Chapter 9: The Broken Dove

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson

Discord channels You can find me at 

Emerald Library: Is so big you can Google it

Writer's Block: wttJDs62Dy

LAST TIME:

"It's been a minute hasn't it Pipes… I like your horns. They look beautiful on you." He said with a nervous smile and a light compliment as I finally reached my peak, in an instant my mana flared causing the whole area around us to crack and break under its pressure. 

Seeing my outburst he seemed a bit surprised and only backed up a few steps as he bore the brunt of my mana as it grew in pressure. The building beneath our feet began to disintegrate from the sheer amount of it as my emotions went wild. While gritting my teeth together I couldn't help but shoot the stunned man a glare that would kill lesser beings, a red sword then appeared in my hand and began to fiercely glow as I prepared myself to fight this THING in front of me.

"How DARE you use Percy's face! Was last time not a good enough lesson for whoever the fuck you are? I will make sure your soul burns for eternity! I will FUCKING KILL YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO CONTINUES TO PLAY THIS STUPID FUCKING GAME!" 

NOW:

THIRD PERSON POV:

"Hmm?" A figure questioned as she lifted her head from the thick tome in front of her, a strange feeling wafted over her body as goosebumps covered her in an instant. After a moment her eyes gave a questioning look, trying to figure out what just happened. After several long minutes, she didn't seem to find an answer for herself before standing up from her spot while giving a soft stretch. She then turned away from the small reading/sleep area that had hundreds of thousands of books in stacks surrounding it along with dozens of floating tomes around her main reading spot.

Without sparing the ancient and thick tomes another glance, she kicked off the ground and began to gently float upwards as gravity released her. Her destination in mind was somewhere far above her in the seemingly infinitely tall library where billions if not trillions of bookshelves resided. They were all various sizes, shapes, and materials, each holding books of all colors, shapes, sizes, and materials. All of them were in different positions while quietly floating, some floated upside, sideways, and oblique. 

Though it seemed chaotic not a single bookshelf collided with one another as they moved about silently. The woman continued to float upward with a singular destination in mind, her figure somehow appearing higher and higher upwards. The space around the shelves acted like a wormhole, one wrong movement and she would be moved who knew where. Yet she seemed extremely familiar with the space around them as she easily made her way through the library.

 After several more teleportations, she finally managed to find the bookcase she had been looking for. The bookcase itself was as tall as a mountain and reached so far up that one could not see the top. Each shelf was nearly 20 feet tall if not large and the books were equally large while bound in forearm-thick chains. Once she was there she began to diligently search the shelf before finding several gigantic books as her eyes glistened.

"I would like to check out a few books Belial." She spoke softly after scanning the massive books with rock-like exteriors. The library seemed to send out an invisible pulse before a figure appeared not too far away. A male figure clad in dignified and elegant silver armor with golden trim and a colorful fabric stole appeared. The figure turned to the books she pointed out as they released a small sigh.

"I am sorry I cannot allow you to check out a book of this Tier, please either raise your Tier to 4 or take the test to prove your soul can withstand such knowledge. I do not want a repeat of what happened last time. " His voice reverberated inside his helmet as the woman frowned, clearly not pleased at his words.

"When may I retake the test?" She asked as Belial seemed to think for a moment.

"Next month you may try again, before then continue to absorb the information from the books you already have." He said as the woman furrowed her eyebrows before giving a reluctant sigh, glancing at the books one more time started to float back down towards her 'book nest'. Watching her descend for a bit, Belial stayed put before looking at the books she wanted.

"Understanding the intricacies of polar bonds of fated souls across time and space, Can souls keep records of past lives, do soulmates exist 'Volume 1', and is Deja Vu related to the soul or records? It seems that she has something on her mind, " He spoke to himself as he ran a hand over his helmet's chin for a few moments

"Should I speak with her about it? Hmmm… I think I will wait until her test is over. The last time I got to curious she didn't speak to me for a week. Haa, who knew taking in an orphaned child would be so troublesome? Maybe I should read some more parenting guides? No that wouldn't work, she has always been an… awkward girl. Regardless she still hasn't returned those books I told her to, what a disobedient child." He continued to speak with himself before leaving the massive bookshelf alone.

Elsewhere the the woman had already returned to her little 'book nest' as she sat back down and focused on the books before her. Several floating tomes gathered in front of her as her mana moved and her eyes began to glow a delicate gray. At the same time, the books surrounding her began to gently turn their pages as symbols and letters began to flow out of them and merge into her head. 

As this happened 3 more small pairs of eyes slowly opened and revealed themselves as they decorated her face perfectly. As this happened more and more magical letters from more books started to merge into her head as knowledge was poured into her mind. Yet even as she continuously absorbed knowledge from 8 books at a time her face showed a different expression one of… longing.

LINEBREAK:

"PIPER WAIT!" Percy yelled, yet Piper didn't listen to a word he said, her eyes flared with incredible hatred as her mana spiked. In a split second, the world around the two crumbled apart as their mana level skyrocketed. Percy defended himself against Piper's mana as the two massive waves of mana clashed in a mix of blue and magenta. They were like fire and gasoline colliding with one another the two manas caused even more destruction as explosions started to happen around them.

Percy's eyes widened as Piper didn't seem to care a single bit that their mana was igniting the very air causing huge explosions, devastating the land around them and evaporating everything it touched. He could only continue to defend himself as he tried to figure out what was exactly going on. Seeing just how angry Piper was Percy couldn't help but feel his heart clench in anger, what things had happened to her after he died? What exactly happened to have her react in such a way?

Percy, unfortunately, didn't have time to think as he and Piper were forced to abandon their foothold as Piper began to pour even more mana into her blade. Percy didn't want to fight her yet… she was not leaving him any choice. The city around them turned into a sandcastle against their power and fell apart, Asuras left and right didn't even have time to blink as they were vaporized as Piper swung her sword.

*BOOOOOMMM!!!!!*

This red world seemed to turn magenta in a split second as a quarter of the city was covered in a tsunami of mana that vaporized and destroyed everything in its path. Full city blocks, seemingly indestructible buildings, and even Tier 4 Asura were nothing in the face of her blade strike. Percy moved as fast as he seemed to teleport out of the way of the strike with wide eyes, his eyes only focused on Piper as her purple scarlet eyes burned even fiercer.

"DIE!" She screamed as once again more mana was poured into her sword as Percy began a deadly dance with Piper. Each of her strikes was closer than the last and Percy began to feel that sour feeling inside his heart turn into anger, beneath his helmet he even began to grit his teeth. At this moment his mana began to build and an incredibly sharp sword appeared in his hand. 

"It seems like you aren't giving me much of a choice Pipes," Percy said to her as Piper only seemed to grow angrier at his words. At that moment she took in a huge breath as Percy instantly recognized the mana pooling her chest. Before she released hers he did the very same thing as he prepared his very own voice attack.

*KKKKKKUUUUWWWWWAAAAHHHHHH!* 

*AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!*

At that moment two incredibly loud War Cries were the only thing the people in the city below could hear. One is like the bellow of a giant while the other sounds like a banshee from hell. The Asuras bellow were instantly deafened and their very souls shook from the incredible pressure of the shouts. Every single being below Tier 2 was instantly killed by the shouts as brains were scrambled and their souls dissipated.

The very sky then seemed to creak from the incredibly powerful shouts, yet their actions were not done yet. Waves made of incredibly dense mana were launched from Piper and Percy at each other with their shouts and in a single moment, the sky erupted with a bright light as they collided. 

*HHHHHHHHHMMMMMMM!"

In a surprising turn of events, both shouts completely canceled each other out as the light from the impact quickly dissipated. Even without an explosion from them impacting the sky was warped and statically charged as lighting jumped around from seperated points in it. Piper and Percy simply stared at one another through the electrical storm between them. Piper continued to glare at Percy with a look of pure hatred as she readied her blade once again as dense mana circled it.

"Skill name… Widows Cry… inflicts fear, paralysis, mental pollution, etc. Can't say the name leaves a good impression." Percy said with a deep sigh as his eyes looked over the notification screen in front of him. 

*Scoff!*

"Like yours is any better you fake! Who the fuck names a shout Scream of Madness? Percy would never get a skill like that!" Piper suddenly yelled in an angry voice while charging up more mana in her blade, Percy stared at her angry face for a bit longer before a chuckle suddenly left his lips. In a single moment, Piper's face showed a terrifying sneer as towards his chuckle.

"I'm sorry Pipes, it's just surprising to see you this angry at me again. Reminds me of the time when we fought against Bacab from the Mayan gods in the Pantheon War. The others were retreating and we needed someone to take up the rearguard, how many bones did I break again? I think it was 23." Percy said in a voice full of longing, Piper's body shuddered as her mana intensified yet again. At this point, a huge 40-foot mana blade had formed in her hand as she began to move.

"SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH! YOU ARE JUST LIKE THE REST OF THOSE IMPOSTERS! SPOUTING THINGS YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT!" She screamed as her anger had reached a new level, yet Percy was able to detect a small fluctuation in her voice. Hearing that simple fluctuation was enough for him. In a split second Percy readied his blade and charged towards Piper.

Each of them appeared like streams of light in the sky as blue and magenta intertwined and created a path of colors in the sky. Piper's long mana blade was swung just like any other blade but the length of it only added to its ferocity as the 15+ tall god-like beings clashed in the sky. With each clash of their blades, an explosion of light filled the sky and the charged space around them continued to grow. Bolts of electricity even began to rain down on the city destroying what Piper's magenta flames hadn't found yet.

The Asura below could do nothing but fall victim to the aftereffects of their clashes, almost half of the city was gone at this point as Tier 4 Asura tried to evacuate everyone they could. Yet before they could get far another explosion erupted far above the city and from it, a spiral of magenta and blue lights fell. Percy and Piper were entangled in a clash of blades. Separating after but a moment both streams of light parted ways and moved far away from one another before circling back.

Mana began to gather around them both as their speed started to drastically increase as several sonic booms ruptured the sky. As they did their mana began to change form and shape as huge creatures were born. On Piper's side, a massive white feathered phoenix with magenta undertones was formed from her mana. With several devil horns coming from its head and eyes like infernoes it appeared completely lifelike. The moment it was completed it let out a cry that shuddered and warped space even more as its speed increased even more.

The other was a huge dragon-like serpent with blue scales that slowly transitioned to black the closer they got to its head. With pitch-black scales covering the entire head, it had a crown of horns decorating its head and a massive rainbow Omega that glimmered with several dozen colors. Like the phoenix, it let out a bellow that shuddered space even more than the city bellow was beginning to warp and break. 

Then… they collided.

There was nothing and then there was everything.

Darkness then light.

Complete silence then deafening noise.

The sky lit up with an explosion so large it was like a multicolored sun had been summoned above this world it continued to burn and expand. Space was ripped apart in its path of expansion. Yet as the explosion expanded in the sky it grew even larger than the capital city below and nearly started to envelop it only for the explosion to suddenly come to an abrupt halt. Every being below that was ready to be consumed by the hellfires watched in awe as the swirling flames began to spiral inward.

Then the sound of suction would be heard as the massive ball of flame and mana was pulled back into a singular point in space where a crack had formed. In a matter of but a few seconds nearly half the giant sun was swallowed by the crack in space when two streams of light fell from the burning flames. Both figures plummeted towards the ground as the rest of the flaming sun was sucked into the crack in space before it slowly mended itself.

"Magnificent! Your blade skills have improved so much that I'm almost jealous! You used to struggle so much when we fought head-on with each other, haha!" Percy cheered Piper on through his heavily damaged armor as the demoness only grew angrier with his words. More memories of Percy sprouted up in her mind with each second, yet all she could do was force them aside as she gritted her teeth together. Her mind was a storm of feelings as she pushed Percy down even faster. 

Even though she used nearly every ounce of her swordplay and even so much mana it rivaled a normal Tier 6 attack it wasn't enough to break through his defense. He matched each of her attacks with one of his own of the same level, worse yet it seemed completely intentional on his part. She could feel that he was holding back and it pissed her off to no end, even their last class was perfectly even and had activated a defense mechanism of the soul realm which led to their attack being absorbed.

'This fake is too much! How dare they use Percy's voice to say such words! So what if I've gotten better? None of this matters!' So many emotions clouded Piper's mind it only ever made her angrier as she increased her speed. Seeing the ground quickly approaching Piper suddenly had a thought as a smirk was brought to her lips, in a single moment Piper leaned closer to Percy even as their blades continued to shower them with sparks.

"I tried my best, just for you Percy." Words that muted every other noise reverberated in Percy's ears as his mind blanked. It was the same tone Piper would use when she was alone with himself and Annabeth. Hearing that tone again was so much that all of Percy's mental defenses lapsed for a mere second and that was all Piper needed.

"Relax from me, Percy." Words laced with mana came from Piper's soft lips in that split second as Percy's body did just as she told him. Her charmspeak used that tiny gap in his mind to penetrate his mind and control him for that single moment. His body relaxed as if he had just taken a dip into a hot spring, every muscle lost tension and his blade was nearly pushed from his hands. Piper revealed a sinister grin as her mana reached a critical point, just in time for her to slam Percy into the ground.

*BBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!*

Mana and inertia combined to create the largest explosion this city had ever been hit by, like a tsunami of pure energy that spread across the city. Everything in its path was destroyed, even Tier 4 Asura who tried to block the energy wave with barriers they were turned to ash moments later. The entire city was covered with a dome of pure energy that destroyed everything in its path, moments later the energy began to disperse as it formed a huge mushroom cloud of smoke and flame.

The enormous cloud could be seen from thousands of miles away. The debris then began to fall back down to the ground into the very middle of the crater where the city used to be. Piper gasped for air while staggering a bit inside the massive molten crater. Her sword was completely shattered now, only a hilt was left in her hand a it slowly dissolved into particles of mana. Her armor on the other hand was nearly completely gone, thankfully part of it remained to keep her decency.

She seemed completely fine otherwise, even while standing ankle-deep in molten rock, and several large lacerations covered her body. She took several deep breaths while focusing her gaze on a single point, she had hit the fake with so much force that any normal Tier 5 being would be greatly injured. Yet in a certain area of the molten crater, bubbles could be seen as something stirred inside the molten rock, ever so slowly it moved as a figure stood up from inside the magma.

"Never thought you would use such dirty tricks like that against me Pipes, ouch ouch ouch. Reminds me of when you would charmspeak me into giving you my desert." Percy said with a small groan as his figure brushed off the red-hot magma from his seared chest. His upper armor was completely broken, parts of it that were still on him were melting as he simply grabbed the chunks of hardened mana armor and threw them into the magma. Eventually, Percy was left standing only a dozen feet from Piper with nothing but a half-melted pair of armored pants.

 His body was battered and bruised in several locations and trickles of blood could be seen running down his body from large gashes. Percy on the other hand didn't seem to mind all that much as he rolled one of his shoulders, popping it back into place, then wiping a bit of blood from his brow. After a bit of self-analyzing, Percy turned his eyes towards Piper as she stared at him. 

"Did any of those fakes ever survive an attack on that level before?" He couldn't help but ask with a curious look on his face as Piper's expression turned sour. This fake was going to be a pain in the ass to fight if he could shrug off blows as powerful as their last two. It wasn't almost worth it to fight him anymore, a simple waste of energy.

"No… they didn't. Who are you? Why are you doing this?" Piper asked as Percy gave a soft laugh that almost sounded like a chuckle.

"I am Perseus Jackson but of course, son of Poseidon and Percy Jackson. I have several dozen other titles but they don't hold a candle to my favorites. Husband to Piper Mclean Jackson and Annabeth Chase Jackson, those two are by far more important than anything like a savior of Olympus." He said with a confident smile, Piper's sour look turned into a glare as Percy then revealed a soft smile and continued.

"Why am I doing this though? Well, that should be pretty obvious if you ask me. I'm here on a mission to meet my wife again." Percy continued as Piper gritted her teeth as her body trembled, out of all the fakes he was… the most similar to the real one. 

The others always tried to convince her in so many ways it made her sick to her stomach with boiling anger, so much so that she went on a rampage and killed nearly a dozen fakes be it immortals or gods themselves. After she died and reincarnated she thought she would be free from this and be able to possibly move on, yet it seemed impossible now. Millennium old wounds were reopened and it hurt… it hurt so much.

"Pipes?" A voice cut into her thoughts as she blinked in surprise to find the fake before her giving her a questioning look. A delicate hint of concern and worry was in his eyes as Piper felt an ache in her heart yet again. Before she could even yell at him he started to walk her way Piper instantly held up her hand as mana pooled inside her.

"HALT!" Charmspeak-laced words fell from her mouth as Percy was hit nearly point blank, after being frozen under her words for but a few seconds Percy's face scrunched up a bit before his body jolted as an invisible force controlling his mind broke. Seeing him so easily breaking free of her words Piper's eyes widened as he continued to move her way.

"Pipes it's me I swear on the Styx- wait that isn't a thing anymore. What can I do to-."

"FREEZE!"

".... Come on you just let me talk at least talk here. I swear it's me, what do I need to tell you to convince you-."

"STAY STILL!"

"... Piper quit messing-."

"DON'T MOVE!"

".... Piper what would Annie think if you were behaving like this?"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY HER NAME! S-STOP MOVING ANY CLOSER!"

".. Piper… please." Percy's words were so genuine and filled with emotion that it made Piper's heart feel like it was going to break apart. The invisible wounds only continued to grow as she fought off tears in her eyes. Her lips trembled as she tried to shout at him again but she was too late, a hand reached forward and grasped her extended hand. In a split second calming blue mana invaded her body and her mana was forced to retreat to her core as she was rendered nearly powerless in a moment. 

"Let go of me you fake," Piper managed to say in a trembling voice as her body suddenly trembled uncontrollably as she tried to pull away. Her chest began to tighten while her heart rate accelerated as she felt his grip tighten and more of her strength left her. Then came the nausea and gut-wrenching anxiety as she couldn't help but hyperventilate a little.

'P-Please no.' Piper begged herself inside her mind as a panic attack tore through her body and her mind fell apart. Yet as the panic attack was getting worse and Piper began to continually yank her hand from Percy the blue mana inside her began to move. In a few seconds, Piper felt a calming feeling wrap around her boy in such a familiar way she couldn't help but tremble as her heart rate slowed down

After a bit, the blue mana slowly exited her body as her eyes opened and in turn, met with a powerful set of sea-green eyes. They were like the deep sea with a hint of light piercing through, a color she had long forgotten existed. Certain memories silently filled her mind before she forced herself to close he eyes, the grip on her hand then loosed before letting go as she quickly pulled back her hand and took a few steps backward. A moment later her mana began to stream from her core as she felt a new wave of relief that helped with the remnant of her panic attack.

"I didn't mean to trigger a panic attack, I apologize. I should have known better." Percy suddenly apologized making Piper fall still for a moment as her eyes reopened and stared at him. His face was full of worry as he seemed ready to reach out again, yet he was forcing himself to hold back as she put her thoughts together. Part of her wanted to fly away from him yet another part of her to stay, her mind was so full of emotions and thoughts she didn't know what to do.

"If it is alright with you, can I ask a question? What happened after I died?" He suddenly asked her in a voice that carried a tone of worry with it. Hearing the question she couldn't help but bite her lip as she finally decided what to do, she was going to see the end of this. She wasn't going to run away from it, calming her mind a bit she finally spoke.

"A lot… A lot happened after Percy died." She said in a small voice as she watched his reaction as Percy gently nodded.

"Did anything happen to you and Annabeth?" He asked her with worry in his voice as Piper scoffed at him.

"Of course! Many things happened to us! You should know them well you fake! Zeus and the other traitors nearly turned what was left of Olympus against our legions. Thankfully the gods had enough sense to stop him after another brutal war, not to mention you fools nearly brought Nyx to the surface! You fucking idiots!" She couldn't help but go off on him as she poorly controlled her emotions she caught her breath before speaking again

"Me and Annabeth were fine though, though you fakes never stopped paying us visits." She said as if she had something disgusting in her mouth.

"I can't believe they did such a thing, I was so worried after I died. When I was in Tartarus I never got any updates or saw anyone or heard from anyone who knew anything. It also seems… they used a pretty fucked up trick to get to you two. I will make sure they pay, I swear on my soul. But I'm glad to hear you put that shit-eating sparky prostitute in the fucking ground." Percy said as Piper felt his anger from a few feet away, his eyes even darkened as the space around him shuddered. 

After listening to Piper he could already guess several of the things the traitors did to them, the panic attack that Piper just had was proof of it. Unfortunately, Annabeth, Piper, and himself were no strangers to such things, to say the least, they always helped each other through them. Still if whoever they are were reincarnated he was going to make sure they wished they were never reborn. After experiencing his Festival of Madness he was sure he had plenty of ways to do such a thing.

As Percy decided the best form of torture for such people Piper on the other hand was giving Percy a peculiar look. After listening to him talk so casually about being in Tartarus and feeling the anger radiated off of him as he spoke about the fakes. She couldn't help but… worry for him, part of her mind wanted to comfort him but she managed to catch her tongue. Taking a moment to set her mind straight she still couldn't help but worry.

"W-What do you mean Tartarus?" She asked but as the words escaped her mouth Piper inwardly berated herself for even asking. She still wasn't sure who this man even was, he may have been wearing Percy's face but that didn't matter. Part of her mind reminded her that he had helped her with her recent panic attack, the least she could do was show a bit of concern.

"Well that… it's a long story. I wouldn't want to bore you with it. Unless you over trying to fight me that is." Percy said with a chuckle as he casually brushed off such a large topic… just like her Percy used to.

"... As far as I can tell we could fight for the remaining quest time and neither of us would be able to truly injure the other. It's pointless to continue, our time is better spent hunting down Asura for this reward." Piper said in a flat tone as she carefully hid her feelings, in all honesty, if she continued to fight this man nothing good would come of it. She could also tell he didn't want to harm her, their fight earlier was proof of that. He had more than a dozen opportunities to injure her gravely.

"I see… well if you are going to continue hunting Asura may I join you?" Percy asked with a brilliant smile as Piper felt her heart skip a beat, a blush nearly made its way to her cheek as well. That fucking smile! She quickly turned her back toward him and walked away a few steps before stopping as the magma sloshed around her. She forced her heart to calm down as she took a breath, not that it made a difference since she was a soul.

"Are you just going to follow me even if I say no?" She asked him while peeking at him only to find him chuckling. He even rubbed his head in the same way Percy used to when he was caught red-handed while doing something.

"Haha, you got me. I am not sure what is coming out way after we made this massive ruckus, there could be a few Tier 5 Asura running around so I want to make sure you are safe." Percy admitted with a smile, at this point, he wasn't sure how to convince Piper he was truly himself. As long as he could stay by her side and slowly convince her, he hoped that would be enough. 

"Hmm… Fine, do as you wish. You can be my little guard dog for now." She said in a natural tone as if she had spoken it a hundred times before. She then gently flew up into the air as Percy felt his eyebrow twitch a little. It seemed Piper had also changed after her rebirth, or maybe it was after he died. He wasn't sure but this change… he didn't seem to mind it.

*Cough*

"Excuse me but this is my quest. I shared it with you, remember?" Percy said in a funny voice after quickly following behind. As he did his armor quickly mended itself back together, and after a few moments, it was as good as new. Joining Piper in the sky he noticed she did the same thing as her red leather armor was newly formed.

"Right right… whatever you say Mr. Fakey." Piper said to herself, but it was loud enough for Percy to hear as he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Please that is my father's name. I am Fakey Jr." He couldn't help but reply with a fake scoff at the end as Piper slowed down in the air before turning his way.

"How about we play the shut up and be quiet game."

"Afraid I don't know that one Mrs. Jackson."

"..."

"W-Wait don't fly away! I was joking! Don't speed up! At least keep talking with me Pipes!"

"....."

"Come on it's been 10 minutes… I can just keep talking you know. Remember our trip across England for Beth's birthday? I was the one who had to deal with all her joyful yammering about buildings and hold a conversation while you fake-napped on the train! That's right! I knew!"

"..."

"That not doing it for you? Well, then how about that time you wanted a band t-shirt from a radio station so badly that you used a cellphone to call for 2 whole weeks straight to win it? All of us were so exhausted from fending off monsters that we didn't leave the house for a week. The most embarrassing thing about that was the fact they sent you the wrong size in the end!"

"Okay, I get it! Geez! By the way, you're not that impressive. The other fakes also did the same thing with stories." She said with an angry huff before looking away from Percy.

"Oh? Is that so? Well, they shouldn't know everything that happened to us." Percy said as Piper simply snorted.

"You would be surprised… those fakes seemed to know everything. Annabeth and I nearly lost our lives to one because of that, so give up while you can fake. I know all your schemes." She said with a snort of anger as Percy gave a soft sigh.

"Nah, I don't think I will. So is your favorite food still crab rangoons?"

*Sighhhhhh*

LINEBREAK: 1 hour until the quest ends

"This makes city number… 40?" Percy questioned as Piper glanced his way before waving her hand as the magenta flames consuming the Asura city started to dissipate. Ash from the hundreds of thousands of Asura was all that remained, it was a city of empty buildings now.

"F- Fuck you." A gargling gasp was heard as Percy glanced at the Tier 5 Asura who was currently struggling on the ground as multiple silver spears and swords kept him pinned to the ground. 

Around him were dozens of dead Tier 5 Asura either pinned to the ground with weapons, burned to a crisp, missing their heads, or just about everything else. After Piper and Percy destroyed their 30th city these Asuras just kept coming and coming, honestly, Piper and Percy were exhausted from dealing with so many. Thankfully it seemed the surrounding area had run out of Tier 5 beings to send their way. This was the very last survivor of the nearly hundred that came their way, he simply continued to struggle as his blood ran like a river beneath him.

"This makes 42, you took out 3 cites with your Apoloclypse skill. Remember? Also, why is he still alive?" Piper said pointing a finger at the Asura Percy nodded in realization before glancing at his captive again.

"Information… I think?"

"You forgot to kill him after you started staring at me didn't you?"

*Cough! Cough!*

"L- Listen I was totally… wait why am I lying? Yeah, I was staring!" Percy murmured before straightening his back and pointing at Piper as she rolled her eyes at his antics, "My beautiful wife's figure entranced me as she fought what about it? Gotta say the whole demoness side you have is pretty hot. You mentioned your race was a Succubus now right?"

"I am not your wife or just some lowly Succubus you idiot! I am an Arch-Fiend Blood Succubus! One of the most powerful bloodlines of any Succubi!" Piper chastised Percy in an angry noble-like tone as she placed one hand on her chest as if to try and make a point. However, once she saw the small grin on his face she instantly realized he was messing with her. 

"Is that so? I'm just a regular old Human, well… I think," Percy admitted as Piper swallowed her frustrations at his little joke. She couldn't help but see this person was becoming more and more like Percy she knew. His jokes, his expressions, his actions, and just about everything she remembered were nearly the same. He brought up things about the past that were 100% correct, things about her and Annabeth from their personalities, habits, and even favorite things. Things that only Percy would know.

But… he was still different, his personality had a darkness that even she could not see the bottom of. It was something akin to a bottomless swamp of pure darkness that nothing could escape from, yet even so, it lived in harmony with his other half. Even his powers seemed to carry that harmony along with him in this place, she had seen his powers of darkness and light in their fights. The horrendous minions that he summoned from the darkness with ease or the brilliant display of elemental powers with the halo in the shape of an Omega symbol.

Piper didn't know what to exactly think about this man anymore, he was far beyond any fake she had ever seen. If he was truly a fake he would be showing her the Percy she knew back on earth, some had tried to shower her a Percy that was altered by horrible events but they were all poor actors. Her doubts were growing and her mental defense was crumbling, even her anxiety around this man began to lessen as the hours passed by.

It didn't help that his idiot was far too open about everything, for the first few hours they were together he wouldn't stop telling her about his new life. The family he was brought into, how he grew up as a mercenary, his outstanding 7 sisters, and just about everything up to the point when the Akashic system arrived. Each heartfelt moment he experienced he shared with her and to be honest… it was nice. 

He then started to tell her about people from Earth reincarnating and just who exactly was possibly reincarnated. Piper wasn't entirely surprised by the information since she also reincarnated the idea she wasn't alone floated through her mind multiple times. Finding out that it was true was another thing entirely, truthfully she nearly had another panic attack. But as he jabbered on about meeting people and even saying that he discovered Annabeth was indeed reincarnated, because of the quest telling him, it managed to calm her down.

As time passed she found herself unable to hear his words as they turned to static. Whenever he tried to mention something about who made reincarnation possible or who was helping him gather this knowledge she got nothing. He then tried to see if he could tell her certain things but each time he tried it simply ended with static, eventually he gave up on trying to tell her about them. Which led to him going over his plans when he found the others, things he wanted to talk with them about.

Piper honestly didn't hate listening to the stories he had, they gave her a lot of information to work with. Eventually, it let her relax even just a little more around him as her heart continued to waver. Still! This idiot started to explain his skills and other stats to her, what sort of moron does that! Your skills and stats are your lifeblood! You don't just go explaining their effects to people! Was he trying to get himself killed?

She couldn't help but get fed up when he did and tried to get him to shut up but that didn't work. Each time she stopped him he hit her with a 'Well I should be able to tell my wife right?' and then just kept talking. She was at her wit's end after everything and wanted to throw an attack his way. Also, w- what kind of weirdo tells someone they have the Sex Maniac skill? That sort of skill only dirty people had… totally… for sure… most of the time… one in a ten thousand maybe… she had it too. But that didn't mean anything!

Besides all that he had also asked her several questions but she didn't answer most or gave vague answers. She didn't want this man to know all that much about her yet he never seemed to mind her answers and simply gave her a smile or stupid grin. His questions were never invasive either, they were always surface-level or insignificant. Like her favorite food, color, clothes, or how long she had been with the system. Simple things like that she quietly answered after a bit of time, there was no harm in letting him know… if it was a fake they wouldn't even ask.

"What do you mean you think your regular old human? Shouldn't your status board say your race?" Piper couldn't help but ask as her curiosity got the better of her as the two of them began to rise into the air leaving the empty city behind while heading to the next.

"I mean it does say I'm human but it has a couple of question marks beside it, kinda frustrating if you ask me," Percy said before letting out a prolonged sigh Piper gave a slightly surprised look before a look of thought crossed her face.

"You mentioned before that you have only been with the Akashic System for less than a month correct?" She asked him, Percy nodded as a grin spread across his face.

"Indeed, I even managed to reach level 25 and am currently working on my Tier 1 job! It's a pretty cool one if you ask me, it's called-."

"Didn't I tell you not to tell me such things? It will only work against you if you do," Piper chastised him as Percy pursed his lips a little in turn, seeing his expression Piper stared at him for a bit before sighing.

"Fine, I will give you a courtesy and explain it to you. Some job titles are better left unknown if they are rare. Each powerful clan should have records on certain jobs about weaknesses or other things about them. It seems you don't even know this yet…" She informed him with a sigh as Percy gave a thoughtful face before nodding, what she said made sense. At this point, the two were extremely high in the sky before coming to a stop as they faced one another.

"Thank you for the explanation, any idea about my race being concealed?" Percy asked as Piper seemed to think.

"It might be a seal, but that is my only guess." She said while shrugging as Percy let out a small sigh, with that the two floated silently in the sky as Percy simply stared at Piper while sitting cross-legged in hair. Piper seemed to be letting her mind wander a little as she ignored his gaze, the two were waiting for something as the whistling of the winds passed them by.

"Can I ask you something?" Percy asked Piper as she glanced his way with a certain look that seemed to promise him pain if he asked the wrong question. He simply gave a soft smile as he ran a hand through his hair.

"What is your world's name? Mine is Gehelia, as I mentioned before. I am going to the Dragon Spine Mountains to meet up with my mother's family. I hope to make that place my home base when everything settles down on the planet. After that… I think I am going to find the others who reincarnated." Hearing his question turn into some important information Piper sighed before turning away.

"You don't need to tell me such things, they make no difference." She said as Percy's smile slowly turned into a thoughtful look.

"Even so… I'd hope to at least tell you in case you ever find yourself looking for me. As far as I can tell, we aren't on the same planet and it worries me a lot. This quest was my only way to reach out and after it's over then that's it, there is no way to reach out to you unless I get another sharable quest." Percy explained in such a thoughtful and caring voice Piper felt a jolt go through her body as one of her hands gripped at her armor.

"Why pick me instead of Annabeth anyway?" Piper suddenly asked in a quiet voice that was above a whisper almost lost to the wind. Yet Percy still heard it as he chuckled.

"It's because you were further away than she was, at least that is what I deciphered from the quest when it was talking about expanding energy for the portal," Percy admitted as Piper's heart seemed to shudder, threatening to open up even more. Keeping her gaze off into the distance Piper tried to calm herself down, this idiotic man…

"If only you both would have been closer, then maybe I could have brought you here. Then again if I did I don't think I would have come out unscathed in a clash against both of you at the same time." Percy said in a regretful tone before trying to make a joke as Piper couldn't help but chuckle.

"Your damn right, if you would have been a puddle of blood if we teamed up. Then again… if we did that I wouldn't have gotten such useful information." Piper joked with him a little as Percy gave a soft laugh.

"I don't think I'd end up as a puddle if you ask me, also you are starting to sound like Annabeth haha! I bet she would be proud of you with all the info you got from me." Percy said with a smile as Piper pursed her lips together, her thoughts jumbling together as she let out a sigh.

"She would indeed… what kind of gift do you think I would ask for obtaining by it?" Piper suddenly asked him, Percy's ears perked up as he glanced at her and the two shared a stare for a moment.

"Trick question, you wouldn't ask for a gift but Annabeth would give you one anyway. But it would be something along the lines of picking out what you wanted me to cook, a back massage from Annabeth, or to be cuddled. It just depends on what your mood is like that day. But you would never actually ask for a physical item." Percy replied and a small grin as Piper bit her lip a little, he was right on the money.

"Damn you," She cursed quietly while turning away as Percy stared at her before sighing. This was one of the several dozen trick questions she had asked him along the way. Each he had gotten correct and with each answer Piper seemed to be more in conflict with herself even more. Seeing that her reactions were finally reaching a certain point Percy decided it was time to ask a bigger question.

"So Piper I was wondering, after Annabeth and you were all finished with the rebellion and everything. What did you two end up doing? Did you become gods to help the remains of Olympus? Maybe live out mortal lives? Did you two do what you wanted to do?" Percy asked as Piper quietly floated in place, unable to see her expression Percy was not sure what she was thinking. 

Yet one of her hands reached up and began to gently twirl some of her hair as she began to think. This small little habit was something Piper had picked up from Annabeth during their time together, whenever she was critically thinking about something she always did this. Her mana also then began to fluctuate a bit as Percy felt a bit worried, what exactly did happen?

"We…" Piper tried to say something but paused as her hand tightened around her hair as her mana fluctuated.

"What exactly happened?" Percy asked her again as Piper's hand gripped her hair a bit more before slowly releasing it. 

"We lived an uneventful mortal life… one encased in simplicity and ease. Each day we went to work, then went home, ate dinner together, went to sleep, and repeated it. We decided to leave the world of immortals behind, it was simply too much for us in the end. After Annabeth redesigned Olympus one last time we left everything to the others since we knew they could handle it. We even had Hestia aid us in our scent so we could truly be invisible. After that the years passed in each other's company due to old age, I believe I just had my 90th birthday." Piper said in a soft tone as if she was reliving those years one by one. Her eyes softened as the memories ran through her mind.

"Is that so…" Percy said as he stared at Piper's small back before slowly taking in a breath and then letting it out.

"You know… you're a bad liar Pipes." He said as Piper seemed to shake before aggressively turning his way. Her face was full of rage as she was just about to start yelling at him only for her to freeze as she saw his face. It was a face of remorse and sadness as if he was trying to apologize to her without words, his sea-green eyes shimmered a bit as they met hers.

"I know you mixed in truths and lies in what you told me, I am sure you lived an uneventful mortal life full of simplicity. Enjoying your days with Annabeth without the worry of carrying for Olympus. At least for a time, I am sure of it, then you probably… began to notice it, didn't you?" Percy said as Piper's eyes stared right into his as her body trembled, before she could see speak Percy continued to speak.

"It was meant to be a surprise for you two, I wanted to show you my devotion to you two. I just didn't expect it to backfire on you two in such a horrible way. Who knew Zeus and the others would kill me…" Percy finished as Piper's lips trembled as she finally spoke.

"I- It was you?" She barely managed to say, her shock so great that she didn't even realize she was talking to him like he was Percy. Seeing her reaction Percy gave a saddened nod.

"Yeah… it was our 5th anniversary together, right after the pantheon war ended. You remember it, don't you? I cooked up a wonderful dinner with all the foods you two like, from your favorite vegetarian stirfry with no-meat spaghetti to Annabeth's hearty steak and mashed potato. However, it was the desert that was the kicker, homemade apple pie… who knew that apples of immortality tasted so good cooked." Percy gave a chuckle that cracked apart as he forced himself to take a breath as his emotions got the better of him.

On the other hand, Piper was just staring at him in shock as her body shook her emotions finally reached their peak tears began to run down her face. Yet the shock never left her face as she left the tears alone to continue to fall as the two locked gazes with one another. Percy even had a few stary tears run down his cheek as he took a breath Piper did the same, in that moment Piper moved. In a split second, a look of pure anger crossed her face as her balled-up fist crashed into Percy's gut causing a sonic boom to fill the sky and blow the clouds away from them.

Percy keeled over in pain from the blow but didn't fly back as a hand caught his shoulder and before he knew it he was wrapped up in a hug. A soft scent of cinnamon and roses then entered his nose as he realized Piper was hugging him her body trembled as she began to silently sob. His eyes widened immensely before his how flood gates were broken as he also cried as his arms pulled her into a hug as well.

Time passed as the pair of star-crossed lovers embraced one another as tears of so many emotions filled their eyes and were carried in their sobs. All it took was that one story for Piper to truly realize that he was truly Percy, so many things had pointed out that he was. Yet she chose to ignore them as they built up and then finally broke through, even if he was a fake, in this moment he was Percy to her.

"I'm so sorry." Percy apologized through sobs for the 30th time as the two of them tried to calm down. Yet with emotions running high, it was extremely difficult as they finally managed to break apart as Piper took in his features. Carving each into her memory yet again she gave the happiest smile she could muster.

"Stop apologizing." She managed to say through a hiccup from crying too much as she pulled his head into her bosom and hugged him as hard as she could as he hugged her back.

"I'm still sorry, I shouldn't have-."

"Enough of your apologies, you're going to make me angry again." Piper chastised him as the two finally managed to stop crying after a bit and then separated yet again. Yet their hands remained intertwined as they continued to stare at one another.

"It's good to see you again Pipes." Percy said with a smile as Piper returned him one

"Right back at you seaweed brain." She said while giving his hands several squeezes as if checking to make sure he was still there.

"Is it okay… if I kiss you?" Percy suddenly asked in a timid voice after a moment of silence as Piper gave him a very shy look and a timid nod. As if they were two people sharing their first kiss they both leaned in slowly before giving the most soft and loving kiss they could muster. Two people showed their love for one another in the truest form as they continued to gently kiss one another, neither of them showing any intention of proceeding further.

It was then than a small beeping could be heard by the two of them as they were snapped out of their kissing entrancement. It only took them a moment to find the clock for the quest was down to 5 minutes, feeling panic well up inside him Percy tried to speak but a finger found his lips as Piper gave him a firm look.

"Don't speak, let me talk. My planet's name is Visha and all I know is that it is under the jurisdiction of the Succubs species. I don't know anything more than that or I would tell you, I am Tier 2 right now and just barely turned 22. I am a Princess of the Blood Weevers Marquis house, my name in this life is Penelope Cilleta Blood Weever." Piper quickly explained to Percy as he nodded in understanding and his eyes showed a look of resolve. Seeing his looked Piper smiled a little.

"Also about me and Annabeth… we were worried at first, thinking it was some godly prank or maybe a god decided to show us pity. But after speaking with Hestia we found that wasn't the case. Since there are so many forms of immortality that can be achieved we weren't able to discover how we turned immortal. It was tough without you… but we managed to pull through and ended up living for a long time."

"Until the day we both decided that it was our time to pass on. I think we held the matriarch seats for the Jackson clan for close to 700 years if I remember right." She continued with a chuckle as Percy's face gave her a weird look, it was then Piper realized what she said as her own eyes widened.

"I can't believe I forgot to tell you, after you… passed away. Annabeth and I discovered that we were pregnant, together we ended up having 3 loving children. All of whom grew up knowing about their amazing and brilliant father." Piper said with a small smile as Percy's mind seemed to short circuit, yet before he could speak the two of them began to dissolve into particles of mana as their time in this realm was coming to a close.

"W-What are their names?" Percy managed to ask her as the two squeezed hands even tighter as they dissolved even faster.

"They are Jinx, Grace, and Kian. They were outstanding people in each and every way, I wouldn't be surprised if they reincarnated as well if what you say is right. Percy… I love you, take care of yourself. I hope I can see you soon." Piper said with happy tears in her eyes as she leaned in and gave him another kiss on the lips.

With that, everything faded to black as Percy was forced out of the soul realm and back to their own.

A/N: Hello, everyone hope you enjoyed our little adventure of love, romance, and most importantly violence. With a bit of a plot twist that I just love to throw in because I can hehe. I have some fun plans for the future if you couldn't tell, but if you like the story leave a review and let me know just how much you like it! 

Name: (Percy) Percival Jacob Jackson

Title: Cultivation Genius

Age: 16

Race: Human/????

Constitution: Primordial Emperor body (Tier 7) Level 1

Tier: 0

Level: 20

Health: 49(+35) / Mana: 152(+5) / Strength: 100 (+25) / Stamina: 66(+5) / Agility: 58(+20) / Luck: 68(+5)

Stat points: 0