There is angst ahead
There are mentions of WWII.
I did not describe anything graphically in regards to WWII but I am aware it is a triggering subject for some.
I hope you enjoy the chapter, let me know what you think.
Come yell at me on tumblr: Percabeth4Life
Come chat with me on discord: https://discord.gg/3tGNJhu
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
Know your history.
I stood in a field. No. Not a field. A graveyard.
In front of me was a man, pale skin, black hair, and sharp gold eyes.
He had his hands raised and was chanting in a language that sounded like twisting whispers.
The air felt of burning shadows and steady rocks.
With a hazy blur the air filled with faded figures. The gold eyed man (he was in his twenties I thought) lowered his hands, his gold eyes glowing.
He spoke, the strange twisting whispers filling the air. The ghosts (because that's what they were) spoke back.
He spread his hands, drawing my attention to the shallow pit that was in front of him.
"Abel!" Cried a voice.
I turned to see a man striding forward, with black hair like the man with the ghosts, but stormy blue eyes and dark skin. Beside him was a woman with green eyes (like mine) shining bright.
The man in front of me ignored them, speaking quicker.
One of the ghosts stepped forward, stopping to drink from the pit (that I now realized was filled with a liquid). It rose, it's appearance now firmer.
It was a man in an army uniform, a medal visible with a strange cross on it.
"Abel, stop right now!" Cried the woman.
He spoke, a language that had lots of rolling r's and soft vowels with hard consonants. He spoke slowly, seemingly uncaring of the two figures heading this way.
Abel (I guessed that was the man's name) ignored them both. He spoke again, that whispery language, and the ghost responded.
The scent of salt water filled the air.
Abel nodded solemnly then suddenly jerked, throwing himself back just in time for the liquid in the pit to surge up, nearly wrapping around him.
I spun to see the woman with her arms raised and her eyes narrowed. She swept her hand out and the liquid scattered, misting through the air and emptying the pit.
Abel turned to them with a snarl, looking very angry.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Abel snapped with a clear accent. It reminded me of the language the ghost he'd been talking to spoke. Rolling r's and hard sounds.
"Abel, you can't mess with spirits," The woman implored. "I know that you want to find them-"
"You know nothing."
"Abel," the man entreated, a different accent to his voice. It was Spanish maybe? "We understand that you want to know what happened. But you cannot endanger others in this quest. People are dying."
"I will find them," Abel snapped. "You cannot stop me."
The man's gaze hardened. "We will not let you keep hurting people. We will stop you if we must."
Abel scoffed, gold eyes flashing. "So, you do not care about children that vanished? They are not dead. I would know if they were."
"Of course we care!" The woman cried. "But hurting people won't bring them back. We cannot bring more harm in an attempt to find them."
Abel's gaze turned to her, softening slightly.
"You have always cared so much for many. They do not care same as you do." He glanced at the man. "I hold no hate for you, cousins, but I will not stop my quest."
"Do not make us fight you. Please, we do not want it to come to that." The man looked almost desperate then.
Abel shook his head, "Calisto, Esme, It will not be you that lives to regret."
"Abel," the woman (Esme?) whispered even as she seemed to prepare for a fight. "Please."
Abel simply raised an eyebrow. "Leave. Before you make me regret."
The man (Calisto?) stepped forward, drawing a knife, "We will not. Come with us peacefully and allow the camp to punish you."
Abel laughed. "No."
The air filled with electricity but Abel simple shook his head and spread his hands.
He spoke one word in that whispery language, and hands pushed through the graves.
I reached out, they shouldn't fight. They all clearly loved each other, they were family!
I fell through darkness.
Understand what they will allow.
I stumbled onto what looked like a battlefield, but I was above it.
There were figures around me, standing tall and some... betting?
A woman with brown hair in battle armor exchanged a bet with what looked like Ares. The sensations surrounding me were so much like the cabins at camp. I was completely unable to figure out most of them.
"Please! My kid will kick that Hades kid's ass. He might have won so far, but that's 'cause he sticks to graveyards. If he was actually battling then he would be dead by now!"
"Strategy is the most important there. And one of my children aids the child of Hades. The strategy is full proof."
"You'll see, my kids strategy is way better and your kid is gonna lose."
A tall figure in a pinstripe suit with a black beard and matching hair stared at the children with stormy blue eyes. "The Hades child will die for his crimes. He will not escape his punishment for killing my son."
"Or my daughter," Snapped another figure. For a moment I thought I was looking at the Titan with gold eyes, the face was identical and the hair in a similar style. But the eyes were different, a sharp sea green (like mine, like Lara's, like Esme's ).
My eyes widened, Poseidon?
"Oh please, both of you have kids siding with him." Scoffed a woman in a soft green dress with a matching green veil over her hair. Her skin was dark with matching dark eyes. She was holding a sickle and looked kind, but stern. "Three of your kids Poseidon, and two of yours Zeus."
Poseidon shrugged, "I don't care what they do. But he killed my daughter, I always punish those that harm my children."
"People are dying," A man with bright blue eyes and heavily tanned skin pointed out. His hair was covered in a gold veil that seemed to glow.
Zeus waved his hand, "What do I care for the lifespans of the mortals that defy me. This is about justice."
I turned to the battle field, hearing them bickering over if the lives of the mortals were truly that important in the long run behind me.
It was a massacre.
One side clearly had the strength in numbers, ghosts and skeletons and zombie like figures moved across the field viciously fighting the living.
Lightning flashed, thunder crashing down, and a dozen of the undead fell in smoking heaps. Two dozen more rose to take their place.
Figures fought, drowning under the number of the dead. A child stumbled and another grabbed their arm. Another child slashed and hacked at the crowd, slowly making their way through.
Vines wound up a dozen undead, then tore them to pieces.
I winced as blood drenched the children.
I could see the man from before, Abel, standing with his arms out. The glow of his gold eyes was visible from here. The undead moved slowly for the most part, but they had overwhelming numbers.
I could see a blond-haired girl beside him, little more than a child, studying the battle field.
The gold-eyed Titan was showing me a war.
It was children for the most part, there were some adults, the one's fighting the hardest, the most skilled, but for the most part... it was children.
"There's only one Hades kid, it's not like it should be that hard!" Snapped a voice amongst the Gods.
I watched though, able to feel the burning shadows from here.
I didn't think he's fighting alone, Abel was definitely being supported by someone. But I didn't know who (his father maybe?).
The Gods exchanged more bets as the bodies filled the field.
I slipped from the sky with a cry
See who they didn't save that had to be saved by others.
I fell into a building, seeing an infirmary.
There were children there, about twenty of them. Many were huddled together, others sat stiffly.
Many had scars.
There were doctors all around, soft and kind and soothing. They were talking in low voices to each other.
"What are these notes saying?"
"Something about light?"
"Eidetic memory?"
"Half these notes are filled with rambles about mythology, I don't know what to make of them."
"Are they claiming these kids have powers?"
"Those horrible men, doing this to children ," one murmured. "Just to fulfill their delusions."
"I'm glad we found them now, but by God."
I took a step closer, seeing a child with blonde hair and grey eyes curled as far away from a children's book that had been placed on her bed as possible.
A doctor removed the book.
"Traumatized-"
"Afraid of the slightest thing-"
"Some afraid of themselves-"
"Won't touch books-"
"He flinches if we get light near him-"
"We need some specialists-"
The doctors seemed worried, but they seemed to care a lot.
One with sharp blue eyes and a bright smile (though he seemed like he was faking it, like he felt he had to show happiness and reassure the children) crouched in front of one child, making himself seem smaller.
"Hey kiddo, how are you feeling?"
The child with dark red eyes stared at him, tense and afraid.
"I'm Doctor Fred," the child flinched. "But you can just call me Fred."
The child eyed him, wary but seemingly slightly less afraid.
"I'm going to help you," murmured the doctor. "And you'll never go back to those monsters again."
I slipped right through the floor with a cry of surprise.
They allowed the pain of their children. They allowed the deaths.
The child of Hades stood tall once more, determined to fight. His gold eyes were hard, and his back straight.
I stared at him and remembered what Annabeth said. The Godly war had happened alongside the mortal World War Two.
"Please, we found the children." Said a man, stepping forward. "We don't need to fight anymore."
"Children are found but those who harmed them are not punished enough yet. They will not be until they are dead and in my father's hands." Abel's gaze was firm and his resolve uncracked.
The man before him, with green eyes and a pleading expression looked pained.
"The Gods are aiding the children! And all go to Hades in time. You can trust that the mortals will not allow those atrocities to stand either. The criminals will be punished. Please, end this war between us. It is on something we need not fight over."
Abel shook his head. "I will not stop, not until spirits that linger from their crimes know that every last one is in eternal torment."
"The spirits are driving you too far! Remember the living! You cannot live for the dead, Abel." The man looked at him desperately. "You're not lost yet, please, come home."
"I was lost with children."
And he attacked.
He was lost, and he was abandoned by those he once stood by. Know that he was not remembered for his goals, but for the death he brought.
I stumbled back as a skeleton rose right in my face and blinked as I was standing in front of a burning shroud.
The symbol of Hades, his helm, painstakingly embroidered onto it.
A man stood at the front, stormy blue eyes staring out at the crowd.
"Abel was family, he was a friend to many of us."
He took a deep breath.
"Abel cared so deeply for those that were harmed, he reached too far. Abel lost himself to the spirits he summoned, he made promises to them to avenge them and lost sight of his goals. We mourn what could've been."
The crowd stood silent as the shroud burned.
"Abel was once a good man, he did many good things in his life. He is the reason that we found the family we thought lost, the children that were left from... from what those mortals did. But despite the good he did, he is also the reason for hundreds of deaths."
He looked away for a moment.
"Abel sought to find our lost family, and in the process became family that was lost. We mourn what he became."
The flames crackled.
"We thank my cousin Cecil, my sister Jayla. At the cost of their lives they ended his crimes. We will mourn Abel, not for the villain he died as, but for the hero he once was."
He looked out, solemn and serious.
"Abel is the reason over a dozen children of Zeus and Poseidon are dead. He is the reason dozens of other children are dead, from many Godly parents. We will mourn them all."
He took a deep breath.
"We will give thanks to Zeus and will give thanks to Poseidon. Their aid turned the tide and allowed Cecil and Jayla to defeat Abel. They gave weapons, they gave advice, and they gave guides. So we thank them that we can stand here now to mourn."
He closed his eyes for a long moment.
"Mourn tonight, for tomorrow we will celebrate our victory and the safe return of the children that those men that should be monsters took."
Know that they have turned their back on their people before.
I was standing on a road, a figure before me. A young man, in traditional chiton, with black hair and stormy blue eyes. He whispered prayer to Zeus.
"Please Lord Zeus, Father, I need to return home to my mother. I humbly request thine aid in my quest to slay Medusa."
My eyes widened, was this-
The image blurred, and I stumbled as I fell upon a forest scene, the same figure there, now kneeling before two figures.
Know that their aid to one side dooms another.
One was a guy, with winged sandals, sandy blonde hair, and even from here I could see the sharp blue of his eyes. He looked like an older, more traditionally dressed, Luke.
The other was a woman, her hair uncovered and a deep black. She wore armor and held a spear in hand, her eyes were a stormy grey.
"Go, Perseus, to the Graea. The Grey Sisters, sisters of the gorgons, will give you the answers you seek."
Perseus.
The Titan was showing me the myth of Perseus.
"Take these gifts to aid you in your quest," the woman said. "My shield to look in and see Medusa without fear."
"My Adamantine sickle, to cut her head off smoothly."
I watched Athena (for that must've been her) and Hermes (because who else could that be) hand Perseus two very valuable items, the Adamantine sickle being one of the most valuable weapons in existence.
Adamantine was extremely rare after all, and the most powerful metal to fight a God with.
They enable and encourage the children's crimes.
I was tumbling through the ground, seeing a flash of Perseus stealing the eye and tooth from the Grey Sisters, threatening them to gain information.
Threats.
I landed in the branches of some trees, seeing Perseus take a pair of winged sandals (that felt of tickling feathers even in this dream), a bag (that hummed lightly), and a Helm that felt strongly of burning shadows. Was that Hades' Helm of Darkness? How did the nymphs get it?
Theft.
The trees melted away and I stumbled to my feet on a familiar island, stars glittering above, with a familiar girl in front of me.
Lara.
She had her soft fox fur shawl wrapped around her shoulders and a pretty sea-green veil over her hair.
Perseus stood in front of her, the helm off his head.
"You need not fear anymore young maiden, I am here to slay the vile gorgon Medusa. You will be safe soon."
"You cannot!" Lara cried, stepping forward. "This island is peaceful! The gorgons have done no wrong."
"They are monsters, step aside and let me free you from her."
Lara stood firm though, raising her chin.
"You shall not pass."
Perseus narrowed his eyes. "Step aside, I have no quarrel with you."
"And yet I have one with you. Leave our island, you are not welcome here." Lara's voice was made of steel, her hands raised and the air seemed to freeze.
"If you side by the monstrous gorgons then you must be but a monster yourself. I will give you one last chance to stand aside or else I will be forced to remove you from my path."
"I will not stand aside, and you shall not move me."
Perseus drew his sickle, but Lara struck first.
On first glance she was unarmed, she held no weapons, not even a waterskin like I did. The air was humid but not nearly enough to be used as an effective weapon, not against someone as prepared as Perseus.
But she had another skill I had not realized.
She thrust her hands out, much like me when I guided water, but she did not guide water.
The earth cracked and shattered, Perseus stumbling over himself to scramble out of reach.
The earth followed him, the ground shaking as her expression furrowed and she let out a slow breath. She slammed her hands together, the Earth rising and crashing into itself.
Perseus just barely got out of the way.
"Who are you!" He cried.
She stood tall, looking to all the world like the princess she was. "I am Lara, partner of Medusa, daughter of the Earthshaker, Poseidon. And I will stop you here."
His eyes widened as she announced herself, but he pushed himself to his feet.
"If you are in my way I will strike you down myself," he declared fiercely, raising his sickle.
"Only in death will I allow you past me," she snapped.
Remember her.
She slid her feet into a stronger stance, raising her hands once more, and pushing forward.
The ground rolled, shaking violently as it shifted forms to crash down onto Perseus.
He took the skies, he winged shoes flapping rapidly as the winds aided him in escaping the earth, just in time.
Lara frowned, tilting her head as she seemed to try to hear something.
"Where did he go," she muttered.
Their crimes are many.
Perseus raised Hermes' sickle, the sky crackled, and electricity sparked over my skin.
Oh no.
"No!" I cried.
But Lara couldn't hear me.
" Aid me Father!" Perseus called.
I felt the electricity burn over my skin as horror filled me.
Lara looked up in confusion.
And include death.
Light seared my eyes, thunder booming.
I screamed.
The light faded to show Perseus flying onward, but all I could see was Lara.
Know what they have done, know what they have tried to do to you.
Her shawl, the opening courtship gift from Medusa, was burned beyond recognition.
Her expression was trapped in a show of pain, electric burns marring it.
Her hand reached out to where Medusa's cave stood.
Her necklace was the only thing undamaged, the shell hanging from the end still visible.
"No!"
Know all this and choose.
I woke yelling Lara's name.
OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO
Thanks for reading!
Don't forget to comment! They feed my soul.
Do you hate me? Do you miss them already? What do you think about my history for the godly war? What did you think of Lara's death?
Also a note that my OC's are my characters and do not use them in your stories without gaining my permission first.
OC's
Abel=son of Hades and the enemy of the Godly war that happened alongside WWII. His goal was to rescue children taken by the N*zis for experiments. He was driven to extreme's by both his fatal flaw and the ghosts he talked with.
Calisto=son of Zeus and one of the two that originally stood against Abel. Was killed by Abel
Esme=daughter of Poseidon and one of the two that originally stood against Abel. Was killed by Abel.
Cecil=son of Poseidon that died defeating (killing) Abel
Jayla=daughter of Zeus that died defeating (killing) Abel
Lara=Medusa's lover and daughter of Poseidon who was killed by Perseus (son of Zeus) in my version of the myth.
Terminology
The Perseus myth of the Greeks had Medusa as a monster from birth, not created by Athena. That was a later addition added by Ovid (as most changes were). I chose to use his myth in part because I felt that humanizing Medusa was what fit best with my story. The myths had many versions so while it isn't the original Greek version or one of the Greek versions, it is still a version that is widely considered valid by the public. You are getting a telling in the opposite view of the myths, which paint Perseus as the hero. Here you know the people involved and see it from Percy's POV, with Perseus' (of the myths) not emphasized.