What was Created by God (Percy Jackson | Fate/Grand Order) - [Crossover]

[Wyvern]

AN: I guess I have a lot to explain, huh, Well, I suppose you could call this a strange set of circumstances that lead to this. From me losing my laptop and having to wait a couple weeks to get a new one, to one of my friends going through a rough patch in life and me having to prioritize Commissions and then College work over everything else. I played FGO a lot at that point, and finished Atlantis which I had left off for a while. I guess this fic was created because I had an idea of something fun to do to distract myself, after trying and failing to go back to my previous projects many times before. I feel like I failed utterly at what I planned to do. And that everyday I wasn't back here it was easier to focus on something else to distract myself from being a disappointment. I have no excuses. Just apologies for all the worry I caused to the friends I have here, and the people who were looking forward to the next installment of my South America Nasuverse project. I just want to say sorry again. But I'm doing better now. I'm starting to climb back on the horse and I don't want to leave my other projects unfinished because of this. I only hope you guys can forgive me for the long absence. In the meantime, please enjoy what I have written with my freetime.

What was Created by God

Thou, Child of the Sea 0.1

Percy woke up with a killer headache. Like someone decided he owed them money and that bashing him with a golf club was a valid way to get it back. Actually, scratch that, it wasn’t just his head. Everything hurt. ‘Did someone get the number of that volcano?’ Shaking the last dregs of unconsciousness, Percy winced as he tried sitting down, fingers digging into coarse sand as salty waves lapped against his feet. A small semblance of energy returning to him at the contact with the water. Though it didn’t help with the pain. ‘What happened?’ He tried to remember. They were in the labyrinth, that much Percy recalled. They were there because a ton of evil folks, and another heap of misled folks wanted to use it to find away into his summer camp and raze it to the ground. You know, fun stuff. He and Annabeth had to go on another errand for another god as part of that quest. You know, basic demigod stuff you need to do unless you feel like spinning the wheel and see whether the god in question was feeling like punishing you for it. Percy, knowing his luck, obviously accepted. Okay, so maybe staying behind to deal with the Telekhines hadn’t been his brightest moment. And maybe using his powers inside an active volcano wasn’t that much better either. But you couldn’t blame him for thinking that it might work! The explosion was totally an accident and Percy hoped Hephaestus didn’t care too much about the lost forge. You never knew with gods. Long story short, there was an explosion and Percy kinda sorta felt he might have died but not really? He certainly felt like death had warmed over but decided to just kick the stuffing out of him rather than just take him kicking and screaming to the Underworld. Percy wasn’t looking forward to seeing his estranged uncle again. If he died, he was pretty sure Annabeth would have found a way to kill him for it. Well, that or kiss him for not dying after all. ‘Okay, stashing that one for later. Getting back to camp comes first.’ Which should be easy, right? Son of Poseidon. Navigating powers. He could just jump into the sea and swim back if push came to shove. So long as there weren’t any more giant sea monsters on the way. There was just one teeny tiny problem. ‘Where the Hades am I?’ ‘Atlantic Ocean’ his powers answered. Well, they gave him a bunch of numbers and coordinates. But Percy wasn’t gonna bother with details. But where in the Atlantic ocean? ‘Atlantic Ocean’. Okay… his powers were broken. Great. Maybe that explosion knocked something loose after all. ‘Alright, gotta Scooby-doo this one the normal way then.’ Probably not gonna end well. Look, Percy wasn’t much of a critical thinker. He was someone who learnt by doing, and no demigod worth their salt would consider staying put for more than five minutes. It was just how they were wired. Patience gave away to action more often than not, and unfortunately Percy didn’t have a cellphone. He pat his pockets. No drachmas either. ‘Guess no Iris Messages either.’ Still, he was somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic and it wasn’t his first time stuck on an island. First where he didn’t have a pirate ship conveniently stashed away so he could sail away. But he was more experienced now. Surely it would be easier?

It wasn’t. Percy didn’t recognize the island he was at. Though that was a faint hope. He had at least expected to find some kind of signal that people were there. But there were no docks or boats no matter where he looked. Only long strips of white sand framed by clear blue waters and the light of sun as it crested over the horizon in the early morning. Breathtakingly beautiful? Yup. Utterly useless in helping him get back? Yup. There weren’t any trails or any paths leading to or from the beach. Percy must have walked around half an hour trying to find anything resembling civilization, but had to stop once his legs started complaining. As well as the rest of his body. Seriously, it never took him that long to recover from something like this. Normally a dip in the water was all he needed to heal. But he was still sore all over for some reason. Now, you might be thinking. Aren’t you being a bit too cautious, Percy? Thinking ahead is very much unlike you, Seaweed Brain? Maybe you should just uncap that sword of yours and jump into the weird jungle, Jackson? And normally you’d be right, he would have gotten bored and wandered into the jungle by now. If he hadn’t found something. Well… it was… something. Like a metal fin sticking out of the sand. Percy had run into it while heading the opposite way from where he started. It was like a piece of the most expensive yacht in the world had broken off and washed ashore. It was as tall as a house and twice as wide, with strange lines running on its sides. Nothing that Percy could read unfortunately. Trying to dig it out didn’t reveal anything either. It was just a massive piece of metal on the beach. The only thing he could confirm was that it was made out of celestial bronze. And that the island wasn’t really an island. Shocker, right? He’d been digging a fire pit to prepare the food when the beach decided it had ran out of sand. Sleek bronze metal peeking from underneath the dirt, the same as the hunk of junk Percy had been using as his umbrella. In fact, the hunk of junk was an even bigger hunk of junk than he expected. ‘Please… please don’t be another scrapyard.’ Touching it didn't make any giant robots pop up out of the sand. Percy checked that already. And digging in different spots revealed the same mass of celestial bronze underneath the beach. That was as far as his investigation went before a hungry stomach forced him to hunker down under the shade of the metal fin. Some foraging later and Percy was now the proud owner of a ruined shack in the middle of nowhere. Complete with fireplace and fish-on-a-stick. ‘It isn’t much, but its not death by sun and hunger.’ As it turned out, unseasoned fish filets carved with a legendary weapon tasted about the same as unsalted fish filets carved with a kitchen knife. Percy considered throwing a quick prayer Hera’s way. She’d helped their group once, so maybe she would again if he asked really nicely? He was also craving some of that godly all you can eat buffet of hers. Okay, Seaweed Brain, think! You have a brain, you can use it. So he got tossed out of the Labyrinth into some random island in the middle of nowhere. Probably got blown up by the volcano and went through another entrance. Which didn’t make sense, since he woke up in the middle of the beach… then again… he kinda couldn’t drown… and didn’t know how much time he was asleep for. For all Percy knew, it could have been drifting in the sea for hours! Which meant… he was lost? If he drifted away from the entrance when he fell out off it, then that just meant Percy had to try and find an entrance to go back. Simple? Yes. Easy? Nope. He couldn’t even check the hours! Stupid Kampe and her stupid chasing them around. Percy would definitely have to make it up to Tyson for losing his shield. He missed the wristwatch though. Having to wait was going to suck without anything to let him know how much time he was wasting sitting on his butt. He was gonna have to do this the hard way until Hephaestus or whoever noticed he was still alive, huh? Percy sighed. Hopefully Tyson, Grover, and Annabeth were all safe. He and Tyson hadn’t gotten to spend much time together. And Percy had acted like a douchebag to his friend-turned-brother. Jealous that his father now had someone else to give attention to. Never mind the fact Percy himself at least had his mother, while Tyson was just left behind by his. ‘I’ll definitely buy him something nice.’ Looking up at the large metal fin, Percy chuckled. Maybe he could bring it with him as a souvenir? Tyson would definitely like working with all the celestial bronze. The idea of being covered head to toe in trinkets made by his friend like some kind of rich celebrity was silly, but it kept his thoughts from wandering. Maybe help was already in the way. It couldn’t take that long, could it? Percy barely lasted the hour. Okay, so maybe waiting for literal divine intervention wasn’t much of a plan to begin with. And he wouldn’t put it past some of the less helpful gods, looking at you Ares, to show up and gloat at him for somehow blowing himself up. The infuriating war god would totally do it. So he was faced with a very important choice. Did he go out to see and pray he found someone willing to guide him back home, or did he try and explore the rest of the island, in hopes that the inner part wasn’t as sparse and abandoned as the beaches surrounding it? Finding a better place to stay was definitely more important that swimming around aimlessly. And unfortunately Fish didn’t make for good conversationalists. “I’m looking for an entrance to the Labyrinth” ‘What’s a Labyrinth?’“It’s like… a cave that goes really deep?” ‘What’sa cave?’ Seriously. You’d think his dad would have instilled some kind of… well… fish school policy? They were literally called schools of fish. They should really have been smarter than this! He’d spent half an hour trying to explain what a cave was before realizing that, hey, he was explaining what caves were to a bunch of fish. And they weren’t even good students. Was this how Annabeth felt like when she had to explain things to him? Couldn’t be! Percy was a model student after all! ‘And they are gone.’ Percy noted duly as his failed school swam away. Okay, so it was time for Plan B. Turning his back on the beach, the demigod ran headfirst into the unknown with a sword at hand hoping he didn’t trip and get smote by a random island god. ‘We have those, right?’ Fortunately there were no angry Island Gods to be found. But not much of anything else. Instead all Percy found were trees, a couple clearings, some local animals that didn’t seem to have any form of self preservation instinct as they trotted around and besides him. Well, there were also more pieces of celestial bronze. Scattered as they were throughout the island, he found that the deeper he went into the forest, the more metal fins he would find, like it was the world’s ugliest garden project. And yet there were no signs of anything human or any mark that there were people nearby. And most importantly… he found some bushes with some very juicy looking berries on them. It wasn’t nectar, but it beat having to eat raw fish jerky. ‘Note to myself, sacrifice some to dad later.’ Maybe that would ping the man’s SOS signal. It was odd just how… symmetric everything looked. The island was a perfect circle. The trees were spaced apart the same way. The animals, few that Percy had seen, were neither too young nor too old. He had yet to see any corpses either. It was like the island itself was artificial, floating aimless in the middle of the ocean. Like someone just left it there. Even now, he could feel the currents underneath his feet. Underneath the island itself. Somehow the island was stuck in place, despite not having anything linking it to the bottom of the ocean. There was just something… off about it. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. There was this presence about it. Like when you feel yourself being watched. Only it was coming from all around him, all the time from the moment he stepped into the jungle. There hadn’t been any ambushes or traps. The animals had been curious at first but soon enough left. Yet the sensation of being watched never let up, like a tingle on his spine. Or an itch inside his head. And as he approached the center of the island, Percy could tell that it was becoming stronger. Uncomfortable. Like someone was trying to scoop his brains out. It wasn’t painful, but by the time he finally made it to the center, Percy could tell his eyes were stinging and his ears were ringing from the feeling of it. The animals who’d been following him had long since fled, perhaps as bothered by the close proximity as he was. All the smarter for it. ‘Seriously, you can’t take a hint that something is wrong. You are really a Seaweed Brain!’ Okay, so maybe his Annabeth impression could do with some work. But he was sure Wise Girl would have probably thought of a better plan than plowing straight into what might be a trap. Unfortunately he wasn’t all that wise, so onwards he walked until finally arriving at a new clearing. Like those before, it was perfectly circular. But unlike the other ones, there was actually something in it. ‘A building?’ Percy squinted his eyes. It was hard to tell. There was some kind of haze over his eyes, almost like the Mist. Like there was something both there and not. He could make out a faint outline of whatever it was but it was impossible to make out any details. It was a huge chunk of metal, like the one left behind at the beach, and maybe… and bear with him on this one… just maybe this hazy, clearly hidden, part of the island was the reason why Percy felt like there were nails dragging all over his brain. Crazy thinking, right? If he had to make a guess… Percy would say it almost looked like Cabin 1. A massive bank-shaped monstrocity made out of… metal? Stone? Wood? Everytime he tried to notice any kind of detail, his head just fogged over. It was like trying to read sometimes, where the words seemed to get scrambled. He could see familiar letters, but not read them. He could see familiar symbols and statues, but the moment he tried recalling them, its like he forgot what they even looked like. “Freaky buildings do freaky things to the mind, got it.” Still, he wasn’t that much of a Seaweed Brain that he would just run head first into it. So he picked up a stone, gave it a hardy shake for good luck, and then tossed it at the mirage-like outline. Before ducking for cover behind a tree. And was rewarded when the projectile bounced on something metalic. Before the humming on his ears increased and the pebble bounced back, flying right through the tree Percy had ducked under like a cannonball. Before it kept going. And going. And going… And then there was a splash as it hit the ocean a mile or so away. ‘That could have gone better.’ Percy patted his head to get rid of the saw dust. No missing ears or anything. Good. He’d consider this a successful experiment. And nothing went wrong… [Intruder: Detected] ‘Open mouth, insert foot I guess?’ A sledgehammer hit the side of his head and Percy nearly fainted. Like someone rang a church bell right next to his ear, the sound reverberated bouncing off of the walls of his skull. The pressure from whatever it was in the middle of the clearing increasing as a monotone voice drilled its way into his head. It wasn’t even a voice it was like… he suddenly knew what the thing was thinking because it was warning him. [Deploying Anti-Siege Countermeasures] That… wasn’t good. [Power Insufficient - Initiating Backup Defense System] [Deploying Purge-Type Defense Unit - Atlasia Manticore] ‘Purge-what?’ And that’s when the ground exploded. Dirt and metal pieces flying everywhere as the island shook, Percy jumping back as something massive and cylindrical rose from the floor. It reminded him of one of those tower elevators he sometimes saw in amusement parks. Only massive and with a single door, made of a very familiar bronze metal with glowing lines of blueish-green light decorated its sides. The machinery shuddered and groaned, the very ground vibrating underneath Percy’s feet. Before opening with a sharp hiss, allowing something to pounce out of the elevator. A long paw covered in dull yellow fur, the part where its arm met with the body was covered in bronze. A long muzzle with dagger-like bronze fangs poking from behind the lips. Its mane was ridiculously long, with a spiked drawing even more attention to it. All in all, something Percy wished he wouldn’t have to see again in a long time as the massive beast sporting a lion’s head and a long scorpion’s stinger prowled into the now empty clearing. Seriously. Mr. Thorn? Was that you? Well, he could tell it wasn’t. He was pretty sure Thorn wasn’t the Terminator. What with looking like someone had decided to do horrific science to the monster’s body. Half of it being made of solid silver. Never mind the honest to Gods wings on its back. Seriously, since when did monsters have jetpacks? Was this a new model, fresh of the monster making press? Then its eyes zeroed in on Percy. “Di Immortales.”

Thus Percy Jackson, Hero of Camp Half-Blood… boldly turned tail and fled. What? He wasn’t gonna fight the freaky cyborg monster in the freaky clearing! It was bad enough having his mind messed around with, but having to actually focus enough to fight while it felt like someone was hammering a nail through his head was impossible. So Percy did the smart thing and skedaddled! Annabeth would have been so proud! What was this called again? Tactical retreat? Strategic withdrawal? Dramatic exit? Yeah, that last one felt just right. ▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅ “Well shit.” Looking over his shoulder, Percy barely moved to the side as the monstrosity of mechanical mayhem dashed out of the clearing and after him, its chrome body plowing through the trees like a battering ram, eyes glowing the same familiar blue he’d seen on every piece of metal scattered in this junkyard of an island. Only it managed to look twice as terrifying when something was looking at you with it. That’s when Percy’s Half-Blood sense screamed at him and he jumped to the side, barely avoiding a barrage of dart-like metals spikes. Their pointy, lethal, ends piercing right through the trees, before an angry sizzle hits his ears along with a strong smell of vinegar. The trees were melting. Not burning. Literally melting as a sickly yellow goop spilled from them. He reached for his pocket, finding the comforting weight of a pen, the motion of pulling out the cap coming instinctively just as another barrage of spikes flew his way. Percy’s body, however, was already on autopilot. The leaf-shaped sword of bronze barely weighed anything as the parried the first spike. Then a second. Then a third. The banging of metal on metal screeched on Percy’s ear as he jumped behind a large tree and started running again, avoid the rest of the barrage as it sunk into wood and the sizzling became even louder. ‘Think, Percy. Think!’ He jumped over a fallen trunk, twisting mid air with instinctual grace to parry the fourth. Then slid behind one of the metal fins to avoid the next. Wasn’t there an end to that thing’s ammo?! Should he go back to the beach? He’d have no cover, but at least he could retreat into the ocean and escape. There was no way he could fight that thing head to head, not when it was shooting those spikes everywhere like a crazy porcupine. The only reason he wasn’t a puddle on the floor was because the trees were barely stopping the spikes from catching him. ▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅ Unfortunately it didn’t story Robo-Thorn from crashing through them like they were wet paper as it roared, electric blue eyes sparking like headlights, lines on its bronze body flickering to life. Percy’s ears screamed at the noise of nails on chalkboard, the echo shaking the ground beneath his feet. “Alright, let’s see if you’re waterproof.” Everything hurt, but now he put enough distance from the temple that his head wasn’t feeling like someone stuffed it with cotton. Taking a deep breath, he reached for the power of the ocean. And immediately stumbled as it felt like someone punched him in the gut. [Unauthorized Access Detected] [Unknown Pseudo-Organic Terminal Detected] [Divine Corpus Network Access Code Denied] ‘You have got to be kidding me.’ Percy moved just in time to block a fifth spike, head swimming with frustration as he batted it away with Riptide, watching the Manticore warily as it seemed to stop chasing him, prowling cautiously as the tubes embedded on its scorpion tale released bursts of steam, the noise reminding him of a train whistle. Okay… bad news was the freaky temple also messed up with his powers. Good news was that the lion scorpion cyborg thingy ran out of ammo. Which meant he didn’t have to keep weaving and bobbing in between the trees and just make a straight beeline to the beach. Extra bad news though… freaky temple messed with his powers. If he ran far away, would it stop? Would he drown if he tried to swim away? It hadn’t stopped him from speaking to the fish earlier, but that was different from diving into deep water with one of Hephaestus’ rejected toys on his tail. Percy sidestepped the monster, cringing as it barreled through another tree. ‘I sure hope there aren’t important to someone.’ But it did give him an idea. “Hey, tin can! Getting rusty over there?!” He wasn’t sure if the monster understood him. It hadn’t spoken like Dr. Thorn, after all. ▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅ Well, that answered that! Running deeper into the forest, Percy bobbed and weaved in between the trees, looking back as the furious roars and growls grew louder. He was just the glad the monster had run out of whatever ammo it was using earlier, otherwise this stupid plan wouldn’t work. Right. Left. Right. Dodge! He rolled under a swipe of the monster’s claw, dust and mud clung to his back as he slid closer to one of the creek, the smell of freshwater doing little to comfort him, though he appreciated it healing some of the bruises and scrapes he’d accumulated while running away. The feeling of water as it climbed over his legs and up his back was… refreshing. If a bit chilly. But with water came strength, energy and vigor returning to Percy as he planted his feet solidly on the ground, dry despite being sunk knee deep into the water of the creek. Like he’d suddenly got an extra large dose of caffeine. ‘At least that’s working.’ Head finally cleared, the pain on his stomach was fading. Less of a ‘gotten trampled by satyrs’ and more of a ‘random Ares kid thought I owed him money’ on the scale of bodily pain. Still hurt like hell, but he could at least breath without it hurting. But that was enough. Twirling Riptide, Percy watched as the metalic monster charged through the treeline, branches and leaves strewn across its body, stinger tail waving wildly as the hissing noise of a train whistle intensified, Percy let it come to him this time. Water splashing about as the manticore surged forth to take a bite out of him. Percy jumped. The surge of power left him. But it had carried him off the creek and over the Manticore. Literally over him. Percy’s arm moved with practiced ease… and the whistle noise died abruptly. ▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅ The manticore roared in agony, a black oil-like sludge pouring out of the stump where its tail should have been. The… dis-tailed member flopped about frantically, stinging at nothing as it sank into the shallows of the creek. ‘Okay, that’s the tail.’ Now he was just missing the arms, the legs and probably the head too just to make sure. After this it got easier. Well… easier-ish. In water, Percy was stronger and faster, his wounds healed and he had endless energy. And the Manticore was all but dead. Without its tail it couldn’t shoot spikes and without its spikes, Percy could just man handle it so long as he stayed in water. The only problem was the armor. Seriously, who gave monsters armor?! Killing them was hard enough on a good day. Adding these freaky metal limbs was just plain unfair. And without his water powers, Percy couldn’t just drown or crush the thing like the oversized loud soda can that it was. Dodge, parry, push. Slash! Riptide bounced off the monster’s metal collar. ‘Right, right. They probably didn’t want you beheaded.’ Dodge, jump, sink into the creek. Slash! The manticore roared, a deep groove carved on its side by Riptide’s keen edge. Thick rivulets of black liquid seeping through the wound, wires poking out from beneath monster flesh, sparking and sputtering before Percy kicked the jumbo-sized lion, sending it deeper into the creek. This was taking long. Way too long. “Shouldn’t you have gone poof already?” Percy followed it, sword at the ready, eyes trained on the thrashing monster. This wasn’t his first time fighting a machine-like monster, but last time it had at least been a giant killer robot. Pure metal and wiring and all that jazz. Mecha Dr. Thorn over here might not have been pure metal, but there was more than enough of the stuff in it to make it count. And the lack of familiar gold dust meant it probably wouldn’t die the usual way. ‘Like one of those freaky animatronics.’ He shuddered at memories of his Chuck n’ Cheese birthday party. Looking back, maybe that had been a killer robot too. Even worse. Percy was pretty sure Mecha-Thorn was healing. Well… not so much healing as gluing itself shut with that icky black stuff. The tail stump had stopped bleeding a while back and his attempt to filet the cyborg was not covered by thick ‘bubbles’ of back sludge. Like the oily stuff inside Hephaestus’ animatronic of doom was helping hold it together. Percy dashed, water giving way as he sped forward. The manticore lashed out with his metal-covered paw. Percy dodged to the side… and slashed. The metal limb finally came off, a splash of black sludge staining the creek as the monster fell backwards, Percy ducking and lashing out with his foot, knocking it out of balance and into its back. He jumped, momentum carrying him over the prone monster and with a meaty thunk, sunk Riptide into the lower jaw of the Manticore, the bronze blade effortlessly cutting through flesh and bone before leaving the other end of the skull. The monster’s struggles immediately stopped, limbs flopping lifelessly against the water as the eerie lights of the monster’s eyes died down. Percy let out a sigh of relief. ‘Okay, good to know these things still have brains.’ Pulling Riptide free, he climbed out of the monster’s chest, nose wrinkling at the smell of bobo-monster blood and gore. Never before had Percy missed the self-cleaning, golden dust variety of monster as much as he did now. At least they didn’t leave behind a mess when they died. ‘Still, what the hell was that?’ Sitting on the bank of the creek, Percy watched as the water slowly parted around the dead cyborg’s body, its sludge-like blood looking like an oil spill as it was carried downstream. Freaky island made of metal. Freaky temples with freaky jedi mind tricks. Freaky monsters that looked like someone watched Terminator one too many times. ‘Maybe I should have stuck with the fish.’ Though finding out that his powers were acting weird on the island was another can of worms. How was he supposed to get out of here if he couldn’t swim away? He still got stronger when he was in water, but that didn’t mean he’d be able to breath under it. Just keeping himself dry had taken way more focus that usual. [Damage Report] [Atlasia Manticore - 83% damage] [Cranial unit breached] [Artillery-Type Lionete Ballista - Offline] Again with this?! Percy jumped to his feet. The water had done its job and helped him fight the monster. But the energy rush was gone and he was already feeling tired. Between the deep seated ache in his limbs and the throbbing inside his head, there was no way he was gonna stick around to see if Hephaestus had programmed this place to have more than one mini-boss. Then he heard a sound. He smelled a smell. A smelly smell that smelled of… oil. Burning Oil. And it was indeed burning. The oil-like black blood leaking out of the manticore had somehow caught fire, fire so hot it had turned blue, enough that Percy had to step back as it spread over the surface of the creek. ‘Greek fire? This thing has Greek Fire for blood?!’ [Initiating Self-Repair Protocol] [Ichor Replenishmenf - Activated] [Access Code Accepted - Deploying Atlas Klironomia] This had to be a nightmare. Percy wanted nothing more than to turn tail and run away, but could only watch transfixed as the cuts and stab wounds he’d hacked into the monster closed on their own, the oil burning hotter and brighter as molten metal seeped out of the stumps where the monsters arm and tail used to be. Forget closing wounds, this stuff was rebuilding Dr.Thorn wholesale! He capped Riptide and ran away. There was no way he could kill this thing a second time! Not without his powers or some divine help. So Percy did what he should have done from the start and ran for the beach. He ran as fast as he could, spooking the forest critters as he dashed through the ruined forest and to the shoreline. At this point he’d take the risk of maybe drowning over probably dying. ‘Hope dad is listening.’ He might have to cash in on one of those 14 missed birthdays. [Initiating Reboot Sequence] Crap. [Reboot Successful] Double crap. Percy doubled his pace, hopefully it wouldn’t come straight for him. ▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅ ‘There goes the optimism.’ Seriously, could it smell him like monsters or was that freaky temple telling it where he was going? And what was up with the constant P.A announcements inside his head. It felt like someone had hooked his brain into an airport console, what with the constant talking nonsense word in his year. What was he supposed to do about stuff he didn’t even understand! Amidst the continous badgering however, there was one word he recognized. Atlas. And that didn’t help in the slightest. But he’d worry about that after he was done ditching the tin can with teeth. ‘Come on, Percy. Just a bit more!’ He could already see the sand of the beach, could smell the salt and hears the sound of the cresting waves mixed in with the enraged roaring of the monster biting at his heels, the crunching and crushing of the trees as it barely managed to keep pace with him by just ramming its way through the forest. He was close. So close! Just a few more steps. ▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅ Percy felt the pounce coming, the wind rushing as sand was pushed away into a plume of dirt, the blazing heat of the Manticore flashing across his back as he turned away, knuckles white as he prepared to drive Riptide into the machine monster again. The most terrifying thing about it wasn't the dagger-like teeth, or the Hollywood reject look. No, it was the eyes, hollow blue lights trained on him. They made Percy finally realize… that it wasn’t really alive. He grit his teeth, ready to scrap the damn thing a second time… before the world suddenly vanished in a flash of light. The roar of a cannonball echoing on his ears as something suddenly hit the Manticore, barely missing Percy as he stumbled backwards, falling ass first into the shallows. ‘What the…’ Blinking away the salt and the sand, the spots in his sight steadily faded as a crash, just as loud as the first, shook the shoreline. Another flash of light, a literal laser beam cutting through the dust cloud, blasting the Manticore further away into a nearby dune. There was a man. Or well… he hoped it was a man. He looked the part of the robot too, like everything else in this floating pile of junk. Black and silver and lines of orange and blue lights running down his body, a cape fluttering in the sea breeze as he stood between Percy and the dazed Manticore robot. “Target acquired.”

[Mattias]

Oh hey, I was reading this over on Spacebattles. Left off after the first Interlude, IIRC. It's good stuff.

[Wyvern]

Thou, Child of the Sea 0.2

It was like something of a movie. Which movie? Percy wasn't quite sure. Like one of those Mexican standoffs you sometimes saw in western movies, where suddenly a newcomer intrudes in the middle of a duel to show off how they were actually the main character of the story. The Manticore robot. The man who might very well be a robot, and Percy standing in a perfect triangle. Although both of them were focused on the monster, Percy knew the other man was probably watching him just in case. And that was fine. Percy was kinda busy gawking over the guy’s armor and the fact he had just seen him shoot freaking laser beams out of it. The Cabin 9 folks were gonna freak out when he told them about it. Actually, yeah… Between the temple, Mecha Thorn over there and the man wearing a full on super suit, maybe Percy shouldn’t mention any of this to them. They’d probably try and find a way back here, or rag on him for not having brought them some spicy science fiction stuff from the mystery island that totally didn’t belong to their dad. Maybe he could convince Robot-Man over there to come back with him? The guy looked like some kinda super-hero flick reject. Like, the ones where the guy wears a suit of armor to fight robot monsters on a floating island in the middle of nowhere. And on that note, holy crap that guy was wearing a suit of armor. It wasn’t even the type Percy was used to, it was head to toe black and silver covering with light peeking through the metal. Were Power Rangers real? He never asked Chiron. He knew they probably were but… If demigods were a thing maybe Zordon also was! ‘Focus Percy! Manticore first, Blue Ranger later.’ To no one’s surprise, the wounds dealt to the monster by the man’s sudden arrival were already fixing themselves. If anything, they were closing way faster than earlier, when Percy at least had the time to run away before it recovered. Was it because he stabbed its head? Healing magic or not, it was probably slower to heal something like that than it was to heal some cuts and stab wounds. And laser burns. Can’t forget those. It also was acting… smarter? What was the word for when a monster knows its gonna get killed if it acts stupid, so it decides to sit back and actually plan things out? Strategic? Tactical? Standing around waiting for its body to heal while keeping both Percy and the mysterious armored man in its line of sight. [Status Report] [Atlasia Manticore - 53% Damage] [Initiating Advanced Combat Protocols] The familiar and unwelcome sound of a train whistle echoed on Percy’s ears, eyes trained on the monster’s tail as the pumps which lead from its spine to the robotic tail snapped back into place and a glowing, green fluid illuminated them from the inside, the dangerous stinger groaning and shuddering as it flared back to life. Crap. Percy rounded on the Manticore, Riptide twirling in hand as he made a decision. Only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder. “What are you doing?” The armored man gave him an inquisitive look, the blue lights of his helmet reminding Percy of the Manticore’s own headlight eyes. There was a piercing quality to them, as if the man wasn’t sure about letting him out of his reach without first solving whatever puzzle he thought the young demigod was. Percy couldn’t care less. "It 's healing. Don’t you hear the messages?” The man tilted his head in confusion. “Messages?” “Look, can we leave the chat for later? We need to kill it before that stinger starts working again.” Because there weren’t any trees to hide behind and with the manticore between them and the forest, they’d be cut to ribbons before they ever made it back into the forest. Well, he would be at least, robot man had his unnecessarily cool armor. Percy, however, only had two options. Turn back on the armored man and make a break for the sea, hoping the Manticore wouldn’t skewer him with one of those freaky acid spikes. Hopefully his powers weren’t so freaked out that they forgot Percy could breathe underwater. And that still ran the risk of him getting shot from behind. Or he could bite the bullet and hope Robocop over there didn’t have the same idea, because Percy wasn’t all that confident in going another round with the monster robot by himself. Stupid freaky island and his stupid powers refusing to work. Hopefully they could dismantle this pile of junk before it could go full on Terminator on them. Yeah, yeah. He watched movies, okay. They had movie nights and everything back at Camp. Looking back at the armored man, Percy had all of five seconds before he seemingly came to a conclusion, posture adjusting ever so slightly so that he was facing the Manticore fully, his back all but turned to him. Which was… well… nice as far as shows of trust were. Then again, Percy wasn’t sure he even could cut through that stuff without the water boosting him. “I’ll take point.” And then… he was off. Off the ground, that is. Sand blew back as two blasts of light erupted from his feet, throwing him off the ground and towards the Manticore, the force of the blowback nearly throwing Percy back on his ass, barely catching himself just in time to see the Manticore take a swipe at the flying man. Only for its claws to bounce off the man’s shoulder. The return punch staggering the beast as another flash of light blasted out of his knuckles. Then a second punch put the Manticore on its ass. And a third made it tumble through the sand. Percy gawked Seriously? Rockets on his boots? Laser knuckles?! ‘The gods really like playing favorites.’ It was like watching a house cat trying to fight a grown man. The man in armor seemed to barely acknowledge the monster despite the clawing, biting and stinging. Everything seemed to just bounce off his body. All the while he continued to turn the monster into a sandbag, fists faster than the eye could see pummeled the manticore’s torso to a pulp, black sludge leaking out of its maw like a faucet. Before he spun around and round housed the poor bastard across the beach. [Status Report] [Atlasia Manticore - 78% Damage] Seriously. What was up with that guy? He wasn’t the fastest or the strongest Percy had ever seen. But given how just a few months ago he’d watched Artemis fight Atlas, that wasn’t a fair comparison. Without hesitation, the man was throwing out fists faster than Percy could follow, the sound of metal bone crunching under their weight enough to make him wince as the Manticore got manhandled. And he was fast. Even without the rocket boots, which Percy was still kinda processing, it was like the world was in slow motion every time he moved. Every dodge calculated so he’d have the counter ready when the monster attacked. Every advantage was exploited. Every second accounted for. Just looking at it was breathtaking. It was like… well… a machine. Perfectly timed strikes. Perfectly timed dodges. Instead of relying on speed or toughness, it was like the man already knew how and where the Manticore would attack before it did, and countered just as it did. No, it wasn’t just that. He moved strangely. Like a puppet on strings. The Manticore would sting and claw and bite, and the man would jerk out of the way as if something was pulling him away from the strikes, or adjusting his stance so that it was just at the right angle to block or cushion the impact. Attacks that he couldn’t see coming because he was too close to see them coming. Claws and fangs he was too close to see before they were about to hit him. Only they never managed to quite hit. A graze here and a hit there. But the Manticore couldn’t seem to land any meaningful attacks. It was like the man had eyes on the back of his head. Like he could see every attack coming even if it was from a blindspot. And moved mid-punching to avoid the worse of it. Then he vanished, only to reappear over the Manticore, hands open as a rain of golden laser beams poured down from onto Dr. Thorn 2.0, its roars of rage and pain drowned out by the sound of the armor as it continued to bombard it from above, before the man disappeared again. Only for a moment. ‘There.’ Percy spotted him as he descended foot first on the back of the Manticore. Exactly where the pumps leading from its spine connected with the stinger. The sound of something shattering hit his ears, a mighty crack of thunder which sent another plume of sand up into the air, ground shaking and shifting as pieces of dirt and metal were sent flying before raining down around him. Good to know he’d taken Percy’s warning. ‘Guess he didn’t need help either.’ seeing the battered and broken manticore halfways buried in sand was a sobering, if not relieving, sight. Though Percy couldn’t help the slight flash of vindictiveness against the mechanical monster. It had been trying to kill him after all, so he wouldn’t feel sad that it got trashed a second time. The monster itself was… crumpled, like a can of soda that got stepped on. Bent at an odd angle that probably wasn’t intended or comfortable for any living creature. Backflipping off of the monster’s back, the armored man landed weightlessly on the sand. Fist resting against the ground, one knee bent and his other resting against the sand as he faced Percy with his freaky glowing eyes on that freaky metal helmet of his. All in all, Percy gave the landing a 8 out of 10 - and the beating a “yikes out of holy crap”. [Status Report] [Atlasia Manticore - 125% Damage] Man, talk about overachieving. This guy wrecked Dr. Thorn’s robot brother! [Atlas Klironomia - Active] [Atlasia Frame Reconstruction: Initiate] [Error] [Emergency Override] [Error] [Inhibitor Unit Offline] [Error] [Initiating Berserker Protocol] The Manticore burst into flames once again. But something was wrong. This time it looked wrong. The black oil-like stuff which was leaking out of the monster wasn’t clogging the wounds anymore. It wasn’t even trying to close them. It just continued to pool oul more and more, to the point that it was completely covering the monster. It was… growing? Expanding? Like bubblegum, the oil seemed to grow into thick bubbles of black tar, larger and larger as they completely covered the ruined corpse of the monster. The smell of ozone filled the air as it sizzled and boiled, metal and flesh giving way, being reshaped, ballooning grotesquely out of proportion. In short, this was bad. Very bad. “Hey! It’s healing again!” The armored man didn’t move. Percy yelled again. But once again the man-robot thing just sat there on his knees. What was happening? Wasn’t he listening? Couldn’t he see the monster getting bigger right behind him?! He just… stood there. Throwing caution to the wind, Percy ran with Riptide in hand. The Manticore by that point looked like something was growing out of its body, something misshapen and terrifying, almost alien bursting out of its back, wearing the ruined remains of the cyborg monster like an ill-fitting suit. Two sizes too small. It swung its claws. Longer than the other, the black tar held it to the body despite it having fallen off. Waves lapping at his feet, Percy swung his sword with both hands. It stopped. His knees buckled. ‘Okay, big guy can hit harder now.’ Percy strained, pushing it back, his bones creaked. His arms felt like they were about to pop out of his shoulder. Even with the boost from the water, it was just barely enough. “Hey, can you move?!” This time he heard something, the sound of metal groaning. This time he also saw something. The struggle of the man beneath the armor as he tried to move beneath the armor. Twitches and struggling as he tried to force himself to move. There was a raspy breath, before a silent voice whispered. “Get away. Run.” With a monster right at his back? ‘Hell no.’ Percy was never good at listening to others. Why start now? He took a deep breath, his tired, still aching body groaning in protest as it drew strength from the water. Not nearly deep enough to fight this thing now that it decided to go full on grey goo on their asses. And yes, Annabeth made him sit through an explanation on what the Grey Goo was. Not that it would help fighting this thing. So it was time for the divine hotline after all. ‘Dad, sorry for kinda dropping in like this. I know you’re kinda busy with, like, ruling the sea and stuff. But I’m kinda lost. Kinda hungry. And there’s this huge monster in front of me who’s most likely going to eat me. So, I dunno, I’d really appreciate it if you could lend me a hand?’ The Grey Goo staggered back to its feet, the manticore’s chromed over skull hanging from the mess of molten metal and oil, limbs hanging from spindly tendrils. Pulsing as it continued to expand and bubble over. There was a tense pause as the monster seemed to get its bearings. ‘Any minute now, dad.’ The sand dollar on his necklace weighed heavily, Percy’s knuckles straining white as he hoped against hope that his dad wasn’t lying that day when he visited him at home for the first time since they’ve me. That unlike what Luke was peddling to the other demigods, Percy hoped that his dad at least cared. ‘And you, Percy, are my favorite son.’ [Emergency Broadcast Signal - Detected] [Analyzing…] [Rogue Combat Unit - Detected] [Restricted Type-7 Substance - Atlas Klironomia] [Unregistered Pseudo-Organic Terminal - Detected] [Analyzing…] [Emergency Backup Request… granted] [Establishing Divine Corpus Network Pathway] The lack of response was disheartening. For all of five seconds. Percy sighed, his arms felt heavy. His legs planted firmly on the wet sand, slowly sinking as the Grey Goo monster reared back to strike at him. He moved to strike back, to block again even if it meant hurting himself. He’d rather fight than run away. And there was no way he’d run and leave the guy who saved him behind. So he swung with all his might. And then he finally heard it. Dad’s voice. [Initiating Combat-Type Remote Organic Reinforcement] [ΑΙΓΑΙΩΝ] Percy didn’t know what he expected. Maybe his father could have sent a wave and dragged the ruined Manticore into the sea. Maybe he could have fixed whatever was wrong with Percy’s powers and let him fight properly. Percy didn’t usually ask his dad for help, so he didn’t quite know what to expect from the god. There was a brief feeling of heat flashing from inside his gut. The sensation of it spreading through his arms and legs. Like a nearly empty glass, Percy felt like suddenly someone decided to pour a whole bottle of the strongest, most caffeinated energy drink down his throat. Like he’d eaten a full plate of ambrosia with a hefty dose of nectar just to make sure. Percy watched the Grey Goo rear back, preparing for another swing. He met its strike with his own. His body burnt from the inside. He tasted the ozone and salt in the breeze, the world coming into focus as he swung Riptide with all his might, regardless of how much it hurt to move, regardless of whether he’d be able to move or not after that. All he needed was to kill this thing. Kill it so dead that there wouldn’t be a corpse left to rebuild with the freaky gooey stuff. Eyes stinging in irritation as time seemed to slow down to a crawl, Percy watched Riptide meet its mark and felt something break. His arm. The Manticore’s. And the sound barrier too. There was blinding pain for a second. And then the crack of thunder as a cloud of sand erupted from the beach under his feet. A rush of wind blasting upwards, the impact pushing Percy back like a cannon, his ears rung and his eyes stung. His body felt like it was burning from the inside. And the Manticore was gone. [Error.] [Error.] [Signal Lost] [Purge-Type Atlasia Manticore is Offline] [Initiating System Reboot] Percy smiled, falling on his ass besides the still immobilized man in armor, who despite everything hadn’t even moved an inch. Not even when Percy’s swing had carved a hole in the island, which was now missing a small section of the beach, where the Manticore used to be, leaving only a small extension of ocean where there once was sand. ‘Wow. Dad really doesn’t pull his punches.’ “Are you… alive?” He heard the man say as rested his back against the robotman's still unmoving body. “Somehow. You okay?” “I am unharmed, merely… drained.” Percy nodded. “Yeah, that was a bit of a workout.” There was a brief pause, Percy taking the time to catch his breath as the burst of UNLIMITED POWAH his dad shot him full of faded and his body stopped feeling like it was about to pop like a balloon. He let out a sigh of relief. “So… you like fish on sticks?”

Apparently the answer was yes. ‘Where is it all going.’ Percy was both bewildered and impressed. He’d never seen someone eat so much fish before. Sure, the man was probably tired and hungry from their fight against the mechanical monster of doom. But Percy was pretty sure he’d packed enough fish and berries for a guy twice his size… and was still somehow going strong. And he thought he had an appetite. Mind you, Percy was also starving after that fight and the salted fish jerky with crushed berry sauce was quickly becoming one of his favorite dishes, if only because of how much there was to go around and how hungry he was after nearly getting killed a half dozen times. If there was one thing he’d learnt as a demigod was that being hungry made you an easy target. Not only to monsters, but also the seemingly pleasant old ladies who want to turn you into a statue because they happened to have that one fling with your dad back when A.D was B.C and she never got over it. What was he talking about again? Oh yeah, right, fish burgers. “More berries?” He offered a handful of the small fruits to his… acquaintance? Friend? What did you call someone who saved you from a killer robot, and who you ran in to save right after? “Thank you. I apologize again for intruding.”

He was… certainly odd. Not bad or a jerk or anything like some of the adults Percy had the displeasure of dealing with. No, the helpful stranger who saved his life was unfailingly polite and treated him respectfully, accepting the meager offerings of fish on stick and dry berries as if they were priceless gifts. Percy did take the time to finally look at him better while eating. For starters, he was tall, and somehow had white hair despite looking so young. Though the red colored bangs made him consider whether he was just making one of those ‘fashion statements’ that the girls from Cabin 10 liked raving on and on about. Though he didn’t strike him as the type to care about fashion magazines. If anything, the man reminded Percy of Chiron. There was a… serene air to him. Like he knew everything he needed to know about life, and nothing could really surprise him, and even if it did, the man himself would never react like it did. Oh, that reminded him. “I never caught your name.” Green eyes met gold. “I never said it.” Well, that was fair. A bit suspect, but fair. Percy didn’t really care about being anonymous. Not after all the adventures and problems he had to solve for his father and the other gods, it was easy to get recognized, and monsters found him regularly. There was just no point in pretending he wasn’t who he was. So he might as well give the man a show of trust. “Well, you can call me Percy.” He smiled thinly. “Rider.” Percy choked on some leftover berries. “Was Ranger taken?” He joked. “I wasn’t aware of that Class Designation. Are you a Ranger?” … And it flew right over the guy’s head. Percy quickly backtracked. “I wish! If I had cool armor like yours I’d probably not get into nearly as much trouble as I do.” And wasn’t that an understatement. The only reason he’d gotten out of trouble this time was because dad was looking out for him. But there was still something… off about that whole fight now that Percy had the time to think about it. From the freaky temple and robot monster, to the constant voices on his head. It felt like he was hearing a conversation that wasn’t meant for him. Like demigod dreams, only in real time. And then there was his dad’s voice. Unlike the temple, which sounded robotic like everything else in this damn island, after Percy called his father for help he thought he heard him speak to him. Or well, saying something that he couldn’t quite understand. And then made him strong enough to break his army swinging a sword. Which had then unbroken itself after another dip in the ocean. But that just created even more questions. Why hadn’t his father talked to him again. Why could only he hear the freaky messages from the temple? Where was this place? And most importantly… was there a way to get back from her to Camp? It had been half a day already and he wouldn’t put it past Annabeth to run back into the Labyrinth guns blazing to look for him. “I don’t suppose that cool armor of yours comes with a map of this place?” The white haired man shook his head. “I’m afraid not, Percy. I find myself to be equally lost. Though I’d wager you’d have a better idea of where we are than I am.” The young demigod shrugged. “Beats me. All I know is we’re stuck in the middle of the Atlantic.” “That is… a vast understatement.” Percy scratched his cheek sheepishly, looking away. “There’s nothing I can really do about it. The freaky temple is doing something to mess up with my powers.” “This is the second time you’ve mentioned a temple. Earlier, you asked me if I couldn’t hear its messages. I’d be interested in hearing more about this.” Percy tried to recall whatever details he could. It was hard to describe something you couldn’t actually remember. The sensations and feelings were muted, and whatever images or figures that had been present there were long gone from his memory. He couldn’t even say for certain that he knew how big the temple was, only where it was located, and mostly because the Manticore’s trail of destruction lead right back to it. “Hmm, so there might be a bounded field at play.” Bounded what? “You’re speaking Greek, Rider.” Unfortunately the man didn’t seem to understand jokes either. “I’m very sure I’m speaking english. If you are having any issues, I am fluent in fifteen languages, and I can also be a passable Phantasmal interpreter.” Was… this how Annabeth felt? All the time? “And you haven’t heard the temple’s messages? At all?” It was weird, asking someone else if they had the same voice in their head, but at this point Percy had seen enough to know when divine shenanigans were afoot. “I only heard you speak. It surprised me how you seemed to know when the monster would attack or when it would heal. I assumed you had some form of clairvoyance.” Percy the Oracle? Not a chance. “Sorry. Can’t see the future. I only know what I heard the freaky temple say after we killed that monster. Something about rebooting? For all I know that means it could send out more monsters. We could always try to leave if you can carry us off the island. I'd really appreciate the ride home.” Rider appeared to consider it for a moment, eyes focusing on the distance. A look Percy recognized from himself and the many many hours he spent trying to figure out one math problem or another. Hopefully the armored man was better at calculus than him. “Unfortunately we don't have a map. And without a map, we would be flying around blind. If my armor runs out of power again, I will be immobilized and we will be left defenseless at sea.” And considering Percy still wasn’t sure whether could drown right now or not… yeah that was probably the right call. “If you’d allow me to make a suggestion?” “Sure?” Well, any idea was better than no idea. “Given circumstances, leaving might be impossible without a more permanent energy source for my armor. However, If the temple is indeed ‘rebooting’ as you said, than it is possible that its protections aren’t active. If the protections aren’t working then we might be able to enter the temple if we move fast enough and secure ourselves not only better shelter but also resources. At the very least, I would like us to establish a connection with a leyline.” Percy nodded. That was a good plan. It made sense to him, even if he didn’t like the idea of going back to the freaky clearing. Not having to sleep at the beach and not having anymore of those robot monsters sounded great. Although… “Rider?” The man looked up from his food. “Yes?” “What’s a leyline?”

As it turned out, Rider was right. The temple wasn’t hidden anymore. And to no one’s surprise, looked like a temple. Complete with marble columns and everything. Percy was reminded of the times he visited Olympus. The style was certainly similar, even if he couldn’t point out all the probably infinite differences between them like Annabeth probably could. As far as he was concerned, all temples kinda looked the same once you’d been to one. Even with the weird camouflage they had to walk through. ‘Bounded Field, Percy.’ Rider chided him. Which for a magical force field felt almost… mundane. “I guess they’re still missing a god of architecture.” Rider chuckled, it was soft and barely there, but Percy could hear him bite back a snort of laughter. “Yes, I suppose the gods don’t have much of a sense for aesthetics. Although… It is quite strange. See these statues?” Gesturing to the walls framing the entrance to the inside of the temple, Percy tried to see what Rider meant. But there wasn’t much other than the same usual statues. Twelve of them, as per usual. Because everything had to always be about the same twelve gods. And that was half the reason he was stuck on this island to begin with. “You mean the Olympians?” “Yes, temples like this were quite usual back in ancient times, you see. But most were limited to fewer gods, with many gods having regional names and titles associated with those names that they didn’t share across locations. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find a temple with as… complex a set up as this one.” Okay, so it was lecture time. Percy nodded along, even if he didn’t get the whole regional thing. Annabeth probably mentioned something like that before. But she mentioned a whole lot of things Percy tended to forget. “So not a lot of Temples worshiped all the gods, is what you mean?” “Very few in fact. There is also the fact that some very important gods are absent. Do you notice it?” Percy tried to. The usual suspects were there. Mr. Lightning and Thunder was there. His dad was there. The woman with the spear was Athena. The woman holding the food must have been Demeter. And he could guess at some of the others. It didn’t take a genius to guess who was the woman on a fancy dress next to Zeus, after all. But really, it was just the same set up as usual. Zeus and his brothers, his sisters and some of his kids. So what could he do- wait a second there. What was Hades doing there? And who was the young-looking goddess without a bow sitting next to Demeter? “I don’t see Hermes… or Mr. D.” Odysseus nodded gravely. “Hades was feared, but never directly worshiped, even back then. Some of Zeus’ sons aren’t included while Lady Hestia has seemingly retaken her seat amongst the twelve.” “But what does that mean?” Odysseus paused. “I do not know yet. This could be only an aesthetic choice, as I said. But it is strange that twelve gods are present, yet such important figures as Lord Hermes and Dionysus are missing. I’m afraid I was never one to dab into the deeper mysteries and meanings behind temples. Tactics and strategizing are my specialty.” “Hence the cool armor.” Percy wasn’t pouting and nobody could prove otherwise. The silver-haired man gave him a look of exasperation. “You seem strangely fixated on the subject of my armor.” Percy scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Well, yeah. I think everyone would like to have something like that. I sure would love to hit monsters with my fists without any trouble and I know some kids who’d probably give an arm to get their hands on something like that.” “Wouldn’t they be missing a hand if they had to give an arm?” Yeah yeah, you’re smart. No need to show off. “You know what I mean.” Rider smiled thinly. “Yes, I suppose I do. Though I suppose wanting my armor for its ‘coolness’ factor is certainly a novelty. Most would have focused on its source than on how it looks.” The two of them stood before the statues a moment longer. They were missing something. Percy knew that because he spent enough time at camp and visited Olympus enough times to know their usual set up. Hell, the cabins at camp were set up in the same order as their thrones! Speaking of cabins though… “You’re one of Athena’s, right? Didn’t expect her to be the type to hand out armor.” Rider looked away, eyes trained on one of the statues. “She happened to favor me in life. This armor is just ‘proof’.” “Not one of her kids then?” Rounding on him, Rider looked a mix of amused and surprised. “You’re an oddly forward young man. It must get you into all kinds of trouble.” Percy snorted. Yeah, forward was one way to put it. Others would have probably called him impertinent or cheeky, and they’d be right. But Percy wasn’t one to sweat the little details. Especially when he was dealing with some kind of older model super demigod project. Who might or might not be Annabeth’s sibling. “Am I wrong?” Rider shook his head. He seemed to have that same look Chiron had whenever Percy happened to screw up in some unique or unexpected way. Like he wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or lecture him on what exactly he did wrong. “Sorry to disappoint you. But no, I’m not a child of Athena. I just happened to have caught her interest in more… orthodox ways.” So, he wasn’t Annabeth’s brother. Then it hit him. “Wait… so you’re one of her, you know, brain hook ups?” The man looked scandalized, the placidly serene look on his face completely vanishing for the first time since they’d started the conversation. Mouth agape, eyes slightly popping out, the man looked like he was having trouble processing what Percy had just said while his robot brain glitched out. “I beg your pardon?” He choked out. “I mean. You’re pretty smart, and you’re pretty good in a fight. I thought that, you know, maybe Athena was ‘interested’ in you?” His mouth closed with a click. “I assure you that isn’t the case.” Huh, okay. Guess that was that theory out of the way. Conversation wavered from that point on. Not that there was any awkward silence, Rider was good company, but there was only so much you could talk about with a stranger. And after the revelations about the freaky temple, most of their time was spent skirting around it to make sure there weren’t any more clues they were missing or traps. It was boring work, but hey, it beat fighting about Mecha-Thorn. Eventually they found themselves back at the entrance, the heavy set of bronze doors framed by the statues, carved on it was a complex star or snowflake symbol. Just looking at it made Percy’s eyes hurt. “Have there been any more messages?” He shook his head. “All quiet since we killed the Manticore.” “Then I suppose there won’t be any dangers with opening the temple. If you could?” Percy nodded, taking position behind the man, Riptide uncapped and at the ready as Rider pushed against the doors. Only to flinch when the etching on the wall lit up like the world’s biggest christmas star. [Analyzing Divine Corpus] [Cross Referencing…] [Match found.] [Welcome, Siege-Type Strategic Command Warship Pallas-Athena] [Initiating Reboot] The doors snapped open with a hiss, sinking into the walls beside them like they belonged to the world's oldest and most expensive shopping mall. A brief wave of light washing over them as they jumped back. “Did you-?” “Hear it? Yes, it seems to have recognized my armor.” The inside of the temple was a long, barely lit, corridor. With torch-shaped lights hanging from the sides as it lead further into the building. Half of them weren’t work, the others were dim or flickering, giving the temple that much needed but definitely uncalled for horror movie atmosphere. Percy hated horror movies. “Should we?” Rider put a finger on his lips, eyes watching the dark corridor warily. Percy immediately put up his guard when he heard something moving down the barely lit hallway. Slow steps, the tapping of feet on the stone floor as something… no… someone approached them from the inside. An ominous green glow forming around the figure like wings… or some kind of halo. “Greetings.” She greeted them. And Percy stared, heart hammering against his chest for a completely different reason.

‘Whoa okay, hot robot girl!’ His first thought when he saw the girl walk out of the hallway was something along the lines of a hormonal scream courtesy of the monkey part of his brain. The second thought regarding the mysterious girl was that someone out there really liked robots and wanted to slap them on everything in the island. Seriously, the girl was covered head to toe in metal! Never mind the weird glass monocle that Percy felt like he should recognize from somewhere. She was wearing a painted metal head piece, her legs were covered in metal plates and there were shields and what looked like freaking wings hanging out from her hips and back. Percy looked at Rider for some help, but the usually serene man had the expression of someone who just got smacked in the face by a fish. Mouth hanging agape, eyes blown back in surprise. As if he were seeing a ghost. Did he know her? “I welcome you, honorable guests, to the Memorial Island Temple, Atlasia.”