CHAPTER 2

Percy went quiet as if he was contemplating on how to answer her. Zoe kept her silence as her brother gathered his thoughts.

Others may not know, but she knew Percy the best. He had changed from the day they talked about Fate. When he was alive he was a laid back, happy-go-lucky kind of a boy. But since he learnt the realities of life, he was like a cold fire. Nobody knew of it because it gave off no heat. But if you poked it… then you would get burnt badly. They always say the man that didn't show his anger and hurt was the worst possible man to have as your enemy. She knew Percy was furious at the Fates. If he could get his hands on them, he would go to extreme lengths to witness their destruction.

This was something she kept to herself. She knew that he would not like others to know the attitude he had on life. To the kind and weak, he would be a beacon of hope. To the oppressors, he would be their doom. The main reason why he was so angry was because he couldn't do a damn thing to change fate. For the duration he was here in Elysium he has the power and knowledge, but when he is finally kicked off from Elysium, he has to start from zero and have no knowledge on his of his past as it would be wiped clean by the Lethe. He would turn into a cog in the machinations of the three hags' plan without his knowledge again.

Percy finally looked at her. "Everything has a reason to exist. Even the tiny ant has a role to play in the much large circle of life. But they are free. They only have to follow the natural rules set forth by the universe. No ant is force to fight for another. All those creatures… they only fight for their own survival or the survival of their families. Why can't we humans have something like that? Why do we have to fight other's wars? Be tormented by the follies of somebody else? I just want to be free… but I know I never will. I want to know what it feels like to do your own thing… follow your instincts… and talking to the animals is the closest I can get to my freedom."

"Wow, little brother. You have dug deep into philosophy there. I too have wondered why us, the most sentient race on earth is burdened by the Fates like this. But I stand by what I said all those years ago. Fates are bitches. You have the ability to go against them… do so. It's these small revolutions that will one day free us. I'm still in the initial stages of learning the skill. Once I've done it, I will teach you. Then you will not be the only one to speak to horses, huh?" she winked.

"And of course you would be going after wolves," Percy snorted back. Even after released from the oath she took to Artemis, her habits have yet to tone down. She still loved wolves and wanted to be around them much like her days in the hunt. Zoe wouldn't say it out loud, but she was jealous of the bond her brother had with horses. She too wished that she had the same ability.

"We'll see about tha-," she started leaping towards Percy to tackle him down and started to tickle him. Her brother, the almighty warrior was very ticklish. A fact that he went to great lengths to conceal. But from the day she found it out, he didn't have a moment of respite because whenever she was on the cusp of losing a verbal spar with him, she would leap towards him and tickle him to submission.

But she never got to finish her sentence because it was drowned by a large explosion that shook the ground. The two who were wrestling on the ground were thrown a few feet away from their initial location. Percy hugged Zoe down against him and protected her when they crashed to the ground.

"What was that?" Percy got on to his feet, fully alert after releasing his sister.

"No idea… could it be an earthquake?"

"Earthquakes don't happen in Elysium. Something big is going to happen… and I know I wouldn't like it."

The residents in their sector were completely spooked. Unlike the duo, most of them had nobody to speak to. And with no one to order them to calm down, they started to run here and there like headless chicken causing a massive panic. Another explosion occurred soon afterwards. This one stronger than the last. Buildings started to quake and some collapsed. It was just like the chaos during the Titan wars when the mortals woke from their slumber right in the middle of the fighting. Most of the residents in Elysium had no connection to the divine world. They were here due to their deeds and had no idea what they were seeing. The mist was like a double edged sword. In times like these, its existence caused nothing but panic.

"There," Zoe pointed. As another quake originated the air at the border of their sector started to ripple. It was something unprecedented. The duo watched the golden ripples dissipate on by one after their energy was depleted.

"Someone is trying to break the barrier," Percy immediately hypothesized. "Who would want to do that? And who is powerful enough to do that right next to Hades' pale ass?"

"I don't know… we should find Charles and Silena. It would be a good idea to stick together until we know what's going on for sure."

"Come on," Percy took hold of her hand and literally dragged them towards their home. Despite Zoe being centuries older than him, she was literally being man handled due to her petite stature.

Zoe knew that Silena and her significant other would head to their home too. Amongst this chaos where finding north from south was difficult and the only landmark that first came to anybody's mind was their home.

They arrived at their destination soon afterwards dodging the crazed citizens and weaving through the mobs. At one point of their journey, Percy had picked her up and stuck her under his armpit and forcibly carried her much to her indignation. She was a proud woman who prided in being independent. But since Percy had acknowledged being her younger brother, he had grown rather protective of her. Some of the things he did for her sake were over the top. She thought it was sweet but never told it to his face lest his ego inflate larger than she could handle.

"Put me down, you caveman," she cried indignantly. Her face was completely red from anger and Percy just laughed the entire way making fun of her potty mouth. Percy and Silena found it hilarious when she started to curse using old English. Most of the time they were trying to re-enact her temper tantrums by exaggerating and making fun of her accent.

"There you are," said Charles coming out and greeting them at the entrance. One look at them he found he was missing something. "What am I missing?"

Percy broke down in giggles and Zoe scowled fiercely. "Not a word," she threatened him. "Or you will be my live target for archery practice for a year."

Percy still snickered but held his hands up as if he surrendered to her.

Zoe ignored him. "What's going on?" she asked them. Maybe they had something she and Percy didn't know.

"From what I saw, someone is pounding on the barrier. I don't know who or how, but this is most likely going to be a problem. I grabbed some weapons from the arena on the way here."

"Good thinking," she complimented.

"Your bow is inside. Fetch Silena too would you?"

"Alright," she said and entered through the doorway.

Once inside, she saw her trusty bow and two hunting knives sitting on a table. It was impossible to take weapons out of the arena in Elysium. You could choose one for yourself, but only use it inside the arena and had to leave it behind once you finished training. The guardians at the gate prevented weapons from being brought out. It meant the guardians were missing, since Bekendorf was able to get her weapons out of there.

She shouldered her trusty composite bow which was similar to the one she used while serving under Artemis and two silver hunting knives. They were not quite like her original weapon, but who could complain. They had to make do with what they had.

She saw Silena had finished donning her armor which was something Charles had created for her. It was a mix between heavy plated armor and light leather armor. Her sword was across her back in its sheath. Silena smiled when she saw Zoe.

"Good you are here. I was starting to get worried that you went somewhere else. Let's go outside. You got your weapons from the table right?"

"Yeah… thanks for bringing them. I've got a hunch that we will need them shortly."

"Me too."

Zoe followed her outside. The boys were ready for them and they stood by wondering what was going to happen. All of them were in their own worlds of thought. Elysium was supposed to be one of the safest places on the planet. It was the place of the dead and everyone respected that. For someone to blatantly attack, it meant that they were willing to defy the laws set by Chaos herself.

BANG

With an awful explosion the residents of Elysium were thrown to the ground. Zoe could see the barrier shatter into a million pieces like brittle glass which showered inwards and decapitated many from the corner of her eye. She was disoriented and even her centuries upon century's worth of experiences didn't amount to anything.

Her instincts tingled and she leaned to her left with all her might only to see a clawed hand miss her head by a hair's breadth. Zoe shook herself out of her stupor and looked at her assailant. It was humanoid. But its speed was vastly superior to any mortals including demigods. She could only see a blur as its companions tore through the residents one by one. For the first time since the dawn of ages, the residents of Elysium started to fall like flies. She had no idea on what would happen to them. Would they be forcibly entered into the reincarnation cycle? Would they fade like gods would?

She didn't have any time to ponder on these as her assailant turned back and smiled a gruesomely. She noticed that another of its kind had entered the fray and Percy was busy fending it off while Silena helped him by taking pot shots while the creature was in a deadlock with her brother. Charles had rushed towards her.

The creature in-between Charles and her was a human. There were no added appendages. The only distinct features it had was its sharp nails which had almost decapitated her and red eyes. It was handsome even by godly standards. But once the creature grinned she knew what it was immediately. And she froze at the implication. It was a bloody vampire. An elder vampire from what she could see.

"It's not every day I meet someone who can doge my surprise attack," It began. "But you are no mere mortal. From your posture I can see that you were a huntress in service to that bitch. This will make things much more interesting."

With that it leapt at her again and she immediately went defensive and brought her hunting knives to block the attack.

Clang… clang

Claws and steel met. But she was starting to get pushed back from its brutal strength. Vampires were creatures of the dark and were mostly associated with Tatarus as they were his guards. It was a long time since the world saw these famous creatures from the pit. The last time they rose to the surface, they created a huge panic and it was Lady Artemis who was instrumental in bringing them down. One or two escaped. But since none of the escapees were elder vampires who could convert others into its kind with a simple bite, hunt was called off.

'Have to go for the heart,' she thought remembering their one weakness.

She lunged at it and tried to stab it in the face. The vampire grinned and knocked her arm away with a simple swing of her hand. Taking advantage of the rotational motion, she followed through with a backhand stab straight to its heart.

The creatures grin froze and it kicked her away while jumping to the side dodging Charles' attack. Charles staggered but quickly straightened himself after taking few steps back. Zoe again went at it from its behind. She and Charles worked in tandem to keep the creature on its toes. Chares used his superior strength to halt its attacks while she took the opportunity to go at its weaknesses.

Back and forth they went. Charles was hit by its claws and had a gaping wound across his chest. His strength was dwindling fast. Zoe on the other hand had multiple cuts and bruises. Nothing life threatening, but they were tiring her quickly. Already both she and Charles were slowing down. While the vampire kept up its relentless attacks.

Its grin was gone and its face was marred with a scowl. Apparently it had taken them too lightly and was already paying for its mistakes. Silver was one of the metals that could harm it. Her hunting knives had already taken away one of its arms from its wrist. It tried its best to keep her knives away from its heart. But that meant that other locations were open.

Zoe leapt forward and slashed down its face while Charles blocked its good arm. The knife went from its right eyebrow to its left jaw. Because it tilted its head back at the last moment, its nose wasn't severed away.

It howled it pain and lashed out with its leg at her. She was so tired that she could dodge at all. The blow landed and fractured her rib cage. Zoe went down in agony but she kept an eye on the creature because she was trained to do so even when she was at her last breath.

It followed through with a roundhouse kick to the burly man which sent him barreling down like a sack of potatoes and crashed onto Percy who was having a much better time dealing with his vampire.

The time slowed down for Zoe. She watched horror struck as she saw he brother sent off balance from the unexpected crash. Silena was already down. She was leaning against a wall and wasn't in a position to move at all. Because of the crash, the vampire went straight for her brother and she watched horror struck as its arm pierced Percy's chest taking advantage of the situation. But Percy wasn't deterred. His own sword went through the creature's heart.

"No," she whispered unable to comprehend what just happened. She was in pain and couldn't move. She could only watch in horror as her brother and the vampire separated themselves. The vampire was already dead. But Percy was not.

Percy fell down to his knee, his mind still refusing what just happened. The strike missed his heart, but it was fatal and his time was already ticking. In one moment, all four of them were on the ground, unable to stand up with one adversary being dead. That left the elder vampire to stalk amongst them without any obstructions. It looked at its dead companion impassively and turned back to her brother.

"Perseus Jackson," it hissed. "Such an honor to finally meet you. I wanted to see you for myself while you were travelling in my humble abode with that blond wench, but I was occupied elsewhere."

The vampire had a manic look as he alternated its gaze between the four. Zoe felt useless. She couldn't move a muscle as she kept staring at Percy's blank face.

Percy coughed. Blood started to flow out of his mouth indicating that his lungs were starting to fill with blood.

"Because of your little adventure I had to suffer, you know. Lord Tatarus doesn't forgive easily. He wanted you to rot down in the pit… but you escaped with the help of those two maggots," the vampire started its tirade. "Look at me when I'm talking!"

It hefted Charles from the ground and threw him at Silena. Percy still had a blank face while he looked at the vampire slowly. "Tatarus planned this little incursion to send out the message that he isn't to be taken lightly. But I can thank my lucky stars that I met you in this sprawling expanse."

It hoisted both Charles and Silena off the ground and the duo was helpless after the battering they took. It looked at the two with a sick smirk.

"You see… I'm an avid advocate on karma. I believe what goes around comes around. But I like to add a little twist to it myself. I like to add something extra when handing down retributions." With that it bit down on Silena on her neck.

"NOO," Charles screamed.

Vampires were detested creatures. An elder vampire had advantages like being able to survive sunlight for a few hours a day. But an individual converted into a vampire couldn't. Except their heightened senses and strength, a normal vampire was nothing but a drone. They were forever doomed to darkness and bloodlust. These creatures had no self preservation. They just existed to carry out the bidding of their master.

Charles struggled hard as the vampires toxins were ejected to Silena's bloodstream. But it was for naught as its grip was ironclad. Zoe watched in horror unable to move. A snarl was forming on Percy's face. One that quickly captured Zoe's attention. Percy was about to let out the anger and resentment he had held within his heart for a long time.

The countless years of battles and wars were useless in a situation like this. Their doom was imminent. Nothing she could do could change the reality.

The creature took off its fangs off a stiffened and smacked its lips.

"Tasty…," it turned to Charles. "Don't worry. You are next. I'm not a monster to separate two young lovers."

With that it bit him too and dropped unmoving duo on to the ground.

"Look here Perseus Jackson. Look as I take the last thing that you hold dear from you. I want you to feel the despair. The same I felt while I endured Tatarus' punishments. Unlike you I was immortal. I was killed again and again when the pain proved to be too much. But you will soon perish. So I want you to feel the agony. I want you to feel helpless. Even in death, you will not know peace," it said as it enclosed its hand around Zoe's neck and lift her up.

Zoe wanted to struggle. But those haunting red eyed shook her into submission. Even in the presence of gods she never felt this meek. This creature, as handsome as it was, was the epitome of evilness. That was saying something as she had seen her fare share of rare monsters throughout her partially immortal life.

Zoe watched as her brother tried to get up. He couldn't speak due to all those fluids in his lungs. But she could see the rage. The same she felt in the presence of an angered Poseidon. It was unyielding. Relentless. Brutal. But that rage was not merely his anger towards the vampire. It was also due to how useless he felt. She could see it in his face. The anger he had kept bottled up was about to explode. But she knew it wouldn't be able to do anything. It will merely cause him to go to an early grave.

Zoe smiled forlornly at him. She had already accepted her fate. It was not something she could fight against. She could only blame the three hags for putting though the rollercoaster that was her life. From a happy childhood to a betrayed alone adolescence where she could only depend on herself… from that dark place to a millennia under the service of the Goddess of the hunt where her preconceptions of life was changed and molded to the views of Artemis'… to her death at the hands of her own father to finally having the family she always wanted in the shape of Percy Jackson, Silena Beauguard and Charles Bekendorf. Her life was full of ups and downs. But these twenty odd years in Elysium with Percy, Silena and Charles was the best she had. Now it was all coming to an end.

The creature kept its eyes on Percy as it slowly sunk its teeth on to her neck. The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt. One second she was fine, the next moment she fell an agony far worse than ay she had ever felt. Her innards were burning. She tried to scream, but her muscles didn't obey. She felt her eyes gradually close. But in that last moment Percy snapped.

….

Percy had been watching agonizingly as Zoe too was taken away from him. The creature in its sense of accomplishment and hubris closed its eyes to relish the taste of Zoe's blood which came from a titan and an elder nymph of the sea.

As he saw Zoe's eyes close, all his anger erupted and miraculously he was bowling down the vampire. He didn't know how he moved or what he was supposed to do. The only thing in his mind was to cause as much damage as he could before dying. It was his revenge. The creature wanted him to willow in despair. But he wanted to give it something it would remember for the rest of its miserable existence.

He saw Zoe's surprised look as she was separated from it. But much like Charles and Silena, she was undergoing a transformation and she could move her body. It caused him pain to see the three of them being forced into a fate like this. Even werewolves were better than vampires. The wolves had a sense of belonging to the pack and each member of it was valuable. Vampire thralls were just mindless husks that relied on baser instincts. He didn't know how the ancient laws panned out for a convert in the land of the departed, but he was sure it was not something he wanted to know.

The vampire was shocked at his sudden burst of strength. He tried to push him off but his arms were struck down in an awkward position and it could free them to throw him off. Percy was just acting on instincts. The primal rage had overcome his rational thinking. He was more a beast than a man at the moment.

Much like a wounded beast, he attacked the vampire. Primal instincts were there to safeguard one's life. It would make any creature do the vilest thing possible if it was meant to survive. And the first place any wild animal would go to kill its prey? He too went for the neck. His subconscious had overcome his brain. While he could think, his body acted as if it had a mind of its own.

Percy bit down on its larynx hard and pulled his bead back, tearing the organ away. For the first time since its arrival, the vampire looked afraid. It regretted having pushed him to a corner like a wild animal. But it was helpless as it watched Percy tearing his neck to pieces with his mouth.

His lower face was covered in blood. Pieces of meat and lots of blood went down his throat without his knowledge. But Percy kept at it. Even when the creatures struggling went down he longed for its blood. The more he consumed, the more addicted he was. The scene was like a shark in a feeding frenzy.

Percy knew not how long he went on like this. At one point Zoe. Charles and Silena too had joined in the frenzy to tear the vampire apart and drain its blood. The four were drenched in blood and guts by the time the vampire's corpse disintegrated into golden dust. Usually a monster just disintegrated the moment it died to reform in Tatarus. They didn't bleed unless they were special like the Ophiotaurus.

With the corpse gone, the four just fell down to the ground and slowly started to writhe as its cursed blood took effect. Percy hadn't noticed it due to his craving, but his entire stomach felt like it was full of molten metal. Now that his mind was occupied elsewhere and his sanity slowly returning, he felt his nerve ends flare up as f they were on fire. The pain gradually became worse and his screams were amongst the four that echoed throughout the empty Elysian sector.

When the pain became unbearable, he blacked out unaware that the mayhem was brought to an immediate stop with the arrival of Hades whose divine might slew the attacking army.

.............

Cliff-kun...