AN: Hey guys, I hope you all are well. Thanks for all the feedback, it is really helpful. Also, just a heads up. This story will be long, like a lot of chapters. At least I think so. Honestly, I have no idea how long this will be, but Perseus and Zoë won't meet again for awhile. They won't meet until the Titan's Curse, or that part of the story. So yeah. Please enjoy!
Recap:
Maximus took the backpack back from Grover and was relieved to find the Master Bolt inside it.
"We have to get to New York, tonight," he said.
"But that's impossible," Annabeth chimed in. "We'd have to..."
"Fly, yes," Max said. "But Zeus wouldn't dare strike us down when we carry his most powerful weapon, would he?"
"Who knows, Zeus is a paranoid bastard," Perseus said, causing thunder to rumble over head. In response, he stuck up his middle finger to the sky, and spun around 360 degrees. "However, we don't have to fly."
Present:
"What?" Max asked. "We don't?"
"Yeah," Perseus said. "Don't you wonder how I get to and from different places so quickly?"
The trio looked at themselves before shaking their heads. Perseus sighed. "Oh well, grab onto me. You might feel unwell the first time, so here it goes." Each member of the trio felt each molecule in their body turn into water before reappearing the same way in New York City, near the Empire State Building.
When they reappeared, the trio looked at their bodies in shock. "What was that?" Annabeth asked.
Perseus sighed. "It's complicated. Eventually, Maximus will be able to do it when he is powerful enough, which will be soon."
Maximus looked towards the Empire State Building. "I still can't believe Olympus is over the Empire State Building," Max said.
Perseus chuckled. "I wonder what Olympus looks like, I've never been," he mused.
"It's beautiful," Annabeth said. "I hope to design something like that," she said trailing off. Suddenly, she had an idea. "Perseus, you can still come, but you have to wear my invisibility cap!"
Perseus chuckled. "Thanks, that is a great idea. However, your mother would know I was there, due to it being something she gave you. However, I can do this," he said, turning into water, making himself invisible.
"Woah!" Max said. He turned around to see Perseus standing there whistling innocently.
"What?" he asked. "Let's go."
"Wait!" Max said. "Annabeth and Grover should go back to camp and tell Chiron the truth."
Perseus looked at the trio. "I agree. Besides, Chiron needs to know just as early as the gods."
Annabeth nodded and gave Max a hug and waved to them, throwing a drachma into the ground and getting in a weird looking taxi.
"Ready Max?" Perseus asked. Max gulped.
Perseus walked with Maximus, and when he entered the lobby, he abruptly disappeared.
Perseus prowled through the lobby behind the his brother, not making a sound. He almost laughed when Max threatened the guard with the Master Bolt. When they got into the elevator, Perseus let out a sigh of relief.
"You ready to see Olympus?" Perseus asked.
"No," Max said. He took another look in his bag, looking at the master bolt again.
Perseus sighed. "Me neither."
When the elevator opened, both Perseus and Maximus gasped. Olympus was beautiful, and reminded Perseus of home. Olympus was an Ancient Greek city, but not ruined, vibrant. He took in the sights and smells of the city, and believed it was the most beautiful place he had ever been to.
Perseus followed Maximus as his brother took everything in. He made sure Max didn't get distracted by the sights by pushing him forward back onto the path occasionally.
When they reached the end of the main road towards the big palace, Perseus realized that it was an exact copy of Hades' palace in the underworld, and that the god of the dead must have modelled his off of Olympus. When they entered the throne room, Perseus was shocked at its size. It made Grand Central look like a closet.
In the center of the room sat twelve thrones in a reverse U shape, and an enormous fire was ablaze in the hearth pit in the center of the thrones.
Perseus easily recognized each Olympian, each one looking as divine as Hades did in the Underworld. He looked around the room, scanning the faces of the Olympians. Athena, sitting in her silver throne, with decorative owls all around it, Poseidon sitting in his sea-green throne, symbols of the ocean and horses pictured on his beautiful throne, Hestia sitting by her hearth, Artemis and Apollo in their respective moon and sun thrones.
When Maximus stepped forward, he knelt before Poseidon's throne. "Father," he said.
Zeus snapped his head to look at the demigod. "Should you not address the master of this house, boy?"
"Peace brother," Poseidon said with a proud glint in his eye. "The boy defers to his father, and rightfully so."
"So you admit to it, you still claim him?" Zeus asked, almost egging Poseidon on. "You claim this child whom you sired against our sacred oath."
Poseidon glared at Zeus. "Don't try to guilt trip me brother. Yes, I made a mistake, but you broke the oath first with Beryl Grace. Don't act like you are in the wrong either."
Perseus looked at Max sympathetically. His father had just called him a mistake.
"Maximus, look at me," Poseidon said, his face devoid of emotion. However, Perseus could tell he was proud of Max. He embarked on a dangerous quest and retrieved the most powerful godly weapon in existence. If he was Max's father, he would be proud too.
"Tell Lord Zeus your story," Poseidon said, gesturing at his son. So he did. Perseus listened as Max told his story and his quest to retrieve the lightning bolt.
Thankful, his brother completely left him out of the story, instead telling the gods how he beat Ares with a cloaked figure, and they didn't know who he was and didn't give any indication of his identity. After Max finished his tale, he pulled out a metal cylinder from his backpack and lay it at Zeus' feet. The sky god opened his palm, and the master bolt flew into his hand, elongating into a twenty foot long javelin which pulsed with energy.
"I sense he is telling the truth," Zeus muttered, causing Perseus to smirk. He knew his brother wasn't telling the whole truth, just part of it. "I can't believe Ares would do such a thing."
"He is proud and impulsive, it runs in the family," Poseidon replied.
"Lords?" Maximus said.
"Yes," they said simultaneously.
"Ares didn't act alone," Max said. "Someone...else, came up with the idea."
"Who?" Zeus asked.
"I don't know," Max responded. "But I've been having these dreams." Zeus gestured for the demigod to go on, and Max described his dreams. He talked about how the voice from the pit wanted him to bring the bolt to the Underworld, how they stopped Ares from killing him and how Ares was being used too, probably to start a war between the brothers.
"You are accusing Hades?" Zeus questioned.
"No, Lord Zeus," Max said. "I've been in Hades' presence. The feeling by the pit was different, more ancient. It was the entrance to Tartarus, wasn't it? Something evil is stirring down there. Something older than the gods." Perseus knew who this was, and knew the gods would catch on quite quickly.
Perseus saw the gods quickly converse in Ancient Greek, and while he was old and from that time, he could barely catch any words. He only caught, Father, war, second, and Titan. He knew that this would be the second Titanomachy, and the gods would need all the help they could get.
However, Maximus could also speak Ancient Greek, but not as well. However, he caught one word. Father.
Poseidon went to make a suggestion, but Zeus cut him off. "We will not speak of this any more," Zeus said angrily. "I must go purify my bolt from the human taint in the waters of Lemnos."
He turned to walk away before looking at Maximus. "You have done me a great service boy," he said softly. "Not many heroes could do what you did."
"I had help sir, from my friends," Max said.
"To show you thanks, I will not smite you for passing through my domain," Zeus said. "I do not trust you, and I do not like what your arrival means for the future of Olympus, but for the sake of peace, I will let you live."
"Thank you, Lord Zeus," Max said, bowing shakily.
"Do not fly again, and do not be here when I return. Otherwise, you will taste this bolt, and it will be the last thing you taste."
Thunder shook the palace as Zeus exited Olympus. Poseidon sighed. "Your uncle has always had the flair for the dramatics. He might as well be the god of theater."
"My lord," Max asked. "What is in the pit?"
Poseidon looked at his son. "Have you not already guessed?"
Max looked at his father. "Kronos, king of the Titans."
Even in the throne room, Kronos' name darkened the room. Poseidon gripped his trident. "Maximus, I'm sure you know of the story of the first Titan War," he said, causing Max to nod quickly. "After chopping Kronos up like he did his father, Zeus threw the remains into Tartarus. The Titan army was scattered, their allies driven to the corners of the Earth. However, Titans, like us Gods, cannot die. Whatever is left of Kronos is still alive, in some hideous way, still conscious in his eternal pain."
"He's healing," Max said. "He's coming back."
Poseidon shook his head. "Impossible. throughout the millennia, he has entered men's nightmares and breathed evil thoughts. But to say that he could rise again?"
"That's exactly what he intends, Father," Maximus said grimly.
"Lord Zeus has closed this matter," Poseidon said. "You must not talk of Kronos. You have completed your quest child, that's all you needed to do."
"But..." he started before looking at his father, one of the only gods on his side. "As you wish Father."
Poseidon had a ghost of a smile on his face. "Obedience doesn't come easy, does it?" Maximus nodded slowly. "I must take some blame for that. The sea does not like to be restrained." He stood up, gripped his trident. "You must go, my son. Just to let you know, there is a gift and a package for you at home. This is a path you must take alone." Before Poseidon left, he turned to face his son. "I'm sorry about your mother. She was a queen among women. I'm sorry you were born, as I condemned you to a hero's fate. Remember, Lord Hades always pays his debts." He flashed away in a sea-green light.
When he was gone, Perseus revealed himself. "Don't worry Maximus. While he hasn't shown it, he is proud of you. I could see it in his eyes."
"How could you tell?" Max asked.
Perseus smiled. "Believe me. I was raised by a goddess, a sea goddess. Besides, in my two thousand years of life, I've gotten pretty good at reading people. Now come on, I'm sure you'll be happy with your gift."
Max smiled as they walked through Olympus, an inkling of an idea of what could be waiting for him at home."
When they reached the street, Perseus smirked before grabbing on to Max's shoulder and disappearing into mist, reappearing in front of Max's apartment.
"What was that for? We could have just caught a cab," Max complained.
Perseus smirked. "Two reasons. One, it's a waste of money for me, and two, well, for your reaction. Now come on, let's see what the gift is.
"Not that I already know," he muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Max said.
"It was nothing, come on," Perseus said. They walked up the stairs to Max's apartment, and when he rang the doorbell, a certain Sally Jackson was waiting for them. Max ran up to his mom and immediately was engulfed in a hug
"Max, my beautiful boy, I missed you so much," Sally said between tears. Behind the happy family, Perseus was smiling, remembering his time with Thetis and his brother before that stupid king Agamemnon called them to fight in a pointless war. Maximus told his mom the story, and was getting to their fight with Ares when Perseus hear a voice.
"Sally? That meat loaf done yet?" the voice called from the living room.
Sally looked at her son. "He won't be happy to see you. The car..."
Max looked at Sally apologetically. "Just don't make him angrier, okay?" Sally said softly. Max nodded before entering further into the apartment with Perseus. In the month Max had been gone, the apartment had turned to shit. There was garbage everywhere, and dirty clothes were every place you could imagine.
When Perseus had followed Max into the living room, he saw four people so fat he thought they were walruses.
When Gabe got up from the table. "What do you think you are doing here punk? You little..."
"Who are you?" Perseus asked the walrus.
Gabe just grunted. "Well, I'm going to take my brother to his room, and you will leave us alone. You got that?" Perseus threatened. Gabe grunted again. "Good."
When Perseus turned around, Gabe smashed a beer bottle over his head, causing him to stumble. "Perseus!" Max cried out.
"Do you think I will just let you waltz into my house!" Gabe roared. "This punk ruined my car! Give me the phone Sally, now!"
"No, Gabe, I won't," Sally said.
"Did you just say no?" Gabe asked, raising his hand, causing Sally to flinch. Perseus and Max saw this interaction, and both sets of eyes turned murderous. Maximus took out his pen, gripping it tightly.
"What you gonna do boy? Write on me?" Gabe asked mockingly, causing his friends to laugh. "I'll be nice to you, brat. You have 5 minutes to clear out your room before I call the police."
"No!" Sally shouted, tears springing in her eyes.
"He left, now let him leave," Gabe said coldly before walking back to the table. Perseus was holding Max back as Sally came up to them.
"Come on, let's go to your room," Sally said, leading the two towards Max's room.
"Gabe is just upset, honey," Sally said soothingly. "I'll talk to him later, you will be fine. Besides, I can send you to another boarding school in the fall..." she trailed off, getting nervous.
"Mom, it's okay," Max said.
A package appeared on the bed that Max was sure he didn't see. Perseus walked over to it slowly, before taking a look at mailing slip. He gave the two a crooked smirk. "Max, remember your choice. It's your path," Perseus said with a smirk, tossing the box over to Max.
Max looked at the top and gasped. He knew what it was. "Mom, do you want Gabe gone?"
"Y-Yes, of course, but it isn't that simple," Sally said.
"Mom. Do you want him gone or not?" Max asked.
"Yes," Sally said confidently.
Max looked at the box, and back at his mother. "One look, and he's gone," Max said.
Sally understood immediately. "Max, no. You can't do it," she said.
Perseus looked at Sally. "Sally. I don't know you that well, and you don't know me. However, I know that that fat walrus is one of the worst men on the planet, and is the epitome of everything wrong with the male species. While on Olympus, Max's father called you a queen among women, and I can see what he means." Sally flushed bright red. "You deserve someone who loves you, and will care for you. Please, if not for your own sake, but for Max's. All he wants to see is you happy, and he knows that while Gabe is here, you will not be."
Sally looked at Perseus with tears in her eyes. "I will think about it, okay?" she said, looking at Max. Max nodded, tearing up.
"I'm going to Camp," Max said. "Can we talk about it at the end of the summer?"
Sally nodded. "Go Maximus. Be the greatest hero of them all." She gave her son a big hug before Max walked out the door. As Perseus got up to leave, he felt a warm hand wrap around his wrist. He turned around to see Sally with a grateful expression. "Thank you for protecting my son," she said.
Perseus waved her off. "Don't thank me, he's family. I would do anything to protect him," he said, giving her a smile before walking out the door.
LINE BREAK
As Perseus and Max walked up to Thalia's tree and into the border. Perseus looked at Max. "Well, I guess it is time for me to go. Thank you, brother, for this amazing adventure."
As Perseus turned to leave, he heard someone call to him. "Perseus."
He turned around to see his brother, a curious expression on his face. "Why are you leaving now?" he asked. "Besides, you said I would be the child of the prophecy, and you would help train me. Also, it's been two thousand years. Why don't you come back to camp? You can just be Perseus, son of Thetis, super powerful, but not immortal demigod? Besides, what are you going to do without me? Live like a boring middle aged person?"
Perseus laughed before trudging up to the borders to meet his brother. "You make a sound argument, brother. Let's go."
As he walked across the border, he prayed to his mother. Mother, please claim me before Poseidon does, he prayed before meeting up with his brother.
"Max!" Annabeth shouted, before bounding across camp and giving him a hug, causing both of their faces to turn bright pink. "Hey Perseus," she added on.
"Hey Annabeth," he replied. "Look, I need you and Grover to not tell anyone who I am, I am just Perseus, son of Thetis, got it?" Annabeth nodded before heading to the campfire. When the reached the campfire, Annabeth went over to Chiron.
After a few moments. Chiron spoke up. "Hello campers. We are here to welcome back Annabeth Chase, Maximus Jackson, and Grover Underwood from their quest. However, before we burn the shrouds, we must introduce a new camper. Please give a warm welcome to Perseus!"
There were a few cheers as Perseus made his way up to where the centaur was standing. As he walked, the Aphrodite girls swooned. "Chiron, pretend you don't know me, I'm just Perseus, son of Thetis, nothing else, okay?" Chiron nodded imperceptibly.
As Perseus stood next to the centaur, a bright light erupted over Perseus' head with the symbol of seaweed, leaving the campers confused. Thank you mother, Perseus thought.
"Hail Perseus, son of Thetis," Chiron said with a smile. Perseus went over to his brother and sat down smiling.
After the burning of the shrouds, Perseus went over to his new cabin, Cabin 11. When he got there, a blonde kid around eighteen with a scar running down his face came up to him. "Hey, I'm Luke, I'm the head counselor of Cabin 11. Welcome."
He gestured into the cabin and he sat down on one of the remaining cots. "Welcome Perseus to Cabin 11," Luke said with a crooked smile. Perseus calmed every bone in his body from killing the kid, as he knew he was a traitor, but knew that Max was the hero of the story, not him, and he would just do his best to support him.
"Regular or undetermined?" A random camper asked.
Luke smiled. "Neither. His mother is Thetis, but she doesn't have a cabin, so he's with us."
Perseus gave his new bunk mates a smile before going outside to see the rest of camp.
In his cabin, Max was chilling on his bed, wondering how his father was doing. He had received a letter from his mother saying Gabe had disappeared, which brought a smile to his face. She had also sold a concrete sculpture titled The Poker Player, and had gotten enough money to put a down payment on a new apartment and a first semester of tuition at NYU. She also gave him an option to go to a private school in the city, if he ever wanted to live at home.
Eventually, the summer came and went. The camp bead was pitch black with a sea green trident to commemorate my quest. As Max looked at the form that could change his life, he went to the arena to blow off some steam. When he got there, he saw Luke.
"Hey Max," Luke said as he turned to face him.
"Hey Luke. Sorry to interrupt," he said sheepishly.
"Don't worry. Tell you what. You wanna come hang in the woods with me? I got something special," he said, opening up his bag which contained a six pack of Coca Cola. Max's mouth watered at the scent of it. While it was good to have it in the enchanted goblets, having it from the can was even better.
"Sure, why not," he said, following Luke into the woods.
They sat down and drank their Cokes in silence by the creek before Luke broke it. "You miss being on a quest?" he asked.
Max looked at him. "At risk of being killed every few minutes?" he asked. "Yeah, sort of."
Luke had a ghost of a smile on his face. "You?" Max asked in return.
Suddenly, Luke's face fell, his expression turned cold. "I've been here since I was fourteen. Training all day, and all night, and when I got a quest, they were like 'thanks, we're done, have a nice life."
Luke crumpled up his can and threw it in the creek, leaving Max shocked. You weren't supposed to litter at Camp. The naiads and nymphs would kill you for it, not literally.
"I'm not going to be one of those dusty trophies in the Big House," Luke said angrily.
Max looked at him. "You sound like you are leaving."
Luke stood up. "That's because I am. However, I brought you here to say good-bye." Suddenly, Luke snapped his fingers, and a scorpion crawled out from the ground beneath Max's feet. He went to pull out Anaklusmos, but Luke tutted. "Ah ah ah, I wouldn't. Pit scorpions can jump up to fifteen feet, and one sting causes death in 60 seconds."
"Luke, what-" he started.
Luke gave him a crooked smile.
"You," Max said disdainfully.
Luke stood calmly. "Yes me. I will help lead an army that will crush the gods. They only exist because of us. We are used like pawns while they sit on Olympus and party all day and sleep around all night."
Max stood there, shocked that Luke was saying these things about their parents.
"The gods are a disease Max," he said. "The only way to stop it is to flush them out, and I will."
"You are as crazy as Ares," Max said.
His eyes flared. "Ares is a fool. He never realized the true master he was serving. I would explain it all to you, but I'm afraid you won't live that long."
The scorpion crawled onto my pants leg. Suddenly, Max realized.
"Kronos," I said. "That's who you serve."
The air darkened around them. "Be careful with names Max," Luke warned him.
"Kronos spoke to you in your dreams," Max said. "He told you to steal the bolt and the helm. He brainwashed you."
"You're wrong Max," Luke replied. "He showed me my talents are going to waste. You know about my quest right? To steal an apple from the Hesperides and bring it to Olympus. That was the best he could think of."
"That isn't easy, Hercules did it," Max reasoned.
"Exactly," Luke stated. "Hercules did it. You see, what's the point of repeating things others had done? All I was given was pity after I received my scar, and all I wanted was to tear down Olympus, stone by stone. However, I bided my time, and when Kronos spoke to me, he convinced me. However, when I stole the items, I...I got overconfident. Ares caught me. However, Kronos whispered into my ear, gave me an idea. I told this to Ares, a war between the gods, the biggest war ever seen. I knew he was hooked. Afterwards, the Lord punished me. I swore not to fail again. However, he told me another was coming, and would be able to bring the weapons to him. I summoned the hellhound, and gave you the cursed shoes. But that stupid satyr ruined the curse. You were supposed to die in Tartarus, but I supposed you'll have to die now. Good-bye, Maximus."
He sliced his sword in an arc, and disappeared in a ripple of darkness.
When he left, the scorpion lunged. Max took out his sword and sliced it in two, causing it to disappear into golden dust. As he went to cap his sword, he saw a large red welt on his hand, and fell to the ground in agonizing pain. Water, he thought. When he got to the creek, nothing was happening. He knew he needed to get to camp. He walked towards the clearing and saw a familiar pair of sea green eyes. "Help," he croaked, before passing out.
LINE BREAK
When he woke up, Max was lying in the big house with a sipping straw in his mouth. Argus stood guard in the corner, and Annabeth was sitting, holding the cup for Max to drink the Nectar out of.
"Here we are again," Max said.
"You idiot," Annabeth said. "If you weren't so injured, I would be slapping you right now."
Max cracked a smile. "You were turning green and gray when Perseus appeared in the big house. I assume you know about him," Chiron said. Max gave him a slight nod.
"Now, tell us what happened," Chiron said. So he did. After he finished, the room was silent.
"Luke..Luke did this?" Annabeth asked. "I can't...I can't...actually. After the quest he was different, but not in a good way."
"I must go to Olympus at once and report this," Chiron murmured. "Child, you must rest. While I know Luke is out there, you aren't ready to rush for vengeance."
Max nodded. He didn't like it, but knew that Chiron was right. "But the prophecy, the great prophecy. Does it have me in it? And Annabeth?"
Chiron looked at the floor nervously. "I can't tell you yet. It isn't my place to tell you."
"You've been ordered not to tell me, right?"
Chiron nodded sadly. "You'll be a great hero, I know it Maximus. Now rest, you have a lot of training to do in order to face the King of the Titans." Chiron left, and Max looked at Annabeth.
"What are you going to do?" Annabeth asked.
"I don't know," Max replied.
Annabeth looked out of the window. "I'm going home to California," she murmured.
Max perked up. "Really?"
Annabeth sighed. "Yeah. I sent them a letter when we got back, and he replied immediately. We are going to try again."
Max smiled. "I'm happy for you. You'll still IM me right?"
Annabeth smiled. "Of course. Same goes to you if you run into any trouble."
Max chuckled. "I doubt it, trouble usually runs into me."
At the end of the day, Max stood, bags packed at Thalia's tree. Before he could step out, a figure appeared next to him. "Did think you could leave me behind, did you?" Perseus asked teasingly.
Max chuckled. "Maybe."
Perseus smiled. "Come on, brother, let's get you home."
AN: Hey guys. I know you guys are going to talk about Perseus turning into water, but I remember in a story where Percy was able to turn into liquid and be invisible, so I wanted to mimic that. I completely failed, I know, but I just wanted you guys to know that that is what Perseus is doing. Also, yay! This was my longest chapter. I felt like I needed to finish the first book, so yeah. Also, I don't think the second book really matters that much, so I might just skip it and do a recap of it in the next chapter, what do you guys think? To me, it was kind of filler, and just introduced Thalia. I might just recap it, and start the next part when Thalia and Maximus (Percy) meet. Let me know! Anyways, thanks so much, and please review!