3336 words

Raiden P.O.V

I rode on Orion's back for the next few hours. He followed the boar, gliding above it and providing the others with shade. We didn't talk much. I was still severely shaken after my encounter with Nemesis. My thoughts kept drifting back to her words: I have an offer for Raiden Kairos that she will not want to miss.

What was that supposed to mean? What offer did I need from a minor goddess that petrified me to tears?

Orion appeared to have read my thoughts. Nemesis is still bothering you?

"Yes. She's a"-I cursed so vulgarly in Ancient Greek that even Ares would've been impressed- "and I despise her."

I know the feeling. I had a similar...thing happen with her.

"Is that why she said, 'Do you believe my words now, Orion Theron?'"

Yes. I met her once when I was twelve.

I frowned. Although I knew several things about Orion's past, I didn't know about his encounter with Nemesis. "What happened?"

She came to me at Camp Half-Blood, just after I joined the Hunters and my parents had left. She warned me that someone I loved would betray me and that she could help me for a price. I rejected her offer. I was sure that no one I loved would ever betray me, but...

"But then Aidan left," I finished.

Yes.

We didn't speak more after that. The boar continued until sunset until it halted to gulp half of the Atlantic Ocean from a nearby stream. The others dismounted, and Orion landed. I jumped off his back and surveyed my surroundings.

The desert stretched to the horizon in either direction. A two lane road, half concealed by sand, stretched in front of us. On the opposite side was a handful of buildings, including a long forgotten taco shop, a boarded-up home, and a chalky stucco post office with a twisted sign reading GILA CLAW, ARIZONA.

Hills stretched beyond the buildings, except they were normal desert hills with sand and shrubs. The hills were comprised of old appliances, cars, and scrap metal. It was a giant junkyard.

"This is really help," Thalia grumbled. "No civilization and no food. What do we do now?"

"Rest." Orion stretched his arms above his hands and winced as his back cracked. "I need sleep after flying for eight hours."

"Well, then," Zoë said, "we should remain here for the night. It is foolish to attempt to navigate this junkyard at night."

I removed a foam mattress from my rucksack and my bearskin blanket. Zoë, Orion, and Bianca extracted more foam mattresses and sleeping bags-six in total-for the rest. Snow retrieved a few wood planks from the run-down house, and Orion ignited a fire.

"Is anyone hungry?" I asked.

"Absolutely," Grover replied.

Orion and I removed the leftover dried fruit from our rucksacks and handed them around. Percy studied the fruit before taking a bite.

"How is possible, exactly?" he asked. "Strawberries can't grow in winter, so how'd you get these?"

"Ainsley grew them," I said curtly. "She can do that, even in winter."

"Oh."

I lay back on my mattress and stared at the stars. Millions of glittering dots coated the galactic blanket of the night sky. I traced the Big Dipper with my finger, wishing that Ainsley was there with me.

"The stars are beautiful tonight," Orion remarked.

"Yeah, they are," Grover agreed.

Zoë sniffed. "There were more once. Light pollution has caused the disappearance of many constellations."

"Not me, though." Orion pointed at the Orion Constellation.

"He's your namesake, then?" Percy asked.

"Not just that; I'm also his reincarnation."

Everyone, excluding Zoë and I gaped, at Orion.

"How exactly is that possible?" Percy asked. "Orion was a giant, so he went to Tartarus to reform, not Asphodel or Elysium."

Orion sighed. "It's complicated. Even I still don't fully understand it, but I'll try to explain." He thought for moment. "My parents told this to me when I was twelve. When I was born, the Fates came to my parents in California and told them that I would have a part to play in the destiny of the Olympians. The old crazies explained to my parents that when the original Orion died from the scorpion sting, a few drops of his ichor of watered the ground and grew into a flower. My mother ate that a few petals of that flower at some point during a trip to Greece and ingested the ichor. She was pregnant with me at the time, so I absorbed the ichor in the womb, and a part of the original's Orion soul was transferred to me. That's how I'm reincarnation."

"Isn't that the plot of Rapunzel? Mom-eats-a-magic-flower-and-the-baby-gets-superpowers?"

"Nope; it's actually the plot of my life. The animators just stole it."

"Can you even copyright the plot of your life?"

"Unfortunately, no, so I can't take the animators to court.

Percy laughed. "Well, that sucks."

Orion grinned. "Tell me about it."

They smiled at each other for moment, and for a few seconds, it seemed like we weren't on a life-threatening quest. A blazing light and rumbling noise from down the road brought us sharply back to reality.

"Car!" Orion shouted. "Dive!"

He tackled Snow out of the way, while the rest of seized our belongings and dove to the side. A white limousine screeched to a stop in front of us.

"Wonderful," I grumbled. "This is exactly what I need right now."

An extremely muscular man exited the car right next Percy, sporting the clothes of a biker. He was wearing black shades that concealed his hollow sockets of ruthless crimson. He pressed the point of his sword against Percy's throat. We drew our weapons.

"Good to see you again, punk," Ares growled.

"Hello, Ares," I snarled. "What are you doing here? There's no war going on or innocent people to slaughter."

The war god glanced over at me. "Raiden Kairos. Been a long time, hasn't it?"

Rage roared in my ears. The last I'd interacted was when he'd driven to Camp Half-Blood at the age of six. Ares had taunted me the entire time and called me worthless. I'd despised him ever since.

I stepped forward, glaring at the god. I reached down into the roots of my power, picturing scenes of war. "Wanna try that again, Ares?"

The god recoiled then appeared furious with himself. He snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. He tried again with the same result.

"Aw," I sneered, "are your powers not working, War Boy?"

Ares retreated away from Percy. I flexed my muscles so that the god could see and jerked my head forward. The god flinched, and I cackled.

"Leave," I commanded. "Now."

Ares retreated into the car. Before he slammed the door shut, he growled, "I'll be watching you. When you need it most, your skills will fail you." He slammed the door.

I snorted. "Yeah, sure they will."

I sheathed my axe and stopped the power negation. Instantly, the seven of us were engulfed in a red dust cloud, while the world spun. I squeezed my eyes shut to avoid vomiting. When I opened them, Gila Claw had vanished. We stood in the middle of the junkyard, surrounded by hills of scrap metal.

"Gods, I hate him," I grumbled.

Percy glanced over at me, looking slightly wary. "I'm not a fan of him, either. By the way, what'd you mean when you said, 'Are your powers not working, War Boy?' Did you mess with his powers?"

"Yes. I can negate the powers of gods and demigods. I don't ever do it unless I really have to." I grimaced. "I don't like seeing people helpless, but Ares deserved to look like that. He's hurt too many."

"How are you still alive?" Thalia asked. "If you're dangerous enough that you can take away godly powers, why did the gods let you live?"

I scowled at her. "Zip it, Grace."

"Anyway," Orion said quickly, "we need to head west." He pointed in that direction. "So, that way."

"How do you know?" Bianca asked.

"Ursa Major. That's in the north, so this is west."

"Let's go then." I jogged (read: tripped) to the junk mountain crest. "Holy Hades, there's a lot of junk here."

Shattered weapons, chariots, computers were piled around everywhere, ringed by crushed cars, refrigerators, and washing machines. Some it appeared to be crafted from actual gold.

"This is sweet!" Grover snatched a bent Celestial Bronze sword from the ground and started to chew on it. "This is soooo good!

"Don't eat that, goat boy!" Thalia wrenched the weapon from his grasp and threw it aside. "This stuff is cursed."

"For once, Thalia is correct," Zoë said. "We are in the junkyard of the gods, where they will dispose of objects they do not require anymore."

We began clambering over the junk, stumbling on protruding coils and axles. My irritation was increasing with every second, so the third I tripped, I snatched up the item I'd stumbled up over. I was about to hurl it when I realized what it was. The item had a curved bronze blade attached to a pole of wood as long as my leg with a leather grip at the bottom.

I extended my shaking hand and touched the blade. It was frigid. As soon as my fingers touched the metal, dust swirled around me. My surroundings did a three-sixty, and the junkyard vanished.

When the dust had settled again, I was in a darkened living room. The window shutters were closed, and the lights were dimmed. There was nothing in the room but a threadbare couch in the center, and a closed door to the left.

I knew this place; it was the original base of Kronos, before he'd manipulated Luke into serving him, meaning that...

A stifled sob from the couch attracted my attention. I moved around in front of the couch to see who was crying. A little African-American girl with silky black hair in a ponytail sat on the couch with her head between her knees. It was seven-year-old me.

"Oh, Raiden." I settled down next to me and placed my arm around the little girl's shoulders. "I'm so sorry."

Younger Me didn't know I was there, so she continued to sob silently. The door burst open, and the temperature in the room plummeted. Younger Me started quaking and rapidly wiped her eyes. She shot to her feet and kneeled as a man in a black suit stopped before us. He had golden eyes, a long, pointy ebony beard, and curly, ebony hair. His hands were clasped behind his back.

"Kronos," I whispered, although he couldn't hear me. My legs started trembling.

"F-father," Younger Me stammered, sinking deeper into her kneel. "I-It's a-an h-honor t-to s-see y-"

"Enough groveling," Kronos snapped. "Stand up."

Younger Me stood up but still bowed her head. Kronos sneered at her before removing an object from behind his back. It was my-our-scythe, except it was much shinier, and the leather grip wasn't worn.

"Look at me," the Titan Lord commanded.

Younger Me quaked even more but still raised her head to meet his gaze. Her lip began to tremble. "W-what i-is t-this?"

"Your weapon." He yanked Younger Me's arms forward and forced the scythe into her hands.

"B-but..." Younger Me stammered. "I-I h-have m-my s-sword."

"Silence," Kronos said. "You will take this weapon to Camp Half-Blood with you instead of your sword. It will improve your fighting skills."

"B-but w-won't i-it d-draw a-attention t-to m-me?"

"ARE YOU CONTRADICTING ME?" The temperature plummeted so far that frost formed on the walls.

Younger Me shrank back. "N-no, F-Father. I-I'm s-sorry."

"You will take this scythe." Kronos moved his face so that Younger Me could feel his breath on her face. "It is enchanted, so it will not draw attention to you. It will also remind you of what is at stake. Now, get out of my sight." He turned to face the wall.

Younger Me bowed again and scurried out the room, grasping the scythe. I watched the door slam shut behind her, wanting to rush after her and hug her tightly.

"Well, little son," Kronos said, "you have found your weapon again, have you?"

I froze in mid-step. How did he know I was there? This was just a vision, wasn't it?

He turned around and met my gaze. My heart began to pound. "You cannot escape me, you know that?" he whispered, stepping forward. "I will always find you."

I wanted to run; to escape, but I couldn't move. My feet were rooted to the floor. I gaped as the Titan walked over to stand in front of me.

"You will not survive long, Raiden Kairos," Kronos said. He extended his hand. "You will soon die, but first, you will suffer."

He touched my forehead. I screamed, my breath constricting my throat. Pain erupted all over my body, and I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing for it all to end.

"Raiden! Raiden! RAIDEN!" Someone was shaking my shoulders.

I gasped and opened my eyes. I was back in the junkyard, quaking on a broken refrigerator. The scythe clattered to the ground beside me. Orion kneeled over me, concern and fright in his sea-green eyes. "Are you alright?" He touched my face.

"NO!" I screamed, scrambling away. "NO! DON'T HURT ME!"

"Raiden!" Orion's voice was full of alarm. "It's okay; you're safe. What did you see?"

I pulled my knees up to my chest, a sob erupting in my throat. I buried my face into my legs so the others wouldn't see my tears.

"Hey, hey." Orion embraced me. "Raiden, it's okay. Nothing here is gonna hurt you."

"But Kronos!" I mumbled. "He was...he was..."

"He's not here," Orion murmured, rubbing my back. "Ray, I promise that you're safe."

"S-safe?" I repeated. "H-he's n-not h-here?"

"That's right. It's just us in the junkyard.'

I raised my head, tears still streaming my cheeks. Orion smiled at me and helped me to my feet. I inhaled shakily and stumbled under my trembling legs. I wiped away my tears forcefully and seized the scythe. I glared at it, rage roaring my ears. I bent my knee and lifted the weapon above it.

"Raiden, don't!" Thalia warned.

"SHUT UP, GRACE!" I bellowed. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"

I brought the scythe upon my knee, and the wood splintered. The blade shattered, and I hurled the remaining wood into my hand.

"Let's go," I barked.

We continued to stumble through the mounds of junk. We'd almost arrived at the highway half a mile ahead of us, but two giant masses, larger and taller than anything we'd yet seen, of scrap metal blocked our path. The masses were as long as football fields and the height of goalposts. A line of ten sturdy metal columns stood tightly packed at one edge of each mass.

"What are those?" Bianca frowned.

"Toes?" Orion suggested.

"Why are there giant metal toes in a junkyard?" Percy clenched his fist in his pocket. "That's definitely not normal."

"Should we climb around it?" Thalia asked.

Grover nodded vigorously. "Yes, please."

We traversed around the metal toes for several minutes, finally arriving on the abandoned highway stretch.

"Finally," I muttered. "Thank Artemis. I-"

I was interrupted by a noise louder than the blast of Zeus's Master Bolt, and believe, it's deafening. I whipped around. The mountain ascended, and two bronze behemoths sporting Greek armor emerged, towering above us as robotic skyscrapers. Their faces were charred and melted on one side, and their bodies were coated in dust.

"It is Talos!" Zoë summoned her bow. "Or Taloses!"

"Who?" Percy gasped.

"A creation of Hephaestus!" Orion bellowed. "These aren't the originals, though!"

"Does it matter what they are?" Thalia zapped the nearest Talos with static electricity. "Scatter!"

The seven of us dispersed. Snow jumped onto Orion's back, and he shape-shifted into a dragon. He soared up over the metal giants, blowtorching their faces with azure flames and dodging their swats. I whipped out my axe and tossed it at the giant's arm. It ricochetted off, leaving no mark.

I caught my weapon, while the nearest Talos creaked furiously and whirled on me. I rolled out of the way, as the metal giant's foot crashed into where I'd just been.

"We need to split up!" Percy yelled. "Zoë, Raiden, Grover, handle the one on the left! Bianca, Thalia, and I will deal with the other!"

"Got it!" Grover started playing a jaunty tune on his pipes, and the power lines began to dance. They wrapped around the left Talos's legs and caused him to stagger, buying us a couple seconds.

But when he rose to his feet again, the metal man was undamaged by Grover's blow. I dodged another stomp and glanced up at Orion. He was beginning to tire from combined effort of sustaining hot enough fire to melt the metal and dodging the swats of the Taloses. As he melted off an ear of the Talos I was battling, the giant's hand swung upward. Orion soared upward, but the giant managed to strike Orion's wing with a finger. He spiraled through the air, one wing wing bent the wrong way.

"Orion!" Zoë released a volley of arrows and snatched our Talos's attention. He creaked around and pursued Zoë and I instead.

"We need to get him away from here," I told her. "I have a plan."

"Raiden, you cannot go alone! It is too dangerous."

"I'll be fine! Go help the others!"

Zoë reluctantly raced away, while I raised my axe. "Hey, Metal Head! Over here!"

Talos squeaked and turned on me. He raised his foot, and I darted out of the way. I concentrated on the time flow around me and willed it to speed up around my feet. I sprinted away, blurs of beige rushing past me. The metal man pursued me, creating craters in the highway asphalt. Soon, we were at least half a mile away from other Talos.

I skidded to a stop and faced the metal giant. "You reached the end of the line, Metal Head!"

I concentrated on the flow of time around Talos and willed it to stop. Sweat trickled down the back of my neck, and I gritted my teeth. Just as he raised his foot to crush me, he froze. Several gears fell out of his foot.

I jumped backward and collapsed to my knees, exhausted. I inhaled deeply several times and stood up. My legs shook, and I staggered down the road back toward my friends.

As I approached, I could see the wreckage of the other Talos on the ground. Orion stood by Zoë, wincing as she bandaged his broken arm. When she'd finished, he placed an arm her shoulder with a depressed expression. I realized that Zoë was weeping. I'd never seen her cry before. It shattered my heart to see her so sad.

"What happened?" I asked, glancing around. "Where's...oh no." My heart plummeted. "Bianca."

Thalia nodded and kicked the wreckage. "She's gone; she sacrificed herself to save us."

"She could still be alive," Percy murmured. "It's possible."

I shook my head and sighed. "It's not possible, Percy. Her time has ended."

"How do you know for sure?" Thalia asked.

I looked at her sadly. "Because my father is the Titan of Time. I know when someone's time has ended."

"It's just like the prophecy said." Orion glared at the wreckage of Talos before kicking his ear. "One shall fall in the place of no rain." He huffed and then stared at Zoë. "I hate them; they always come true."