Chapter Seven
Luke's POV
"Luke I think we're in the middle of Void..." Zoe muttered a little while later. Well, at least I think it is a little while later. For all I knew we could have been down here for years and not know it.
"You're right," I whispered back and pulled out backbiter, "We're getting closer to Chaos." Zoe pulled out the hairclip from her hair and it turned into a bow and she unclipped an earring from her ear and that turned into a sheath of arrows.
I turned around suddenly as I heard insane laughter as Zoe jumped and raised her bow and arrow. "Okay, I'm seriously considering murdering Void painfully." Zoe muttered and I cracked a smile. No matter how bad the situation Zoe could always make me smile.
Ah, so cute! You're totally in love with Zoe.
What? Wait, why is there a voice in my head and why am I talking to it? Great. Now, I'm going crazy.
No you're not! It's me, Aphrodite.
I thought you were- oh wait. Never mind. I don't want to know. Anyway, why would I be in love with Zoe?
Well, tell me why you wouldn't be. Aphrodite muttered and I could imagine her rolling her eyes at me in annoyance.
Zoe's my best friend. She had my back, she's saved my butt countless times, she's my partner in pranks, and she's... ugh. This is hard. I can't list good reasons to get you to go away.
So, you're admitting you're in love with Zoe? Aphrodite said smugly.
What? NO! I am not in love with my best friend. I yelped in my mind, but there was something else that was saying you're so in love with her.
Well, you're in denial. Why can't you just listen to you're heart? Seriously... why do I even try with the two most stubborn demigods... at least Percy and Annabeth weren't in denial... oh wait, never mind, they were harder then you two... Aphrodite started grumbling about love while I tried to ignore her.
Okay, what do you want Aphy?
Aphy? What inspired that? Anyways, I want you to admit that you're in love with Zoe and then tell Zoe that you love her.
What? Okay. Firstly, I am not going to tell Zoe that I love her, and secondly, I don't know if she loves me back.
Oh fine then. First you must admit that you love Zoe to yourself and then you will to me. After that you'll end up telling Zoe that you love her.
Ugh. Go away!
Fine, only for now though. Eros, who introduced himself as Bob, was talking to Zoe so I have to go. Goodbye young Demigod.
I raised a mental eyebrow before looking around and noticing where I was. "What? Zoe where ar-" I began then was cut off when Zoe put her hand on my mouth.
"Be quiet Luke," She hissed into my ear and I could hear the panic in her voice, "we're in Void's lair and I can see Chaos." She took a deep breath and continued, "He isn't looking to good Luke, and Void's draining his essence."
I looked at her my thoughts whirling and she nodded like she understood what I was thinking, "Luke, we have to get him out of there soon, or Chaos will fade."
I stared at her, trying to comprehend what she said then it clicked. "Does that mean..."
Zoe nodded and said gravely, "Yes Luke, if we don't rescue Chaos, all the universes, including Ashguard, will cease to exist, and all life will be gone, forever."
(Bwa ha ha ha, I just love cliffhangers xD)
Percy's POV
I was cursing madly in many different languages. Crystal was whacking my head repeatedly with dog food while muttering "There are children here Perseus Orion Jackson, Children!" It was somewhat unfair as Nico was cursing far worst then me, if looks could kill Nico would be dead by now, curtsy of Bianca.
Annabeth had been watching the whole process through slightly amused eyes but then she turned toward the sign and muttered a cuss as she kicked the sign.
Okay, you're probably trying to figure out why we are so mad. Well, you know that line But they must take the double path, will the help of the sea's wrath. That is coming true, well, sort of. The first part is we still have no idea what the second part means.
I stared at the signs in slight dismay, in Greek ____ and ____ (Athens and Sparta), then below it, it said _______ (Welcome demigods, decide your fate to live or die) I had translated the top sign into saying Athens and Sparta and the line below them Welcome demigods, decide your fate to live or die.
"I don't get it," Annabeth suddenly muttered in English and everyone turned to look at her in shock. "There was a legend that I told Crystal about Athens and Sparta-"
Crystal's eyes widened in slight recognition as she said, "Sparta was known as death and Athens was life. Why though?"
Annabeth gave her a dry smile and I suddenly remembered something Annabeth had told me long ago. "Wasn't there a big battle?" I asked, "Wasn't Sparta angry at Athens for taking their territory?"
"No," Annabeth said sighing slightly. "No one knows why the Peloponnesian war started Seaweed Brain."
"I do," A different voice answered and everyone spun around to see three strange people, two boys and a girl.
The girl was about thirteen. She was tall for her age, about 5'4, and slightly tanned. She had warm kalescope eyes that seemed to be full of thought as well as laughter. Her auburn hair came down over her shoulder and to her waist and it was slightly curly.
Next to the girl was a boy with freckles scattered about his cheeks. He seemed to be about fourteen, fifteen but it was kind of hard to tell. Like the girl, he was tall for his age, probably about 5'8. His eyes were grey, not stormy-grey like Annabeth's but dark grey, almost black. He had brown hair that looked like he had just come out of bed.
On the right side of the girl was the boy who had talked. He was about 6'3 and like the girl he was tanned but like the boy he had freckles across his nose. His eyes seemed to change color, not like the girl's or Piper's, they seemed to switch between emerald green and sapphire blue. His hair was blond and was cut like Jason's.
"Did you know that in 431 BC Ancient Greece was not a nation? It was a large collection of rival city-states located on the Greek mainland, on the west coast of Asia Minor, and on the many islands of the Aegean Sea." The boy said cheerfully.
"Most of the city-states had become allied with one or the other of the leading military powers, Athens and Sparta. Athens was a great naval power, while Sparta relied mainly on its army for superiority. In 431 BC these alliances went to war against each other in a conflict called the Peloponnesian War. The war, which went on for 27 years, and it was named for the Peloponnesus, the peninsula on which Sparta is located." The boy grinned at our stunned looks, well, except Annabeth's.
Annabeth continued from there for him. "The result of the war was the crushing defeat of Athens and the end of its maritime empire. A more long-range result was the weakening of all the city-states. This made them vulnerable to a takeover by Macedonia several decades later. A brilliant account of the war was written by the historian Thucydides as events unfolded. His work still stands as a definitive source of information on the war." The boy smiled at her as the girl grinned and continued for them.
"The Athenian Empire and the Spartan Alliance coexisted as long as a balance of power was maintained between them. A truce called the Thirty Years' Treaty had been signed by both powers in 445 BC. Within a decade the truce was breaking down as Athens sought to extend its empire. In 433 Athens allied itself with Corcyra, a colony of Corinth, but Corinth was an ally of Sparta. Incited by Corinth, Sparta accused Athens of aggression and threatened war. Athens, under the leadership of Pericles, refused to back down. War began in the spring of 431, when Thebes, a Spartan ally, attacked Plataea, an ally of Athens.
The war fell into three phases. First came ten years of intermittent fighting, concluded by an uneasy truce in 421. This truce phase, named after the Athenian general Nicias, lasted until 415. The final phase began when Athens launched a massive and ill-fated assault against Sicily. This campaign was so catastrophic for Athens that the city barely recovered militarily. In 411 the democracy at Athens was also temporarily overturned, and the city remained in political turmoil for years. When the democracy was restored, its leaders could not agree on truce terms, and many wanted to continue the war at all costs. Fighting went on for the next six years. Athens rebuilt its fleet, while Sparta and its allies created their own navy. The end for Athens came in 405, when the Spartan navy under Lysander decisively defeated the Athenians in the battle of Aegospotami."
The girl smiled at us and I tried to put all the information into my brain. Finally I got it, "So... it wasn't Sparta that was defeated it was Athens?" I said in slight confusion and Annabeth nodded.
"Yes Seaweed Brain," she said, rolling her eyes. Then she turned to the other three, "What are your names?"
The girl smiled at her and turned to the eldest boy and raised her eyebrow. The boy nodded and she smirked slightly. "My name is Sophia, just Sophia. Daughter of Hecate, goddess of magic."
The younger boy grinned, "My turn! I'm Mat," the elder boy glared at him while Sophia just shook her head, "Fine, Matthew but don't call me Matthew. I'm the son of Arete, who is the goddess of knowledge and living up to man's full potential."
The last boy just rolled his eyes slightly. "Well then, since Mat and Sophie-"
He was cut off when Sophia shouted, "Hey!"
"Fine, Since Mat and Sophia introduced themselves it's my turn. I'm James, son of Dike, goddess of justice."
Nico's POV
I stared at Mat, Sophia and James blinking. Thalia stood next to me, blinking as well. Finally Sophia broke the silence by starting to laugh.
"You're faces-ha ha ha- I wi-wish –ha- I had a camera." Sophia managed through her laughter. The other two stared at the thirteen-year-old in confusion.
Crystal came up and hissed into my ear, "They're crazy! What are they laughing at?" I began to smile slightly as Bianca came over and whack her best friend in the back of the head.
"She's laughing at Percy's expression!" Bianca muttered, whacking her friend with a book that I presumed she had borrowed from Annabeth.
Crystal yelped and ran away covering her face with her arms while throwing dog food at Bianca from her unlimited dog food supply bag thing.
Sophia stared at Crystal and Bianca so I decided to explain. "Crystal has an, err, obsession with dog food. Bianca likes hitting people in the back off their heads," I raised my hand and unconsciously rubbed the back of my head, "Believe me, Bianca likes hitting people in the back of their heads, especially their little-big brother."
"I hate the fact that my little brother is older then me by... uh... four years." Bianca grumbled coming over dragging Crystal along with her. "It gets annoying even though we're immortal."
"What?" Sophia asked in bewilderment. "How can he be you're little brother if he's four years older then you?"
Bianca, Hazel, Thalia, Jason and I all exchanged glances then busted out laughing.
"Well," Thalia managed between her laughter, "I was a pine tree for six years then I joined the hunters of Artemis."
"I was born in the 1930s then I was dead." Hazel said leaning onto Frank.
"I was born in the 1940s along with Nico, then I joined the hunters of Artemis for a week then I died then I came back to life thanks to Chaos." Bianca said grinning.
"I'm Thalia's younger-older brother and since she was a tree for who-knows-how-long." Jason said laughingly.
Sophia looked at us in slight confusion and I shook my head, "Don't ask Sophia, we're a strange bunch." Bianca tried to whack my head but I dodged out of the way just in time. "See what I mean?" I asked chortling and this time Thalia whacked me.
"Ignore Death Boy, he just likes annoying me." Thalia began and I grinned slightly before frowning slightly. Thalia noticed this and looked at me concerned. "Death Breath is something wrong?"
"Something doesn't feel right..." I began but was cut off by the mad cackle of laughter.
Everyone turned around as James cursed and said, "Not her again!"
Three sprits rose out of the ground and I stared at them thinking not them, please not them.
My hopes plummeted downhill as I noticed their faces and I knew Percy and Thalia recognized one of them.
"Well, well, well, Odyne, Mania, Atë, Bia, I believe we have ourselves some demigods." Melinoë said grinning evilly.
Annabeth's POV
"Oh gods, not those three." I hissed and began to make my way over to Percy. Percy noticed this and began inching his way toward me.
"Annabeth, who are they, well, I know Melinoë is goddess of nightmares and uh... madness." Percy whispered and brought his lips to my ear so that way he wouldn't bring attention to the fact that we were talking.
I nodded slightly and whispered back quietly, "Yes, Melinoë is the goddess of nightmares and madness. The other three are Odyne goddess of the personification ofpain," Percy winced at this and I let out a breath, I knew what his greatest pain was. I tightened my grip on his hand and he squeezed my hand back. "Then there's Mania, I think she's the goddess of the personification of insanity."
"Oh great, I just wanted to become insane." Percy muttered drily and I cracked a slight smile.
"Don't forget Atë," I said, "She's the goddess of mischief, delusion and folly." Percy rolled his eyes and I knew what was going on in his mind. This keeps on getting better and better. "And the last one is Bia, she's the goddess of the personification of violence and force."
The gods' POV (Third Person)
(No, I am not going into the details of where they are staying, I really don't want to)
The twelve Olympian gods where in Kronos's stomach watching as Poseidon and Athena argued. Now, that was normal, but what was not normal was that they were talking in the language of Magic, also known as Atlantean.
"...nodiesop uoy tsum llet suez that uoy era a cigam resu." Athena insisted patiently.
"I lliw anehta tub suez lliw ylbaborp llik htob fo su, sa ev'uoy neeb depleh em peek ti a terces." The sea god sighed.
The goddess of wisdom glared at him for a moment before softening her eyes. "D'I ekil ot ees seuz yrt ot llik em, sediseb, rehtaf dlouw ylbaborp tnaw ot llik em fi eh wenk tahw I kniht semitemos." Athena blushed slightly at this but Poseidon didn't notice.
Apollo suddenly turned to Artemis and asked, "Um... Do you know why Uncle P and Athena are having a civilized conversation in the language of magic?"
Artemis shook her head. "No Apollo, if I did I'd probably tell you. I'm more shocked that Uncle Poseidon even knows Atlantean."
"Fi uoy t'nod I lliw." Athena finally threatened, holding her head in her hands.
Poseidon's eyes widened in fear as he realized that the threat was real. "Okay Athena, but you'll have to help me with this." He sighed. Apollo's, Hermes's and Artemis's eyes all widened. Poseidon had agreed with Athena for once.
Athena huffed but nodded and Hermes's mouth dropped to the ground as Aphrodite smirked in satisfaction.
"Um... Brother?" Poseidon said turning toward the king of the gods, "Athena wanted-" Athena coughed at this and Poseidon groaned. "Fine, Athena and I wanted to tell you that um..." He looked toward Athena and she facepalmed.
"What is it Poseidon?" Zeus asked his curiosity aroused.
"What Poseidon is trying to say," Athena didn't say it in disdain and Apollo fainted.
"He'll be fine, Uncle um... a bucket of water would be nice so that I can splash it on him." Artemis sighed and a bucket of water appeared and Artemis poured it onto Apollo.
"Okay then," Athena said in slight confusion. "Poseidon and I were trying to say is that we're both magic users."
Zeus blinked once in shock.
Apollo stared at the wisdom goddess.
"Maybe this was a bad idea Athena..." Poseidon said hesitantly starring at his younger brother's face.
Zeus blinked for the second time slowly comprehending what Athena said.
Artemis stared at the Sea god.
"Well, it's too late now Poseidon, besides Zeus would probably realize and I have a theory." Athena replied.
Zeus blinked a third time and managed to get out a single word, "How?"
Athena and Poseidon traded glances.
"It'll be easier if I showed you." Athena said and whispered a spell and all fourteen Olympians went back into time.
*14,000 years ago*
Poseidon stared at his glowing hands. How did he do that? Of course, with his godly powers, he knew he could perform small things, mundane things. He always thought the horse he created a fluke, a one-off chance, just his powers enhanced. Now, he realized, it was something more. No other god could create something so beautiful. Except Hecate. The goddess of Magic. He thought about talking to Hecate, and then decided against it. Hecate served Hades, and Hades was an enemy. Not to be trusted. Who else could he confide in who knew about these things . . . Maybe Athena? But, no. They didn't get along.
Then he shook his head. He was over-thinking it. It was a one time thing. There was no-way he could create a protective spell, or destroy something so utterly.
He laughed once, before looking down at the ground in front of him. A blue circle was glowing around him. The crater before him gaped and smoked.
Yes. He had done it. He would have to go to Athena. He knew it.
He teleported to outside the Parthenon. He walked in and weaved his way in and out of the pillars. Once he reached Athena's private headquarters, he hesitated. He couldn't . . . he couldn't . . . before he could turn away, the door swung open and Athena stood before, her arms crossed.
"Yes, Uncle?" she questioned.
Poseidon stepped back. "No . . . no."
Athena stood confused. "Lord, why are you here?"
Poseidon shook his and took more steps back.
"Uncle, you're here. Come in." Athena stepped aside, but didn't uncross her arms. Poseidon stopped his retreat and thought it over. He was already here . . . and there was no-one else to tell.
He stepped forward, once, then twice. Then he sighed and crossed through the thresh-hold. He stood uncomfortably by the door as Athena closed it. She walked to her mahogany desk and sat at a grand chair, before leaning forward to grab a stack of papers.
"I assume this isn't a social visit, nor a chance to mock me, Uncle. Why are you here?"
She separated the stack a placed one in front of her, and the other where is was before. She grabbed the one in front and started to read over the page.
"Athena, I . . . I don't know who else to talk to. Please, you have to help me," he pleaded.
His tone made Athena look up but she looked back down again. "Have a seat. We will discuss this further."
Poseidon sat down on small chair, his resolve wavering. "Athena, look at me. This is important."
"As is this," she replied confidently.
"As important as my mental crisis?" Poseidon snapped, standing up.
Athena looked back up at him and put her stack on the deck, standing up also.
"Preposterous. Gods do not go through mental instabilities."
"Listen to me!" Poseidon demanded, grabbing her arms. "I just cast a spell! I just completely destroyed a Titan! Completely, utterly! My hands were glowing! Glowing! I need you to help me figure out what the Hades is going on with me!"
Athena winced. "Poseidon, y-you're hands. Burning." She gasped at the pain and Poseidon immediately let go of her.
"I-I'm sorry," he whispered. "W-what's wrong with me?"
She sat down and blew out a breath. "Nothing necessarily wrong with you. Explain to me what you experienced."
Poseidon sat down also, looking guilty. "Achelous came to me. He claimed Oceanus was coming to confront me. I didn't believe and cast him off. He was angry and started to try and control the ocean. Silly, river god. Anyway, it turned into a battle. He was a good fighter. I-I don't know how, but abruptly I was surrounded by a blinding blue light. It formed a circle around me and Achelous could not get within the light. I was astounded, and, absorbed in the moment, I thought 'Destroy' but when I said it aloud, I realized I was speaking Atlantean, the language of Atlantis. Before I knew what was going on, the only remain of Achelous was his toga. I just know that he is destroyed. I mean, not in Tartarus or anything, but he honestly will not be coming back."
Athena sat quietly and thought about his story. Then she shook her head, mystified.
"Uncle, that is unusual. How are you so sure you destroyed him?"
"I-I can just feel it. I know he is . . . dead."
"I don't know what to say. This is just-"
Screams from outside cut Athena off. She jumped up and ran out of the room. She weaved throughout the pillars, Poseidon a step behind her. When they were free, they looked about the Acropolis. Mortals were running around in a panic as a horde of Harpies attacked them, scavenging for food. One swooped down and grabbed a Mortal's arms, lifting him into the air. He screamed as the Harpy cackled.
Without thinking, Poseidon held out his arm and spoke an incantation in the language of Atlantis. The Harpy screamed and burst into flames, dropping the man. He fell to about two feet from the ground then slowed, dropping to the ground peacefully.
The Harpies looked up from there attack and saw the other one of their kind screaming as flames engulfed it. Instead of bursting into flames, as per usual, it continued to scream and cry, writhing in mid-air. Then the screams stopped, as did the flames. The burnt Harpy fell to the ground. The crisp body hit the ground with a thud, before being engulfed in a white light then disappearing.
The other Harpies were so stunned they had no time to defend themselves. The rest of them burst to flames, and suffered the same fate. Athena broke her eyes away from the carnage to look at Poseidon. His eyes were glowing white and his lips moved so fast Athena had no idea what he saying; even if he was speaking slowly, no-one actually knew the Atlantean language. Obviously, though, Poseidon did.
Once the people were free from the attack, they came out from their hiding spots and calmly began to walk around again, as if nothing had happened.
Then Poseidon stumbled. Athena grabbed his arm and he steadied himself.
"The Mortals won't remember a thing," he muttered. Athena let go of his arm and stepped away from him.
"Poseidon . . ." she whispered. "You . . . you're a . . . you practice Amiloata Erogara. I don't know if you realize, but you are dangerous. You are now the most powerful being alive."
*End of flashback thingy*
Zeus stared at Poseidon in shock who looked everywhere but at him. Finally Zeus started laughing. All the Olympians stared at him in shock as he laughed.
"Father?" Athena said in concern.
Zeus finally got his laughter under control. "Poseidon, I'm not that bad." Everyone stared at Zeus with a raised eyebrow and he changed what he said, "Okay, I probably would have tried to blast you off of Olympus. What I'm having trouble trying to understand is the fact that Athena and Poseidon worked together."
Artemis started to chuckle at the thought of the two rivals working together.
"But I have a question," Zeus continued. "How is Athena able to do magic as well brother?"
The two gods glanced at each other. "It is a long story." Athena said and she muttered a spell and they were sent back in time, again.
*13,000 years ago*
Athena and Poseidon where in Acropolis. Athena was studying the theory of magic to help Poseidon get a better understanding of it while Poseidon was trying to fix a shattered bowel. So far, he had no luck.
"Poseidon look at this." Athena suddenly spoke up and the Sea god walked over to her. The sea god frowned slightly as he read it.
"Athena, how do you understand this?" He spoke up and the wisdom goddess looked at him in confusion. "It's in the language of magic."
Athena's eyes widened as she stared at the scribe in shock. "I've been reading Atlantean all this time without realizing it?" She managed and Poseidon nodded.
"Say something in Atlantean Athena, but don't destroy me, please." He added the last part quickly and the goddess of wisdom let out a slight smile.
She frowned at some dirt then whispered, "Worg." A small sapling started growing out of the dirt and quickly became a tree.
Both of the gods' eyes widened in shock and Athena suddenly lurched but Poseidon caught her.
"I-I-" she managed and Poseidon nodded.
"Athena, I'm just going to repeat what you said to me a thousand years ago," He looked into her shocked expression and whispered gently, "You're an Amiloata Erogara as well."
*End of flashback thingy*
Zeus stared at the two gods in shock and this time Athena looked everywhere but him. "So," he said finally, "You two are the two most powerful beings after Perseus and Chaos?"
"Um... Annabeth might be more powerful as well but yes, pretty much so." Athena said watching her father.
"So, what's you're theory?" Aphrodite asked suddenly and all of the Olympians stared at her.
"What?" Hestia said in obvious confusion. "That was completely not random Aphrodite."
Athena sighed. "Well, before we got swallowed up I managed to grab a book-" Poseidon rolled his eyes at this and Athena glared at him "-Believe it or not Poseidon but it was a book written in Atlantean." Poseidon didn't say anything and Athena smirked. "Well, I realized something. Two gods will be able to get out if Zeus and Hades can work together with Poseidon." She glared at the three brothers.
"And who'll be the two gods?" Artemis spoke up.
"Poseidon and Athena." Apollo suddenly said answering his sister confidently. All fourteen Olympians stared at him and he rolled his eyes, "Can't you see the fates' glow around them?"
The only one who nodded was Artemis. Apollo sighed slightly. "Seriously, no one sees a bright black and gold glow around them other then Arty?"
Artemis didn't protest at the nickname as everyone shook their heads.
"Ugh. I give up. Athena, is there any way for Poseidon to help while getting out?" Apollo huffed in slight irritation. Athena nodded.
"So, we're going to help Athena and Poseidon get out by using magic?" Hades asked.
"Yes." All the Olympians said.
"Well then," Zeus said standing up, "I guess we better get started."