17 Chapter 16: Friends and Foes
A/N
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Disclaimer : I do not own PJO or any of its characters.
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Chapter 16: Friends and Foes
Medusa nodded her head vigorously with tears in her eyes. She could not open her mouth in fear that she would break down if she dared to utter a word or the dream would go away. If this was a dream, she never wanted to step out of it.
Percy smiled brightly at that before his face took on a look of seriousness.
Seeing his expression change suddenly, Hestia asked quickly, "What happened Percy?"
Percy turned to Hestia and replied, "I don't know how to use this."
At that, Hestia's face showed a myriad of emotions from confusion to realisation to acceptance and finally laughter. She burst into a fit of laughter since she couldn't believe that this was actually happening. She hadn't laughed this hard since a long while so it was quite refreshing for her. Even Medusa banged her head on the wall; silently cursing her luck and her saviour.
Percy was extremely confused when he saw Hestia laughing. He tilted his head slightly only for Hestia to squeal a little internally due to how cute he looked.
She then recomposed herself before she replied, "You just need to connect with the dagger first. Once you do that, will it to use its special powers and you'll know what to do next."
Percy nodded at that. He closed his eyes and felt the dagger in his hand. Initially, there was nothing until he felt an aura starting to generate from it. It was small and easy to miss but Percy sensed it and held on to it. Slowly and surely, the aura started to grow then until he felt the strings of the rope of connection starting to move towards him. There were quite a few of them but he only felt two or three strands attach to his being, the rest had surrounded him but didn't make any move. He tried to connect with them but whenever he did, they simply moved away. This happened for a few times until Percy gave up. He'd speak to Hestia about it later. He then used the strings attached to him to call for its powers. However, the input he got was something that he was not simply prepared for. He would've stood shocked if not for Gamer's Mind. The amount of power flowing through the weapon was far beyond what he felt from Riptide currently. Percy's body slowly started tiring and the dagger getting heavy.
"Percy do it quickly, your body won't be able to handle the dagger much longer. Medusa, get down on your knees so that it will be easy for Percy", Hestia's voice suddenly called out.
Medusa did as she was told. Percy too immediately snapped his eyes open and looked at Medusa or more specifically the place above her head. There were a cluster of strings which were connected to her and extended upwards with no end in sight. He then walked up to her and slashed at one of the strings but the blade bounced back simply. To someone else, it would look like he had hit an invisible wall which wasn't exactly far from the truth. Percy then had an idea and found the thinnest string from the cluster and started to cut it. It was slow but it was getting the job done. He stopped suddenly when he heard Medusa cry out in pain.
Hestia was beside her in a flash. She then said, "Cutting strings that tie two people together is a painful process for the one who wants it done. Don't worry Percy, keep going. You need to finish this process." Hestia's hands then glowed as she started using her powers to make Medusa feel better.
Percy too started cutting the strings as fast as he could. He went from the thinnest to the thickest. With every string he cut, the dagger glowed a little until he reached the thickest string yet which was the first one he tried. He moved to cut it only to find the dagger cut through it like a hot knife through butter. As soon as It was done, Percy willed the dagger to stop using its powers and collapsed on the ground. He was sweating profusely and tired out to another extent. He then turned to Medusa whose screams had subsided. She was drenched in sweat and tears from the excruciating pain.
"Did... did.. it work?", Medusa asked slowly.
"Give it a moment, the effect should start taking place any time now", Hestia said as she stepped away from Medusa. She then summoned some water and handed it to Percy who nodded gratefully. He gulped the whole thing down and sighed in content. He already started feeling a little better.
"It's starting", a familiar voice rang out from behind Percy.
"Lady Hecate, what are you doing here?", Percy enquired. He did not expect to see the goddess so soon.
"I felt the dagger being used since I am connected to it in a way. And of course, we have to shroud this fact from Athena lest she gets to know about this. As it turns out, this is up my alley."
"Thanks, Lady Hecate."
Hecate nodded and then snapped her fingers. Immediately a translucent barrier surrounded the four of them. She then waved her hand until the area above the barrier was shrouded in complete darkness.
"The barrier is for cancelling out any noises and above it is an illusion in case Athena feels something is amiss", Hecate explained.
Just then Medusa who had been silent, started screaming in pain. Tears fell from her eyes uncontrollably as she thrashed around, grabbing her head. Percy went to console her but Hecate held him back.
"This is the most important part of the process. The curse has been for millennia and thus became a bit powerful. It will be painful but if she can withstand it, the curse will disburse but not entirely", Hecate explained.
Percy could only nod in sadness as he saw Medusa crying in pain. Hestia was doing her best to make things easier but there was nothing that could be done about the pain.
After a few minutes, Medusa's screams died down and was replaced with whimpers. Just then, a bright light originated from her and kept increasing in intensity until it died down. When Percy looked at Medusa, he was awestruck. The reptilian hair was now silky black and reached till her waist, her dead eyes gained a light to them. The previous aged skin was now smooth and looked like that of a young adult in her early 20s rather than an old woman's. Her gown was gone and was replaced with a Greek chiton. Her figure was curvaceous with a large chest and slender waist. She practically radiated beauty.
Medusa wiped her tears and looked at the three who were regarding her.
"What happened?", she asked, completely oblivious to her new appearance.
Instead of answering, Hecate just summoned a mirror. When Medusa's eyes landed her own appearance, she was confused for a moment before she yelped in surprise and happiness. She started touching her hair and face and inspected herself thoroughly from each angle in the mirror all the while sporting a huge smile on her face. When she was satisfied, she turned to Percy and engulfed him in a tight hug.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for this Percy", Medusa said with tears of happiness flowing down her face, "No one has ever done as much as you have done for me today. I cannot ever begin to tell you how thankful and grateful I am to you. This is the best thing that has ever happened to me."
"I am glad", Percy replied happily.
"Medusa, let me warn you about something", Hecate interrupted.
Seeing that Hecate was serious, Medusa turned towards the goddesses to listen to what she had to say.
"The curse hasn't gone completely since it has been with you for hundreds of years but don't worry. There is no drawback, you can use the powers to petrify people as per your own wish and you are essentially immortal."
"Thank you Lady Hecate", Medusa replied as she bowed her head. She knew deep down that the curse would truly not go but this was also a good thing since she could defend herself if needed. She would not be at another person's mercy entirely and could live a better life from now on.
"You should thank Perseus for this, not me. Let's talk later Perseus", Hecate said before she vanished as soon as she had appeared. The barriers too disappeared now that the job was done.
"Medusa, are you fine living over here?", Hestia asked. Even though she was a familial goddess, she didn't go out of her way for everyone but since Medusa had taken a liking to her champion and vice versa, she would help out.
"Yes Lady Hestia, I am perfectly safe in this place. Thank you for your consideration", Medusa replied happily.
"Percy, let's go back to camp if you don't have anything else left to do. You still need to take care of things there, Annabeth and Grover might be worried out of their minds", Hestia said.
"Yes!", Percy exclaimed. He then turned to Medusa and said, "I will keep visiting you whenever I can!"
"You better", Medusa said as she gave her saviour one final hug. The duo then bid their farewell and vanished, leaving the place empty again.
Medusa looked at herself in the mirror as a smile graced her lips, 'I've already started liking the kid more. He has returned to me the most important thing without any ulterior motives and achieved the impossible. I might just go after him once he has grown up", she thought.
~Percy and Hestia~
Percy and Hestia reappeared in front of the Fist of Zeus. It was almost time for dinner now. Percy could hardly believe so much time had passed so quickly. He then noticed the notification that had popped up.
...
Ping!
Quest Complete!
Cure Medusa from her curse.
Rewards –
A new friend / ally.
...
Percy smiled at that and swiped the screen away. A bit of XP would've been great but since it was for a good cause, he didn't mind this.
"Percy, did you have any trouble using the dagger?", Hestia asked suddenly.
"Yes, is it normal?", Percy asked.
"For normal weapons, you don't need such an intricate process. However, since the dagger is a divine weapon, you cannot connect to it immediately. The dagger itself has to accept you before you can use it to its full potential. It might have seen something in you hence you were able to use it otherwise no one can even wield it."
Percy nodded at that. He remembered the strings that kept avoiding him. It made sense now. He hoped he would be able to use it later if the occasion called for it. He was not going to waive this dagger around and end up cutting connections between people by mistakenly. As of now, it was safely stored in his inventory. Percy then had another thought, he should start learning how to use daggers since it might come in handy in the off chance he didn't have his sword and who better than the children of the god of war? Even though their father was a textbook jerk, it did not mean his children would be the same. Correction, some of them were but once he beat them in training, most of them fell into line.
Hestia then hugged Percy and breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm so glad that you came back safe and sound Percy. I missed spending time with my champion."
"I'll always come back to you Hestia", Percy replied. The fire in his eyes was dancing with mirth and exuded a warmth that couldn't be explained; only felt. Hestia had never felt this sort of comfort before so she just basked in it and enjoyed this feeling.
"Go back to camp now Percy, your friends and Chiron would be waiting for you", Hestia said as she reluctantly disengaged from the hug.
"I'll see you tomorrow!", Percy exclaimed as he ran back to camp.
Hestia was a bit sad to see him go but he was back and she would get to meet him tomorrow. With that happy thought in mind, she vanished with a burst of flames.
~Camp~
Dinner was being served by the time the son of Poseidon entered camp proper. The pavilion was crowded with the usual hustle bustle and chatter going on all around the place. As soon as Percy entered the pavilion, a hush fell all over the place. Everyone stared at Percy and suddenly hushed conversations started breaking out all around him. Percy didn't really mind since he was used to it. He quickly walked to his table where he was served dinner. He proceeded to the hearth for the customary ritual. The first offering went to Hestia, followed by Poseidon and finally Hecate. He was extremely grateful to all three of them for being there for him especially Hestia and Hecate. Just as he was done, he noticed Chiron walk up to him along with Annabeth and Grover.
"Hey", Percy said with a smile.
"And he says hey. Is that all seaweed brain?! Do you have any idea how worried all of us were? Where the Hades were you? Imagine our surprise when we land at camp only to find out that a goddess has kidnapped you. Chiron won't give me any answers and wouldn't allow us to leave. Just.. just who do you think you are?", Annabeth yelled whilst stuttering a little at the end. Percy knew that voice very well when someone was about to break down. He was at that place with Gabe after all when he tried to be strong in front of his mom.
So Percy did what he would've needed the most in such a situation. He simply hugged her and sent waves of hope and warmth using his new found powers. He was still rusty but it did get the job done for now.
...
Skill activated!
Makarios tis Elpis
...
Annabeth was surprised initially but she ended up hugging Percy back and sighed in content. The familiar smell of the ocean and the warmth he exuded calmed her nerves. What Percy said next sent her over the cliff though.
"I won't leave you alone wise girl. I'll always have your back."
Even though his words were nothing but sincere, Annabeth's heart leapt out of her body and she started blushing madly. Thankfully, she was still in his embrace otherwise she'd have to take some drastic measures to make everyone forget about this.
"Don't ever do that again", she whispered. Percy didn't say anything but she felt him smile in response which answered her question. Only after this happened did she realise that the entire camp was silent and staring at the two of them.
That was until Connor had to open his mouth, "Yeah Annabeth, way to go! Going after one of the biggest taboos in the Greek world! A son of Poseidon and a daughter of Athena!"
Immediately the atmosphere changed to that of laughter and happiness. A few Athenian kids had taken up a personal mission to beat the daylights out of Connor for the comment. Even though they had started respecting Percy a bit, they still had an image to uphold.
Things returned to normal after that, no one asked Percy about his disappearance and even Annabeth was content for now though that didn't stop her from threatening him to spill the beans the next day at the head councillor's meeting.
Once dinner was over, Percy quietly slipped from sight and walked back towards the Fist of Zeus in the woods. It was possibly his favourite spot by now since he and Hestia had spent quite a bit of time there training, talking or just sitting together.
Just as he entered the woods, Percy felt something was off. It wasn't something bad but the forest seemed different than how they were when he was with Hestia before. Somehow, it felt as though the forest had come alive now. Percy closed his eyes and truly felt his surroundings. The sounds seemed to be coming from a particular direction. This piqued Percy's curiosity so he headed towards the source.
Percy eventually reached a part of the forest and the sight made his breath hitch. A figure clad in dark clothes was sitting in the middle of a clearing surrounded by various animals. It held a doe in its arms as it petted it. The figure's features weren't visible due to its clothes. Meanwhile, the moonlight shone brightly as though it was specially concentrated at that area. It was truly a peaceful sight but there seemed to be a sense of melancholy in the air. Upon closer inspection, Percy could see that the animals were sitting in a protective circle around the figure whilst their off-spring cuddled against the figure. Percy wanted to know who it was but it felt it would be wrong to encroach upon such a place.
Percy stood for a moment before he turned around and walked off towards his original destination. Once again, as he walked, his path was cut off by another figure clad in darkness. It wasn't the previous one since something felt off about this one.
"Perseus", the figure said.
Percy's eyes widened in realisation and his eyes burst into flames but Gamer's Mind clamped down the anger immediately.
"You", Percy growled with venom seething in his words.
The figure took off its hood to reveal the head of the skeleton Percy had encountered in the Underworld.
"Yes Perseus, it's me. How was that little quest of yours? I heard you were able to return the bolt. It makes me so proud and happy to know how capable you are though you still have to grow stronger. This won't work at all."
"Your happiness doesn't mean anything to me. Why are you here? Was the Underworld not enough for you?"
"To congratulate you of course. I want to make you grow stronger. My offer still stands you know?"
"Never. I will never join you", Percy growled.
"Tsk. Such a shame. Want to see how weak you really are?", just as the skeleton asked that, it leapt at Percy as a sword materialised in its hands.
Percy was able to keep calm thanks to Gamer's Mind and rolled out of the way. He pulled out Anaklusmos from his inventory and charged at the skeleton.
...
Skill Activated!
Battle Strategy (Level 4 – 12%)
...
They exchanged some blows with Percy giving it his all whilst the skeleton hardly broke a sweat.
"Is this how you are going to make your moves son of Poseidon?", it mocked.
"Shut up", Percy growled.
He summoned water from the nearest source of water and dumped a little of it on top of him, turned the rest into spears and hurled them at the skeleton. He also activated Mage Armor just in case.
...
Skill Activated!
Mage Armor
HP : 850 + 250 = 1,100
..
Ping!
Son of the Sea god perk activated!
HP : 1,100 + 2,000 = 3,100
MP : 950 + 2,000 = 2,950
STR : 23 + 2 + 20 = 45
VIT : 18 + 20 = 38
DEX : 18 + 2 + 20 = 40
..
Ping!
Water Spears : 10
MP used : 49 x 10 = 490
MP : 2,950 – 490 = 2,460
...
The skeleton just deflected the oncoming spears with pinpoint accuracy and spectacular form.
Damage : 0
Percy gritted his teeth in annoyance. He could not find any openings nor did any of his attacks seem to work.
"What happened Perseus? Giving up already?", it mocked. Unbeknownst to Percy, the skeleton had actually cast a strong spell that amplified the emotions of the target by a hundred fold at the start of the fight and erected a barrier to delay the figure that had heard the commotion. This also affected the Gaming System since it was not programmed to deal with such a high influx of emotions. Even though Gamer's Mind was working overtime to calm down Percy, it was a losing battle.
Percy didn't reply and kept attacking. His swordplay got sluggish until he overstepped a thrust which the skeleton conveniently used to stab Percy. It wasn't a fatal blow but it hurt nonetheless.
HP : 3,100 – 3,000 = 100
Percy cried out in pain. He glanced at the box and looked at it in fear. One strike and he had practically lost all of his health! Just who was this person?
"Perhaps I was wrong about you. Perhaps you don't have what it takes. Why don't I take away something precious from you so that you fall into the bliss of revenge Perseus huh? That should provide enough motivation for you to get stronger in order to kill me. Yes, that is it", the skeleton said as it started laughing maniacally.
At that, Percy finally snapped and let out a howl of anger. His eyes turned into pits of flames which blazed like an inferno and a familiar sea-green aura surrounded him.
"DON'T YOU DARE", Percy screamed as he leapt at the skeleton again despite bleeding. The water he had dumped over himself had started healing him little by little but the quantity wasn't enough to close the wound.
This made the skeleton laugh even harder, "Yes, yes son of Poseidon, show me that anger. Show me that power and aura lying dormant within you. Use it. Use it to defeat me. Show me that vow that you had taken when we met in the Underworld."
Percy's attacks had started becoming more ferocious and his speed faster. The entire area's temperature had risen significantly. Even Anaklusmos had caught fire and looked like a beautiful blade of death as it cut through the air at breakneck speeds.
However, all of this was for naught since the skeleton was able to keep on defending until it suddenly broke away from Percy.
"Oops, looks like my time here is up. I wish we could have more fun but alas, I do hope to meet you soon Perseus", it said with honesty before it vanished from sight.
As soon as it disappeared, Percy yelled in frustration and anger and stomped his foot on the ground, causing it to shake.
...
Ping!
Inherited skill unlocked!
Earth Shaker (Level 1: Magnitude 1)
As the son of the Earth Shaker, you have the ability to cause large scale earthquakes. Magnitude depends on the power used.
...
Percy paid no heed to it and dismissed it. Just then he started feeling heavy as the adrenaline coursing through his body left him. He was down on his knees by now and the last thing he heard was glass shattering and two people running up to him before his vision turned dark.
~Dreamscape~
Percy found himself in the familiar void filled with stars. He was still amazed by the view no matter how many times he saw this space. He instinctively looked over his body to check for the stab wound but found none, even the pain was gone.
"Welcome back, demigod", the sweet voice rang out once more from all around Percy, "I congratulate you for finishing the quest, quite nicely done as well."
"Why can't people stop congratulating me about it? I just returned that dumb bolt to Zeus which I got by luck. I don't think I would've found it otherwise", Percy replied while sighing. This was seriously getting on his nerves now.
The voice laughed a little at that, "Many would be singing this tale from the top of palaces but not you. You are an interesting one son of Poseidon. Now, how about a second dive to the past? It's been a while and you still need to learn."
"Do I have any choice?"
"Not really, no. Well, have fun!", the voice said before Percy felt himself falling once again.
'Give me a break', was all that Percy thought before he was blinded by the light yet again.
~Woods near Camp Half Blood~
Hestia was holding an unconscious Percy with his head on her lap and body on the forest floor. She was lightly dripping some nectar in his mouth from time to time whilst feeding warmth and hope into his very being. The wound had almost healed now but a scar would be left behind which saddened Hestia. Only if she was there earlier.
Due to their connection as patron and champion, she had felt a sudden spike in Percy's emotions and knew when he got wounded too. That's when she teleported to his location only to find out that she could not go near him due to a barrier being erected around him. It would've taken her a longer time if she did not have help from the figure Percy saw in the forest.
Hestia was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her niece speak.
"Aunt Hestia, mind explaining why a son of Poseidon has eyes of fire like yours, is able to wield fire and has your symbol tattooed on his arm (Ch 7)?", a female draped in dark clothes asked as her silver eyes narrowed in suspicion.
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Percy's Stats
Perseus Jackson
Species : Demigod
(gives +2 STR and +2 DEX)
Title : Son of Poseidon
Perseus is the son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson. Blessed by Elpis, the spirit of hope, he has a natural affinity with water due to his heritage which grants him control over water, horses, storms and earthquakes. He is also Hestia's champion which grants him control over fire and lets him summon meals.
...
Level - 16
Exp – 737 / 6,141
...
HP : 850 / 850 (+ 2,000)
MP : 950 / 950 (+ 2,000)
...
STR : 23 (+ 2 + 20) (Bonus : Weapon damage - Damage + STR | Unarmed damage - STR * 2)
VIT : 18 (+ 20) (Bonus : 50 HP per 10 levels)
DEX : 18 (+2 + 20) (Bonus : +10% HP regenerated / min)
INT : 22 (Bonus : 50 MP per 10 levels)
WIS : 18 (Bonus : +10% MP regenerated / min)
LUC : 26 (Bonus : +14% chance of better loot)
Points : 20
Money : $27,200 / D520
...
Status : Demigod
...
Skills
...
Combat :
Sword Fighting (Level 17)
...
Inherited :
Ancient Greek (Max)
Tongue of the Old Times (Max)
Modern English (Level 25)
Swimming (Level 7 - 9 km/hr)
Breathe Underwater (Max)
Akachan Shiru no Me (Max)
Running (Level 7 - 34 km / hr)
Storms (Level 3)
Earth Shaker (Level 1)
...
General :
Observe (Level 4)
Sneaking (Level 6)
Critical Strike (Level 5)
Taunt (Level 1)
Mark of the Furies (Level 8)
Mage Armor (Level 5)
Summon Meals (Max)
Makarios tis Elpis (Level 2)
Battle Strategy (Level 5)
...
Chores :
Cleaning Dishes (Max)
...
Passive :
Gamer's Mind (Max)
Son of the Sea God (Gives +20 STR, VIT & DEX as well as +2000 HP and +2000 MP when in water)
Battle Instincts (Max)
...
Abilities :
Water Control (Level 17)
Water Spikes (Level 4)
Blood Control (Level 1)
Water Spear (Level 3)
Dimension Create (Max)
Ice Control (Level 4)
Steam Control (Level 3)
Fire Control (Level 8)
