Nico hissed and charged at him. Right before Percy was beheaded, Nico dropped the blade and wrapped him in a tight embrace. He heard sniffling and saw the great Thalia Grace, crying.
" Oh my god, this must be a dream. Thalia Grace is crying ." He gasped and put his hand over his mouth in shock.
She ran at him, and he foolishly expected her to drop the spear as well, but instead, she shocked him. He fell to the ground twitching.
Nico was choking, he doubled over laughing, and they went in for a huge group hug. They broke apart when they heard Iovac's voice. Thalia reactivated Aegis, and her spear started crackling again. Nico snarled, his sword held in front of him.
" You must be Thalia Grace and Nico Di Angelo. " Percy stepped between them and gave introductions. "Thalia, Nico, please put the big pointy weapons down, he's a friend. " They calmed down, but still had a wary hand on their weapons. "This is Iovac, he's a Lupanoid, from a different planet. I've been living with him since I left. "
They nodded, and let go of their weapons. " He's been teaching me stealth and assassination." With that they were shocked, to say the least.
" Why would you need to be stealthy Perce? " Nico asked, while Thalia snorted. " Oh, don't mind me, I was just laughing because Kelp Head here, cannot be stealthy. " She said pointing, at where Percy originally was. He had snuck up behind her.
"Boo." She jumped and stabbed Percy through the calf with her spear. He groaned and fell over. The wound wasn't large, but it was bleeding. " Holy Hera, Perce, I guess you can be sneaky." She completely ignored the fact that he was hurt.
He groaned again, and Iovac rushed over. " Thalia, he was attacked by a Dakesh a few weeks ago. His body is incredibly susceptible to wounds. "
" Excuse me, a what now ?" Nico asked. Iovac pulled out a small handbook from his fanny pack and tossed it over. " Page 32, Second picture." They looked at it and retched. It was the most disgusting thing they had ever seen.
" Sorta looks like Percy, don't you think? " Iovac and Nico started laughing, while Percy groaned from beneath them. Iovac started focusing on his patient, and Nico threw him a piece of ambrosia. " I'm just gonna take a nap," Percy exclaimed, drowsily. He closed his eye and fell asleep.
Percy PoV
I dreamt of End's Palace, End was there, with his galaxy-themed, well, everything. He was talking with a hooded figure and didn't seem to notice me. " Nova, you must go to the Esmic galaxy, and obtain a special rune. He showed the hooded figure, Nova, an image.
" If you get it, I can regain my power. " I let out a gasp, and he must have heard me because a second later, I was awake, sweating. I felt a searing pain on my back, and let out a scream of pure agony. Nico rushed in, trying to find the source of the pain.
He threw off my shirt, and I heard a sharp intake of breath. " There's a mark seared into your skin, "
"Iovac! There's an emergency !" Nico called, and Iovac rushed in. Something about that confused me. " Uhm, you guys are close? " Nico made a fifty-fifty gesture.
" It's more of a, we have a mutual understanding to not let you die," I nodded, satisfied. " Buuut, that doesn't mean we aren't going to be friends either, it's just we haven't had a lot of time to talk, as we have been focused on you."
I nodded again but was confused nonetheless. " Why would you need to focus on me, all that happened to me was a minor injury."
Iovac spoke up for the first time. " Thalia stabbed you, and it went through your bone." He checked for the wound on my back. He gasped and went back to his bookshelf. He opened a book and flipped through the pages before he found what he was looking for.
"Ah, found it." He winced while reading, not a good sign. " Oh no." I shuffled around nervously, " What does that mean, why the oh no? " He sighed and put his head in his hands.
" That's the symbol of End. Chaos's older brother. Whenever End marks someone with it, their powers and everything that makes them themselves slowly being taken. It could take years, or it could take days. The only known cure is the touch of either one of his siblings, Chaos, Order, or Void. "
Thalia burst in, like the FBI. " I'm so sorry, I had no idea about the attack, I feel so bad, especially after everything that happened at camp." I clamped my hand over Thalia's mouth to stop her rambling. "It's fine Thals, you didn't know and I'm over that. I'm never returning to Camp or Earth, and if that's what your here to do, then you can leave."
She winced, and I may have seemed harsh, but I will not, under any circumstances, go back to Earth. " We have to Perce, there was a new prophecy, and you are needed. " I snarled. The Fates just can't seem to leave me alone. I'm not going back. " I'm not returning." He repeated. "I'm never going back to that wretched place again, all I met was betrayal.
She nodded glumly. " If I want to survive, then I should find Chaos, Order, or Void. " The group let out a collective sigh.
Iovac was the only one with an idea. " Well everyone knows Chaos has his planet. I'm guessing it's in a spot secluded from maps." We had hope. It might have been a slim chance, but we had hope. I looked up at him, gesturing for him to continue.
" There are 30-40 possible districts it could be in, " I sighed, I could have days, and we would have to search thirty to forty different galaxies. Iovac snapped.
"Idea! I could get in contact with a few friends, they all owe me something, they'd be happy to search. "
My hope reignited, we had a shot! I looked down at my leg and immediately regretted it.
It looked like Tartarus, with its swollen veins, and the bone was poking out and its smell, gods forbid. It smelt like rotting meat, that had decided to have a baby with the NYC sewage system.
" Why wasn't I fed ambrosia or something, wouldn't that heal me much faster ?" I intoned, and Nico sighed, shaking his head. " Your body is too weak to handle it, you would melt away before anything. " I shook my head, fantastic. I'm slowly losing my powers, and I can't use ambrosia to heal quickly.
" Thalia, Nico. Would you like to join me and Iovac? We aren't returning, so it's either you leave, or you stay. " They both let out a collective sigh. " Perce, we gotta take you back, Zeus demands it. "
I was mad, to say the least. " You can tell Zeus, that it was his fault, that he decided to banish me, and now it's coming back to bite him in the ass. " I smirked, knowing that if Zeus heard me, his infuriated, egotistic self, would have tried smiting me again.
" Perce, come back for Annabeth. " I scoffed, my eyes darkened, and a storm was audible outside.
" Annabeth, hmmm. " I got up and picked up a drachma.
" Oh Fleecey, do me a solid and show me my memories from camp." I threw the coin in, and the rainbow shimmered. " Beware, the memories aren't for the faint of heart. "
It seemed like a pg thirteen warning on a movie.
Flashback
Percy headed back to camp, he was in a cheery mood. He had a beautiful ring in his pocket, it was a simple gold band with a teal stone set in the center. The stone was carved to make it look like an Owl, with the engravings of " Your Seaweed Brain, Forever and Always."
He walked back to camp with it in his pocket. Clarisse withheld the truth from him, to spare him some early heartbreak, he went back to his cabin, and heard a loud cheering, coming from the forest/beachy area. His curiosity got the best of him, and he snuck over to see a ton of people crowded around two figures.
He thought it was an Aphrodite Camper, with his brother. Though the curls looked familiar, he pushed the thoughts out of his head, she'd never do that. Their faces moved together, before meeting in a short, yet passionate kiss. He got a clear glimpse of her face. It was Annabeth. They had a conversation about how much they loved each other.
At that point, Percy was through, he went into the crowd, and threw the ring in front of her, Her eyes widened, as she tried explaining. But Percy did not have it, he assaulted Theo, and formed a water avatar, fueled by his burning anger for Theo. The avatar advanced, swinging a sharp blade made out of swirling mud. The avatar swung and stopped inches away from his neck.
The avatar dissipated, and Percy fell to the ground unconscious. He woke up in the infirmary, firmly pushing out all thoughts of Annabeth out of his head, he wasn't ready to accept it yet. He went to Poseidon, who in a fit of anger, disowned him. He returned to camp dejectedly and he was abused, jeered at, and banished by the campers. Supposedly, he stole Frank's piece of Firewood, and hid it under his bed, he said Hazel was better of dead, he wished Leo never returned, he said Piper and Jason were useless, and ruined the Stoll's huge prank, etc etc.
He had enough, he wrote letters and left Camp. He was heading to his mom's house when he was summoned to Olympus. Hades rescued him, and he left Earth.
End of Flashback.
They sat there shocked, it wasn't a pleasing sight. My eyes were red and tears were on the verge of spilling over. I wiped them away, but they noticed. " I thought she just broke up with you, we had no idea she did you that dirty. " Thalia spoke, her eyes glowed with anger.
" I'm heading back. I'll say I found you, but you disappeared before anything. I'm going to give Annabeth, a piece of my mind. " Thalia said and abruptly left the room. Nico put his hand on my head and whispered.
" I'm not leaving you, I'll tell Will to join us, we'll stick together. You believed in me through anything, thank you, brother. " That bought tears to my eyes. " I'm honored you think of me as a brother, after Bianca. " I wrapped him in a hug and sobbed into his shoulder.
I let all the heartache, and pain I suffered through the wars, through the betrayal, and through the deaths spill out. I fell asleep, still hugging him. Must have been awkward, but I was already asleep. As the world turned black I heard, " Oh great, I'm stuck. " and smiled.
Third Person PoV
Thalia was fuming, she went to the Airport at Aqule, and hired Retmo again, she barely paid attention to the beautiful, lush scenery of Aqule, as she departed the planet, heading straight for vengeance.
~~Meanwhile on Olympus~~
Annabeth was busy talking to the gods, about how Nico and Thalia just left them there, Iris Messaged them, but it would not connect, every time she tried, the Drachma would disappear, and the message would close out. Fleecey smiled, she had been stealing the drachma and cutting the connection on purpose, to pay her back for breaking Percy.
Annabeth cried out in frustration. The gods turned to see Thalia, walking in. Artemis stood up, and went to ask her lieutenant if she saw anything, she turned to the entire council and spoke in a clear voice.
" Lord Zeus, I come bearing news on Percy's whereabouts." She felt Zeus didn't deserve the title of Father. He frowned, but nodded to continue. " We saw him on a planet, but he blatantly refused to return. He overpowered me and fled. " Apollo's voice echoed in her head.
Good move cuz, we still have a few decades left before the threat approaches.
" Also father, may I ask why Percy left?" The Olympians who voted against Percy winced.
"Errr, Daughter, We banished him for harming another demigod. " Hermes scoffed, and fixed his face, with a mumbled apology. " Hermes's scoff indicates something different. " Zeus's ears turned red.
" We also suspected he was aiding the enemy in the wars." Zeus tried to make it sound as believable as possible, but Thalia didn't buy it. " The wars he lost many of his close friends for? The war he fell into Tartarus to complete? The wars that ripped his childhood away from him? " Even Hera winced at that horrible lie.
"I'll drop it for now, but I would like to speak to Milady. "
Artemis and Thalia walked out of the main room. " Milady, It's been an honor serving as your lieutenant, and I've loved every moment of it. I wish to leave the Hunt. " Artemis looked shocked. " Why Thalia? " Thalia put a hand on her temple, rubbing it.
"Well, I wish to be mortal, a boy was not involved in my decision Lady Artemis. " With that Artemis knew she was serious. Thalia would never call her anything other than Milady, unless it was serious.
" Well, brave one. You've served me well. I release you from your Oath. " Thalia breathed, and a silvery light faded from around her. " Bye, Lady Artemis. " She turned and walked back to the throne room. As she walked in, Annabeth and Theo glittered into the throne room.
"Thalia Grace," Theo sneered. " You abandoned us, in the middle of the Galactic Hub. What scared you that you had to flee?" Thalia snarled but continued calmly. " I saw Percy, so me and Nico ran for it. We encountered him and he ran away from us. " Theo laughed, and Annabeth's eyes widened, " Did he mention me? " She said hopefully. Thalia's anger exploded.
She turned to Athena, her hands were sparking. " Your wretched daughter, cheated on him, for his half-brother. He was planning to propose and everything. "
Athena stood up, glowering. " My daughter would never do that, Percy cheated on her, stop trying to twist the blame. The only reason you aren't dead right now is your heritage and your position. " Thalia scoffed.
" Your daughter is the source of our problems. " Thalia said. "Oh Fleecey, do me a solid and show us Percy's memories from Camp. " She threw a drachma in. However, on the other side of the world, Fleecey's mind was being infiltrated by a very weak End. End twisted the memories, against Percy, and showed the polar opposite of what happened.
Percy headed back to camp, he was in a cheery mood. He was going to see a beautiful new Aphrodite camper and give her a beautiful necklace, he continued strolling the streets and finally arrived at camp.
He walked through the camp with it in his pocket. He headed to the Aphrodite cabin, and went to where she was standing, she looked beautiful with golden blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and a mischievous smirk, that matched Percy's. He dug the gifts out of his pocket and gave her a small kiss.
Piper walked in, and she gasped. "Percy how could you. " Piper yelled, before running out of the cabin, and rushing to Annabeth, Percy told the Aphrodite camper it would be ok, and ran to his cabin. He frantically cleaned part of his bed, and sunk in, pretending to be asleep. He focused on keeping his face still. Annabeth burst through the door. Sweaty, her hair stuck to her cheeks.
He was stressing. If he was caught, he'd be dead. The reputation he worked so hard to build would be ruined. She shook him a few times, before yelling his name. She explained everything Piper told her. Percy tried to placate her, but she didn't believe it. She spread words that he was a cheater and a dirty scumbag.
He had enough, he wrote letters and left Camp. He was heading to his mom's house when he was summoned to Olympus. Hades rescued him, and he left Earth.
Piper shook her head, yet many of the others were nodding. " That's not how it happened," Piper said. Jason shot her a look, but she continued speaking. "Annabeth did cheat, I'm tired of trying to pretend otherwise, it's mainly her fault. " Piper spoke, and Clarisse started nodding, but Chris held her firm.
"The Iris Messages don't lie. These were clear memories. " Aphrodite spoke sadly. Thalia could get killed for treason. Maybe Piper too. Athena was now smoking with anger. She stood up, and shrunk down to 7 feet, walked right in front of Thalia, and hissed.
"If you ever accuse my daughter of something like that again, I'll cut your tongue out. Lieutenant of Artemis or not. " Artemis winced in the corner, but no one was watching. Jason led Piper to the back of the huge room, and they spoke in hushed tones.
"Pipes, I feel you, but we can't do anything about it right now. Annabeth will do almost anything because of her hubris, and Athena will keep her daughter safe. Our best move right now is to keep calm, and hopefully try exposing her lies. I don't know what was up with the Iris Message, but we know that's not the truth. " Piper reluctantly nodded, and they headed back to the throne room, where Zeus was berating Thalia for throwing out bland accusations.
~~Back on Aqule~~
Percy and Nico were further continuing in stealth training. Iovac was telling them how to sneak in, murder, and sneak out without leaving any evidence.
" So first thing always were gloves. If you have gloves on, your fingerprints can't be traced back to you. The next thing is to wear hoods and masks to cover your face. " They practiced with a few water and shadow dummies they created. Percy wanted to wear an Oni mask with a hood for some reason.
Nico kept making noise on the littered floor, which was ideal for stealth practice. "Styx!" As he tripped for the fifth time. Iovac sighed and was strategizing on how to cover maximum distance, to get rid of the Mark of End. He was marking off galaxies in his head. Terrat galaxy has around 8 large planets, a good spot, but too popular. Selae Galaxy has 3 planets with a large black hole surrounding most entrances, only a small vehicle enough to fit one person can make it through. If the gravitational pull sucks them in, they disintegrate. That is my main suspect at the moment.
The other galaxies were viable but had their faults. Most of them were major trading galaxies, the others were galaxies that were extremely dangerous to access. He had narrowed it down to Selae, Vitheo, and Qetza. He bought out his wristwatch, a memory from Lunamet, and flicked it out. He pushed some buttons and a map of Qetza sprung to life.
The first planet was a desert planet called Dustar. It was a desert planet with a population of around 2 million. Most of the planet was inhabitable, but there was a dark spot that was dark, no matter what angle the light hit it from.
The second planet was a magma planet, that was all black, with red streaks like veins running through it. The planet was called Infertem. This planet had a tiny population, with a species that lives underground.
The final planet was a lush paradise, It was a forest planet, with no known population, there was wildlife of course, but there weren't any intelligent species. The jungles were so large, drones or any other means of surveillance would not work, All biotic scouts sent, never returned. It would be risky searching there, they would need enough supplies to last years if the rumors were true.
Iovac was losing hope every day. He walked out of the training room and went to sleep.
Percy PoV
I woke up in End's palace again. He was looking straight at me this time. " Why hellllloooo, young demigod, you seem persistent to get to know my plans " I shuddered, his voice sounded like gravel in a blender. "No, I would rather be anywhere else. For some reason, I keep dreaming of your palace. It could be because of the mark you gave me. " As I spoke, the mark on my back got brighter and brighter, I fell to the ground, as the mark made me relive my worst moments.
I snarled, scratching at the ground. I felt a pain worse than the Styx. Each muscle felt like it was being boiled in the Styx, then deep-fried in the Void. I screamed, as my consciousness was pushed back, and a voice in my head spoke. " Perssseuuuus." Its voice was deep. I couldn't control my body, it was as if I was stuck in spectator mode. " Who are you? " I yelled. The pain refused to stop, as my body below me started turning blue and my mouth started foaming. " I, am the result of all your pain and heartbreak, I am the remnant of who you once were, I AM KÁTAGMA! "
Suddenly, the pain stopped. I was back in my body, and End was staring at me with an amused expression on his face. I looked down at my body and was horrified. My hands were black, and each finger was clawed. The claws reached 3 inches, almost double that of a lion's. My feet were also clawed, with scales running down my legs. I sort of looked like a titan. End flashed a mirror out of thin air and showed me my face. My eyes were slits, and my ears were sharp and pointed.
The entirety of my body was black, with yellow and red glowing irises, and a full black sclera. I felt something near my butt, and I felt like I had an extra leg. I swished it around, and I could see it. I had a tail. It was long and pointed with a thagomizer. ( Sort of like a stegosaur. ) I was in awe. This couldn't be me.
That's right young one, It isn't you- well not fully. I am Kátagma, and as I said before, I'm the result of every hardship you've faced. With the fear you were just showing End, you finally allowed me to take control. I can finally return to the person who made me. I can show revenge to those who have wronged you, those who have hurt you. Willingly let me reside in your body, and these transformations will be much less painful. Otherwise, whenever you drop your guard, I'll be there. You will not be able to control my actions, and when I get mad, I will massacre.
With that, his form jumped out of the shadows in my mind. Instinctively, I pulled out Riptide. I marveled at its beauty. How did it return to my pocket? How did I still have it? I blocked his slashes and rolled underneath his feet. He slashed again and stabbed with his tail. I parried the slashes and tried jumping over the tail, but it shot up and impaled me through my back. I imagined an ocean behind me, and an ocean formed. I put my hand in it, and the wound began to heal.
I raised the hand that held Riptide in a defensive stance, while the water swirled around my body, shielding me from his attacks. I willed the water to wrap around his body, it snaked up his arms and immobilized his tail. He snarled, and the water started to recede. I focused harder, and the water started to freeze, forming ice. He struggled against the hardened ice, as I plunged my blade into his chest. Black blood started to pour out of the wound, coating the blade.
I heard a scream of agony before the world faded to black.
A/N
How do you like this chapter? Katagma will be a demon plaguing his mind, when he is in a state of fear or anger and the situation is desperate, Katagma will activate to make sure his host stays intact. However Katagma is a demon, and his name means fracture. It will be a while before Katagma takes over, and when he does there will be a death. Please comment on any criticism or suggestions below, and vote.
Cya tomorrow
-Hippo Hitman