CHAPTER 4

It happened that I jump this before, just found out due to a paragraph question.

So enjoy.....

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The real question was whether the gods knew what entailed the curse of Achilles. If so they were worse that the Titans they overthrew for they had deliberately pushed their own children in a path that led to their doom. It would also mean that Hera or Juno, cursed Percy for the rest of his life by getting him to cross Tiber with her on his arms.

If this was the case about Achilles' curse, who knows what other blessing or curse the gods hid the real details on.

"Is the curse lifted now?" Zoe asked Ananke to which the goddess nodded.

"Thank you," Percy said lowly to Ananke after a while breaking the silence around them.

"You are most welcome, my child."

"Where are we?" Charles broke her out of her musings and addressed the white elephant in the room.

"This is somewhere in-between."

"In-between?" questioned Percy.

"A place that do not belong to any of the known planes."

Silena looked at the goddess questioningly. The only planes that existed, which she was aware of was the mortal plane, divine plane, deceased plane and the faded plane. Each of these planes had their own rules and population. The gods in the divine plane could visit all planes except the faded plane which was isolated. Some inhabitants in the mortal plane had access to the divine and the deceased plane. There were only vague mentions of the faded plane but it was enough for her to draw conclusions about the realm of Chaos. These were basic knowledge the camp imparted upon them during the summer to get them knowledgeable about the world they resided in.

"Perseus let me be frank with you. I know you do not like me. In fact you outright hate me and my three daughters. While I agree that they need to be punished, I'm not them. I have not spoken to them since I gave them their duty which they have twisted to some degree. Their task was to help all mortals and immortals to face the trials the universe bestow them. I have come here to help. I can save you from becoming slaves to my daughters. You know that they will never let a powerful soul like yours out of their clutches. So let me help you," Ananke beseeched Percy.

She strode in front of him at placed her arm on his shoulder much like a mother trying to give support to her child. Her eyes implored him to listen to her. Silena and Zoe watched silently while Charles still had his guarded expression.

Silena could see the gears in his mind working overtime. On one hand, Ananke was offering him the one thing he always wanted; a way out of the grasp of the Fates. On the other hand, he would be in her debt. Being in debt to an immortal, especially a primordial was not the best idea. Even Silena couldn't get herself to trust Ananke implicitly.

"Alright… I will trust you for now. You did free me from the pain. But know this… if you try to scheme against me, use me in any kind of manner or cheat me, I will find a way to end you… no matter how long it takes," he finally relented.

Ananke laughed and lifted him up with a show of abnormal strength. "That's all I ask."

Zoe let out a breath she was holding which was heard by the others. She immediately looked appalled at the slip of her composure. The great tension around them finally loosened up and Silena was quick to succumb to giggles because it wasn't everyday you get to see the great Zoe Nightshade being so afraid that she forgot to breathe. Even Ananke laughed while Percy gave his devious grin pointed at his sister. Charles winked at Zoe and cracked a grin too much to the girl's embarrassment.

Zoe blushed furiously. "So what are we doing here?" she asked trying to shift the spotlight off from her.

Ananke cleared her throat. "Well… you turned immortal in Elysium, which is a direct violation of the laws."

"Immortal?"

"The vampire turned all of you into its kind."

"What?" Charles all but yelled.

"Yes, to hurt Perseus here," she pointed Percy, "it turned you in front of his eyes. In his rage, Perseus tore its throat away with his mouth and destroyed it. I must say I was impressed Perseus. This is the first time I saw a vampire dying from the bite of a mortal," she said with a grin at the irony of the situation. "The rest of you drank its blood with Percy in your bloodlust and you all turned into elder vampires."

"Why can't we remember any of this?"

"Your body underwent a huge change."

Ananke went on to fill their missing memories by recounting what transpired.

"After you all drank its blood, your bodies went into shock. You three were normal monsters because of its bite," she pointed at Silena, Zoe and Charles. "But after you drank its blood, you turned into human-hybrid immortals. I won't go into the details, but it takes a lot for a human-hybrid immortal to die. Even if they do, they would immediately reform in Tatarus. You went from normal vampire thralls who are nothing but drones that live and fought for their masters to being your own masters. All of you turned into elder vampires, children of the Pit and Darkness."

Despite what humans knew, an ordinary vampire cannot convert humans to its kind. They only lived to drink blood and fight for its master. With the factor of elder blood, everything changed.

Since the underworld forbade immortals except the ones that were elected by Hades to oversee certain duties, they existed beyond the laws. And the laws themselves worked to destroy this anomaly. That was why they were in-between. They belonged to neither of the worlds. They were doomed to roam this world between worlds for eternity. That was why Ananke came for them.

Ananke was the primordial of Fate and she could see when fate was being unfair to individuals. She had been following Percy from the beginning when the Fates declared him as their soldier. The only reason why they did it was because he was born out of the dual aspects of the god of the sea, something which was truly rare as the said child would represent the god's entire domain. If the sea god passes away, his mantle would automatically fall upon Perseus' head without him even knowing about it.

Percy's mother had envisioned the perfect god of the sea. It was both Neptune and Poseidon who came to court her and gift her with a child. This was the reason Percy was so much stronger than the rest of the demigods. Usually gods couldn't exist in this combined state. Poseidon was one of the handful gods who could do so. The others being Pan, Apollo, Nike Tyche and the Gods and Goddesses of the underworld rivers. Of them Pan had already faded, Nike and Tyche were minor goddesses and their power varied given the situation. The aspects of the rivers never had demigod children and Apollo was smart enough to not conceive children out of his dual aspect and went to great lengths to avoid it. That left Poseidon, who in fact had children like Perseus in the past.

When the three Fates saw the birth of little Percy Jackson, they elected him to be their shield to mold the world under their will. Ananke was against this. She believed that natural order must be given precedence. If the gods are to fall, they must fall. Nobody must prevent it. History itself is a never ending cycle. The titans rose and the fell. The gods must too, to prevent them from doing the same thing their predecessors did, which they failed at miserably. The circle of life was common to all. Even if you were the almighty ruler of Olympus, you needed to bow down to it. The agreement the three Fates ha with Olympus was unnatural.

But even she, the mistress of Fate had to follow rules. She couldn't interfere in ay mortal matters. So she watched sadly as Perseus Jackson faced his adversaries and at the end gave his life in a desperate attempt to escape his fate.

Now that they had escaped the laws of their world miraculously, she could help.

"So we are vampires now?" Zoe questioned her.

"Not exactly."

"What do you mean?"

"It's impossible to remove a curse without any drawbacks. So I simply altered the curse. Instead of being elder vampires who can't step out into any light, I altered the curse to turn you all into beings that have characteristics that are similar to vampires and negated the curse," Ananke explained.

"What do you mean altered?" Percy asked slowly.

Both Zoe and Percy knew of several creatures that had similar characteristics like a vampire. Werewolves were the chief amongst them. Though they were better than the detested vampires, they too were creatures of the dark.

"What do you know of elves?" Ananke questioned.

"You mean the creatures from fantasy novels?" asked Silena back.

Ananke laughed lightly. "Don't let them hear you say that. Although elves may have gone extinct on your world, that doesn't mean they have perished in the multiple universes that span the void."

"Are they like what see in movies?" Silena fired back with an excited look.

"Mostly. They are much stronger than human. They are more agile and graceful. All of them have a natural affinity with magic of any sort. And yes… your souls were changed to that of the eves as they are the closest beings to a vampire physically. I know it's disgusting that one of the purest races in the universe is comparable to the creatures like vampires… but what can we do? The universe is what Lady Chaos envisioned it to be. We cannot even fathom to contemplate what was going inside her head. Oh… I almost forgot. Elves are creatures that gain natural partial immortality when they reach their adolescence."

The four of them looked at each other unsure on how to process this piece of information. They were born humans. But now they had been changed to a whole new race of which they had no idea of. And to top it all, they were partially immortal.

"What is going to happen to us? Are we are going to stay here for god knows how long?" Charles questioned.

"Not if you agree to one of my requests."

"What request?" Silena questioned.

"You four cannot exist in your own universe because the laws won't let you. Unlike the others that died in the attack, you four are hybrid immortals that were birthed in Elysium. Don't worry the others will naturally enter the reincarnation cycle. But I can send you to a parallel universe where the laws are different. Your task is save a planet from a certain danger and save certain species from extinction."

Zoe listened as Ananke divulged details of their task.

Apparently there were countless parallel universes the primordials oversaw. The rules were vastly different from each other. For an example in their universe, electricity could exist as a form of energy. But in another universe like the one they were supposed to help, magic existed in the form of energy. Since electricity and magic couldn't exist together which was proven due to the fact that electronics failed near the gods, that particular universe would never advance further than a steampunk society unless they were able to work with magic to achieve the same effects as electricity. Modern marvels such as the computers were next to worthless in that world.

"So you want us to play soldier again," Percy asked with anger seeping into his voice.

"No… more of an escape from Fate," she replied.

Percy raised his eyebrows. Zoe knew that Percy would spend an eternity here, isolated from the world with nothing but his mind as an accomplice than fight someone else's war again. Even if she, Charles and Silena chose to accept the offer, Percy would still remain here rather than dance to the tune of another deity.

"I cannot reveal much about the world you are about to go should you accept. But I can say that the three of you would be beyond the Fates of that universe, yes... each universe has its own version of the 'three hags' as you eloquently address them. Your actions would be your own as well as their consequences. They will try to make you follow their plan by manipulating the people around you. But your mere presence will throw a wrench in their plans as your aura will mask your loved ones from them.

The world itself is a place filled with mystery and magic. I believe even if you spent a thousand years on that planet, you wouldn't be able to witness or solve half of its mysteries or see everything that world has to offer."

Ananke's offer was terrific. They would be able to live and roam again in a brand new world. Everything they see would be a new experience. The fact that the Fates couldn't see or control them was a plus. From what the goddess revealed, their long lifespan would enable them to roam the world and witness its glory. A large planet filled with exciting new things was just what they required.

Zoe could see from Silena's and Charles' faces that they really wanted to go there. They hadn't had much time together in the mortal realm. This was their chance to raise a family. They could live to see their children grow up without the added danger of Olympians or other immortals being pissed at them. Sure they would face countless trials and tribulations but they could live to see their grandchildren.

Even Zoe was excited about it. Her whole life had been within boundaries. First in the garden of Hespirides, she was nothing but a wallflower. She got up and went to sleep without any change in her daily routine. Then her chance at something new came in the form of Hercules and she was betrayed and cast out. She lost her family, friends and her dignity. By chance she met Artemis and her hunt. From that point onwards she was her handmaiden, following Artemis' rules and vision.

The hunt wasn't bad, but it was like sheep following the sheepherder. They had to follow all of Artemis' rules. Even when her views clashed against Artemis' rules, she could only bow her head and follow. Even though she spent millennia under the goddess of the hunt, she too longed for the perfect man to claim her and make her happy. But once you were in the hunt, the only way to leave was with your death.

Now she had a chance to start again and she really longed for it. The only problem was Percy.

Zoe didn't have any romantic attraction towards him. He was the first person to impress her in a long time. She viewed him as the little brother she never had and he too saw her as his sister. Badly as she wanted a new life, she wasn't going to leave him alone. She was going to stay with him and together they would face all their problems. That was the promise they had made to each other.

She looked at him and could see that he was torn with indecision. So she decided to nudge him into accepting the offer. She knew it was a little selfish of her to do so, but it was a chance for all of them. And she really wanted Percy to be happy and have the perfect family she knew he always pined for.

"Little brother," she called him. "This may be our only chance of having something for us. Look at them," she pointed at Charles and Silena who was whispering quietly between them, "they want this to happen. This is their only chance to start a real family. If you don't take the offer, I know that they will remain behind with you as would I. Don't split our family in half little brother. Who knows… maybe we will find your soul mate in this world. Think about it and I really hope you will agree to this little brother. "

Percy sighed after staying quiet for quite a bit. It looked like he was having an internal struggle. "Alright, I'll play along," he finally relented. "But you owe me big time," he grinned slightly.

Zoe smiled brightly and engulfed him in a hug. "Thank you," she whispered and she could feel him nodding his consent.

Zoe nodded at Silena who grinned. Then she nodded at Ananke.

"One question," Zoe interrupted before the goddess could get into details of their task.

"Yes Zoe?"

"What about the two of us?" she asked. When she was asked to elaborate further she explained how Silena and Charles had each other. They had each other to accompany them in their long lives. But Percy and herself had no one. If they chose to start a family, their partners would wither much sooner than they wished for.

Ananke snapped her fingers and Zoe felt a stream of knowledge enter her mind.

"That particular ritual can turn your partner into one of you. Your children and their children will carry your genetic strain. To find them partners you will have to utilize this. But keep in mind not to convert humans you do not trust because you will not be able to control them. Should that come to pass the Fates will most likely use them against you. And also try to minimize the use of the ritual as it will be sapping your own power to drive it."

Ananke then went to describe their task. They were about to go to a world that was at least the size of Jupiter. Each continent had its own history and legends. Except for some continents, the others were placed far apart isolating them from the rest of the world. Some didn't even have humans.

There were deities in the continent they were about to visit. The problem was that their power was waning due to the influx of a new religion. Their only stronghold was the northern kingdom which was like Canada, large and cold and remote edges of the close by continnts. The older occupants of the continent were almost driven to extinction and only small pockets existed in the barren icy tundra protected by the gods they worshiped in the form of ancient trees. Other creatures like giants too have been driven to this barren land and their numbers were falling each year.

Their duty was to protect the original inhabitants of the land and stop the destruction of the 'artifacts' the gods used to gather their power from. She also mentioned about dangers lurking in the barren wasteland which they should keep their eye on. Ananke didn't deliberate on the matter further than that.

Their accumulated knowledge would help the land and its people from outside threats and make the old gods prosper again. While some of it was redundant because the two worlds having different rules, most of the less esoteric knowledge could be utilized since they were universal.

She kept the details vague saying that it was their duty to learn all they could of this world and act accordingly. Everything would be clear once they got to know about the lands they inhabited. Ananke couldn't interfere by giving them everything she knew of the present past and the future of the continent.

"To help you on your tasks, I have little gift," Ananke said and waved her hand distorting the air around them.

Four creatures became visible. Zoe had been tracking and hunting animals and monsters for a long time. But this was the first time she saw a species like this. It was reptilian and she could draw parallels between it and the dragons she often hunted. It stood on four sturdy legs with the front legs being longer than the rear. A giant pair of wings that was twice the size of its body was folded at its sides almost making it invisible. At the tip of the tail two horizontal stabilizers were present with several bone spike of decreasing lengths ran vertically. The root of the tail had a pair of membranes that joined to its hind legs to give extra stability in flight.

The creature was about thirty five feet from its tip to tail. Scales of different sizes and density covered its entire body. Each of the creatures had a different pattern and they were quite colorful. Its massive appendages ended in huge claws which Zoe believed could pierce a metal column. Pairs of eyes the color of amber stared at them with surprising wisdom.

Two long appendages like antenna ran down from the two crests on the top of its head and drooped to the ground. Another smaller crest ran underneath its jaw and tapered to its chest. Its teeth were sharp and curved inwards much like a python's for biting and holding on no matter what.

All in all, the creature was a mix between oriental dragons and Nordic dragons. But they were half the size of the dragons that the demigods ran into usually. When compare to creatures like the Lydian Drakon, it looked extremely small and frail.

"These are Storm Dragons. Unlike their more common brethren, they have little to no affinity with fire. Their original planet was invaded by another race due to their unique abilities but they were wiped out because they couldn't be tamed like they wanted to. They are very intelligent. The more time you spend with them, the more you will learn about them. Come here," she said to the four beckoning them towards the dragons. "Let your senses guide you to your companion."

Zoe closed her eyes and extended her senses like she did when she was tracking her kill. It was faint, but she felt something beckoning her from her right. She slowly followed the feeling keeping her eyes closed. The more she walked, the stronger the feeing became. It was almost blinding when she felt something nudge her in the face. The warm breath on her face told her that she was standing right in front of one of the dragons.

She opened her eyes and looked at the beautiful creature in front of her. It was the dragon which was colored dull silver with gold markings all over it. She hesitantly put her hand on its snout. Instantly she felt a current pass through her and she knew that she was connected to it. It was the same feeling she got when she bonded with Blacknight, her wolf companion and familiar in the hunt. But this was way stronger. The feeling was indescribable. It was like they were the same being with two bodies. She could 'feel' what it was seeing and sensing.

A familiar bond had formed between them. One that was so strong that Zoe believed that it rivaled the one Artemis had with her familiar. Artemis often said that she could feel and see through the eyes of her partner. Zoe's previous bond was not that strong. But this… this was something she dreamed of everyday.

"Artemis," she named her. She didn't know what tempted her to name her dragon as Artemis, but it felt right. Even though she and Artemis had different perspectives on life, they were in fact best friends. They had no secrets between them and Artemis knew that Zoe wanted a family of her own though she was under oath. Hell, she knew that even Artemis wanted one. Artemis had been hurt too many times for her to trust any men. That resentment had turned into obsession over the years and these days, she just ended most of the men who were unlucky to happen upon her.

Naming her familiar Artemis was partly due to remind her of her friend and the times they spent together.

She could feel the content feeling of the dragon when she named it. The female dragon was very happy with the name she gave her.

Zoe looked around. Percy was with the black dragon with the green markings. Charles was with the red and black dragon while Silena was with the white and blue marked dragon. All of them were gazing into their partner's eyes.

"Have you all bonded with your partners?" Ananke broke the silence.

She got four nods. They couldn't say anything because of the overwhelming feeling content that had welled inside them. It was like they were incomplete individuals that met the other part of their soul. Zoe understood their dazed appearances because they never had familiars before. Percy and Blackjack had come close to forming the bond, but the war had separated them and the bond could never form over long distances.

"What are their names?" Ananke asked.

"Artemis," Zoe replied immediately.

"Windshear," Percy said.

"Snowfire," Charles replied.

"Ivory," Silena replied finally.

Ananke nodded and waved her had again, vanishing the four familiars.

Even though Artemis wasn't here physically, she could still feel her. She was out there, waiting for her to come and get her from some… cage?

"Hey!" Silena protested.

"Do not worry. You will meet them in your new world. You will be able to sense their eggs. I will place them somewhere close by to your homes where others can't find them. But first, you need to make sure nothing can harm them. You are connected to them in a deep level. These four are destined to be bonded to you. Other than them I managed to save another two dozen Storm Dragon eggs and about three hundred Kirai eggs before the downfall of their world.

"Kirai? I thought they were called Storm Dragons?" questioned Charles.

"Yes kirai. Kirai are a fascinating species from the same world from which the Storm Dragons originated. They are like certain species of ants. The alphas of the species have the ability to fly like the queens and the soldiers. The betas on the other hand are like the workers without that ability. While the Storm Dragons were on the top of the food chain, it was a certain ability of this species that prompted the aliens to destroy their world in order to enslave them."

Ananke conjured an image of a dragon, a kirai alpha and a kirai beta side by side. They could see the differences of the three. For one the kirai were much smaller than the dragon. They were about twelve to fifteen feet from head to tail. While the dragon could carry more than five people on its back, the kirai alpha were only able to carry a single person… two in certain situations. They too looked reptilian. Unlike the dragons, these creatures' wings were connected to their forelegs. They had not tail spikes or spikes on its back like the dragons. The closest thing that resembled them were the Ikran from the movie Avatar which Zoe saw by chance. In fact the resemblance between the two was uncanny. They were beautiful creatures that belonged to the sky, not some overlord.

"Most of these animals would be wild. But you could train them using a certain ritual. They would defer to the dragons as they see them as their kings. So in turn you could command them. The ritual would keep these beautiful beasts out of unworthy hands. Treat them well and make them a new home. It is a duty that I must command you to complete. And I have faith that you would do so."

Zoe felt a wave of energy going through her. Even before he could question about the ritual, she could see that she already knew about it. It wasn't just the ritual. Ananke seemed to have planted some other useful information as well.

"What was that?" she asked the goddess as her mind was overwhelmed with information. Somehow she had gained the proficiency of a language that made no sense to her at all.

"What is this language?" Percy asked shaking his head violently.

"That is the language of power in the world that you are going. Though it is almost extinct in your region, it is prevalent in other parts of the world. This language is like the runes of your world. It is made up of the true names of everything which a person who had the ability to manipulate energy can utilize. I will leave the ins and outs of the language for you to discover. Consider it a gift from me since you would be losing your powers in that world."

"What do you mean that we would lose our powers?" Silena quickly asked beating Zoe who wanted to ask the same.

"You'll find out soon enough. But heed this… do not spread the language as it would only cause more chaos. Only teach certain words to the people you could trust impeccably and not on how the language could be used. Finally… think of the supreme word I taught you," Ananke waited until they knew what she was talking about to continue in her explanation.

Zoe immediately recalled the word. Its meaning was 'space' and she could see the true depth of it. She couldn't even fathom to comprehend how this word alone was more useful and at the same time more dangerous than the entire language.

"Space?" questioned Bekendorf.

"Yes. That word encompasses everything and nothing. It is among the seven supreme words. I won't teach the others to you. If you need to find them out, seek them from the other continents or try to contemplate them like the elves do in other continents. Do not under any circumstance teach this word to anybody… or any other supreme word you come across for that matter. Most of the people would not be able to comprehend it. Even if they comprehended it only a rare and powerful person could utilize it. And those are the people you want to look out for as most of them would only stand against you."

"Yes, ma'am," Charles replied and the four of them nodded as they gradually understood the danger of the word.

"Now let's get back to your companions," Ananke said. "Now that you are familiar with the Kirai alphas, which only leaves us with the betas. They are also known as kyorai. They are the work force in a kirai colony. Unlike their alphas, they mostly stay underground to protect their nest. They follow their queen without any questions and since we don't know which kirai would end up as the queen, we need to perform a little ritual to get them under your control."

The last creature which Ananke summoned up was quite different from their alpha species. For one they didn't have any wings nor did they have a prominent tail. Their forelegs were more developed than their alphas and the claws on them were distinct. But they retained the lithe body and the overall silhouette.

"They must have some special characteristic for them to lose the ability to fly. Evolution would not give up an advantage unless some bigger advantage is obtained," Percy commented.

"You are right Perseus. They do have a striking ability that set them apart from their alphas."

Ananke didn't elaborate further while the four of them looked at her blankly.

"Come on, you have to s that now. You can't keep us in the dark after telling something like that," whined Percy.

The goddess laughed which reminded Zoe of trilling birds in the forest. Charles cracked a grin because Percy broke character for the first time in a long time. Even Zoe and Silena had to smirk. It was nice to see Percy going back to his old habits from time to time no matter how quirky they were.

"Fine… I will tell you. These creatures have the unique ability to eat ore and separate them to their constituent elements. Mind you that this would not work with organic materials. This ability was what drew the invaders into their homes. These creatures would have furthered their industrial might and increased their galactic power. But it all went downhill because they couldn't be tamed unless you controlled the kirai and those creatures would rather die than to be under the yoke of another. After that their eco-systems failed and the whole world died because of it."

Zoe and Silena felt tears in their eyes after listening to Ananke. These creatures had a natural ability which another race wanted to exploit. And since they couldn't exploit it, they destroyed their homes and left them to extinction. It seemed like petty conflicts like this wasn't just native to their world. Wherever they went, species that had power always subjugated and enslaved the lesser ones.

"What was the ritual you talked about?"Zoe asked slowly.

Ananke swiped her hand and more than three hundred eggs appeared around them. They were separated into three clusters. Each egg was the size of a football and was of varying colors. None of the eggs were similar to one another as vine like patterns decorated the shells.

"You three come here," Ananke ordered to Charles, Zoe and Percy. "Go to the clutch that call you the most."

The trio walked to the three clusters much like they did when they were drawn to their familiars.

"Silena dear, why don't you join Charles with his? I know the two of you will be joined together and build a family. What is his is yours. Am I correct?"

"Yes, my lady," Silena replied courteously and joined Charles at his side.

"Now cut your hands with these knives and smear your blood on all of the eggs in your cluster." Ananke provided them with a decorative knife that had runes covering every inch of its surface.

Zoe cut her hand and blood stared to pour out. Not wanting to contemplate how she still had blood when she had already died, she turned to the task at hand and started to smear her blood of the eggs. While the trio was engaged in the task Ananke was slowly muttering something that was most likely a spell that was part of the ritual. As soon as the blood touched an egg it glowed slightly and the blood was absorbed leaving a clear shell.

By the time Zoe turned back after finishing her task, Percy and Charles had already finished with theirs.

Zoe could already see the value of these creatures. In a world where automated machinery would most likely never exist, they were a gift. They could revolutionize any country that they resided in. Though she wished otherwise, these creatures would be a massive help in warfare. She didn't want to utilize them as beasts of burden because she knew that they were sentient and their cognitive ability was on par with that of a child. She swore to protect them and make her family do so as well because they would be the key for their dominance in their world.

Jealousy was the start of the decline of every civilization and she would protect their even if it meant to keep these majestic creatures a secret from the world.

Ananke muttered something and each of the felt that something had changed within them again.

"What was that?" Zoe asked after the tingling feeling went away.

"That was a pocket space created for each of you that is attached to your soul. All these eggs and the egg of your familiar will be store there. I also left some surprises for you to find when you open them. Once you open it, everything has to be taken out and you can't use it again. So make sure to open them at the right time."

"Finally… Perseus, I have something for you," Ananke vanished the eggs and summoned eight puppies.

"Puppies?" Percy questioned.

"Not just any puppies… these are the offspring's of your pet hellhound and Cerberus."

They were nothing like the pets they kept at home. They were more like wolf pups with their diamond shaped head, bushy tail and thin waist. All of them were pitch black. Only their eye color varied. Since Zoe had worked with wolves extensively, he could tell that these pups would be phenomenal by just a glace. Even if they cross bred the pups with normal dogs or wolves, they would still exceed the quality of the hunting wolves Artemis utilized. Plus if they had retained the abilities of their parents, they would turn out to be quite fearsome companions.

"What happened to Mrs. O'Leary? Percy asked in frantic as the puppies frolicked around him like he was their parent. Some even tried to climb up him by getting on their hind feet and placing their front paws on Percy's legs.

Percy immediately knelt down and the puppies gushed at him while he petted each and every one of them. Zoe could see that they had already formed a bond with Percy and they saw him as a part of their family.

"She perished during the attack. I don't think she would be reforming anytime soon. These pups are a new species, carrying both the traits of their mother and father. I believe that they would be best left in your care because they would be used as weapons if the immortals of your world knew of their existence."

Percy looked devastated. Zoe knew that his pet hellhound was one of the closest friends he had even though it was the size of a large garbage truck. The hound had come to visit him in many occasions during their stay in Elysium. Zoe too had grown attached to the overgrown dog and often laughed as it slobbered Percy up in its happiness.

"I will look after them," Percy said with determination. "But how will they come with us?"

With a wave of her hand, Ananke converted the puppies into shadows and they went inside Percy.

"They will be inside of you until you wish to call them out like the eggs. Once out they can't go back in," she replied.

"What else?" Charles asked after Percy settled down.

"Nothing, except to send you away. You three will be real siblings this time," she pointed at Percy, Charles and Zoe. "Learn all you can after your birth. I will give a heads up to your parents. Good luck my children."

"Wai… birth?" was all Percy could say before Zoe felt like she was being squeezed into a tunnel.

Ananke watched as they flew backwards at breakneck speeds and finally disappeared.

"It's time," she whispered and gradually faded away.