Percy Jackson, the embodiment of hope.

Chapter 16: Darkfire and Romans. (Incineration.)

"Hm. Powers are only allowed when channeled through weapons."

I nod and get into an attack stance.

He makes the first move, pointing his scepter at me and shooting a laser out of it.

I quickly dodge, and the laser hits the ground where I was obliterating the ground and leaving a crater.

He fires again, and I dodge, then throw my trident. He dodges and smiles at me, but I just keep my hand out.

His eyes widen as he realizes but dodges a bit too late. As the trident rushes back to my hand, it grazes his side.

He stumbles but then rushes towards me. My trident meets his scepter, and I eye it warily. It's dangerous, and I need to make sure it doesn't hit me.

That would break some of the stuff in my cloak, and let me say, some things in there are dangerous to break. Like a star, encased in magic glass.

He steps back and lunges forward, trying to stab me, but I quickly stab my trident into the ground, catching the prongs of his scepter with it.

He glares and punches me across the face. I stumble back and then lunge forward, socking him back in the face.

He shoots backward and slams into Polybotes, who looks nervous. I extract my trident and throw it at Perses, who doesn't manage to dodge it.

He leps forwards to late, and it sinks into his gut, making him fall back into Polybotes. I recall my trident, and it brings Perses with it.

I hold my trident out and dislodge it from Perses.

"I think I win, don't I?"

He grows mad and grabs my head, trying to crush it. I stand there while he tries, unbothered.

"Wha- what are you?" He asks, widening his eyes and moving his hands away from my face.

"I told you," I say. "Hope."

With that, I flick my sword (not Riptide) into existence and stab it deep into his chest. The light leaves his eyes, and he says,

"Best fight I've had in centuries. Screw you, Destroyer," as he poofs into smoke.

I feel the title added to my "list" and am happy.

Perseus means destroyer, and now I am THE destroyer. Fitting.

I turn to Polybotes, who takes his trident out. I reach into my cloak and pull out a stopwatch, check the time, and then put it back.

"Why am I fighting you guys again?" I ask, tilting my head.

Enceladus grits his teeth and points behind me, and I remember. The beautiful city burned to the ground.

It was my home for a while and my planned home for the future. They might have denied entrance, but they thought I was a traitor. They didn't beat me or tried to kill me, so they still have... some kind of trust. More than the Greeks.

I chuck my trident, and it flies incredibly fast, burying itself into Polybotes head.

He drops his jaw in surprise and then crumbles to dust.

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?" Enceladus yells, staring at the ashes that were his brother.

"Doesn't matter. Now, where is Nyx?" I ask angrily.

"Uh, she's, uh... wait. Why would I tell you?"

I point a finger at him.

"Because I just killed two incredibly powerful immortal beings easily. I killed Kronos. And I'm friends with your mom."

He glares.

"Don't bring my mother into this."

"What, why? Because she doesn't like you?" I dramatically gasp. "Have you never brought her cookies?"

He looks confused. "What is a... cookie?"

I shake my head sadly. "You're a disappointment. Now. Where is Nyx?"

He grins.

"She's stuck in the worst possible place for her."

I shudder. "She's in Baskin Robbins?"

"What? No, she's - what is Baskin Robbins?"

I wave him off. "Doesn't matter. Where is she?"

He shakes off his confusion and answers in a cruel tone.

"She's in the palace of Aether."

I frown and restrain my laughter.

"What's so bad about Aethers' palace?"

Enceladus looks confused.

"What? It's where him and Hemera used to live. It's the opposite of Nyx. A dark entity trapped in a light entities castle."

Wow. I guess being the counterpart of Athena just made him stupid. That or he was given the wrong information.

Me and many of my primordial siblings used to hang out all the time in Aethers' palace. Really, there should be no reason she's stuck there helping the bad guys unless...

My eyes widen under my mask.

"Who else is at the palace?"

Enceladus looks confused.

"Her husband, why?"

I go silent. Then, I throw my trident. It sinks into his chest, and he falls onto his back, only for me to punch his face and turn him to dust.

I teleport to Camp Half-Blood and see Annabeth, Jonathan, and Nico talking to Reyna.

I pop into the middle of their conversation, scaring the crap out of them.

"Hey, Nico. Tell Hero he's in charge for a bit, okay?"

Nico nods, and Reyna quickly asks,

"How did you run?"

I freeze and look at her.

"Sorry?"

She looks at me as if I'm an idiot.

"Two of the enemies were Giants, and another was Perses, the Titan of destruction. How did you escape?"

I frown under my mask.

"I killed them? Duh."

She snorts and crosses her arms.

"Sure, and with what god? Terminus came with Julia."

I smile at the mention of Julia, but then continue speaking.

"Primordials really don't follow those rules."

She gawks at me, and I turn away.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Annabeth quickly asks, clamping her hand over Jonathan's mouth before he says something stupid.

I glower under my mask, looking away from them.

"I have to have a super definitely extremely civil discussion with my sister and her ex. 'I just wanna talk,' as the quote says. Nico, introduce the Romans to my team. No revealing identities to any, even Reyna. Annabeth, explain about Percy."

I sink into the ground and reappear in front of a palace I haven't seen in years. The palace of my brother, Aether.

I walk in, my trident already in my hand.