Dazai POV
Hours passed as the wounded were tended to and the bodies of the fallen demigods were taken away by the three fates to be delivered back to Camp Half-Blood for a proper funeral. The throne room was cleaned and restored to the way that it had been when I was only twelve years old and barely believed that the gods were real even as they sat before deciding whether or not they should kill me where I stood.
As the demigods slowly made their way up the elevator during the time that passed, the gods took the time to speak with their children, each of them looking genuinely pleased to find that those of the demigods that had survived the war were still alive. The only one that still seemed to have a parental bone in their body was Hades, but the gods were making an effort for once and that was enough for the moment.
Though I made sure that we stayed far away from the gods, for fear of what they would do to Chuuya, as he was the vessel a foreign deity standing in the hall of a completely different mythology altogether, it didn't take long for one of the gods to seek us out.
We were standing about as far away from the reunions as we could put ourselves without being so far away that it would be obvious as to our intentions. Chuuya was restlessly playing with a small piece of rubble that he'd found, tossing it up into the air and letting go of his hood on its gravity at increasing heights as I messed with the pen that had returned to my pocket not long after the fates had taken away Luke's body.
"I think I'm going to sleep for a year after this," the other boy whined, obvious exhaustion lacing his eyes, dulling the bright blue into something just darker than its normal hue.
"Aww, is Chibi tired?" I teased, leaning forwards and brushing the tips of my fingers against the exposed skin of his arm, causing the pebble that he'd been playing with to come crashing down and fall on the older boy's head.
"You mental case!" He exclaimed, swinging his leg in motion just noticeably slower than normal that I was able to easily dodge. "To think that I fought in a war for you, you bastard!"
"Of course you did," I shot back, looking down at the other teen and finding none of the anger that he was showing through his actions in his eyes. "You're my dog for life."
"Why you!"
"Am I interrupting something?" A new voice asked, sounding polity amused if anything.
The slug and I stopped moving and turned to meet the interloper. Sea green eyes met those identical to them, though if you were to look closely enough at mine you would see that the right one was still a little hazy from the damage done by the infection. The man before us looked better now than the last time that I'd seen him, still worn around the edges, but the color had come back to his hair and age had largely lost its previous effect.
I wanted to tell that god that yes, he was, something that the deity obviously had to have known he was doing when he asked the question, but I didn't. Chuuya was still at my side, and I positioned myself in front of the older teen just a little bit, hiding him from the complete view of the sea god. I was already walking on thin ice after my last two encounters with the Olympian.
"Of course not, Father," I said instead, a false smile pushing itself onto my lips. I felt my back rustle slightly from where it was pressed up against Chuuya and I knew the other boy found my respectful tone more than amusing.
"I wanted to say that you did well, my son," the god said, his voice taking on a noticeably regal tone that I'd never heard him use before. "Enough so that my siblings and I have agreed to overlook the... thing that you brought in here." The god's eyes flicked quickly to where Chuuya was half hidden behind me, the disdain in them clearer than anything else could ever hope to be.
"Thank you, Father," I said politely, hoping that I sounded earnest and not as if I was imagining throwing the sea god off of the side of the mountain.
The god gave a strained smile before sending one last glare over my shoulder and turning to leave, making his way to where the other gods were waiting for him at the council.
The awards ceremony started not long after that, with Sues giving a winded speech about the bravery of the gods that I tuned out in favor of looking at the older teen standing at my side. The boy was glaring at each of the gods with enough heat in his gaze that one would think that his ability allowed him to control fire. It was by far the most beautiful sight that I've seen all day.
A smug look crept onto my face as Zeus choked out a statement of gratitude to the god of the dead, so,etching that did not go missed by Hades when his eyes flickered to mine. I told him before that I would give him a chance to bring honor to his name, to his son. Nico was standing right by his father, something of a bright look in his eyes as the god patted him on his shoulders. He finally looked like a child for the first time since I'd met him.
"Which leaves us with the matter of thanking our young demigods," Zeus continued, "who defended Olympus so well- even if there are a few dents in my throne." The last part of his statement was met with annoyed glares from all those in attendance, something that the god seemed to willingly ignore.
The king of the gods called forth Thalia first as she was his daughter. He promised her that the gods would help in filling the ranks of the Hunters that were now sorely lacking from the initial number that had come at the beginning of the battle.
The goddess Artemis all but beamed with pride as she looked down and greeted her lieutenant, the pair managing to go as far as coercing the god of the dead into allowing the Hunters that died to be brought to Elysium, something that pleased both the goddess and the demigod. Thalia bowed to each of the gods before moving to stand by the goddess's side. I don't think that I was imagining the put out expression that flickered across Zeus's face when she chose Artemis over him.
"Tyson, son of Poseidon!" Zeus called out.
I felt Chuuya's eyes stall quickly on me but for the first time since we'd met I laid him no mind, instead choosing to fix my gaze on the cyclops as he went to stand before the council. I hadn't spoken with him since my impromptu visit to the undersea palace, that was by design. He was someone that was much too pure, too kind for me to be around without tainting in some way. Even if he is the only blood family I have left other than my father.
As I watched, the young cyclops gleamed with a childish glee as he was appointed general of the armies of Olympus. It was a fitting position, something much better than forcing him to remain in the forges where the light would slowly continue to die from his eyes.
Grover was brought forth next, called upon by Dionysus. He was awarded the newly vacant seat on the Council of Cloven Elders, something that came at such a shock to the satyr that he collapsed where he stood and had to be helped by naiads that had survived the battle.
"Wonderful," the wine god sighed deeply. "Someone tell him when he wakes that he will now be known as a Lord of the Wild, with all the rights and privileges that come with it." The naiads dragged the satyr away.
Chase was called forth by her mother next and was made the architect of Olympus, a job that I knew that she would love more than life itself. When we were thirteen and she and I went to the Sea of Monsters, the girl had tied herself up to listen to the siren song. Back then she had envisioned rebuilding Olympus in her design- it was how we came to know that hubris is the other demigod's fatal flaw-, now was her chance to do just that.
The girl had a dazed look strewn across her face as she walked back to join the small crowd and I knew that she was still processing the reality of her long time dream becoming something truly tangible. It was an almost amusing sight to behold as she lowly muttered about all the preparations that she would need to make.
"Percy Jackson!" Poseidon announced, my name sounding through the throne room with a volume and vigor that all those before had sorely lacked in comparison.
All talking in the throne room stopped instantly as my name was spoken as all eyes fell to me, every spirit, demigod, every god. Chuuya had that smile of his on his lips, the one that he always wore when he fought, the one that made my heart flutter each time that I saw it. The one that I loved.
It was enough.
I walked forwards with my head held high, letting a familiar dangerous air surround me, until I looked every bit the monster that I was. Every bit the Demon Prodigy, right hand man to the boss of the Port Mafia and a future mafia executive in my own right. Gods are fickle beings, weakness wasn't an option, not before them and not before the spectators watching.
Stopping in front of the king of the gods, I bowed deeply, something that sent a sick coil in my gut but I knew was necessary to be done if I didn't want them to change their mind on the boy at my back and kill him for my imprudence. Bend but not break and they say. Then I knelt before the god of the sea.
"Rise, my son," the sea god said.
I stood surely, every piece of the movement filled with a stolen grace.
"A great hero must be rewarded," my father said, speaking more to those around me than to myself. "Is there anyone here who would deny that my son is deserving?" The god asked, waving his hand in a lazy, inviting manner.
I waited for a moment, but no one spoke. Not even Hades who knew more than the rest of them just what kind of monster it was that was standing before them, what kind of demon that had killed long before the start of the war. Or even Dionysus who knew of some of the discrepancies between the boy that left camp in the dead of night, and the one who came back to it only two years later. But no one said a thing.
"The Council agrees," Zeus decided. "Percy Jackson, you will have one gift from the gods."
My mind whirled through the possible implications behind the gods' award, behind the resignation in Zeus's eyes. A cold feeling swept over my body as something sick coiled in my stomach at what I knew he meant. "Any gift?" I asked, all but praying that I was wrong, if I believed in any of the gods before I just might've.
Zeus nodded, his expression decidedly more grim than it ought to be for an awards ceremony. "I know what you will ask for," he said presumptuously. "The greatest gift of all. Though it had not been given to a mortal hero in many centuries, if you wish it, you shall be made a god. Immortal. Undying. You shall serve as your father's letuinte for all time."
I wanted to laugh, to cry, scream, at the absurdity of it all. Fighting in a war that I could have easily stayed away from and let them all perish in.
Immortal.
Undying.
Everything that I never wanted to be.
They weren't offering me a gift, but a curse.
Looking backwards, sea green eyes met a stormy blue. The other boy looked horrified by the idea, as if he was silently pleading with me not to go. There was real fear there, the kind that I'd only ever seen on the older teen's face once before, just after Riptide had fallen away and he realized that we were standing weaponless before the titan lord. I let my expression soften into an expression that has only ever been reserved for him before turning and looking upon the gods with a defiant gaze.
"No."
The Council fell into a stunned silence as they frowned at one another as if waiting for the other shoe to drop, for me to take it back.
"No?" Zeus asked, a dangerous note filling his voice. "You are... turning down our gift?"
I took notice of the tone that the god was using, knowing that it was meant to scare me into submission, but I was well versed in the likes of men given more power than they had the right to.
"Life is meaningless without the prospect of death attached to it," I told the gods, a statement that I was sure the god of the dead found particularly intriguing. "Eternal life will never be something that I will see as a gift."
I lifted my arms just slightly, drawing the gods' attention to the clean bandages covering every inch of skin that would normally be shown by someone who's lived a life other than mine. Their gazes were pregnant as they drank the sight in, and I knew that more than one of them understood the meaning that I was attempting to convey without having to conjure the words to express it. I saw the moment that my father understood from the sad glint that colored his previously bright eyes.
"I do still want a gift though," I continued, dropping my arms back down to my sides. "Do you promise to grant my wish?"
The king of the gods thought for a moment as he forced his gaze away from my arms and to my eyes. "If it is within our power," the god said carefully.
"It most definitely is," I told him surely. "It's not even anything close to difficult." A shit eating grin spread itself across my lips as I spoke the next part. "But I will be needing you to swear upon the River Styx."
"What?" Dionysus balked. "You don't trust us?"
Not as far as I can fucking throw the lot of you.
My thoughts were bitter and I knew well enough to know to keep them to myself.
"I was once told that you should always get a solemn oath," I told the Council, but my gaze was on the god of the dead.
"Guilty," he pleaded, shrugging lightly as if he didn't mind the angered gaze that his brother was leveling at him.
"Very well," Zeus growled almost ferally. "In the name of the Council, we swear by the River Styx to grant and uphold your reasonable request, so long as it is within our abilities."
The other gods muttered their assent as thunder boomed through the air, shaking the tattered throne room. The deal was made whether or not the gods wanted it to be.
"Properly recognize the children of the gods," I told them simply. "All of them."
"Percy," my father said carefully. "What exactly is it that you mean?"
I let my voice slip into a bored tone as I spoke, laying out the obvious issues that could have easily stopped the war had they been fixed before. How Kronos never would have risen to power had the children of the gods not felt abandoned and resentful of their godly parents. The foolishness of leaving so many children crammed inside of the Hermes cabin, angry and unclaimed. How every demigod should be brought to camp by their time that they turned thirteen, and not be left defenseless at the cruel mercy of monsters. That children of the gods other than just those on the Council should be given cabins of their own, something that Nico had shown well enough on his own. And finally I told them that they couldn't continue trying to get rid of powerful demigods simply because they were strong.
"All children of all of the gods," I concluded, "welcomed and respected. That is my wish."
The king of the gods snorted with disdain, something that was decidedly not a good look on the deity. "Is that all?" He asked in a tone that I was sure Gabe would have been pleased to hear used at me.
"I hold you to your oath," I answered him coldly, a dangerous note of my own filling my voice. I let my gaze wander over all of the other deities in the room. "All of you."
Hard looks pricked my skin, telling my just how much the gods were displeased with what I have asked of them, but surprisingly, or perhaps not so, it was Athena who spoke up first.
"The boy is correct," she said at last, breaking the tense silence that had fallen. "We have been unwise to ignore our children in the way that we have. It has proven a strategic disadvantage and almost cost us dearly. I move that we accept the boy's plan."
Zeus made a displeased noise before muttering something under his that I only caught the tail end of. "I suppose..."
"All in favor?" Hermes asked.
Each of the gods on the council raised their hands, a silent majority.
I nodded to them, turning away from the deities, but before I could leave Posideon called out. "Honor Guard."
In a quick flash, the Cyclopes that had been in attendance came forwards and made two long lines from the throne to the door, an aisle for me to walk down. They came to attention.
"All hail, Perseus Jackson," Tyson called out, his voice booming through the throne room. "Hero of Olympus... and my big brother!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Chuuya fly himself over the guards, taking his place at my side as if it was only natural that he would be there as we walked to the elevator doors.
"Ballsy move there, mackerel," he chided quietly, though he looked as pleased with the outcome as I did.
"Paid off, don't you think?"
"You would have made an insufferable god," he commented quietly.
"As if you don't already," I shot back, always ready to annoy the other.
I would need a lot better reason than immortality to give this up.
—-
Chuuya POV
We made our way out onto the street and watched as the demigods that made it through the war steadily streamed out of the building as well. There wasn't much else to do other than wait for the Camp Half-Blood vans to come back and make their way to an area to pick up the rest of us and take everyone back to camp and away from the city. At least you could find mild entertainment in watching the mortals wander around and take in the destroyed city, there was something to be said for that I suppose.
Chase had just walked out of the building when Nico ran up to the girl as fast as his own exhaustion would let him and started talking to her quickly, his face clearly painted with distress even from this distance. I nudged Dazai, who was looking in the other direction, and jerked my head towards the scene. He nodded and stood up without a word needing to be spoken between us as we made our way over to the strange duo.
"What's going on?" Dazai asked, his tone filled with the false concern of someone that already knew exactly what was happening and didn't feel the need to share.
The son of Hades speedily turned his concerned gaze on the pair of us, wasting no time before speaking. "It's Rachel," the boy starts, his voice filled with a frantic tone, "she's gone to Half-Blood Hill."
Confusion flooded my brain as I couldn't really comprehend what was so dire about her going there, the place is a safe haven after all. But Chase had a similar look to the one belonging to the son of Hades on her face as well.
Dazai hummed lightly in the way of someone that only found the situation to be middle amusing rather than harmful. "I was wondering how long it would take her to try this," The bandage waste said, shrugging as if it didn't matter.
I watched as Chase turned on the boy with a fiery expression that most people in their right mind would shy away from. Key words being 'in their right mind'. "You knew that she would go there?" The demigod asked, her voice taking on a dangerous tone to it that sounded like she was trying the mimic the arse of a god from the awards ceremony that looked like he wanted to kill the mackerel for turning down immortality, a memory that I wasn't quite ready to look over and pick apart just yet.
"She'll die if she tries it," the son of Hades said, making me think that we weren't just talking about her going to camp, but something that she'll do once she's there. "The curse-"
"She'll be fine," the other ability user said, waving off their concern with a dismissive gesture that only seemed to anger the daughter of Athena more, "but this should be an interesting show, so let's go. I even know where we can get a ride."
And with that as the only warning, Dazai started running, pushing through crowds of dazed mortals and leaving us no choice but to follow him or be left behind.
Chase took up a post at Dazai's side and for once I let her, choosing to stay behind and look after the wheezing son of Hades that was already pushing himself too much for this as it was. Honestly it was almost entertaining to watch as she attempted to interrogate the younger teen into giving her answers and he only neatly evaded each of the attempts.
We ran and only stopped once we had reached one of the rivers. I didn't know which one it was but I could see just how unclean it was. The three of us watched as the bandaged teen stepped forwards, up to the shore of the river and ran his fingers over the surface of the gray waters. Only moments later four strange looking creatures that looked almost like horses in a way appeared before the demigod, each of them weighing unhappily at being called.
"What are they?" I asked Chase quietly as Dazai seemed to be trying to persuade the creatures to help us.
"Hippocampi," the girl answered just as quietly. "The horses of the sea."
Only a minute or so later I found myself on the back of one of the creatures moving through the sea at speeds that I've only been able to experience using my ability. Though Nico and Chase still seemed tense from the situation that we were in, the knowledge that Dazai didn't think that it was the least bit dangerous was reason enough for me to let myself enjoy the ride as the sea misted at my skin.
A smile pulled at my lips and I let it as I ducked my fingers into the water, not caring how unclean it was since we were closer to Long Island Sound and sea now than we had been when we first boarded the creatures. A small laugh bubbled inside of me and I let it flow freely before looking at Dazai.
He had a soft look on his face that looked as if it was sculpted by the sea and painted by the sun. It was a similar look to the one that he'd shown me back in the throne room, that small secret smile. It sent a flutter through my chest that I immediately shoved down as I tore my gaze away from the younger teen.
We arrived at a shore not much later and were immediately greeted with the man covered with eyes waiting anxiously for us. He was standing on the sand with his arms crossed unhappily over his chest before we had even sent the hippocampi away, all hundred or so of his eyes glaring at Chase.
"Is she here?" The girl asked hurriedly. The man nodded with an expression that I could only guess was supposed to be grim but couldn't truly be sure. "Is everything okay?"
He shook his head.
The pair set off the trail that would take us all back into the camp area. I looked at Dazai, but only found an annoyed expression on the other teen's face as he rolled his eyes before motioning for Nico and I to come with him as he followed the already moving pair. I could have sworn that I heard the younger boy mutter something about them being dramatic, but chose not to comment on it. Dazai would just deny it if I did and it was much more humorous this way.
When we made it into camp, the attic of the Big House was glowing with a bright, dangerous green hue that could be seen even in the mid morning light. A shimmery substance that looked almost mist-like swirled around the yard ominously. For the first time since coming to this camp, the building actually looked like something that would house a prophetic mummy inside of it, though Nico and Chase didn't seem to think that this was a good thing.
Dazai hummed lightly at my side in an almost pleased way. "It's already started." I didn't ask what he meant, content for once to live in ignorance of the other teen's vague slips of information and just watch in slight wonder as everything unfolded.
Standing before the house was the redheaded mortal girl, her arms thrown wide beside her. Dazai and I didn't try to approach the girl, our instincts telling us that this was something that was not meant to be touched, but Chase moved forwards only to be held back by the satyrs.
Chiron moved over to the girl, the pair arguing quietly while the daughter of Athena made violent gestures towards the mortal girl, but I stopped paying them any mind when the mist began to swirl around Rachel. The house rumbled in a way that I couldn't really bring myself to describe as angry for some reason, as the doors flew open on their own accord and the green light pooled out with a renewed vigor.
Tendrils of the green mist coiled around the Big House like smoky serpents, but they didn't feel threatening as snakes tended to in most stories with them involved. Only a few moments later a figure had emerged from the house, the green mist almost clinging to her skin.
The Oracle had learthered skin that showed the sharp hollows of her bones, her hair spotted and clumped as she shuffled forwards slowly, moving in her own accord. Her skin was cracked with age, her eyes glassy as if looking at something that the rest of us would never be able to see. She looked like the stuff that people say nightmares were made of, but Rachel didn't look scared of her in the slightest, her arms still held out as if in welcome.
"You've waited too long," the mortal girl said, her voice carrying over the silent yard, a remorseful tone filling it. "But I'm here now."
The sun glazed impossibly brighter as a man suddenly appeared just above the porch, floating there, an effect that only served to make him look more ethereal as the sun shone down, making hair glow as if he had a halo.
"Apollo," Dazai whispered, though his voice lacked the reverence that most others would feel at such a sight. The god glanced over to the pair of us as if he'd heard the bandage waste speak, but he only winked in an almost suggestive manner.
"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," the god spoke, his voice smooth like a summer's day. "You possess the gift of prophecy, but it is also a curse." The god looked down at the girl with a careful, almost caring gaze before asking: "Are you sure that you want this?"
The mortal nodded immediately with a surety that I almost envied. "It's my destiny," she replied firmly, leaving no question as to what she wanted.
"Do you accept the risk?"
"I do."
"Then proceed," the deity allowed.
The mortal closed her eyes and began to speak in a quite mummer just low enough that we couldn't hear the words being said but could still listen to the scrape of her voice. The mist thickened as she spoke, swelling and forming into the figure of a python much larger than what exists beyond the planes of the mythological world. It left the Oracle's side and moved to Rachel, coiling itself almost affectionately around the girl's feet. The mummy crumbled like a spirit finally released, turning to little more than ash as the mist enveloped the mortal.
When the mist cleared and we could see the girl again, she'd collapsed to the ground, circling in on herself. Chase and Nico made a move to rush towards the girl but Dazai and I held them back.
"Don't be stupid," I chided.
Though the gods looked down at the girl on the ground with worry, he made no move to do anything with her, that was enough to tell us that we shouldn't either.
The mist sank into the ground and the eerie light faded as if it had never been there to begin with. It wasn't long before the girl opened her eyes once more and pushed herself up from the ground and into a sitting position, only then did the bandage waste nod at me to let Chase go as he released his hood on the son of Hades.
The pair rushed to the girl and spoke with her for a moment as Apollo turned to the crowd thatnhad gathered to watch as everything unfolded, a proud look painted on his face. "Ladies and gentlemen," he called out loudly, "may I introduce to you the new Oracle of Delphi."
The girl smiled shyly and said something to the pair before she staggered, doubling over like someone had punched her. When she stood up straight once more, the girl was going in a way that didn't seem to fit her body, her eyes glowing with the same green light that the mist had possessed.
When she spoke, the girl's voice took on an echoed tone that sent an unwitting shiver down my spine no matter how urchin I tried to suppress it:
"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.
To storm or fire, the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."
As she spoke the last word, the girl collapsed once more. Nico and Chase were just barely able to catch the other teen before moving her to the porch so that she could sit down, her skin a deathly pale.
"What was that?" I asked, my voice just barely rising above a hushed whisper from the sight.
"That," the mackerel said, his voice sounding understandably tired as he led me away from the scene and towards his cabin, "was the next great prophecy."
The next...
"Well shit," I cursed as we stepped through the doors, taking up post leaning against one of the bunk beds. The idea of this all happening again in some other way left a cold feeling running down my spine. It had been bad enough the first time when only one demigod was needed, but the new prophecy was speaking of a threat that required seven. "How long do you think they have before it comes to pass?"
The other teen sighed tiredly, stopping in front of me and mirroring my stance as he leaned against the bunk beds as well. He shook his in an almost disappointed manner.
"I'm sure they all believe that it will be a long time," the younger boy said, his eyes looking off to the side, "possibly not even within this lifetime."
I looked at the bandage waste, knowing him too well to think that this was a sentiment that he shared with the rest of camp. "But you don't believe that," I said, stating the obvious even if only to move the conversation along. "Do you?"
He shook his head no, strands of black hair falling in front of his bad eye. I suppressed the unwanted urge to move it out of the way. "There are no new stories," the boy said, his tone level even as he suggested such a thing. "The mythology will repeat itself faster than any of them want it to, something that I'm sure Chiron knows even if he denies it."
I nodded, trusting the younger teen's judgment even as I silently hoped that for the first time that he was wrong. I had no doubt in my mind that if the prophecy came to pass in the next few years, that Dazai would somehow get dragged into it (assuming that he lived that long), even if he didn't want to be. He was the child of one prophecy, there's nothing saying that he won't be thrown into another one.
All the more reason to go back to Yokohama
—-
Dazai POV
The day passed slowly from there as it always does once the adrenaline washes away. The campers slowly trickled back in from New York as the hours passed on, and the wounded tended to properly once they were brought back to the more sterile environment of the infirmary. Once everyone was back, the dead were given the proper Greek funeral rites at the campfire.
The burnings passed slowly as the funeral shrouds were turned to ash. Each of the fallen campers were given one by their cabin, even Ethan Nakamura who had never come to camp, but had paid much more than was needed to see it safe was given a black shroud with an image of two swords crossed under a set of scales.
Not for the first time, I stayed behind as the other demigods slowly went about the rest of their day as the fire started to die, sending Chuuya off to go enjoy the last small bit of time here as I did. I wasn't the only one to stay so long after all.
Like something out of a memory, Silena had placed herself in front of the flames, determined to watch them until every scrap of fabric had turned to ash and the wood to embers. I could feel the guilt coming off of the girl in sickening waves, but there was nothing that we could do to change her choices now, you can erase the past.
I stood at her side, silently watching the flames with the older girl as she sat down on one of the camp logs. There were tears streaking down her face, but I chose not to comment on them or attempt to comfort her because of them, something that she seemed almost grateful for.
"What am I supposed to do now?" The daughter of Aphrodite asked, her voice coming out in a pained whisper.
She didn't look at me and I didn't look at her, we just watched as the flames danced, darkening further and dying with our mood
I sighed quietly, my shoulders slumping as a small, saddened, smile twisted my lips. I'd already been expecting the question long before she'd asked it. "You live," I told her simply, my voice just as low as her's. I could hear the girl suck in a sharp intake of breath, but I wasn't finished speaking. "You live with the weight of all of the choices that you have made," I continued, "knowing that you can't be with the person that you love because of them. And knowing that you can never tell another soul what you have done." Finally, I looked down at the teary eyed daughter of Aphrodite and found her already staring up at me with a torchered gaze. "That's your punishment."
One of the things that I've learned as time has passed, is that no one can hurt you more than you hurt yourself, nothing can be worse than the havoc you wreak in your own mind.
She'll tear herself apart until there is nothing left and then claw at anything that she builds. She'll blame herself and hate herself as she self-destructs, going over every detail of what has passed and wondering what she could have done differently. She'll do this until one day she decides that enough is enough, that she's paid her penance, and one day she might even forgive herself for the things that she's done. One day she will move on.
A stiff nod was all I got in response, but I didn't need anything else.
I turned to leave, but a hesitant voice stopped me before I could walk away.
"You're not really a good person... Are you?" The other demigod said quietly, just loud enough for me to hear her from where I stood with my back to the older teen. It was phrased as a question, but I knew that she'd already made her mind up on the subject and was asking more to see what I would say than for any type of confirmation.
"I never claimed to be one," I told her.
I walked away, she didn't stop me again.
—-
I found Chuuya at the dining pavilion and the pair of us ate quickly, eager to be done with this whole affair as fast as we could be. Our things were already strewn together back in the cabin, backs packed and Argus waiting for us at the base of the hill with one of the camp's vans ready to take us where we needed to go by the time that the sun had started its slow decline.
There was somewhere that I needed to go before our flight tomorrow.
There were two figures waiting for us at the crest of Half-Blood Hill as we climbed up it for the last time. Though their details were blocked out and darkened by the darkening sky, I still knew just who they were long before we were standing before them.
Chase's face was filled with anger as Grover shifted uncomfortably from hoof to hoof, obviously wanting to have this conversation right now just about as much as I was. Chuuya turned and looked up at me with a wordless gaze that understood what I needed without either of us ever having to speak it. He grabbed the backpack that had been strewn over my shoulder and threw it over his own before walking down the hill and getting in the van.
"This is it?" The daughter of Athena asked, exasperation filling her voice as her arms were thrown wide as soon as the car door had closed. "You're just leaving?"
I met the girl's gaze, taking the steel of her gray eyes head on. "I have no reason to stay."
It was the truth. This wasn't my world anymore, hadn't been for some time now, not since Kronos had decided that he wanted me out of the way. I had no reason to stay and even less reason to go back to Yokohama, to go back to him. But I knew that Chuuya would never agree to stay here and Chiron wouldn't let him even if he did.
"So you're just going back to a mundane life then?" The girl retorted, not seemingly able to understand why I would want to leave, to give up the mythological world for the world that I had found for myself.
"I'm going back to my life," I told her, matching the iron of her voice as annoyance slipped into mine.
Why can't anyone just listen and accept the answers that they are given? Why are humans so fickle that they believe that they have the right to do things like this?
"Percy," Grover whined, his voice slipping into a pleading tone as if trying to talk someone down from taking that last step, "you can't go back there, that place is killing you."
"And being here won't?" I shot back irritably, reminding them of the war that we had just fought because of a titan's cruelty and the gods' neglect. Of all of the times that we had almost died together before I left camp the first time, and all of the times that we had each almost died on our own before anyone decided that we were suddenly worth saving and brought us here.
They didn't have an answer for that.
"So you're just going to live a lie?" Chase asked, her voice had lost the angered edge that it had held only moments before. "Pretending to be something that you're not?"
Pretending to be something that I'm not... I would have to do that even if I stayed here. At least back with the Port Mafia I don't have to pretend to be good, to be human. There they tell you when they're using you, and pay you well for it. It's the life of a monster, but that's really the only life that I've ever known. And besides, nothing about Yokohama could ever be classified as mundane.
"How I live my life is my problem," I told the other demigod stiffly, my fingers curling around the pen in my pocket hard enough that I'm sure if I were to look that my knuckles would be white.
With that I left the pair and made my way back down the hill, I thought that I might have heard the satyr call out a soft happy birthday, but I didn't look back to find out.
—-
The sun had long since set by the time that we made it to the place that I had wanted to visit before going back to Japan.
It was a little run down rental cabin painted in faded pastel colors that you couldn't really tell the shade of anymore even if you were to try. The curtains were old and worn with age as the building itself had only sunken deeper into the sand dunes since the last time that I had seen, but at the same time if I listened closely I could almost hear the sound of long forgotten laughter floating through the air.
There were still cobwebs littering the cabinets and sand seemingly permanently fixed in the sheets of the beds, but sitting outside in the sand, the warm summer air creating a gentle breeze and the sound of wave lapping relentlessly at the dunes, reminded me why this was the only place growing up that I had ever felt truly safe. The sentiment remained even though I hadn't been here in years.
The sky was dark and the stars were shining brightly in the sky, far away from the city lights that would normally taint them and make them dull. Chuuya was sitting beside me in the sand, both of us long having abandoned our shoes, with our sweet dug deep into the sand. He was staring up at the sky as if looking at something truly beautiful for the first time. I knew that the expression was mirrored on my own face as I gazed at him.
Tearing my eyes away from the other teen and looking out at the calm sea, watching as the waves crashed over the break, I decided to speak.
"Growing up," I started, catching the other teen's attention. I could feel the older boy's eyes on me but I didn't meet his gaze. "-my mother and I used to come here at least once every summer. Though I always thought that she'd been coming for a long time before then. It was our safe haven for as long as I can remember."
The other ability user made a soft noise at my side, bumping his shoulder into mine. "Did you..." he started, trailing off as his voice grew quiet. "Did you want to go see her grave?"
The question was blunt, much more so than some would find appropriate, but we had always been this way so it was comforting in a way that it probably should not be. A sad laugh escaped my lips, shaking my shoulders. "No..." I decided. "No, this is enough."
This place has always been more of a home than any place that Gabe's presence had tainted could have ever hoped to be. The bruises marking mine and my mother's skin always faded a little during our time here, and-even if only for a few days-the scars ceased to grow. It was the first place that I had ever felt safe, felt content even when most of the time the water was much too cold for swimming. If there was any place to remember her, to mourn her and the life that I had left behind, it would be here.
"You know," the slug started in a light, almost teasing voice, "this almost feels like that scene in a movie where someone confesses."
While the other teen laughed sweetly at his own observation, I couldn't stop the way that my heart started beating as if it wanted to escape my chest. I didn't remind the other boy that I'd never seen a movie, I could understand the sentiment well enough without having done so. I could understand it because of the wild thrumming in my chest that refused to stop even as I tried to force it to as I have done time and time again.
"Oh?" I asked softly.
The other mafioso laughed harder, his shoulders shaking violently with the effort. "Yeah, but that would be horrible here," he decided. "Wouldn't it?"
"Right..." I spoke softly, just quite enough the older teen couldn't hear, "horrible." Standing up, I blatantly ignored the way that my tired body screamed in protest to the sudden movement. When I spoke again, I made sure that my voice sounded normal before using it. "We should probably go to bed," I decided. "The flight tomorrow is pretty early and I'm not dragging your ass all the way there."
"Why you!"
In the end we each took separate rooms, sand still stubbornly clinging to the sheets. Curled up in the bed that I had slept in countless times before, the sounds of the sea lulled me into a restless sleep.
A/N: And that's the end of the mythology arc. For anyone that might want to know, this makes a total of 249,015 words (counting both volume I and II). Thank you for everyone that has continued to read this, and for all the comments. As I've said before, I'll be going all the way through 22, so next chapter they'll be back in Yokohama.
On another note, for those that are disappointed by the current Mori situation and Poseidon not having done anything yet. Sorry? I already have the whole plot for this planned out, Mori will get what he deserves, but not just yet. We have a certain red head to meet first and an Agency to join, because I'm trying to keep this close to a mixed canon on both ends with the major divergence coming later.