Chapter Text
The Gates reared upon, flames and monsters spewing out of the literal entrance to Hell; hellhounds, cyclops and empousai made their way out, stumbling onto the rocky floor of the cave.
They lunged towards the Amazons, throwing the warrior women out of the way as they made haste. The fierce daughters of Themyscira fought on in confusion; slashing at fleeing empousai, who shrieked as they fled, cutting down the towering cyclops at their ankles, who bellowed in anger, and hacking at the hide of hellhounds, who snarled and bore their teeth as they disintegrated into a fine golden powder.
Amidst the chaos and the cacophony of sounds, coming from the downed beasts of ancient, came a lone figure, dressed in a lion’s pelt, with a glowing bronze sword in hand, that trailed along the floor, scraping and creating a harsh sound that grated on everyone’s ears. The horrid hellfire of Tartarus raged on behind him, draping the mysterious figure in a cloak of darkness, that concealed his appearance beyond what has already been described. As he passed the threshold, and moved beyond the entrance, or exit, to Hell, the imposing stone Gates slammed shut.
The sound reverberated through the cavern, mixing with the shouts and grunts of battle, the cries of monsters being chopped down and the clang of blades. It filled the Amazons with some peace, knowing the task of closing the Gates had been fulfilled, regardless of the odd and unnatural means they came through; shutting by itself.
What left many still unnerved, was the odd man-shaped creature which stood watching the end of the battle. Still bathed in the shadows.
As the monsters disintegrated, painting the floor a beautiful golden hue, the strange creature hesitantly stepped forward, it’s blade was still in hand though lifted just a few inches off the ground, to the relief of everyone’s ears. It almost appeared afraid, as it put one foot in front of the other and slumped towards the Amazons, who in turn, lowered themselves into their stances, weapons at the ready.
A raspy sound clawed itself out the things throat, “Lay down your weapons, we don’t need to fight.”
Antiope, General of Themyscira’s fighting forces, stepped up, “Lay down our weapons? You ask us to surrender?”, she scoffed, “You Beast, you clawed your way out on Hell and you think we will let you free?”, she barked out a laugh.
The figure slowly stepped forward, the torches on the wall slowly beating away the shadows that clung to his skin, “Beast? That’s a new nickname…very original.”
The Amazonian narrowed her eyes, as the things features were gradually revealed; its chest was bare, covered only by the hide of a lion, concealing the bronze and scarred skin of the man poorly, which was covered in blood and golden dust, his hair was a dark raven black, that she could just about see was knotted with dirt and mud, his eyes were a churning whirlpool of green and blue, and at his side hung a long bone, the sickly white surface was wrapped crudely in leather at one end and sharpened at the other, creating a dangerous point to form a crude sword. It was a stark contrast to the polished and beautiful xiphos that he held in hand.
“If you are not a Beast, then what are you? Tell me.”
The figure frowned, “You don’t know who I am? You don’t know?”
“If I knew what you were Beast, then I would not be asking.”
“Not a Beast. No. Tell me who you are.”
“I asked first.”
It gritted its teeth, “Not how this works.”
“No?”, Antiope mocked, “As I see it you are surrounded by a hundred of the finest Amazonian warriors Themyscira has to offer, you are in no position to bargain with us.”
“Amazonian?”, its eyes widened, “At last, you must know me then; Percy Jackson?”
“A monster named Percy?”
“Not a monster, if you are truly Amazons, then you must know me.”
“And why is that?”
“Why wouldn’t you? I’m Perseus Jackson, the Hero?!”
“I have not heard of such a hero.”
Suddenly, a tall and regal women, dressed in blue and red armour, a stark contrast to the others, stepped forward. “Nor have I.”
“No! You’re joking! Where’s Hylla?”
“Hylla?”, the dark haired woman questions.
“The Queen?!”
“The only Queen I know is my mother, Hippolyta.”
“No! Hylla is queen, or was, unless she was overthrown!”
“Do not try to deceive us Beast, no such woman has ever been named Queen in our long history!”
“Impossible!”, he cries. “You claim to be Amazons, but you don’t know who Hylla is?”
“Don’t attempt to deceive us. Tell us who you truly are, or we shall send you back to where you came from.”
“Rude! You’re Greek, I know that much, you claim you’re Amazons as well. Yet you don’t know who I am? Me? The son of Poseidon? General and Saviour of Olympus? The prophesied one? Bane of Kronos? Member of the Seven?!”
The group of warriors shifts uneasily, turning to look to one another with a wide range of looks; from disbelief to confusion, from anger to hatred. The group churns and murmurs, the two leading soldiers mutter amongst each other, eyes wide in shock. The dark haired beauty from before turns to the Half-Blood.
“What you say is impossible. I am the last Demigod, daughter of Zeus almighty! The only remaining child of the Greek pantheon, who ascended millennia ago. I am Princess to the Amazons, servants of the Gods, who would have surely heard if some boy-“, she spits, “-would have saved Olympus itself.” She steps forward. “So don’t attempt to lie to us any longer, we see through your cheap attempts at fooling us.” She unsheathes a sword from her side. “And we do not appreciate it! Perhaps a few more centuries in Tartarus will help you learn to be a better liar!”, she lunges forward, a horde of soldiers following suit.
The Prince of Atlantis parries Diana’s blow and lunges out of the way of another oncoming warrior, kicking her leg inward, which bends at an unholy angle and cracks. Two more soldiers storm forward, pushing him back; he blocks their blows as another launches a spear that whistles past his left ear. He’s thrown off balance momentarily and barely manages to evade the pointed tip of a spear. He hacks at the wooden shift, cutting the weapon in two and hacks at the girls ankles, causing her to collapse to the floor. More surge forward, overwhelming the lone Demigod, who twists and turns and stabs and parries and lunges. Fighting for his life.
As he beats away one soldier, two more file forward, like the head of a hydra regrowing. The Daughter of Zeus and General ,of the fierce women, hang back surprisingly, instead watching on with a satisfied glint in their eyes as the teenager begins to falter. Whilst blades bounce off the impenetrable skin of the Nemean Lion, that’s hung around his torso, spears and swords swoop low, for his feet, throwing him off balance and pushing him against the wall of the cave.
As he slowly loses more and more ground, and panic begins to settle deep in his chest, he searches deep within himself and is able to call upon the domains of his father; which have long lied dormant, since he last used them, to devastating effect, in the bowels of Mount St.Helens, and more recently on the iceberg in Alaska, against Alcyoneus. His divine heritage begins to take hold, shifting the low lying tectonic plates beneath the Earth and shaking the ground beneath his very feet. The soldiers nearest begin to lose their grip, falling to their knees. The quake emanates outwards, sending more and more of the force down.
The unperturbed son of Poseidon stands tall, as the roof of the cavern groans and rumbles, stalactites dropping from the ceiling, as the women roll to evade impalement. The boy looks on with a wild glee in his eyes, he stretches his limbs out, acting as though the cavern doesn’t seem to be collapsing in on itself and yells over the roar of the cave, “You see, some forget, that my Fathers power extends beyond the Ocean, he is the Stormbringer and, most importantly right now, the Earthshaker! You made a big mistake taking me on.”
Suddenly a cry penetrates through his speech, “I don’t quite know what foul Titan or God you are, but that will not stop me from sending you to your grave!” She staggers to her feet and pushes off her back leg to lunge into the air, flying through the cavern until she slams into Percy’s chest. She lands blow after blow on him before he eventually manages to push her off.
“You still don’t get it! I’m no God, or Titan. As I said before, I’m a son of Poseidon! One who just survived Tartarus and you believe you can take me down?”
“Cease these foul lies and tell the truth boy, you are no Demigod. Even if Poseidon did sire a son, why would he be stumbling out the Gates of Tartarus like some common monster?”
He picks his trusty sword off of the floor, where it had fallen to, after Diana lunged at him, and concentrates, ensuring the earthquake does not dissipate. “I don’t know what rock you’ve been living under, but if you truly worshipped the Gods, or were a demigod daughter of Zeus, which is impossible, then you’d know how I arrived there!” He shouts as the weary soldier charges towards the member of the Justice League with his sword raised high.
Diana dives away from his blow, “yet I don’t. So either one of us is lying, or deluded. I know myself to be neither and you claim yourself not to be a liar. So that leaves only one option!”
The clash of their swords echoes through the still shaking cavern, “Funny…But wrong.” He ducks under her blow and gets inside her guard, landing a solid punch to the jaw. “So unless parallel universes exist, I’d say you’re the deluded one!” She slides back, knees bent as she absorbs the powerful blow.
The storied warrior spits on the ground, a splatter of crimson staining the floor and straightens her spins. Her eyes narrow at his statement, and her ears prick up. “I doubt that. But I can test your theory.” She grins and pulls her lasso from her side, spinning it in the air before she loops the golden thread round around and hooks it onto his arm.
A smile crosses the boys face as he snatches his arm back, yanking her towards him. “Stupid idea, just letting me get closer.”
She grins, “In your eyes deceiver!”
“Not a deceiver woman, son of Poseidon, you have hearing problems?” The weave glows a bright golden hue, shining bright in the semi-lit cave.
“Not that I know of. I’ll ask a doctor after I drop you off at the nearest hospital.” The woman goads her supposed cousin.
“Funny. But I haven’t got this far to be killed by some daughter of Zeus impersonator.” Again, the lasso glows.
Diana’s eyes soften, before she shoves Percy away. “Tell me once more who you are!”, she demands.
“You really are deaf! Name’s Percy Jackson, I’ve faced Titans and come out on top, you’re about to get your ass whooped!”
She smiles and pulls her lasso from where it’s wrapped around his forearm. “Well then Percy, do try. But there may be no need for that.” Diana lays down her lasso and sword, raising her hands in the air. “You as well.”
He eyes her with distrust.
She shorts, “or not. I have some questions, you have answers. Perhaps we can work this out without fighting.”
The general of Olympus quirks a brow, “Ask away, but if this is a trick I’ll know.”
“If you can be tricked by an unarmed woman, surrounded by her sisters who are unable to get to their feet, I’d be worried for you.”
He laughs, “fair enough. Ask away Princess.”