A.N: This chapter might be a little disturbing too some readers. I would advise skipping some of it if you do not want to read anything of the type.
Percy POV:
I reappeared inside a dirty apartment. There was stains on the walls, and empty beer bottles littering the ground. The stench of sweat and alcohol filled the air and it almost made me gag. The worst part war right in the middle of the room.
A man stood above a small girl with a belt in his hands. He had obviously drank too many beers and was now drunk. The little girl was shivering and sobbing in pain. There were red welts covering her arms and body, making here skin look almost unrecognizable.
"Stupid girl! I told you to get me another bottle of beer! You'll be sorry you disobeyed me!" He snarled at her, as he wound up his arm to strike the girl across the face. In the blink of an eye, I was behind him, holding onto his wrist so that he couldn't hit the girl. He jerked back in surprise and whirled around to face me.
"Who the hell are you?! How did you get into my house. It doesn't matter, I'm gonna kill you then I'm gonna finish the job with the girl," He roared.
I sneered at him,"You think you can beat a little girl to near death and not pay for your crimes? You're going to die tonight and it's not going to be pleasant." The man started to look a little bit nervous, but charged at me anyways, belt raised high. I unsheathed Frostbite and slashed his stomach open. I could see him organs spilling out, but I gave him no mercy, still keeping him alive with my powers.
"You will feel every bit of pain that I inflict on you until I am satisfied that you have learned your lesson. You will not die until I am done with your punishment and then you will spend an eternity in the Fields of Asphodel in constant pain and suffering," I said coldly to him. I took my sword and stabbed it into his arm and pulled out a knife, stabbing his other arm, holding him in place. I was just getting started.
(Line break)
By the time I was done with him, he looked little more than a blob of blood and bones, yet he was still alive, feeling all the pain. Finally, I sent him to the Underworld, stabbing him in the heart and releasing my power, letting him die. I grunted in disgust and wiped the blood off my fingers on the one clean section of his shirt. It was only then, that I realized the little girl had been watching the entire time in fear.
I sighed and approached her. She immediately scrambled away from me in fear, cowering underneath the bed that was tucked into the corner of the room.
"Get away from me!"
"I'm not going to hurt. I came to free you from that monster of a man. Don't worry, I don't think he'll be hurting you anymore," I tried to speak as gently as possible.
"You're lying! I saw what you did to him. You're going to do the same things to me!"
"I promise that I won't do anything to hurt you. I'm just here to help," I replied. To prove what I said, I dropped all of my weapons onto the floor and pushed them away with my foot. The girl seemed to trust me a little more and slowly inched her way out from under the bed. When her body was completely out in the open, I held up my hands to show her that I didn't have anything to hurt her.
She looked young enough to be in preschool still, but her eyes showed more suffering than most people would face in their entire life. My hands shook as I wondered what that vile man had done to her. Now I knew why Artemis was so against most men. There were so many terrible males out there who would do anything for power and riches.
"Who are you and how did you know what my uncle was doing to me?" she asked suspiciously
"My name is Perseus, but you can call me Percy. The reason I came, is because I am sort of like a guardian angel to all demigods like you," I replied.
"What's a demigod?"
"A demigod is somebody like you or me. One of our parents are mortal, and the other one is one of the greek gods like my father. I am a son of Poseidon," I explained.
"God's are fake! Stop lying to me," she said.
"Look, I'll prove it to you. My father, Poseidon is the god of the sea, so I have control over water," I said, and raised my hand. A spiral of water flowed up my hand and formed into a ball in my palm. The girl looked at me in awe.
"How did you do that?"
"Like I said, my father is a god just like one of your parents. In time, you can learn to control your powers just like me, whatever they might be. Based on your personality, I would guess that you are a daughter of Athena or Poseidon. You could be my sister!"
"Oh I get it. Thank you for saving me Percy. I don't think I could stand another strike from my uncle's belt," she said, hugging me. She only reached up to my waist, so I bent down and wrapped my arms around her small body.
"What's your name, little one. And how old are you?"
"My name is Ashley and I am turning 8 in two weeks," she said excitedly. I could tell that she had spent most of her birthdays taking beatings from her uncle. Now that she was free, she could actually look forward to the special occasion and maybe even have a chance to celebrate. I should have tortured him more. He deserves whatever is coming for him in the Underworld. I will make sure Hades sends his worst torturer.
Suddenly, a blue trident shown brightly above the young girl's head. Her godly parent had claimed her and she was my sister. At that moment, I vowed to protect her and raise her like she should have been raised since the moment she was born. She was my sister and I would give her all the love that she had been deprived of.
"Let's get you cleaned up, and then we can take you to see Father. I'm sure he would be delighted to see his daughter. I know he will love you so much," I said.
"If daddy really loved me, why didn't he come to see me or save me from my uncle. Why did he leave when mommy died and abandon me to him in the first place?" she cried.
"Our dad is not like a mortal. He is bound by laws that make him unable to have any contact with his demigod children. If you come with me, then we can go see him and you can decide whether or not you want to forgive him," I answered.
"Ok Percy!"
"First, I'm going to do something that may seem scary, but I can assure you that it will not hurt," I promised. She nodded. I raised my hand a a bubble of blue film encased her. Her wounds started to heal and there was no longer and sign of skin damage or the red welts left by the belt. Her eyes widened in amazement before she jumped at me and hugged me, thanking me profusely. I smiled and hugged her back, glad that she was okay.
"I'm going to mist travel us to Father's palace ok? It might feel a little weird," I said. She nodded again, seeming to trust me. We dissolved into mist and soon, we were standing in the middle of the throne room at my Father's palace. Poseidon was sitting at his throne, with Triton and Amphitrite (His son and wife) sitting to his left and right.
"Percy! My son, I'm glad you're here, but why have you c-," He started before his eyes set on the little girl in my arms. His face showed guilt and I knew that he was thinking about how he had to leave her to her uncle.
"Ummm... Let's go to my quarters where we have a little more privacy," He said, furtively glancing at Amphitrite. I nodded and we made our way down a grand hall into the bedroom where he and his wife slept. He turned around and held his arms out. I handed him the small child in my arms carefully.
"Sorry about that. You know how Amphitrite hates my demigod children," He apologized. Oh, I had first hand experience in that all right. Every time she saw me, it was like she wanted to stab me with her trident and dispose of me in the deepest part of the ocean.
"I found her in a run down apartment building being beaten by her uncle. Why didn't send her somewhere that she doesn't get beaten half to death every single day," I accused. The guilt came back on his face and I could tell that he did feel remorse for his decision.
"I'm sorry, I had no other choice. Her mother died in a car accident a couple years ago and she didn't have any other relatives. It was either this, or she would be stranded on her own in the middle of the forest just waiting for a monster to kill her," he said sadly.
"It is not me that you should be apologizing to. It is her."
Poseidon gently held the little girl out in front of him and looked into her eyes, before he pulled her to his chest and held her there while he spoke.
"I'm so so sorry, Ashley. There was nothing I could do for you. Trust me, if I could have, I would have taken you away from that man. I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive your dear ol papa," He said, looking hopefully into her sea green eyes. His only answer was a pair of little arms wrapping their way around his neck. He smiled contently and let out a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, he pulled away and looked seriously into my eyes.
"I know this may be a lot to ask, but it is the best option. Can you raise her and care for her as she grows up? She needs somebody in her life like you, who will do anything to keep her safe," he pleaded.
I smiled," I was already going to do that dad. She looked so helpless when I arrived and I think will need somebody to help her heal. You won't have to worry about her, I'll treat her well."
He smiled back gratefully and pulled back from Ashley.
"Are you ok? You haven't said a word since you got here. Are you still mad at me or did I do something wrong?" he asked worriedly.
"I'm ok daddy. I'm just so happy that you didn't abandon me like I thought you did. And now I have a big brother that will take care of me. We can have my first birthday part!" She replied. Dad had tears in his eyes and he pulled her back into a hug before he handed her back to me.
"Unfortunately, I need to return to my duties, but you are welcome to visit whenever you want. I trust that you will take good care of her."
"Of course father. She won't stub her toe without me there for her," I pledged. He gave her one last hair ruffle and walked out of the room. I mist traveled us back to my cabin on the beach and walked up the stairs to the guest bedroom. As I set her down on the bed, she grabbed my arm and pulled me towards her.
"Sleep with me Percy. I'm scared of the dark and I have never had anybody to comfort me at night," she requested. I relented and snapped my fingers, changing my clothes for a set of pajamas. I lay down on the bed and held the little girl in my warm arms, making sure that she was safe and sound. When I looked at her face to check if she was still awake, I saw that her eyes were closed and her breathing was even as she slept peacefully for the first time in forever. Before I lay back, I heard her murmur,"Thank you, big brother."
I grinned and lay down on the bed, falling asleep almost instantly and joining her in the Realm of Morpheus.
(End of Chapter 8)
MortemPlasmon: You don't need to feel obligated to respond to every chapter, but I appreciate it. Anyway, I will probably keep this length of story for now.
ghostchilli666: Pertemis is probably my favorite ship so I totally agree with you. PERTEMIS WOO HOO!
the guy who loves all gunpla: Not much I can respond to that, but thanks again I guess lol.
A.N: There you guys go! A new chapter completed. We just hit 3,000 views! Thank you guys so much for the constant support. I haven't had a single negative review yet and I've even gotten some constructive feedback. You guys are the best!
P.S: The next one will be Percy taking Ashley to see Artemis and maybe even starting up the Hunt again. Comment if you guys would like to see that.