Yunjin released an unhinged cry of rage as she launched herself at her father, uncaring of the injuries she still possessed. They were less than bee stings when compared to the pure anger she felt as she attacked. Her shadows moved like an extension of her being, ebbing and flowing as she charged and swung her sword.
Hades grunted in surprise as she pushed him back, just barely bringing his own sword up in time to block. Yunjin met his gaze, and, for a brief moment, she saw something that looked like fear - or remorse - reflected in his dark eyes.
Yunjin paid it no mind.
She'd never fought so ferociously, swinging her sword with strength she didn't know she possessed. Her shadows responded to her emotions and thoughts, curling around her sword and making each strike that much more powerful.
As Hades stumbled back once again, still off-balance, Yunjin conjured a dagger of pure shadow, flinging it at her father before striking with her blade once again.
Hades just barely twisted in time to dodge the dagger, and it sliced the skin of his bicep. He recovered just in time to bat Yunjin's blade away with his own, standing straight up and finally regaining his balance.
Yunjin clenched her jaw, stepping back to meet her father's eyes.
"Yunjin," Hades spoke, and Yunjin cringed when she heard the power in his voice. It was the same tone that had been filling her head for the past eight hours, controlling her every thought and action. She'd been powerless to stop herself as she hurt her friends, attacked her fellow campers, and nearly killed the girl she loved.
Chaewon.
One glance back at the girl watching the battle unfold, still wearily standing guard at the entrance to Olympus, was enough for Yunjin to withstand the power in Hades' words.
No longer would she be his puppet.
"Yunjin, stop, " Hades said, forcing every ounce of power into his tone, trying as hard as he could to restore the charm he'd placed on his daughter.
Yunjin simply stared at him, raising her sword once again. "Why don't we just finish this?" she snarled, and she knew the shadows became thicker, more pronounced as she spoke.
Hades loosed a breath, leveling an even gaze at his daughter. "I don't wish to fight you, Yunjin." he said, voice uncharacteristically soft. "But if you stand between me and Olympus..."
"This isn't about Olympus anymore." Yunjin replied, a dangerous lilt to her tone. "It stopped being about Olympus and this stupid war the moment you tried to lay a hand on Chaewon and my friends."
The shadows expanded, curling around her legs and arms as she spoke.
"You charmed me, took away my free will, forced me to hurt my family." Yunjin said, eyes glowing with power. She took a step forward, satisfied to see a hint of fear shining in her father's eyes. "I'm prophesied to bring an end to this war? Fine."
Her grip tightened around her sword, and she extended her arm, grabbing complete control over the powers that had scared her for so long. The powers she'd let control her life and hurt those she loved.
No longer.
" Let's end it. "
The battle was long and hard-fought, and by the end, both parties were injured and weary.
Yunjin ignored her aching body, forcing herself to continue.
Only a little longer, she told herself. You can do this.
With a cry of rage, she jerked her hand forward, pushing forth a wave of shadows to knock Hades to the ground.
He cut through the black cloud with his sword, taking a swing at Yunjin's exposed side.
Just in time, she leapt back, dodging the swing before spinning around and launching her own blade at Hades.
It just skimmed his side, but it was enough to cause him to stumble back.
Yunjin pressed onward, flinging herself towards her father and kicking him back. He stumbled once again, and Yunjin took advantage of his unbalanced state, conjuring a dagger of shadows and bluntly stabbing it into his gut.
He groaned, falling to his knees and staring down at where the dagger had entered his side.
Yunjin didn't let up.
She took hold of what was left of her power, conjuring shadows to wrap around Hades, trapping his arms against his side and forcing him to stay kneeled against the concrete.
He grunted, trying to escape, but Yunjin grit her teeth, steeling herself against his best efforts. He was weakening, and Yunjin just had to hold out long enough to end this fight.
"Enough!" Hades cried, staring at his daughter in outrage. "Release me!"
Yunjin approached, still focusing much of her energy on keeping Hades contained. While one hand controlled the shadows, her other hand tightened around the grip of her sword as she walked towards her father.
It was time to end this.
She leveled a steely glare at her father, letting him see the reality of the situation, the rage in her eyes, the helplessness of his position.
His expression swiftly became less angry and more apprehensive.
Still, Yunjin was no godkiller.
"This is over." Yunjin said, leaning closer. "You have been beaten, and I am choosing to show you mercy in allowing you to surrender."
Hades grit his teeth. "'Allowing me?'"
Yunjin pointedly leveled her sword, his sword , as Hades' neck. The blade hovered only centimeters from his flesh. "I could end this in seconds," Yunjin hissed, tightening her grip on the shadows. Her father groaned in response as his bonds tightened.
"Enough." Hades said, jaw clenched. "I understand."
"Not good enough," Yunjin said. "This battle, this war? It's finished."
"I surrender." Hades replied. "I will cease my attacks."
"Swear it." Yunjin pressed, pushing her blade closer to the skin of his neck. "On the River Styx."
Hades swallowed, face drawn into a scowl. "I swear on the River Styx, I will cease my attacks, and this war will come to an end."
Yunjin stared at him for only a moment longer before dropping the sword to her side and releasing her grip on her powers.
Hades fell back at the same time Yunjin dropped to her knees, suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion and pain. The sword clattered to the ground beside her.
Both the sword and Hades disappeared in an instant, dissolving into a cloud of black shadows as he presumably fled to the Underworld once again.
"Yunjin!" Chaewon's voice echoed across the street, but Yunjin heard it only distantly. Her shoulder was screaming in pain from where Jimin had stabbed her, and her abdomen was a mess of gashes and bruises. Her legs and arms trembled from exhaustion, and Yunjin was only just becoming aware of the headache pounding beneath her skull.
"Yunjin!" Chaewon reached her just as Yunjin collapsed completely, catching her before she hit the concrete. "I got you, it's okay."
Yunjin sighed, blinking slowly. When had everything gotten so blurry?
"Oh gods, you've lost way too much blood," Chaewon said, scrambling to search her pockets and bag.
"M'fine," Yunjin murmured, staring up at Chaewon. "You're so beautiful, Chaewon."
"It's gonna be okay, you're gonna be fine." Chaewon's voice cracked as she spoke.
"I love you too, by the way." Yunjin said, her voice low and raspy. "Dunno if I'll get another chance to tell you."
"I need help over here!" Chaewon screamed to their friends. "Please!"
Yunjin was losing energy fast. She'd pushed herself too far, but she didn't regret it. After all, it was what she was meant to do, right? She put an end to the war, just as the prophecy said.
Through a haze of pain and exhaustion, she thought back to the prophecy she'd been given before this quest.
Friend will turn against friend.
Yunjin screwed her eyes shut, a deep feeling of guilt churning in her gut. She'd been the one to betray her friends.
Perhaps she deserved to die after all that.
"How is she?" she distantly registered another voice, maybe Eunchae?
" Not good!" Chaewon answered in a shrill cry. "She's lost too much blood, do you have ambrosia, anything --"
And with that, Yunjin finally fell unconscious, unable to stay awake any longer.
Almost a week later, Yunjin was still asleep.
Chaewon stayed by her bedside day and night, waiting for the moment the girl would wake up. Every so often, the others would stop by and visit, dropping off food or flowers. They would keep her company for a bit before leaving, almost always giving Chaewon a reassuring nod on their way out.
Most everyone's injuries had been dealt with, taken care of with a heavy dose of ambrosia and a few days of bed-rest.
Jimin had been injured the worst out of all of them, but she'd recovered eventually. Her broken bones healed relatively quickly, and the scrapes and bruises easily faded after she ate a few squares of ambrosia.
Still, Chaewon was extremely aware of the fact that they would all be dead without Jimin. She'd saved all their lives, risking her own in the process.
She would always be grateful for that.
She still couldn't shake the events of the Battle of New York. So many of her fellow campers had fallen during the battle. Nearly 15 of the original 50 campers.
Hell, she'd almost lost Yunjin.
But the most shocking turn of events happened after Yunjin had fallen unconscious.
Chaewon could still remember every detail.
"Who is that?"
Chaewon heard the others speaking, but she was scarcely aware of anything but the girl lying motionless in her arms. Her pulse was slow, her breaths shallow.
"Is that..."
Finally, Chaewon forced herself to look up from Yunjin, following Eunchae's gaze down the street.
A figure was approaching, and unfortunately for everyone, he was a little too familiar.
"Ares?"
Fuck.
They'd barely survived a battle with one god, and they were in such bad shape, no one stood a chance.
Chaewon had pretty much accepted their fate, when the impossible happened.
Surprising everyone , the gods finally arrived at their own war. They appeared in beacons of light, surrounding the injured demigods in a protective circle.
"Ares." Zeus thundered. "Your betrayal is unacceptable. Working with Hades to overthrow Olympus? I expected better."
Chaewon, still cradling Yunjin in her arms, could barely tear her eyes away from the gods that surrounded them. Hell, her mom was even there, staring Ares down with a hard stare and wielding a gorgeous sword fit only for the Goddess of love and beauty.
Ares had surrendered in only moments, unprepared to face the full might of Olympus by himself.
Afterwards, Apollo helped them greatly, taking care of most everyone's serious wounds and healing those he could. He couldn't heal Yunjin completely, however. Just her surface-level wounds. She'd exerted herself too much, using too much of her power to defeat her father in the final battle.
Which led to now. Yunjin was still bedridden, but everything was mostly back to normal. They'd made pyres for the demigods they'd lost, honoring them in a traditional camp half blood ceremony. The training regimen had been reinstated, and the campers fought with a new vigor, with more awareness. They'd all seen real battle now. They knew what it was like and how to really prepare. Chiron commended every camper for their bravery, honoring their sacrifice towards Olympus.
Still, Chaewon was left with a bad taste in her mouth.
They'd risked everything, put everything on the line to defend their parents, and yet it still seemed as though they didn't care. Campers were still left unclaimed, the Hermes cabin still overcrowded. Hell, they'd barely even acknowledged their children when they'd finally shown up in person after the battle.
Chaewon wouldn't soon forget the indifferent look her mother had given her after Ares had been taken captive.
Yet, in the end, all she could do was wait for Yunjin to awaken.
Grabbing Yunjin's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze, Chaewon sighed.
She just had to be patient, and everything would work out.
On the eighth day following the Battle of New York, Yunjin awoke.
It was an emotional affair, overwhelmed with hugs, tears, and apologies.
Yunjin was guilt-stricken, acutely aware of how much she'd hurt her friends. Though they all assured her that it was fine, that she wasn't to blame for her actions, Chaewon knew the guilt would remain. It would be a long time before Yunjin fully learned to forgive herself, but that was okay.
Chaewon would be with her every step of the way.
Slowly, things returned back to normal. Yunjin was completely healed after a few more days, moving back into her cabin and enjoying the feeling of a real bed.
Most nights, Chaewon and her would spend the night together in the Hades cabin. Without Chaewon, Yunjin was typically haunted by nightmares and unable to sleep, and without Yunjin, Chaewon slept restlessly, too anxious to relax even the slightest.
Chaewon treasured their nights together. They were intimate and quiet, something they both needed after such a trying and chaotic quest.
They returned to training, though they both took it slow at first. Sparring together was more for fun rather than real training, and Yunjin avoided using her abilities like the plague.
Chaewon knew she was paranoid about losing control once again, and the last time she'd used them, she'd overexerted herself to the point of sleeping for eight days.
Still, it was more than that.
The guilt affected Yunjin more than she let on, Chaewon knew that for sure. Hurting her friends had taken a toll on her, especially since she'd used her powers to do so.
It would take a while for those wounds to heal.
Chaewon still treasured the normalcy. Sparring with Yunjin, accompanying her friends to dinner, going to Ancient Greek lessons -- it was all a breath of fresh air.
Of course, every good thing must come to an end.
Yunjin was summoned to Olympus a week after she'd awoken.
And that's when everything changed.