to dim. A nebula of radiation millions of light years removed from Olympus turned its back on the universe and died, leaving behind a black void in the heavens.
Across the infinite horizon countless lights faded away.
Despite the canvas of the night sky turning into a mass grave for dead coronas and dying stars, the ones that remained shone far more brilliantly than any light had ever done before.
Percy could almost hear the song the night sang before it ended. A final show before it went all dark.
And he was there to witness it all.
"The stars shine brighter right before their end," Khione whispered.
Percy couldn't agree more.
A/N I've been working on this chapter for a while. I didn't quite manage to find the right tone. I kind of wanted to have a fluffy chapter, and while this story is set during the apocalypse, I think I might have managed to do a good enough job.
So far I want to thank you all for sticking with this story so far. We are slowly heading for this fic's end as well.
The stars do not wait for you after all, they wait for me.
-CaptainMoonShine-
(Reviews)
Deeznuggets2121:
Been a while since my scp phase but this is like the Class of 76 right? Syncope Symphony and it's scp number that I forgot
A: Yes, indeed! Good for finding one.
SilverJoJo:
Not a plot chapter but I enjoyed it nonetheless, I do really love the description of how just fucking tired Percy seems to be all the time only to have his musings broken up by the literal divine and supernatural stuff hitting him, really makes you wonder about the amount of stress and whiplash he's going through.
A: Well, he's been at it for a while by now. Glad you enjoyed it, hope you will with this as well.